This is a practice for bringing awareness to how you are with your digital devices. 

Try to have an open mind as you do this. So much of what we do with our phones is habit. See here if you can come to this with interest, patience, and nonjudgment. Adopting a beginner's mind to help you step out of habit.

Before we start, switch off your phone, put it down in front of you. And take a few moments to stabilize and anchor your attention, focusing on your breathing, taking a moment to reconnect with your breathing and your body. And then when you're ready, just follow along with the steps that I'm going to introduce. And after each step, tuning in to what's happening to the sensations in your body, your emotions, any calls to action, any thoughts or imagery. So let's start by taking the phone and holding it in your hand without switching it on.

And hold the phone while being aware of your breathing, any sensations, feelings, impulses, and thoughts. And then when you're ready, very intentionally, very deliberately switching the phone on and just noticing it turning on and the home screen opening up. And as this happens, maintaining your awareness, breathing and body with attitudes of interest, friendliness and care. Now with the phone switched on and the home screen visible, what's happening in your body? What impulse is around?

What thoughts are around? What's the emotional tone just now? And now, again, very intentionally, open the app or the function on your phone that you use most often, possibly even overuse. As you open it up, just observe what comes up in this app, but don't interact with it just yet. Stay aware of your breathing and your body with interest, friendliness and care.

And what do you notice in the body in terms of sensations? What feelings are around? What impulses are around? What thoughts and images? So go ahead and interact with the app, doing what you normally do and see if you can keep some of your awareness on your breathing in your body.

Again, with these attitudes of interest, friendliness and care. So you're giving some of your awareness to interacting with the app and you're holding some of your awareness in your body and mind. And when you're ready, very intentionally now again shutting down the device, Putting it away and anchoring your attention on your breath and body. Registering any residual sensations, feelings, impulses, and thoughts. So phones have for many people become almost an extension of themselves, that they interact with throughout the day.

There's a lot to learn from bringing awareness to how you interact with your phone. Here are some questions to consider. In this exercise we've just done, what did you notice? What did you learn at each step of this exercise in terms of body sensations, feelings, impulses, and thoughts? What happens if you pause to think about the many people and earth's resources that went into creating this device?

In mines and factories all around the world. How is this device unhelpful in your life? How does it add value to and enrich your life? And how might you use it more wisely?