habit formation

UpTrust is both destroying my interest in other social media platforms and improving the way I interact with them.

It became blatant to me this week when I realized my screen time limits had long since stopped popping up for social media. I would open an app, look at up to 5 things, feel an "ugh," and go do something else.

More and more in conversations I've been saying, "I just wrote a post about that on UpTrust!" an more and more the reply is, "How can I get on it??"

I've never much been tempted to share and/or elaborate on my opinions anywhere on the internet. But I have been interested in posting them here, and my reason keeps being that it feels like the algorithm has my back. After I post an opinion here, the likelihood that something generative and worthwhile will happen feels way higher here. Even when I imagine a bunch of buttholes joining.

Earlier today, something happened that I totally had not forseen. I replied to a Facebook post I was tagged in that I've been annoyed by and avoiding for months. And I replied the way I'd reply here- thoroughly, thoughtfully, with a belief that it could be worth my time and energy. I think UpTrust is giving me a lot of practice at typing what matters to me in this kind of format, and my increased skill is getting paid forward to other parts of life.

PS- I keep wanting to type "algorhythm" because of my music background, but anyway it's an amazing name for a math rock band.

Are We Ever Awake/Free/Thriving Enough To Not Practice? Through the years, I’ve had periods in my life where I feel so overwhelmingly good that all my daily spiritual practices (yoga, meditation, prayer, Big Mind process, relatefulness, spiritual study, etc) fall to the wayside.

When I feel super awake, connected to everyone and everything, able to flow with whatever is happening, in an unshakeable trust that Basic Goodness is all there is, it’s really easy for me to go: Well, this is it. I’m done. No point in doing any practice of any kind anymore. And that’s not to say that I abandon practice entirely. I still lead my sessions online a few times a week or whatever, but the underlying attitude in me is this is all optional.

And yet, the feedback that I keep getting from Life is that I do, in fact, need practice.

There’s something about making the daily commitment to presence, to myself, to Spirit, and dedicating one or several periods of my day to some form of spiritual practice that is just so nourishing.

And when I stop doing it, it’s like if I stop doing physical exercise. After a while things start feeling kinda stagnant, and my way of being in my life gets wonky. I’m more likely to make choices that could hurt me and the people close to me.

I’m grateful that I can always come back to the routine of one or more daily practices. It feels healthy. : )