Invasion of the Attention-Frackers
And how to fight back!
In a provocative op-ed published recently in The New York Times, a Princeton history professor joined forces with a filmmaker and a writer to argue that:
"We are witnessing the dark side of our new technological lives, whose extractive profit models amount to the systematic fracking of human beings: pumping vast quantities of high-pressure media content into our faces to force up a spume of the vaporous and intimate stuff called attention, which now trades on the open market. Increasingly powerful systems seek to ensure that our attention is never truly ours."
I find this a strikingly apt metaphor to describe the way my capacity for attention seems to be under assault these days.
When I am writing, I notice that whenever I get stuck, my kneejerk response is to immediately surf away from my word processor to my browser, to check my email or social media—not because I expect there to be anything of interest over there, but just because it feels too uncomfortable to simply pause and have some open, empty time.
Of course, there is a whole industry dedicated to training us how to sit with emptiness, too—it's called meditation.
But I'm not talking about intentionally sitting down on a cushion to think about nothing.
I'm talking about what happens in those everyday moments when you lose your focus on your task—let's say, writing—and shift into the all-too-easy, beckoning path of surfing and scrolling, which makes it even harder to get back to that wisp of a thought you had, that shred of an original idea....
It's easy for me to beat myself up about this, to bitch and moan about how I can't focus and invent self-denigrating reasons why.
It's also easy to project blame onto the amorphous "attention-frackers" who have stolen my precious attention away.
Neither of these responses is effective.
Instead, I am trying to resist the attention-extraction industry by becoming more aware of my own habits, understanding how they are often driven by an insidious underlying addiction to stimuli and the societal injunction to always keep my mind busy.
My late friend Deb Koffman, a whimsical visual artist, used to hang a sign outside her studio that read, "It's OK to pause."
I would drive by in a harried whirl of overwork, and the permission granted by that sign would wash over me like a soothing wave. Really? It's OK to pause?
At other times she'd hang out a sign that read, "It's OK to not know," another simple but profound truth that always hit home for me as a creative person.
It's OK to sit with the discomfort of not being sure what you want to write or how you should phrase a complex idea.
What if, upon getting to a knotty moment like that in my writing, instead of skating away to a reassuring distraction in my web browser, I relaxed into the pause, into the not-knowing?
What new ideas might arise, if I gave myself permission to linger at the cursor's edge a bit longer?
Yours in the potentiality of not-knowing,
Jennifer
Coming up: Two Special Online Events for the Solstice!
I’m delighted to be co-hosting, with Audrey Kalman at our Birth Your Truest Storyonline community for writers, a channeling session with Christine Boschen and her Guides, focused on supporting our connections with our human families, our Gaian Earth families, and our families in Spirit.
My friend Christine is a gifted intuitive channel—you will be amazed at the wisdom that comes through her when you pose your heartfelt questions.
December 10 from 1 - 3 pm Eastern. Limited to six participants; register here.
And on the Winter Solstice itself, please join me for a special writing workshop, For the Love of Gaia: Sparking Wonder, Tending Grief, and Cultivating Resilience for a Time of Transition.
In a lively, thought-provoking 90-minute online workshop, we’ll plumb the depths of our love for Gaia, honoring our grief for all the harm that is being done in our time to humans and more-than-humans alike, and searching out the seeds of resilience that lie buried in our creativity, just waiting for the sweet water of our attention to stir them to life.
All are welcome—Register here.
Register now for Spring Writing Journeys!
Come write with me in Tuscany, May 25 - June 1, 2024
Sometimes you need to step away from your ordinary life to understand more deeply how you arrived at this present moment and to set your intentions for the ever-unfurling path ahead.
Over the course of an idyllic week at the luxurious Borgo San Fedele, a meticulously restored monastery set in exquisite gardens amid a classic Tuscan landscape of olive groves and vineyards, we’ll work together to unlock the doors to your memoir’s purpose, focusing on the key elements of people, places and passions.
Our days will unfold in a perfect balance of guided writing and productive sharing; excursions guided by our Il Chiostro hosts to nearby picturesque medieval towns; coming home to San Fedele to relax by the pools and gardens, eat delicious meals and visit with new friends; and taking time for your own contemplative writing and thinking.
You’ll come away from this magical sojourn simultaneously enlivened and relaxed, with a deeper understanding of your purpose in writing memoir, along with many pages of new writing providing a plethora of potential doorways into the story of your life.
More information (and beautiful photos) here.
Ready to book? Click here.
Experience the creative tonic of Iceland!
Give your creative spirit the stimulating elixir of an all-inclusive week of RIDING and WRITING in the spectacular Icelandic countryside, in the height of the bright summer season, June 10 – 16, 2024.
Every day we’ll ride out on sturdy, sweet Icelandic horses through the expansive rolling vistas of western Iceland, led by our experienced guides from Hestaland. Once you’ve experienced the exhilaration of the fast, smooth tolt, a gait unique to Icelandic horses, you may not want to go back to the trot!
We’ll eat delicious meals together at the beautiful Hestaland Guesthouse and participate in thoughtful, open-hearted guided writing sessions.
There will also be plenty of time for sharing and discussing your writing projects and visiting the nearby hot spring spa at Krauma.
Learn more about costs and accommodations on the application form.
Whether you’ve been to Iceland many times, or this will be your first experience there, this trip is sure to be transformative!
More information (and beautiful photos) here.
Seven gifts for you to enjoy closer to home!
I have some gift ideas for the writers in your life—including you, of course! Click on the images below for more information.
1. My stimulating creative tonic, the purposeful memoir card deck!
2. Pair it with my latest book on purposeful memoir, chock full of writing prompts, inspiration and guidance!
3. Add a coaching session with me!
4. And come write with me live online!
5. Join the Birth Your Truest Story online community for writers—absolutely free!
6. Take one of my self-paced, pre-recorded writing classes!
7. Find a unique, hand-curated collection of award-winning “books that make the world better” at Green Fire Press!
My dear friends, it’s my pleasure and my passion to support you as we stretch towards living our lives creatively and to the fullest.
Are you ready? Let’s go!
This is exquisitely written and digs deep into what I, and I suspect many others, have done and are doing to distract themselves from being stuck or discouraged for a moment or two when writing (or for that matter being involved in any other creative project.)
You've inspired me to move my iphone away from my writing desk and instead focus on the why - why do I need distraction, what's precipitated my need to be distracted? Is what I'm writing uncomfortable, sad, or does it engender feeling of loneliness or fear? Could I take a pause, sit and breathe, meditate for a few minutes, or go for a short brisk walk?
I'm paying closer attention to this insidious habit. Thanks. Dory