Take a Tech Break

I'm Casper ter Kuile. I'm a published author and the co-founder of Sacred Design Lab. I research the ways in which ancient wisdom can help guide us today in creating deeper connections with ourselves and each other. Today, I'll share some tips on creating a weekly tech-free ritual that will allow you to explore your own joy, creativity, and rest. Let's get started. (light music) Often when we think of rituals, we think of age-old religious practices that are complex or irrelevant, but did you know that your life is already full of opportunities to ritualize? I see rituals as taking the things we do every day, even the most ordinary experiences, and layering meaning onto them so that they become soulful practices. A ritual can be made out of something as simple as making your grandmother's soup recipe or rereading a favorite book. One of my very favorite rituals is a tech Sabbath, which I derive from the Sabbath framework from both Judaism and later Christianity. Historically, this ritual is a day of rest and a gentle command to stop work at a certain time and come together at home. Whether you're totally secular or have a spiritual identity, I believe a tech Sabbath practice can be a wonderful way to reconnect with yourself. Now let's walk through some of my tips for designing your own weekly ritual. Before even entering your ritual, one of the first steps is to unplug from your devices. Set aside a certain amount of time for you to be fully unavailable to others, and turn off your laptop on your phone and literally hide them away. I've been doing my weekly ritual for more than seven years now, for a full day, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown and never missed an important call or email which is quite humbling. For those of you who have responsibilities like care-taking, you'll know best what time limits are sensible to set around your own ritual. And even for those who are skeptical, start with just a few hours or a single hour somewhere this week. Next, set your intention. Take a moment and reflect on what you want from your ritual. What do you want to use this time for? What do you want to step away from and what do you want to step toward? Would you just want to check in and notice how you're feeling? I articulate my intention by saying to myself, "The work isn't done, but it is time to stop." And then I sing a little song that I learned as a kid in summer camp, which we'd sing at the end of the day. And it reminds me of my family and this lovely feeling of ease. What's a comfortable way for you to state your intentionality? You can say it out loud or write it down in a notebook. But the most important thing here is that you are bringing into consciousness what this ritual is about...