Social media and the true self

“Everyone of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self…We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves.”Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

Yesterday I Tweeted, “If social media is/was meant to encapsulate anything it was to come alive to our true self”. Not that I was expecting a response, but it got nothing. Zip. Nadda.

But it’s the truth…Social media is an inner journey: it’s about connecting with the true self through radical self-inquiry, contemplation and an acceptance that you are not your thoughts.

Of course, rightly, you might ask what the hell social media has to do with any of these abstruse subjects?

Everything and nothing.

You see if social media is to mean anything to you, it has to touch your soul and not default to a series of vacuous conversations for if that is all it is, all that will happen (as appears the case for a lot of people) is that it will give succour to your ego.

What do I mean?

In simple terms, social media will amplify your fears and cause you to engage in behaviour that hinders rather than helps you come alive to the true self.

I’m not suggesting that social media is a substitute for anything, least of all prayer or contemplation but I am making a case for something much more profound than the outpouring of grief, anger and frustration that seems so apt to describe a lot of what I see online.

Even if social media is not your thing, it’s inescapable that a creative journey, whether through art or making something with your hands, can put you in a different spiritual place than the life most of us are driven to pursue, i.e. cubicle nation.

In the end, all I will say is long live social media for giving us all the power to create art, change the world and open a space in our hearts for something much bigger than we ever thought possible.