A look at technologies today as a pack of cigarettes for the mind. This author's signature contribution to the conversation today is not only to raise concerns about technologies that are destructive, but to draw on the ascetical tradition in Eastern Orthodoxy to provide practical effective resources to living vibrant human life in troubled technological times.
About the Author :
Who is Br. Christos Jonathan Seth Hayward (thou / thee / thy / thine)? A man, made in the image of God and summoned to ascend to the heights of the likeness of God. A great sinner, and in fact, the chief of sinners. One who is, moment by moment, in each ascetical decision choosing to become one notch more a creature of Heaven, or one notch more a creature of Hell, until his life is spent and his eternal choice between Heaven and Hell is eternally sealed.Man, mediator, midpoint, microcosm, measure: as man he is the recapitulation of the entire spiritual and visible creation, having physical life in common with plants and animals, and noetic life in common with rank upon rank of angel host, and forever in the shadow of that moment when Heaven kissed earth and God and the Son of God became Man and the Son of Man that men and the sons of men might become gods and the sons of God.He's also a writer with a few hobbies, but really, there are more important things in life.
Review :
D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review:
A Pack of Cigarettes for the Mind
C.J.S. Hayward
C.J.S. Hayward Publications
https: //cjshayward.com
https: //cjshayward.com/pcm
A Pack of Cigarettes for the Mind: Selections from the Hidden Price Tags: An Eastern Orthodox Look at the Dark Side of Technology and Its Best Use series differs from most other writings condemning technology because it's more than a critique of technology's alienating forces, but a package of solutions. Within the allegories, cautions, and remarks about technology's allure and dangers lies a series of strategies everyday readers can employ to counter and thwart many of the soul-diminishing threats technology poses (especially to current generations).
These specifics are wound into discourses that examine routines and roles for making important changes: "What is the advantage of having a phone then? Wouldn't it be simpler to not own one? I personally think there is much to commend about not owning a smartphone, but it is a socially mandated technology. You should be able to get along well enough to have a paper planner and pad and a standalone GPS to navigate by, but this is how to skim the cream off of technology and not hurt yourself with its murkier depths." Followed by eleven specific moves to achieve this goal of reducing reliance on devices and the lure of the screen, this example pinpoints the heart of this intention ("...how to skim the cream off of technology and not hurt yourself with its murkier depths.")
Admonitions and advice to "Trample technologies underfoot as much as it takes to have a life" are thus cemented by the heart of this book - how to get there - issuing a clarion call for change that also holds the promise of spiritual and social transformation. Hayward poses no simple task or singular solution. A mindset change over values and perceptions of engagement is required of readers. This may prove challenging to some, but is of utmost importance in any drive to reconnect with the world beyond the facades of modern technological devices. This book is a powerful introduction to Hayward's thoughts on the topic and should be consulted first, before Luddite's Guide to Technology or his other writings about technological impact and its mitigation.
While adults will likely be the pursuers of this discourse on how to put technology in its proper place, ideally (and, perhaps, especially) A Pack of Cigarettes for the Mind should be given to young audiences already mired in technological attraction, debated in their classrooms, and considered by book clubs and libraries devoted to discourses that challenge the concept of proper use of technology in everyday life. To bypass that life in favor of a screenshot is to also set aside too many spiritual and social connections. A Pack of Cigarettes for the Mind returns these facets to life through a series of insights that are concrete in their action plans and wider-ranging than most technology examinations in their opportunities for reflection.
