Just finished watching the 1st of the Mandalorian Season 3.... And Obi-Wan Kenobi. For this who may not know these are the most recent instantiations in the Star Wars franchise. And I'm a huge Star Wars fan! But I'm also now conflicted when watching these. Something about the story and the lure of the Force call to me. And yet the violence isn't something I really enjoy anymore. It makes me anxious, and stirs emotion and conflict within me. Of course the show is designed to do that in some form, but it's more than that. The violence isn't entertaining anymore, it's now sad, and reminds me of the darkness in all of us. How easy it is to slip into that darkness in some way and forget the light. My wife and I went to the gym tonight and there were giant screen tvs all over the ceilings blaring various forms of news. Almost all of it spelling out the doom of sad news and sad life. That's what the news does of course. Whether it's right wing news...or left, it's still selling something in conflict. The conflict in itself is what's being sold to all of us. Regardless of political view. We're being sold the fear of the enemy, Fear of the other. If you don't believe it so, watch the news and watch your own mind and feel the fear. It's being fed like a hungry beast.
After the gym we picked up sushi at our favorite place. What's on the tv in the entryway? Some movie with some men in uniform fighting a huge battle with explosions, and mayhem, and carnage. In a restaurant waiting area. How odd! As you get more centered in your mind and more grounded in your thoughts, you start to see this world of violent messaging played out across many avenues. Do we think that our minds are immune from that conditioning? They aren't. Our minds are incredibly capable and powerful, and also, very malleable and susceptible. If you don't have awareness of what's coming in, you're not capable of withstanding the influence of it. I would go even so far as to say, even with awareness we are not capable of withstanding it. Not for long anyway.
As the Dalai Lama says, you have to treat your mind like you would (or should) treat your body....be careful what you consume into your mind as what you put into it determines the health of it. It's an hour later and I can still feel some residue of adrenaline or something swirling in my body from the show. Did I enjoy it? In some sense yet, it was oddly fulfilling. Was it good for me? No. Will I watch another episode. I don't want to, but in truth admit I might. Do I even know why?... no, not really. The calling of this kind of stuff goes deep into us. Or maybe just deep into Men? Like a drug into the core of us. Thoughts on how to kick the addiction? I'm not feeling proud right now in my choice to watch it tonight. But I am glad that I have awareness to my experience in watching it. I'm beginning to see the negative consequences of my choice, and starting to awaken to the harm this content has on my mind. Do you see the harm on yours?