Changing the Information You Consume Changes Your Reality

Back when my life wasn't going well and living felt painful, there was something I used to do.

I did it somewhat mindlessly at the time, but looking back, I think it was one of the major factors behind why things weren't working out.

That thing was “internet surfing.”

Moreover, what I was looking at were extreme and highly stimulating sites, like 5ch summary sites, Yahoo News comment sections, and entertainment news.

I barely look at those anymore, but back then I was practically addicted; I would check them whenever I had a spare moment, and many of my days off would just end after I spent them mindlessly surfing the web.

Very rarely, there would be some useful information, but that accounted for less than 1% of the total.

Even when I told myself, “I’m going to spend today without surfing the web,” I couldn't resist in the end, and before I knew it, I had opened a 5ch summary site.

It was truly junk food for the mind.

Reality is a reflection of your inner state

Through all the spiritual learning and practice I’ve done so far, the one thing I feel strongly is “reality is a reflection of your inner state.”

Therefore, if you tidy up your inner state, your reality will naturally fall into place. Conversely, if your reality is painful, you could say there is a problem with your inner state.

Consuming information that could be called junk food through internet surfing is the same as actively polluting your own inner state, so of course your reality is going to get messed up.

It’s the same with food; if you actively eat proper, nutritious food, your physical condition will improve, and if you only eat junk food, your condition will worsen.

If you actively consume high-quality information, your life will improve, and if you only consume junk information, your life will take a turn for the worse.

There is a trend called dopamine detox, where people actively try to stay off their smartphones, and this should be highly effective from a spiritual perspective as well.

If you are spending your days addicted to internet surfing, I believe that simply reducing that time will turn your life around.

This isn't about stopping internet surfing to read difficult books; it just means that watching a movie or playing a game is far better than surfing the web.

Unnecessary beliefs increase

When you feel that life is painful, it is often the case that unnecessary beliefs are getting in the way of your life.

If you have the belief that “earning money is hard,” you will create a “reality where you feel that earning money is hard.” (e.g., struggling unnecessarily at work, or not seeing your income rise despite your efforts.)

If you hold the belief that "I am not attractive to others," you will inevitably create a "reality where you are not attractive to others." (e.g., wanting a partner but not being able to find one, always getting rejected, suffering unnecessarily in love, etc.)

And whether it's 5ch summaries, Twitter, or anything else, there are just too many posts that add unnecessary beliefs.

And while reading such things,before you know it, you have accumulated unnecessary beliefs within yourself. This is what ruins your life.

By frequently seeing the phrase "but only if you're good-looking," you end up becoming obsessed with looks.

By watching celebrities get bashed for minor mistakes, you end up becoming too concerned with what others think.

There is no way your life can go well with this.

This is similar even if the information is positive.

For example, if you see news about celebrities succeeding or making a lot of money, you will unconsciously compare yourself to them to some extent.

This is even more true if it's someone like an influencer, who is somewhere between an ordinary person and a celebrity.

By continuing to watch such things,you end up demoting yourself to a supporting role in your own life.

In this modern age where information is available in abundance, your life will change significantly based on the information you take in.

If you want to make your life more fulfilling, you need to consciously distance yourself from this kind of information.

If you feel that you are spending a lot of time surfing the internet, try to make an effort to reduce it, even if just a little at a time.

You can replace the time you save by reducing it with other forms of entertainment like movies or manga, or you can read books to take in high-quality information.

Just by doing that, your reality will naturally start to improve.

Thank you for reading until the end.

I hope this article serves as an opportunity for you to rethink how you interact with the internet.

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