I first arrived in Japan with Yoko Ono in August 1974. I stood behind her as the plane door opened, and I followed her as she walked down the stairs into a crowd of photographers. She was on tour in Japan with a band of top musicians.
Let’s begin with an exercise. Either seated or standing, take one long, conscious breath–one deep inhale and exhale. Now, make a strong fist with both of your hands and hold it for a moment. Take a mental note as you squeeze your hands. How are you feeling? How is your breath? What feelings arise?
In today’s media-saturated world, we’re told that our bodies are not perfect. Everywhere we turn, we feel overwhelmed by the glorified ideals of male and female bodies. There is a sense that we need to live up to these deceiving expectations of beauty and this urges us to purchase more products and services to change our physical appearance or hide our supposed imperfections. It’s so easy to fall prey to this style of consumerism and targeted advertisements that it’s no wonder we get obsessed with looking young and perfect all the time.
OUR lives depend too much on technology. The theory of Moore’s Law tells us that computing power will continue to double every two years, meaning that technology will become ever more accessible and affordable to people. A result of relying too much on technology is that people tend to live on autopilot with only a dull awareness of even the most special moments in their lives. Tuning out real human connections and experiences brings feelings of isolation, depression and other physical, emotional and psychological dysfunctions, even toxic self-criticism. It’s no wonder that Internet addiction is now considered a legitimate medical disorder.