A few weeks ago, I went on a hot air balloon ride with a group of friends. It was an amazing experience to float quietly above the earth and watch the sunset. We could see life busily going on below us. Yet, we were far removed from the frantic busyness and we had a chance to reflect, relax and get quiet.

Our hot air balloon pilot, Pete, told us we would have to get comfortable with the sensation of no sensation. It struck me that down there, on land, in life, we are constantly being bombarded with all kinds of sensations, messages, stuff tugging at our attention. There’s so much noise going on we can’t seem to focus, much less rest or feel the luxury of no sensation.

 We’re being bombarded with things like:

• Texts
• Emails
• Facebook notifications
• Tweets
• Lower thirds ads during our favorite show (you know, the tiny star who shows up at the bottom corner of your tv reminding you to go watch their new show)
• Ads everywhere during live sporting events

So many people and things are trying to get our attention, during every waking hour. All that constant bombarding of messages to get our attention is wearing us out! We think we’re able to multitask. We think these technologies are helping us be more “efficient” but that’s not the case. It’s turning us into distracted, frazzled, disconnected people.

Taking the balloon ride felt like a relief. I went to a place where the only sensation was quietly floating and watching the sunset. And deeply connecting with friends.

Most of us think that we simply can’t turn the world off. That we have no choice. This is the way of the world,  but we’d like to challenge you on that one.

Here are 3 ways to turn off (or at least reduce) the noise in your life: 

1. Turn off your TV – We’ve actually called our cable company and had them turn off our cable for months at a time. so when we’ve done this before, people can’t believe it. “Life without programming?” That’s exactly the point. Life without all the mostly negative programming.

You’ll be amazing at the amount of time you recover in your life. Maybe you don’t want to disconnect your cable. Well, just try having 2 designated times to watch TV per week. And enjoy getting some time back to rest, relax and rejuvenate. You may not know what to do with this new time at first. Grab a book, paint a picture, catch up on some work that’s been hanging over your head, do something with the kids, visit your grandmother.

1. Have designated times to check and respond to emails – This is a huge time-suck. Especially when people are constantly interrupting other activities to check their email via smartphone. You’ve know them (maybe you even are this person?) They wake up and check their email, walk and check, eat and check.

If this is a young adult or teenager, just substitute texting for checking emails. But it’s the same principle, you can’t focus on what you’re doing (or relax) if you’re always being distracted by these technologies.

And it’s dangerous. Texting while walking can be embarrassing when you run into something because you’re not focused on where you’re going. It can be deadly to check your smartphone for email while driving. And it’s rude. No matter how hard you try to disguise it, people can tell if you’re not fully engaged. 

1. Get outdoors and leave your smartphone behind – yes, we have more connections, acquaintances, Facebook friends and followers, but are we really connecting with them in meaningful ways? Our relationships feel more abundant yet more shallow.

Make sure you have a small, good group of friends IRL (in real life). Make sure you’re connecting with them in real life, too. Get out there and do something with them. Go for a walk. Play volleyball. Play board games. Go sing karaoke and be silly. Watch the sunset.