I don’t watch the news.
Come to think of it, I don’t really watch much tv. And now I’m realizing that the only movie I’ve been to see in the past five years is Barbie (a choice almost entirely motivated by my profound love of hot pink). I can’t say I spend time on social media, either - I rarely find myself scrolling through my curated feed.
I largely have my small children to thank for this. Their presence has helped me to become infinitely more aware of how the content we consume - especially the content we passively immerse ourselves in - shapes our experience of the world. I am so deeply conscious of where I invite my children to place their attention, and I would not for a moment consider putting them down in front of the vast majority of what I used to watch. They simply don’t need to be informed by a worldview that sees our planet as a place of fear, greed, rivalry and (self-)hatred.
I don’t need to be informed by that worldview either, because I know in my heart that it isn’t true. So this raises a question I’ve been carrying with me for a long time, the very question that inspired me to become an international children’s rights lawyer: If something in our world is not good enough for children, why is it okay for adults? In other words, we all deserve the same loving consideration that we so easily reserve for children.
So it doesn’t make sense that I stop my children from watching scenes that are designed to disturb while I continue to consume them myself. And I don’t just mean the sensationalized sizzle reels we call the news; many of my longtime favorite shows like Selling Sunset and the Real Housewives are equally hell-bent on dramatic tales of destruction. These women are not encouraged to come back to a place of unity and love as we see in the shows that are sanctioned for our youngest citizens. Rather, they are asked to become caricatures of themselves as they clash and conquer for our entertainment.
It’s funny to imagine explaining these (real!) plot lines from grown-up tv programs to my kids:
“The lady in the gold necklace is upset because the other lady with the tiny dress said to all of her friends that she did something really bad at work. That’s why she got up from the table to go cry in her room with the camera people, and now she wants to take a test to show it isn’t true.”
“The lady with the big pink lips asked the tall lady to bring some magazines that say mean things about the family of the lady with the long hair, but she told her to keep it a secret. And now she’s really angry that the tall lady talked about it to other people, so she is getting her kicked out of their friend group.”
“The lady with the long hair is upset because the lady with the toy cigarette just told her that her husband doesn’t love her. And now the blond lady with the big watch is pretending like she wants to try and make it better, but she doesn’t really because she hates the lady with the long hair and she wanted this to happen.”
As much as I have enjoyed writing these summaries - and as much as I have enjoyed watching these shows - it brings my guiding question into sharp relief: Why am I inviting a group of middle-aged women over to have a drunken fight in my living room?
When I look up into the skies, I know that we all have an invitation to remediate our relationship with the media. Mercury is preparing to pass through the heart of the Sun - a “cazimi” - in the most networked sign of Gemini, and it will ask us to revisit where we put our most precious resource: attention. Mercury in Gemini expertly paves our neural pathways with the information we receive through our eyes and ears, and now is a time to be more acutely aware of the building blocks you put in your brain.
Today’s cazimi seems particularly positive, with Mercury sitting right next to congenial Venus and sharing its home turf with optimistic Jupiter. Venus in Gemini wants us to appreciate that media can be a place for sharing light-hearted stories of loving connection, and Jupiter in Gemini wants us to see that media can be an expansive place of good-natured wisdom. If you use these measures as your litmus test, what will you fill your airwaves with? And - perhaps more potently - how can you consume anything that crosses your screen in a loving, light-hearted, expansive and good-natured way?
For my part, it’s no wonder that I’ve recently started watching clips of the Care Bears with my children. And I’ve found a new favorite show for myself, too: My Lottery Dream Home. It is such a delight to watch a bright-eyed, artfully-tattooed host parade people around properties they never imagined they could afford. I find myself bathing in effervescent enthusiasm as lottery winners (literally) open the front door to their dreams. Maybe one day I’ll revisit the wonderful women who have long amused me in Los Angeles, too. Maybe I’ll give them my attention with love and laughter. Maybe I’ll be grateful for what they do, and maybe I’ll wish them the best that life has to offer.
Speaking of living our best lives, we had such a blast in this week’s Energy Lab session. We played with feelings of beauty, truth, freedom and love, and our lives truly changed for the better. We’ll come back together on Tuesday, July 9 - you are most welcome to join us live or listen later, it’s open invitation and free to all. You’ll find full details and a registration link below.
And if you’re in London, please do come along to a Summer Solstice yoga class and ritual I’m co-teaching on Friday, June 21. See you there, here and everywhere in between. 💫
Love,
Patrick
PS: For all of you reality television aficionados, here are the (real) scenes described:
Selling Sunset, Season 6, Chrishell Stause alleges that Nicole Young is on hard drugs at a group dinner
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 3, Brandi Glanville reveals that Lisa Vanderpump told her to bring magazines with stories about Kyle Richards’ husband cheating on her
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 1, Alison Dubois tells Kyle Richards that her husband will never fulfill her at the “Dinner Party from Hell” at Camille Grammer’s house
Energy Lab
Next session: Tuesday, July 9 @ 8:00 am PT / 11:00 am ET / 4:00 pm UK / 5:00 pm Europe
Come play with us in the Energy Lab! 🧪🧫 There are no limits on ways that you can lovingly work with your energy, and this means there are always new techniques to explore.🚀 So let’s come together and try out some divinely inspired creative exercises to free our energy and find more joy in life.🌟 We’ll learn, we’ll laugh, we’ll expand our energy toolkit, and we’ll get to know ourselves better.💕
Join us the second Tuesday of the month at 8:00 am PT / 11:00 am ET / 4:00 pm UK / 5:00 pm Europe for an hour of energy experiments. From embodied exercises and linguistic hacks to galactic visualizations and angelic assistance, you’re sure to have a blast.💥
Register via Zoom to attend live or receive the recording after
Summer Solstice Yoga Class & Ritual
Friday, June 21 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm @ Yoga in Hampstead
Join Mary and Patrick for an evening of total relaxation and rejuvenation for the summer solstice yin yoga and ritual class on Friday 21 June, 7:00-8:30pm at the tranquil Hampstead studio, Yoga in Hampstead, 13 Heath Street, NW3 6TP.
This class is to celebrate the arrival of the summer solstice with a Yin yoga practice and ritual class with the element of Fire. The element of Fire corresponds to the muscle group of the glutes, IT band, and the core accessed through twists and side body stretches, energetically activating Manipura chakra, the solar plexus, relating to our inner power.
We will use ritual, meditation and energy exercises to connect with the brilliant and purifying energy of the Sun on the summer solstice. The summer solstice marks the high point for the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a time when we can bring ourselves into alignment with the truth of who we are.
£25 for session