I am overwhelmed by the information overload. I have lost focus in life and not able to take decision properly. how to overcome from this situation?
—tharun kumar, India
Dear Tharun,
Information overload is an affliction of our time. With a simple Google search I see that 90% of the information on the internet has been created since 2016. In 2019 Twitter had 474,000 tweets per minute and YouTube had 300 hours of video uploaded per minute.
This surely has only increased dramatically since then. Information comes to us not only through the internet but from our work, social, community, and family environments to name a few. Your question of how to deal with information overload is an essential question for everyone.
In order to thrive in this environment we must be proactive! It is time take charge of your life and not drift aimlessly on the various competing currents in the world. It is time to make conscious decisions about priorities in life and to be selective, seeking information that supports achieving these priorities. What is important to you right now and in your immediate future? Make a list. Once you start on this project you will uncover more and more what is truly important and what is not. It helps to have your mind calm, centered and uplifted when you consider this question. A daily meditation practice helps a lot.
A second tool to develop is will power. Yogananda said, “the greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.” All energy comes from the Divine, which flows through us as it does into every atom of creation. Our job is to relax and open to this flow more and more completely. We do this through willingness. It is saying ‘yes’ to opportunities that come our way.
When we say “yes” we open a floodgate of energy which we can direct toward solutions. This flow of energy will magnetize new inspirations and approaches and will also draw help from others to support our efforts. When we say “yes” we are actively engaged in creating our experience in cooperation with God’s will. We are no longer a passive victim of circumstances. Use this energy to act in this world and take steps toward that goals you have outlined for your life. Also use will power to resist the pull into useless bypaths that will scatter your forces and drain your enthusiasm.
I encourage you to take a look at the Ananda Course in Meditation, a 10-week course, which is available online here. You will learn techniques brought by Yogananda including a powerful and simple meditation technique of concentration. You will also learn a technique to draw cosmic energy, also called life force, into your body which strengthens your will power and vitality. The beauty of this course is you are studying, meditating, and sharing with many students from around the world in guided meditations. There are many audio and video talks on meditation and related topics. And you will have opportunities to discuss your questions and progress with the instructors. This will really help establish your practice in a way that is difficult just on your own. A course like this could really open you to fresh energy, inspiration and new directions.
Consider this time in your life as a great opportunity to institute real and permanent beneficial change. This is a time for new growth and expansion. Seize the moment!
Many blessings,
Nayaswami Mukti
