Reality Check: Disconnect to Reconnect

We have been placed on this earth to worship Allah, please Him, and come to know and love Him and His attributes. The temporary delights of this world may distract the believer from realizing their purpose. The natural world Allah created for us manifests His attributes, and are a means to know Him. The sun, the moon, the trees, the mountains, the oceans, the embrace of a loved one…all point to Him.

In an age where man’s knowledge of the world is at its peak, has such knowledge led us to come to know and love Allah more?

The sad reality is that it hasn’t.

Our knowledge and advancements have created the means that blind us from Him and His creation. Most infants are raised in front of iPads and screens, only to grow up staring down at the smartphone for much of their adolescence and teenage years, only to grow up spending much of the day in front of a computer screen. All the while, their life passing them by without coming to love the Creator.

In the Digital Age, believers must be ever more aware of the effects digital devices have on us mentally, physically, and spiritually. We cannot escape the use of such means and devices, but our understanding of their true benefits and harms will help us use them appropriately. SageTree seeks to educate individuals and communities on how to live in the Digital Age and reconnect with Allah’s beautiful creation. Contact us to request a workshop on the following topics:

Digital Communications: The Time to Make Better Choices

Connect to the Divine through His Beautiful Creation

Independent Living: Nature and Life Skills

resources

 

Book Release: Digital deceptions

Smart phones, social media, chatting apps, internet, video games...If it is new, easier, and faster, it must be better, right? Have we stopped to ask what are the benefits and harms of these devices and mediums of communication? Are the benefits they bring real or perceived benefits? What are the real harms that come with these devices? SageTree’s upcoming work Digital Deceptions uncovers the truth behind these devices.

 

Readings

 

  • The Shallows, Nicholas Carr

    The Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television

    The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff

    A is for Ox, Barry Sanders

    Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman

    Dopamine Nation, Dr Anna Lembke

    Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now , Jaron Lanier

  • Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport

    The Four Hour Work Week, Timothy Ferris

    Getting Things Done, David Allen

 

 Read.

Featured
Reconnect
The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen
Reconnect

Just remember: if you don’t have attention, you don’t have time. As tempting as it is to “just check e-mail for one minute,” I didn’t do it. I know from experience that any problem found in the inbox will linger on the brain for hours or days after you shut down the computer, rendering “free time” useless with preoccupation.

Reconnect

 Listen.

Featured
Surveillance Capitalism

Harvard Professor Shoshana Zuboff author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism explains what Surveillance Capitalism is and why we should all be concerned about our data and what companies and entities are doing with that data.

Quit Social Media

Dr. Cal Newport, professor at Georgetown Univeristy and computer scientist book author of five books including Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email shares his insights as the why he has never had a social media account, and why we should be aware of the harms of these platforms.

Digital Dependence

Modern digital media technologies have revolutionized the way we live, learn, work and play. Whether it be through smartphones, apps, social media, video games, or the internet, technology has delivered unprecedented convenience and abundance to our fingertips. But is there a dark side to this convenience? In this session, we will explore some potential harms of unmitigated access to digital technologies to ourselves and our children as well as strategies to regain our balance.