Giving up Television to Save your Soul

[Brigid]

When do you guys have time to watch TV?  

[odhiambo]

I am restricting my T.V watching to the news channels at the moment, especially with so much going on all over the world 

[Patricia]

When do you guys have time to watch TV?   Huh?

Ha ha ha.

[Shin]

Step by step odhiambo, step by step!

Don't be nervous! You can survive without it! Do your best!

I keep rereading Martin's post, and getting more out of it.

 

[Shin]

Next follows two letters to Fr. Poncelet, from homeschooling mothers, on the subject of giving up TV.

"I remember the day well when we stopped TV in our home. I had become concerned there was more evil than good on TV. So, on December 6, 1994, Feast of St. Nicholas, a patron Saint of children, we unplugged the TV with the intention of leaving it that way. Later we moved it from our living room and hid it in a corner of another room. Eventually, we removed it from our home.

My children were at first kind of in shock.  I explained to them that there was just too much evil on it, and that Satan is working through television very much. All faces looked downwards at the idea of not seeing TV again. TV had been an addiction, so stopping watching it was like going through withdrawal.

No one knew what to do about it at first. But slowly life became normal for everyone (not life revolving around TV). We now have time for praying (always family Rosary for protection and help), reading (evidence shows that the brain takes in and retains more from a book than from an educational TV program), dreaming, imagining, pretending, playing, and working. It's like a heavy load has been lifted, or a ball-and-chain removed. We realize more and more what a waste of time TV had been. We learned that there is much more to life. All the evils of TV are now not entering and polluting our minds. We would not let evil in our front door, so why have a TV in our home?

I really do see the blessings that have come from living without TV. God knows what we gave up! And I believe He has blessed us many times over. We were even blessed with the best gift of all; a little boy was born on, of all days, December 6, 1996 - two years to the day after we gave up television."

- Sue, in Wisconsin

"I am a homeschool mom of two: a grade-schooler and a teen-ager, and have been educating for five years. A few years ago we moved from another state, and in the process, sold our television. We lived with my parents for a year and a half before finding our own home. During the time with my parents, we continued watching TV. The children would spend hours viewing when ever they weren't in school, and I would stay up late at night watching whatever came on.

Not only did we waste a good deal of precious, God-given time, but much of what we ended up seeing was inappropriate. Once we moved to our own home, we cut television out of our daily lives. I had many offers for free TVs, but I knew that our (especially, my) waste of time must end. Thus, our home became TV-less.

The benefits in the past two years have been numerous and enlightening. The children have learned to develop other interests, including reading, music, homemaking skills, crafts, and outdoor activities. . .

Having no television has also been very beneficial for school. Because they have not been spending hours in a sedentary, mind-draining activity, they sleep better and have a more alert mind the next day. The children's concentration on studies is greater.

Peace has pervaded our home. We are no longer held captive by programs, media, and the one-eyed monster. It is not the center of our lives. Our minds are clear, our thinking uninhibited. We think for ourselves - not what the networks want us to believe. . .

The only television I miss is an occasional evening news and weather program. Some days, after a lot of hard, physical work, it would be nice to sit down to a program. The feeling usually passes after a few minutes, though. I also feel a bit left out when something major is going on, and it is not covered well on the radio. Despite these few human desires, our decision to keep television out of our home has been a blessing."

- A homeschool mother from Minnesota

[Shin]

The bolding is what I added for emphasis, what struck me.

"But I knew that our (especially, my) waste of time must end."

[odhiambo]

Step by step odhiambo, step by step!

Don't be nervous! You can survive without it! Do your best!

I keep rereading Martin's post, and getting more out of it.

 

You are right Shin.
Tiny toddler steps by tiny toddler steps it will be.
Will get there though.
All things are possible through prayer.

[odhiambo]

Next follows two letters to Fr. Poncelet, from homeschooling mothers, on the subject of giving up TV.

"I remember the day well when we stopped TV in our home. I had become concerned there was more evil than good on TV. So, on December 6, 1994, Feast of St. Nicholas, a patron Saint of children, we unplugged the TV with the intention of leaving it that way. Later we moved it from our living room and hid it in a corner of another room. Eventually, we removed it from our home.

My children were at first kind of in shock.  I explained to them that there was just too much evil on it, and that Satan is working through television very much. All faces looked downwards at the idea of not seeing TV again. TV had been an addiction, so stopping watching it was like going through withdrawal.

No one knew what to do about it at first. But slowly life became normal for everyone (not life revolving around TV). We now have time for praying (always family Rosary for protection and help), reading (evidence shows that the brain takes in and retains more from a book than from an educational TV program), dreaming, imagining, pretending, playing, and working. It's like a heavy load has been lifted, or a ball-and-chain removed. We realize more and more what a waste of time TV had been. We learned that there is much more to life. All the evils of TV are now not entering and polluting our minds. We would not let evil in our front door, so why have a TV in our home?

I really do see the blessings that have come from living without TV. God knows what we gave up! And I believe He has blessed us many times over. We were even blessed with the best gift of all; a little boy was born on, of all days, December 6, 1996 - two years to the day after we gave up television."

- Sue, in Wisconsin

"I am a homeschool mom of two: a grade-schooler and a teen-ager, and have been educating for five years. A few years ago we moved from another state, and in the process, sold our television. We lived with my parents for a year and a half before finding our own home. During the time with my parents, we continued watching TV. The children would spend hours viewing when ever they weren't in school, and I would stay up late at night watching whatever came on.

Not only did we waste a good deal of precious, God-given time, but much of what we ended up seeing was inappropriate. Once we moved to our own home, we cut television out of our daily lives. I had many offers for free TVs, but I knew that our (especially, my) waste of time must end. Thus, our home became TV-less.

The benefits in the past two years have been numerous and enlightening. The children have learned to develop other interests, including reading, music, homemaking skills, crafts, and outdoor activities. . .

Having no television has also been very beneficial for school. Because they have not been spending hours in a sedentary, mind-draining activity, they sleep better and have a more alert mind the next day. The children's concentration on studies is greater.

Peace has pervaded our home. We are no longer held captive by programs, media, and the one-eyed monster. It is not the center of our lives. Our minds are clear, our thinking uninhibited. We think for ourselves - not what the networks want us to believe. . .

The only television I miss is an occasional evening news and weather program. Some days, after a lot of hard, physical work, it would be nice to sit down to a program. The feeling usually passes after a few minutes, though. I also feel a bit left out when something major is going on, and it is not covered well on the radio. Despite these few human desires, our decision to keep television out of our home has been a blessing."

- A homeschool mother from Minnesota

Very impressing!

[Shin]

All things are possible through prayer.

Step by step!

I remember my first Confession. . . it felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted off my soul. And so too, my body.. I felt like the air. . .  

And I have found getting rid of television is similar to this. Day by day, without television, life improves. The temptation will come to indulge.. but the farther it goes into the past, the less tempting it is, and the more it acquires a quality which makes it unpleasant to recall and go near.. I recognize more the passions and emotions it incited, were ones that should not have been allowed at all.

The mind thinks more clearly.. the soul prays more easily..

People who have troubles with distractions during prayer, troublesome thoughts, with spiritual attacks, dark and troublesome.. giving up television these people will find great relief. And perhaps, too, in giving it up, find some of the answer as to why their previous prayers to have the distractions removed were not more largely fulfilled.

It is clear from what I have seen, the fallen angels lose a great deal of power over the soul that gives up television, and this is shown in the spiritual life, and all of life in many ways.

[susanna]

   For me it's called retirement!   

[Shin]

That too!

[Shin]

Before going further.  . .

A quote for the hour.

'Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.'

St. John of Damascus

[martin]

Before going further.  . .

A quote for the hour.

'Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.'

St. John of Damascus

That is so profound Shin.
Like..  show me your friends and I will know the kind of person you are.

[The Reginator]

I saw this thread last night and just received this story in an email a few minutes ago:


A few years after  I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small  Texas town.  From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our  family.  The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.  

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me  to obey.  But the stranger...he was our storyteller.  He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.  

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future!  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.  

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go  to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever  prayed for the stranger to leave.)  

Dad  ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the  stranger never felt obligated to honor them.  Profanity,  for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our  friends or any visitors.  Our longtime visitor, however,  got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.  My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol...  But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular Basis.  He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes  distinguished.  

He talked freely (much too freely!) about men and women.  His comments were sometimes blatant,  sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.  

I now know that my early concepts about  relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.  

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.  He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you  would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for  someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his  pictures.

His name?.... .. .    



We just  call him 'TV.'

(Note: This  should be required reading for every household!)

He has a wife  now....We call her 'Computer.'

[mod edit: minor edit for formatting/word replacement for modesty]

[Shin]

Good to see you Reginator!

I like the image you have chosen a good deal! That's one of the old holy cards!

I remember reading what you've just posted, in the past too! It certainly arrived in a timely fashion didn't it?

Reminding us by contrast and comparison.. of the moral issues involved..

[Shin]

If I recall correctly, Fr. Poncelet once made the comparison of a painting. . .

The images on the television flash by too quickly for the mind to fully process before they have had their affect on the soul. . . this is of the gravest importance in dealing with it on the moral level. . .

But take those images. . . and stop them, then take one of them, and make it a painting. . . and hang it on your wall, to be there, every day.

Would you feel comfortable, doing so, one might ask? In general, no, if your conscience has not been too dulled.

So then.. how can you let it appear, even briefly, in the first place?

Would you wish it on your wall, if Our Lord were to come visit your home?

If the Lord were to come visit. . .

And.. is not the home to be a place suitable for Our Lord always to dwell and be welcome within?

And your guardian angel. . . And those of your family.. ?

What would Heaven think, looking down on you, watching you, as you watch. . . and react, to the images, that you are the cause of, you are responsible for, being displayed in your home? Entering into your memories? Having a place in Creation.. and the history of your life. . .

The record of which, will always be there. . .