by Cheryl Talley, Ph.D.
April 5, 2009
I began my 50 week negativity fast on Monday, November 26, 2007 as an act of desperation. The fast from all news media was an alternative plan from abstaining from all food for a year…which had been a very fleeting thought.  I remembered the benefit of fasting from food from back in my early thirties. Back then I had been in a church that advocated periodic fasting as part of a spiritual discipline. The longest period I had fasted was for 21 days. I knew the wonderful feeling of “after the fast” a clean feeling of having detoxified myself physically and emotionally. It always worked. I felt more at peace after a fast…especially when it was coupled with a commitment to substitute spiritual readings instead of food…an emphasis on feeding my mind instead of my body. And I also noticed that I was less inclined to fight with people. I was much more sensitive during a fast of the impact of negative emotions. I also smiled more, especially at babies. Smelling fresh flowers or watching a sunset all seemed more intense in their pleasure.
Well that was over twenty years ago and since then I have not been very motivated to fast.  I enjoy eating. Besides, you never notices food more than when you are not supposed to have any. So desperate for the feeling of “after the fast” I started abstaining certain kinds of foods, to see if that would make me more peaceful.. I swore off wicked whites (white flour, white sugar and white rice) and then limited meat to only the organic and free-range kind and eventually to no meat at all. But for all of the health benefits,  the “after the fast” feeling of peace eluded me. From my experience, vegetarians can be just as stressed as carnivores.
It was during this period of seeking peace within myself that Barak Obama was making his ascent to Democratic nominee for the 2008 presidential election. I hadn’t been following him too closely but it seems that during that week, a little less than a year before the election, the national media started to notice Mr. Obama. Daily I would listen to reports on the possibility that the United States of America could have an African American as president. T.V. news shows and talk radio were enchanted by this prospect and every time the topic of Mr. Obama came up some talking head would try to discuss in two minutes the interrelated issues of historic trauma, institutional racism, personal acts of bigotry or intolerance and the collective American consciousness surrounding white privilege and white supremacy without knowing what the H#@! they were talking about.
I would feel the muscles of my neck grow tight as I started chastising the talking heads. “You people are not qualified to facilitate an authentic conversation on race relations.” I would tell them. Why is the contest for the nomination between a “Black” man and a “woman”. For one he’s of mixed race and for two why isn’t she a “White” woman?” I could tell by the questions they were asking and the frequency in which I was talking to machines that it was going to be a very long campaign season.
This possibility of a President Obama was extremely important to me because I was a political junkie. Local, state national races; I followed all of it.  I had been involved in diversity consulting for several years and had helped design a workshop for students at my predominantly white university that examined issues of power and privilege. Forwarding a diversity agenda in a predominantly white institution is nothing but a lesson in politics.  I was also involved in local electoral politics; I was just ending my two-year term as chair of the local Democratic Committee in my city; the first woman and the first African American to do so.  I’d run for City Council myself and served on state and local boards. I was once labeled a “political activist” by a local elected official who thought he was insulting me.  Furthermore, I lived off of the Washington Post, especially the Opinion section in the Sunday edition. I would savor that section throughout the week and follow-up on the live chats and websites. I watched the Sunday news shows, CNN and C-span which along with POTUS (Politics of the United States for the People of the United States) accompanied me in audio versions whenever I drove anywhere via XM radio.
My weeknight habit was to watch Jim Lehr and the Nightly News Hour on Public Television. It was such a habit, I referred to him as my grandfather,–I was so used to hearing his voice after a long work day…along with “cousins” Ray and Gwen. Â And it was at the end of one of those long work days, as I sat to down to eat dinner, that Grandfather Jim introduced a moment silence as the names and photos of the soldiers killed in Iraq were flashed across the screen. I stopped eating as I noticed a young man, the same age as our son, Jon.
In a flash, I had a vision of this dead soldier’s family table. I realized that while I would pause from my dinner until this segment was over, the family of that young man had just had their lives changed forever. As I looked at my food, I lost my appetite. I was angry, very angry about the war. Every mention of George W. Bush made my stomach churn. The ignorance that surrounded conversations about race frustrated me. I was failing miserably on becoming a more peaceful person. In fact the opposite was happening, News coverage was adding stress to my life. How was I going to get through this election season? I had to do something drastic.
As I sat there looking at my dinner, I thought about fasting…but I couldn’t possibly fast for an entire year. What I really needed to fast was the news…the negative news. So began my negativity fast.
My plan was to give up all media news; television, print, web and radio until Election night 2008 which was 50 weeks away..  I started that night. I ceremoniously said goodnight and goodbye to Grandfather as he ended the broadcast. The next day, I canceled my subscription to the Washington Post. I removed POTUS, CNN and CSPAN from the memorized stations on my XM radio and replaced them with smooth jazz and spa music. I then began re-inventing my life as newsless person…and for the most part nobody noticed.
I found it wasn’t necessary to confess ignorance about newsworthy subjects because people provided all of the details once I answered their question…”Did you read about X in the paper?” or “Did you hear about X?”  I’d just nod and let them tell me. It was like a game.  I started making up the rules as I went along. For instance, it was OK to get news from the people around me. It was too difficult to explain and to cut conversations short. I could go directly to campaign websites to read or listen to speeches myself, but no commentary. I had to get the information straight from the source.  I could ask husband, William to turn off the news if we were driving somewhere together but anyone else I would simply explain that I’d rather not listen to the news right now, would they mind if I listened to my IPOD.
I put my rules in place as I was faced with the realization that I was an island in a sea of information and it felt like ocean waves, unstoppable, vast and never-ending. Evening television has commercials for the news, crimes and accidents were always a focus. Why don’t airport waiting areas show love stories? Just like with food, as I tried not to partake of media news, I began to notice it everywhere.
Yet, the hardest part of my negativity fast was dealing with my own withdrawal symptoms. I discovered that I had been addicted to news. In my day job, I teach college students about the brain. I teach an entire course on the effects of psychoactive drugs. I understand about psychological and physical dependence. I was shocked to find myself experiencing some of the same symptoms that I discuss in class. Except this wasn’t heroine or crack, this was information withdrawal. I missed it. It was hard not to linger while turning the channels. My entire after-work routine seemed altered without Grandfather in the background. Without television the evenings seemed longer and the silent house seemed eerie.
If it is possible to be addicted to gambling or shopping or loving bad men, then it must be possible to be addicted to information. Drugs alter brain cell activity but so does thought…the mind can alter the brain. That is why stress is bad for you and that is perhaps why it took me nearly six months to get used to a life with no media news and the exhilarating or anxiety-ridden feelings associated with the news.
I kept up with the Obama campaign via the website and during the summer started volunteering at the local campaign office. I started going door to door after work and eventually stopped missing Grandfather Jim. Around that time, my husband noticed. I was less critical, more patient. I noticed too that I could actually talk to Republicans. I sometimes got a McCain supporter while campaigning. I could genuinely listen to them and not talk at them. They were more than their politics, not my enemy, just committed to another view.
By the fall, I was comfortable in my new life of no media news and very limited television. The most notable benefit was a sense of spaciousness in my own mind. There was more room for my spiritual practice. My meditation took less time to get to stillness. However, I also noticed that bad news felt very bad. News of mass flooding on the other side of the world would make me teary. I felt related in some way to perfect strangers. I wanted to smile at them. I felt happier but also more vulnerable.
I ended my fast on November 4, 2008. I watched the news coverage of the historic election of Barak Obama at a local restaurant along with other supporters. Â I went home from the celebration not as elated as I thought I would be. The challenges confronting the new president seemed so enormous. I committed to pray for him.
The following evening I came home from work and turned on the news. A young boy had been arrested for stabbing someone in the head with a knife. The head x-ray showing the impaled skull was on the screen. I turned the television off and turned on my Spa music. I wasn’t quite ready to go back. I’m still not.
Addendum for Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Church- After fifty weeks of no news, I now consider news shows like chocolate cake…good only in moderation. A daily habitual intake of negative news I believe promotes a chronic brain state that is prepared for more bad news. Could this state of arousal or low level anxiety generated by a constant flow of alarming information be one reason in why Americans have such high levels of chronic diseases? Perhaps.
I learned that less news information greatly facilitated my daily practice of stillness. I believe that any quiet activity, contemplative prayer or walking in nature or Yoga can be enhanced when the mind is not full of chatter and stress-provoking images.
I believe one of the most enduring benefits of a quiet mind, though is the enhanced sensitivity for others. I experienced that at your church while in the presence of the ministry leadership team. They were awe-inspiring in their joint commitment  to make a difference. This overwhelming, irresistible feeling of compassion can move us one step toward “Loving our enemies.” Just as I spoke about the wave of collective grief I felt following the re-election of George W. Bush. Perhaps because of you and others like you, I will someday stand at my window and feel waves of peace and well-being in the world, the effect of a global consciousness spreading GOOD news.
=============
Cheryl Talley, Ph.D. is an associate professor of psychology at James Madison University and is a frequent lecturer to graduate students at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University both in Harrisonburg, VA. Dr. Talley teaches introductory courses in biopsychology and conducts research in behavioral neuroscience. Her evotional practice of mindfulness meditation has influenced her interest in mind/brain questions including the effects of trauma on the human psyche; the physiological effects of racism and the potential for living in peace- which she firmly believes resides in every human being. Citing recent scientific findings from Cognitive Neuroscience to Quantum Physics Dr. Talley weaves information from modern and ancient sources to investigate the biological basis of conflict and the spiritual sources of peace.