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<v Speaker 1>This is Later with Lee Matthews the Lee Matthews Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>more what You Hear weekday afternoons on the Drive.

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<v Speaker 2>Carlos Whittaker is bringing hope to humans all over the world,

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<v Speaker 2>and he's pretty good at it. He's an author, a podcaster,

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<v Speaker 2>a global speaker, and he's written such books as How

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<v Speaker 2>to Human and The Moment Maker and Get Your Hopes Up.

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<v Speaker 2>His newest creation is called Reconnected. How seven screen free

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<v Speaker 2>weeks with monks and Amish farmers helped me recover the

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<v Speaker 2>lost art of being human. Carlos Whittaker, I just got

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<v Speaker 2>to tell you we need this now, and we've needed

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<v Speaker 2>it for a long time.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely, and I've needed it for a long time, which

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<v Speaker 3>is why I did it.

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<v Speaker 2>I have done this exercise on a small scale, and

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<v Speaker 2>I try to as often as I can. And I

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<v Speaker 2>always thought it had to do with the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>I work in news and as such, I have to

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<v Speaker 2>know what's going on in the world all the time,

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<v Speaker 2>and so when I get time off, I really do

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<v Speaker 2>try to put that damn phone down and not pick

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<v Speaker 2>it up.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, yeah, I get it. Listen, and everybody needs to

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<v Speaker 3>do it, because what everybody knows is it's just not

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<v Speaker 3>our friends in the news that are actually looking at

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<v Speaker 3>their devices all the time. The normal human being is

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<v Speaker 3>still not that you're not normal, No, no, no, it's guilty

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<v Speaker 3>is charged, but they're still on their phones. I was

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<v Speaker 3>averaging seven hours and twenty three minutes a day looking

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<v Speaker 3>at my phone. The average American averages six to seven

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<v Speaker 3>hours a day. Lee, Can I tell you that is

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<v Speaker 3>forty nine hours a week two entire cycles of the sun.

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<v Speaker 3>Were looking at our phone three months a year. It

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<v Speaker 3>adds up to and for me, if I live to

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<v Speaker 3>be eighty five years old, that means I'll end up

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<v Speaker 3>looking at my phone for ten years, ten years of

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<v Speaker 3>my life. And when I saw that notification slide across

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<v Speaker 3>my screen, that's when I just said to do something radical.

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<v Speaker 2>The notification about the time, how much time you've spent?

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, yes, you know, because we all get it on Sundays, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>the notification comes to side, you have averaged this much

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<v Speaker 3>time staring at your screen. And you know, I think

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<v Speaker 3>that if the notification said you will lose ten years

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<v Speaker 3>of your life if you continue this way, I think

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<v Speaker 3>it would change our habits. But that's not what it says.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I did find that I was happier, and I

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<v Speaker 2>did find that I slept better. I found I was

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<v Speaker 2>less consumed with what was not necessarily going on in

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<v Speaker 2>the world, but but what other people were doing, and

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<v Speaker 2>saying I was less consumed with it.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, absolutely, no, you are, and honestly, like I believe,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, if you just look at the history of humanity,

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<v Speaker 3>and again this may be a strong statement to say,

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<v Speaker 3>but I just don't think we were created with the

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<v Speaker 3>capacity to consume the amount of content we consume, to

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<v Speaker 3>know the amount of stuff that we know. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>you see the rise of mental health challenges in America.

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<v Speaker 3>You see all of these things, and it's no I

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<v Speaker 3>think accident that when you look at that data, it

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<v Speaker 3>lines up to when the smartphone was it became prevalent

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<v Speaker 3>in our society. And so I just think, obviously, not

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<v Speaker 3>everybody has to spend seven weeks like I did and

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<v Speaker 3>don't look at a screen. You don't have to move

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<v Speaker 3>into an homage.

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<v Speaker 2>Farm or mansiri.

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<v Speaker 3>I did that for you, and let me help you,

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<v Speaker 3>let me help guide you with some of the lessons

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<v Speaker 3>that I learned.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, let's talk about the initial motivation. You saw the

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<v Speaker 2>screen thing, and you said to yourself, Holy potatoes, I've

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<v Speaker 2>got to do something about this. But what got you?

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<v Speaker 2>What focused you on? I'm gonna go hook up with

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<v Speaker 2>some monks, I mean totally yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>That makes sense, you know. My I just started thinking, well,

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<v Speaker 3>I could go to like a cabin for two months

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<v Speaker 3>and I would probably lose my mind or end up

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<v Speaker 3>like Tom Hanks on whatever that movie was, talking to

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<v Speaker 3>a volleyball. So so let me, let me try to

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<v Speaker 3>find some maybe subcultures in America that maybe look at

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<v Speaker 3>phones less. And so I just thought, well, monks probably

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<v Speaker 3>just walk around and pray all day. I'll go hang

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<v Speaker 3>out with them. The homish. I think their technology freeish,

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<v Speaker 3>so let me go hang out with them. So that's

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<v Speaker 3>really how I chose them. And let me tell you

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<v Speaker 3>the monks it was seven that let's see, we prayed

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<v Speaker 3>seven times a day, but it was twenty three hours

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<v Speaker 3>a day of silence and so like that was very

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<v Speaker 3>shocking to my system. I literally was like detoxing off

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<v Speaker 3>of the drug of this phone for the first few days.

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<v Speaker 3>But then, oh my gosh, lee that fourth day, third

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<v Speaker 3>or fourth day, it legitimately felt like an elephant stepped

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<v Speaker 3>off my chest and I didn't even know that I

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<v Speaker 3>wasn't breathing, and it was so good and it was

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<v Speaker 3>so pure and so yeah, so that's how I ended

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<v Speaker 3>up with the monks. But I'll go ahead and tell

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<v Speaker 3>you monks have phone problems too, like like like like

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<v Speaker 3>they've got smartphones. I was. I remember spilling my heart

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<v Speaker 3>to Father Francis one day in his studied, like day ten,

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<v Speaker 3>and I'm like crying about something and his phone goes,

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<v Speaker 3>excuse me, young man, And I'm like, did this monk

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<v Speaker 3>just totally leave this conversation to answer his phone? So

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<v Speaker 3>and he starts laughing, Oh, Carlos, I need to read

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<v Speaker 3>your book too, and so you know, you know this

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<v Speaker 3>isn't just a problem that we have. It like everybody

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<v Speaker 3>on planet Earth that I think is feeling this pain point,

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<v Speaker 3>which is why I wrote the book.

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<v Speaker 2>It's called how seven free weeks I'm sorry, seven screen

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<v Speaker 2>free weeks with monks and Amish farmers helped me recover

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<v Speaker 2>the lost art of being humid reconnected. Carlos Whittaker is

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<v Speaker 2>the podcaster and author, and he is the one who

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<v Speaker 2>has brought it to us. Now, the part about the Amish,

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<v Speaker 2>I think people would be I don't know, pleasantly, maybe

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<v Speaker 2>not so pleasantly surprised. At least the Amish in Prior, Oklahoma,

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<v Speaker 2>where I frequent, they do have cell phones, they just

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<v Speaker 2>can't use them on certain days, in certain times of day. Yep.

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<v Speaker 3>So I learned when I got there really quickly.

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<v Speaker 2>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>Willis is the farmer I lived with, and we were

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<v Speaker 3>out there plowing and he's like, oh, you know what,

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<v Speaker 3>I need to call my brother to find out what

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<v Speaker 3>the weather's going to be. And I was like what,

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<v Speaker 3>And he pulled out is his cell phone? And now

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<v Speaker 3>the thing is he his order this order of Amish.

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<v Speaker 3>If you own a business, you can have a flip phone.

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<v Speaker 3>So it wasn't a smartphone. It was a flip phone.

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<v Speaker 3>So you know, you know, I begin to ask, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of questions to the Amos. Well, wait a second,

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<v Speaker 3>why do you why can't you use phones? Well this

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<v Speaker 3>and that? Why do you have a generator to you know,

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<v Speaker 3>to power this? And well? This is what I love

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<v Speaker 3>about the Homos, and I think that we all need

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<v Speaker 3>to ask this question ourselves. Whenever new technology is introduced,

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<v Speaker 3>they ask themselves, is this technology going to bring us

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<v Speaker 3>closer together? Or is this technology going to tear us

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<v Speaker 3>farther apart. That is the premise for every decision that

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<v Speaker 3>they make. That's why they'll never have cars, because if

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<v Speaker 3>Miss Sally's barn burns down and all her amised neighbors

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<v Speaker 3>are five hundred miles away, they're not going to be

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<v Speaker 3>able to be there for each other rebuilder barn. So though,

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<v Speaker 3>that's the decision making process that they use, and so

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<v Speaker 3>I begin to implement that in my life. Is this

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<v Speaker 3>gonna bring me closer to my community or tear me

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<v Speaker 3>farther apart?

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<v Speaker 2>That's a good that's a good chapter in this book,

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<v Speaker 2>I imagine, because that that we need to ask ourselves

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<v Speaker 2>that more and more and more constantly. Carlos Whitaker reconnected

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<v Speaker 2>how seven screen free weeks with monks and Amish farmers

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<v Speaker 2>helped me recover the lost start of being humid. Do

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<v Speaker 2>we need to just limit our exposure to these devices

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<v Speaker 2>that's not just phones, it's anything that's digital or the connections.

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<v Speaker 2>Do we need to limit that or is will it

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<v Speaker 2>spell our demise eventually?

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<v Speaker 3>So, so I think that that's a that's a very

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<v Speaker 3>important question to ask. This is what what I found out.

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<v Speaker 3>I found out that I actually did not. When I

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<v Speaker 3>got back, I didn't like put, like you know, screen

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<v Speaker 3>time alarms on my phone and set up all these rules.

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<v Speaker 3>What what I found out and you're gonna find out

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<v Speaker 3>when you read the book, is when I started to

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<v Speaker 3>fall in love with what's on the other side of

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<v Speaker 3>the phone. When I start to fall in love with

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<v Speaker 3>noticing again, wondering again, getting lost and finding my way again, noticing, savoring,

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<v Speaker 3>a solitude, all of these things that are uniquely human

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<v Speaker 3>that we have uniquely lost. When I finally tasted those

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<v Speaker 3>things again, I just picked my phone up less. My

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<v Speaker 3>phone time is gone from seven and a half hours

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<v Speaker 3>a day to three hours a day. I haven't made

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<v Speaker 3>a single rule, but I fell back in love with

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<v Speaker 3>living life, and so I just think that's the thing.

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<v Speaker 3>Once we taste it again, you're not going to want

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<v Speaker 3>to pick this thing up because it is so good

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<v Speaker 3>on the other side of the screen.

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<v Speaker 2>Reconnected how seven screen free weeks with monks and Amish

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<v Speaker 2>farmers helped me recover the lost art of being human.

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<v Speaker 2>Carlos Whittaker, this is pushing my buttons. I think it'll

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<v Speaker 2>push a lot of buttons if you read it and

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<v Speaker 2>then start implementing some of the practices. Thank you for

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<v Speaker 2>joining us, Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>Leaving, Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the

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<v Speaker 1>Lee Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive

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<v Speaker 1>Live weekday afternoons from five to seven and iHeartMedia presentation