amazing, miraculous, and extraordinary healing 233
Turn off all technology (phones, computers, televisions, radios,
and video games), before and after school or work and during
meals, and tune into yourself and those in your life instead.
Spend this time with your family and go for walks, read and
discuss books, draw, tell jokes, play board games, and participate
in other family activities that you may not have enjoyed in years.
Prepare whole foods, preferably organic and local ones, with
your family members and enjoy breakfast and dinner together.
The kitchen historically has been the family ’ s hub for healing
and the central location for communicating and connecting.
Bring that back to your household.
Clean and organize your house together, taking on the biggest,
communal space as a joint family challenge, then agreeing on
basic rules of individual and family ownership of different
areas (such as laundry should be picked up off the fl oor by
any child over fi ve). Cleaning can be a workout, so make it
fun and challenge one another to pursue their strengths such
as gardening, leaf blowing, and so on.
Make a loving gesture (a hug, a kiss, or a compliment) to
express what you love about each family member every day.
Create a time, either before bed or dinner, to share some-
thing emotionally and spiritually signifi cant; this can be a
dream that has bothered you, a prayer or a poem, or sharing
the most painful or pleasant memory from your day.I ’ m sure you ’ ll fi nd this challenge as rewarding as I did and
will want to continue it (to some extent) after the week is up. To
continue this on an ongoing basis, follow these simple guidelines,
modifying them for your family as needed.
Technology will remain off before and after work or school
and during meals. If you feel that the technology fast has been
suffi cient in healing your family ’ s addiction to technology,
you may choose to allow one hour of technology per day. You
will need to determine how you will document this and how
your family members will honor the time limit.