Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction

by Ed Cyzewski, Seth Haines (Foreword by)

Overview

Protect your time. Prioritize relationships. Restore your spirit.

Technology teaches us to crave the hum and buzz of activity and the dopamine hit of notifications. Yet social media and technology have shortened our attention spans, disrupted our connections with others, and even muddled our spirituality.

In Reconnect, contemplative author and retreat leader Ed Cyzewski investigates the crisis of attention that is leading to mental health challenges and extending to our souls. Yet the Christian contemplative tradition—deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions and practices of the church—offers a way forward, grinding the gears of this frenetic activity and thinking to an unspectacular halt. For all its benefits and promises, technology trains its users to pursue the exact opposite of contemplative prayer practices every day, claims Cyzewski.

Grounded in current research into the impact of technology, Reconnect helps Christians rewire their technology addictions and train themselves to be present and aware of God rather than tuned into the constant distractions and deceptions of this digital age. When phones go dark and social media feeds stop scrolling, can we step into a deeper stillness and presence with an always present God?
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513806358
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ed Cyzewski is a freelance writer, speaker, and author of several books. He writes at inamirrordimly.com and earned his master of divinity at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, PA.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Goal of Digital Formation
Chapter 2: How Digital Formation Changes Us
Chapter 3: How Digital Formation Hinders Spirituality
Chapter 4: Where Two or Three Are Texting in My Name
Chapter 5: The Goal of Spiritual Formation
Chapter 6: Detoxing from Distractions
Chapter 7: Get a Habit . . . Like Monks and Nuns
Chapter 8: Reconnect with the Good and Beautiful
 

Editorial Reviews

As an author and public speaker, I am constantly wondering how to engage with social media and the people around me in a healthier way. Ed Cyzewski’s book, which so wonderfully displays the kindness that he embodies every day, offers us an invitation to lean into our technological world while staying tethered to discipline and simplicity through soul work and contemplative spirituality. If you desire to engage with the world but don’t want to be constantly distracted by it, this is a beautiful book with important insights for all of us.

Kaitlin Curtice

What I love most about this book is that Ed Cyzewski is not presenting us with a litany of information and then requiring us to ditch our cell phones at the side of the road and leave our technological society behind. What he’s asking us to do is open our eyes. Open our eyes to what social media is doing to our young people. Open our eyes to what screens are doing to us. And remember—remember that true discipleship, true relationship, and true spiritual formation are found in the quiet places, the still places, the merciful places.

Shawn Smucker

Ed Cyzewski winsomely demonstrates how our uncritical use and overuse of digital media malforms us. In his beautiful description, it ‘blinds us to the brilliance of God.’ I, for one, don’t want to blind myself to God’s brilliance, to God’s life. Here, Cyzewski is the best kind of guide; he practices what he preaches. What’s more, he doesn’t leave us stranded by merely pointing out the wrong. He leads the way by practically showing us how to make things right with God, ourselves, and the world. This is all serious business—and this book is sorely needed in this moment—for the sake of our individual and collective soul!

Marlena Graves

I am among the blip-sized generation who eagerly anticipated being assigned an email address ending in .edu—the key to the magical world of Facebook in the early 2000s. Social media has been a continual source of entertainment and education for me, and it wasn’t until 2016 that I began to question the amount of time I was spending on these sites—let alone why I was spending so much time on them. Ed Cyzewski (whom, ironically, I met through Facebook) has been an invaluably wise guide as I’ve started down the path of being intentional in my engagement with social media. Reconnect is a deeply practical, beautifully written invitation to consider anew how best to cultivate a life of connection to God and neighbor.

Megan Westra

Ed Cyzewski is a deep soul, making sense of living in the modern world. In this book, he takes on the digital tsunami that has swamped our lives and the spiritual damage it creates. Thankfully, Ed guides us in the way out. He shows us how to remain rooted in what matters most, even when we must be clicking and swiping. His distinction between digital and spiritual formation alone is a game changer. Highly recommended.

Bradley Wright

"For all its criticism of technology—and there is a lot—the book is strongest as a practical resource for living faithfully in a digital world. Cyzewski guides Christians toward habits that cultivate spiritual growth and human flourishing."​

Christian Century