The Dream/Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters is an etching by Francisco Goya created in 1799. It shows the artist with his head on his arms, sprawled across a desk asleep. Above him are bats and owls, and to his side is a cat staring at him. The side of the desk has the words: ‘The Dream/Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.’ Aldous Huxley comments on this are as follows: “It is a caption that admits of more than one interpretation. When reason sleeps, the absurd and loathsome creatures of superstition wake and are active, goading their victim to an ignoble frenzy. But this is not all. Reason may also dream without sleeping, may intoxicate itself, as it did during the French Revolution, with the daydreams of inevitable progress, of liberty, equality, and fraternity imposed by violence, of human self-sufficiency and the ending of sorrow…by political rearrangements and a better technology.” – Aldous Huxley, “Variations on Goya,” On Art and Artists, Morris Philipson, ed., (London: Chatto and Windus, 1960), pp. 218-19. I have a different interpretation of it, which I hope will become apparent below.

Two things lead to this article. The first was a blog entry Midnight Freemason Founder Todd E. Creason put up recently. Read it HERE. The second was that I caught myself acting unmasonically towards Todd E. Creason today. I disagreed with a social media post and initially replied emotionally. Luckily, I made use of a lesson that we are taught in Freemasonry, to subdue our passions. I was able to edit my reply to use facts and reason, instead of emotion. Unfortunately, I see many brothers on social media forgetting this lesson. Many of us are not able to subdue our passions. It made me start to think why this might be. All of it leads back to some of the points that Todd made in his article. However, Todd’s main focus is the negativity of journalism. I think it needs to be expanded to all media, but especially electronic media. The negativity Todd touched on is only part of the issues I have with it. Yes, we are going to witness good acts, and there are still good people in the world performing these acts. Not everyone is crazy, but I think that it’s easier now for someone to go from normal to insane and then back to normal. We are all our own personal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think that many of us are abusing or addicted to electronic media. I think this is to blame for the madness we see all around us. Todd does make the same conclusion that I reach. We need to disengage from electronic media in order to see the beauty in the world. Luckily, I think if we use the Masonic lessons that we’ve been taught, we might be able to do just that.

Here are my reasons for thinking that we need to be weary of electronic media.

1. It does something to the brain.

The impact of electronic media (Smart Phone Apps, Videogames, Internet, Social Media, Television, and Movies) on the human brain, our subconscious, and our society has been studied with varying results. There have been studies done about television viewing, advertising and how watching it creates different stimuli and psychological responses. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2746936?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents)

There have been studies about how the use of cellphones before bed impacts your brain and sleep patterns. (https://www.medicaldaily.com/using-cellphone-bed-does-your-brain-health-and-sleep-pattern-405599) There have been studies regarding how cell phone use stimulates glucose metabolism in our brains and how the impact of that is unknown. (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cell-phone-use-stimulates-brain-activity-201102231548)

Studies show Social Networking Site addiction alters brain anatomy. (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep45064) Studies show that Social Networks shape how the brain responds to social exclusion. (https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2017/the-link-between-brain-activity-and-social-networks/) Those are just a few examples, I could easily fill the article with links. Most of us have developed an unhealthy codependent relationship with electronic media, and some of us have become addicted to it. Think about how often you check your phone, or watch a news channel even though they keep repeating the same information over and over, or how you might rush home to play a videogame. My point is, we’re engaging in an activity that we don’t fully understand the repercussions of when it comes to our brain, and I think that’s dangerous.

2. We’re substituting electronic interaction for social interaction.

Every hour we spend on electronic media is an hour we could be playing with our family, creating something, learning something new by reading, or engaging in face to face conversation with our family or friends. Instead we communicate via text, even if our family member is in the next room or same house or same table. How many of you have been out to a restaurant to see a family all on their devices instead of speaking to one another? We’re not even taking the time to enjoy things with our own eyes. How many of you have been to a concert or another public event and didn’t see anyone holding up their phones to record it? We scroll through Facebook, Reddit and Twitter mindlessly. We waste hours on television, the internet, social media, and video games. This is time we will never get back. Worst yet, we are allowing our children to mimic this behavior. How many of your children actually play outside? We’re substituting the beauty of the world for the glow of a screen. I’m guilty, you’re guilty, and we all are guilty of this behavior at one point or another.

3. Electronic media programs us with negativity, creates unrealistic expectations, creates feelings of inadequacy, and poisons our belief systems.

Watch the News, Dramas, and Comedies on television and there’s nothing redeeming about them. Most every program also promotes or sensationalizes violence. On top of this, try finding a video game that isn’t violent. Even back in the day, Space Invaders allowed you to kill aliens, Pac Man ate ghosts, etc. Almost every video game, television program and movie has violence.