Meditation in Ely: What Phone-Free Spaces Reveal About Seeking
I think phone-free events are a great idea.
Anything that helps us step out of the constant movement towards the next thing feels important to me.
There are more of them appearing now. Phone-free gatherings, silent walks, reading clubs, meals where everyone puts their phone away. Eventbrite recently reported a sharp rise in these kinds of events. The Guardian has written about the same movement around the UK, including a Logging Off Club in Cambridge.
I do not think this is about pretending phones are evil or trying to live like it is 1994.
Phones are useful. They let us speak to people we love, find things out, make work possible, take photos of our kids and stay connected with the world.
But they also give the mind a near-perfect way of avoiding an unfilled moment.
The smallest gap appears.
Waiting for a train. Sitting on the sofa. A lull in conversation. Five minutes before sleep.
And the hand reaches for the phone almost before we have noticed it.
Not because we are bad or weak. Because something in us has become used to being constantly fed by the next thing.
The next message.
The next opinion.
The next little hit of interest.
The next thing that might make this moment feel more full.
What are we trying to move away from?
This is where phone-free spaces become more than a digital detox.
When the phone is gone, we are left with whatever is here.
Thought.
Restlessness.
Boredom.
Anxiety.
The body sitting in a chair.
The sound of somebody breathing nearby.
The strange simplicity of having nothing to do for a moment.
For some people, that feels like relief. For others, it can feel almost unbearable.
Why?
What is the mechanism that makes an ordinary moment feel as though it needs to be replaced?
Perhaps there is a genuine practical need. Maybe we are tired, lonely, waiting for news, avoiding a difficult conversation, or trying to get through a hard day. There is no point making a new spiritual judgement out of that.
But perhaps there is also something more subtle happening.
The mind is used to searching.
Searching for something that will make us feel more secure.
More entertained.
More nourished.
More complete.
The problem is not the phone itself. The phone just gives that movement somewhere to go.
The movement from what is to what might be
Much of my own life has been caught in that movement.
There was often an underlying feeling that this moment was not enough. Something else was needed. Another experience. More certainty. More approval. A different version of myself. A better state of mind.
Meditation, yoga, spirituality and inquiry all became part of that search at different times.
I was not only looking for truth.
I was also looking for an escape from myself.
That is not a failure of practice. It is one of the most important things practice can reveal.
We can spend years trying to improve our experience without noticing the simple movement that starts the whole process.
This moment appears.
Then thought says that something is missing from it.
Then we begin looking.
Looking through our phones. Looking through relationships. Looking through work, food, sex, substances, self-improvement, spiritual practice, future plans, old memories.
The object changes.
The movement remains the same.
And inquiry asks a very simple question.
What is actually wrong right now before the mind tells its story?
Being with ourselves
This does not mean that difficult emotions are not real. It does not mean that we should sit in silence and refuse to change anything in our lives.
Sometimes something is wrong. Sometimes a boundary needs to be made. Sometimes the right response is to pick up the phone and call somebody. Sometimes we need practical help, medical care or a conversation that cannot wait.
But there are many moments when nothing is urgently wrong and the mind is still trying to leave.
It is trying to get away from the plainness of being here.
The feeling in the stomach.
The uncertainty about what comes next.
The loneliness we did not want to feel.
The small discomfort of not being entertained.
The thought that says, “This moment needs something.”
Meditation gives us a chance to see this movement without immediately obeying it.
Not to become a person who never uses a phone.
Not to become somebody who can sit perfectly still and look spiritual.
But to become curious.
What is here if I do not reach for the next thing just yet?
Can I feel the wanting without immediately trying to satisfy it?
What is aware of the restlessness?
There may be no grand answer.
There may just be this moment, already happening.
The breath moving.
Sounds appearing.
Thought coming and going.
Awareness already present.
Why gathering matters
This is why I like the idea of phone-free events so much.
They are not only about taking something away. They create the possibility of actual contact.
With other people.
With the room.
With the awkwardness of not knowing what to say.
With the small moments that are usually filled before we have had a chance to feel them.
There is something deeply human about sitting with people without everyone being pulled into a private stream of information. Conversation can take a different pace. Silence does not have to be a problem. You might notice the person in front of you more fully.
For me, meditation and inquiry are not separate from this. They are a way of becoming more intimate with the life that is already here, rather than constantly looking for a replacement for it.
That does not mean withdrawing from the world.
It means returning to it.
The question is not whether we should have phones or not.
The question is whether we can notice the moment the mind starts searching for somewhere else to be.
That moment is not an enemy.
It is the beginning of inquiry.
If you are in or around Ely and would like to explore meditation and inquiry with other people, you are welcome at one of my gatherings. You do not need to arrive calm or switched off. You only need a willingness to see what is here.
Eventbrite, “The Rise of Phone-Free Experiences in 2026’s Analog Era”: reports 567% global growth in phone-free events and a 121% attendance increase between 2024 and 2025.
The Guardian, “The great British switch-off” (1 August 2026): describes the growth of phone-free gatherings in Britain and names a Logging Off Club group in Cambridge.
Gangaji, “You Are Enough”: informed the distinction between inquiry and the search for an improved identity.
Rupert Spira, “Feeling the Peace Not Dependent on Circumstances” (8 June 2025): informed the discussion of seeking for peace and recognising what is present before the search.
