“From experience he knew that some thoughts left him sad while others made him happy, and little by little he came to perceive the different spirits that were moving him.” — St. Ignatius of Loyola, Autobiography, no. 8
Yesterday, Australia introduced a proposal called “My Feed, My Way.”1 The idea is straightforward: social media companies would need to let users choose whether an algorithm decides what shows up in their feeds. People could also pick to see posts only from accounts they have chosen to follow. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put it like this: “We have an opportunity to shape technology for the better, rather than let it shape us.”
The pickle, of course, is that technology is already shaping us. Your feed doesn’t just show you the world. It watches how you react. Each time you pause on a video, click a headline, watch something again, comment in anger, look at a photo, or share something with a friend, the system learns more about what grabs your attention. Then it gives you more of that.
The algorithm doesn’t care if what grabs your attention makes you wiser or more afraid, kinder or more resentful, connected or lonely. It’s just built to keep you engaged.
Five hundred years ago, Ignatius of Loyola became curious about what moves us, but for a different reason. While he was recovering from a serious battle injury, he started to pay close attention to his own inner life. He saw that some fantasies gave him pleasure at first but later left him feeling restless and empty. Other thoughts affected him differently. They opened something inside him and left him with more peace, generosity, and a greater desire for life.2
Ignatius became fascinated by this difference. Over time, his observations turned into what we now call the discernment of spirits. This is the practice of noticing what’s happening inside us and asking where those feelings are leading. He described consolation as experiences that draw us toward more faith, hope, love, and life. Desolation, on the other hand, pulls us toward isolation, agitation, hopelessness, and feeling smaller.
It was never just about feeling good or bad. Grief can help us love more deeply. Anger can make us notice injustice. Something that feels good can make us more self-absorbed. Something hard can help us become braver. Ignatius cared about where these feelings were leading. He wanted to understand what a certain feeling or impulse was doing to someone, and who they were becoming by following it.
I wonder what Ignatius would think about our phones today. Now, we spend hours in spaces made to stir up our feelings. A headline makes us angry. A photo makes us envious. A video scares us. A post confirms what we already thought about people we don’t like. Another gives us the quick thrill of being agreed with. Before one feeling even settles, we’re already scrolling to the next. I do this too.
Lately, I’m more interested in what happens if, instead of just asking if something online is interesting or true, I ask a more personal question: What is this doing to me?
After twenty minutes of news, am I more ready to engage with the world, or just more afraid of it? After scrolling through social media, do I feel closer to others or oddly less than them? Is my anger helping me notice something important, or is it just being triggered again and again because it keeps me clicking?
These are questions an algorithm can’t answer for us. They require us to pay attention and reflect. That’s why I don’t think we should just give up on technology. Algorithms have helped me discover writers, ideas, music, news, humor, and people I’m glad to have found. Technology can make our world bigger. But anything that can shape our attention so strongly deserves our attention in return.
Australia’s proposal might give people more control over what shows up on their screens. That seems worth looking into. But no law can do the deeper work for us. We still have to learn to notice what is shaping our inner lives.
Ignatius believed that real freedom needs this kind of attention. Not every desire should be satisfied. Not every fear should be trusted. Not every anger should be fed. Not every impulse inside us should decide what we do next. The algorithm is getting very good at figuring out what moves you. You might want to know that too.
So next time you put down your phone, pause for a moment before picking up something else. Notice what’s left inside you. Pay attention to your body, your mood, and how connected you feel to the world and to others.
Then ask: What is this doing to me?
Your answer might help you decide if you want to keep giving it your attention.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What kinds of content reliably capture your attention, and what might that reveal about your fears, desires, wounds, or longings?
When you leave social media or the news, what remains in you? Do you feel more connected and capable of engaging the world, or more anxious, angry, envious, or powerless?
What deserves more of your attention than it is currently receiving?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Wisdom to Notice
Holy Mystery, Our attention is scattered across a thousand invitations. Gather us back. Beneath the noise, help us hear what is moving within us. Beneath the urgency, help us recognize what is true. Teach us the difference between the voice that opens the heart and the voice that closes it, between anger that awakens courage and anger that consumes, between sorrow that deepens love and despair that convinces us to disappear. When the world pulls at us, return us to ourselves. Return us to the faces we love, to the ground beneath our feet, to the suffering that needs our hands, to beauty we have been moving too quickly to see. May our attention become devotion. May our devotion become love. And may our love make us free. Amen.
Spiritual Practice: The Ignatian Scroll
Today, don’t change how you use technology. Instead, pay attention to its aftertaste.
Three times today, when you finish scrolling social media, reading the news, or watching videos, put your phone down and wait thirty seconds before doing anything else.
Then complete this sentence: “After spending time there, I feel…”
Don’t analyze the answer or try to make it spiritually impressive. Restless counts. Amused counts. Angry, energized, connected, jealous, informed, frightened, inspired, numb—all of it counts.
At the end of the day, look at your three answers.
Ignatius believed that freedom begins when we become conscious of what is moving us. So don’t immediately redesign your digital life. Just ask yourself: Do I want more of what this is cultivating in me?
Your feed is studying you all day long. For today, study it back.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
September 14, 7-8:30pm ET ONLINE EVENT - I’m delighted to share that Dr. Margaret Wheatley is releasing a newly updated edition of her beloved book Perseverance: A Companion for the Journey this October. Written for those committed to serving the world with compassion in difficult times, the book offers daily wisdom and practical guidance for navigating grief, anger, exhaustion, and uncertainty while remaining rooted in love, courage, and presence. Meg and I will be in conversation to explore what perseverance looks like in this moment of history and how we can sustain ourselves for the long work ahead. I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a deeply meaningful conversation. REGISTER HERE.
September 17, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTER for the first session HERE!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
November 10, 7-8:30pm ET - I’ll be joined by theologian, writer, and professor Dr. Debra Rienstra for a special ONLINE conversation on Refugia Faith. In ecology, refugia are small places where life survives amid disruption, pockets of resilience from which life can eventually regenerate and spread. Debra invites us to consider what this might mean spiritually in an age of climate instability, political turmoil, institutional decline, and profound uncertainty. What if our congregations, communities, relationships, and even our own lives could become refugia, places where courage, compassion, beauty, wisdom, and possibility are protected and cultivated for whatever comes next? I hope you’ll join us for this timely and deeply hopeful conversation. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Become more comfortable talking to others about creation care and more confident acting on solutions. Join Blessed Tomorrow + Faith Training on 9/26. Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fBrgjj76QemIfWeSP2bJRQ
My dear friend, Rev. Shawna Bowman has just launched a new podcast with musician Jennifer Knapp called “My Wise Friend Podcast.” They talk about it this way: “You might know Jennifer from her years as a touring musician and songwriter, weaving stories and songs together across the country. You might know Shawna from their work as an artist, speaker, and community leader exploring the intersection of spirituality, justice, and creativity. While our daily work looks different, we share a deep love for real talk, deep questions, and finding wisdom in unexpected places.” I am so excited about this! I hope you will check it out and support them. https://www.patreon.com/cw/mywisefriendpodcast
I’m delighted to celebrate the upcoming release of Wisdom Church: Abundant Life for Aging Congregations by my colleague, Rev. Dr. Anna Hall. Rather than seeing aging congregations as communities in decline, Anna invites us to recognize them as communities rich with wisdom, purpose, and possibility. Her book offers a hopeful vision for moving beyond anxiety about the future and embracing the unique gifts of older adults as beloved children of God. If your congregation is navigating these questions, this is a resource well worth reading. You can preorder the Kindle edition now, with delivery on August 17: https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Church-Abundant-Aging-Congregations-ebook/dp/B0HBXGYTWC
Starting again on September 7 for every Monday, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/my-feed-my-way
Ignatius of Loyola, The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola, no. 8.
Thanks for an amazing insightful article - followed by an amazing amount of sharing some great work going on. I feel detached like I haven’t found my people, and here you are sharing what like minded folk are doing, and leading me to them. I can tell you that I am grateful Substack led me to you, that “feed” is a positive one in my life. Stay off Facebook and on Substack might be my message for today 🙏. Keep up the great work.
"Your feed is studying you all day long. For today, study it back."
Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate your balance here.
We have agency IF we pay attention and learn the new literacy this technology demands. It is easy to get dopamined into distraction. As agents, we need to be the ones curating our time and attention.
You are right. We have a tool that opens us, literally to the world. It is "mind bendingly" wonderful and "mind bendingly" disorienting--all at once. Inner attention to feelings grounds us.