A Spiritual Way to Use AI While Living More Offline

I think many spiritually-minded people are feeling conflicted about AI right now.

On one hand, there’s curiosity.

You can feel that something major is happening. Friends are using AI. Businesses are using it. Students are using it. Entire industries are changing because of it.

And somewhere underneath all of that is the quiet feeling:

“I probably should learn this.”

But at the same time, many people already feel exhausted by technology.

The notifications.
The scrolling.
The endless information.
The feeling that we’re losing touch with stillness, nature, presence, and ourselves.

So AI gets emotionally lumped into the same category as social media and modern technology in general.

But I think that’s a mistake.

Because AI and social media are actually very different things.

Social media is mostly designed to keep your attention for as long as possible.

AI, when used intentionally, can actually help give your attention back.

That’s the part I think people are missing.

For me personally, AI has not meant sitting at a computer more.

It’s meant the opposite.

More and more, I find myself talking to ChatGPT while walking on the beach, sitting outside, driving somewhere, or moving through daily life. Sometimes I’ll go for a walk specifically to think through a project with AI instead of sitting at a desk.

Recently, for example, I worked through a large sponsorship blueprint almost entirely while walking and talking.

And honestly, it didn’t feel like “technology” in the way we normally think about it.

It felt more like having a very intelligent brainstorming partner walking beside me.

Focused. Calm. Helpful.

No tabs open.
No endless Googling.
No switching between fifteen windows.

Just one clear conversation.

And that’s where I think AI becomes interesting from a spiritual perspective.

Not because it replaces humanity.

But because it can reduce friction.

It can simplify life.

It can save enormous amounts of time and mental energy.

For example, I recently started uploading my bank statements and credit card statements into Claude each month.

Previously, tracking spending, preparing accounting information, finding mistakes, and handling taxes felt like a massive admin task that dragged on endlessly.

Now it takes a fraction of the time.

The AI categorises everything clearly, picks up patterns immediately, asks relevant questions if needed, and helps prepare things far faster than the old back-and-forth process ever did.

That’s hours of mental load removed every month.

And I think this is where the real question begins.

Not:

“How do we become more productive with AI?”

But:

“What do we do with the time and energy AI gives back to us?”

Because if AI simply helps us cram even more work, stimulation, pressure, and busyness into our lives, then we haven’t really solved anything.

We’ve just accelerated the noise.

But if we consciously use that saved time to rest more, be outside, connect in real life with others, exercise, and have fun... then something very different becomes possible.

And I think that’s the healthier relationship to build with this technology.

Not obsession. Not rejection. But intentional use.

So perhaps the "spiritual" way to use AI looks something like this:

Instead of spending an hour searching through websites and videos trying to understand something, ask AI directly and then close your phone.

Instead of sitting behind a desk all day, try talking to AI while walking outside.

Instead of carrying admin stress in your head for weeks, let AI help organise it in minutes.

Instead of spending hours writing difficult emails, reports, or summaries, get help with the first draft and use your energy where it matters most.

Instead of consuming endless content, use AI to clarify what you actually need to know.

That’s a very different relationship with technology.

And very importantly, AI should never replace:

intuition

discernment

stillness

human connection

time in nature

real conversations

inner knowing

We still need all of those things.

Maybe now more than ever.

But AI can help create more room for them if we use it wisely.

I also think people are overestimating how difficult this is to learn.

Most modern AI tools are becoming incredibly intuitive already. You don’t need to “speak tech.” You simply speak naturally, almost like talking to another person.

And once people experience that, the fear often softens.

Because suddenly AI stops feeling like this cold futuristic machine.

It starts feeling more like support.

And perhaps that’s the real opportunity here.

Not becoming more machine-like ourselves.

But allowing machines to handle more of the noise so we can spend more time being human.