Offline Encounters with Dianna Cohen & Jesse Israel
Welcome to Offline Encounters in its newest form- conversations with creatives, from chefs to artists, athletes, and founders, on what it means to scroll less and LookUp more.
As you well know now, LookUp is a brand creating physical reminders to LookUp from your devices, starting with a tin box. As you may or may not yet know, The Charlie Fund is a non-profit that provides resources and programming to help educators, caretakers, and students build emotional fluency + tools to build healthier, more intentional communication. And we are so lucky and excited to be partnering them.
Together, we’re holding space for conversations with creatives, from chefs to artists, athletes, and founders, on what it means to scroll less and LookUp more. In celebration of Mental Health Month and as part of this partnership, LookUp is committed to donating 5% of sales to The Charlie Fund during May.
Our next two conversations were with Dianna Cohen, the founder behind @crownaffair, the clean haircare brand rooted in taking your time, building community, and providing thoughtful guidance, and Jesse Israel, the founder behind the mass meditation movement, @thebigquiet, known for touring with Oprah and cohosting broadcasts with Deepak Chopra.
An announcement for our NY-based LookUp crew that will be in the city on Saturday, June 15th (tomorrow!!)! Join us for an epic block party in Soho with OnFemme and Nordic Poetry (and sponsored by our favorites- Hampton Water and Rosaluna), for vintage shopping, no-phone fun, and sips.
The power of a ritual is in consistency. It’s about showing up every single day for yourself— that’s where you see reach change and transformation. It’s the days you don’t feel like doing it or don’t think you need it that the best work comes out. My daily rituals keep me ground in who I am and they make me feel whole.
When things start moving too fast, how do you slow down + reconnect with your rituals?
Our connection to our breath is one of the most important things we have. When things start moving too fast I instinctively take a few deep breaths. It immediately regulates my nervous system and brings me back to my meditation cushion I sit on in the morning. No matter where I am or how overwhelmed I feel, those breaths ground me back to my daily practice and allow me to move on to whatever is ahead with more ease and grace.
How do you connect to yourself? (offline, no screens!)
I feel most connected and inspired when I’m in nature or around art. I love going to museums to fuel me back up. Spending time alone is essential for me to reconnect with myself. I carve out time weekly for ‘me’ creative time away from screens.
An Offline Encounter with Jesse Israel
What are some practices or rituals you engage in to quiet the outside world and tune into your own voice?
I love making my phone boring. Here are the ways I do that: my iPhone homescreen is almost entirely empty — I only have 2 main apps and 1 folder of most used apps. I've got notifications turned off for everything except phone calls. I use app blockers that allow me to only check apps like Instagram at set times after work hours. I keep my phone charged in the bathroom when I sleep at night. I don't check my phone for the first 30 mins of every day.
My phone doesn't control my attention. Instead, I choose when I bring my attention to my phone. And as a result, I can turn up or turn down the noise of the world -- making it easier to hear who I am along the way.
Constant digital connectivity can make us feel less connected physically. How do you use your online community to build and facilitate connections IRL?
I've always been a big social club guy. Over the past 15 years, I've run cheeseburger clubs, bike clubs, meditation clubs, ocean dip clubs. Anything that allows people to come together IRL and connect over simple and fun activities. People are hungrier than ever to connect -- and most people just need to be given permission for that connection to occur. Clubs grant that permission and bring more joy into people’s lives -- and are a perfect way for online relationships to become in-person connections.
I like asking people: "If you could start a club around 1 hobby that you love, what would it be?”
How do you connect to yourself? (offline, no screens!)
I’m all about the art of solo-time. Solitude Deprivation (a term coined by Cal Newport) is a real thing, as it’s become almost impossible to experience distraction-free time and just be by ourselves with our thoughts. Solo-time is critical for processing emotions, thought generation and ideation, accessing innate creativity and making sense of our life’s purpose.
The most profound way that I experience this is by planning 1 solo trip a year where I’ll rent a small home or cabin in nature for a weekend or longer without my phone or laptop, and without seeing other people for the entire trip. Every time I leave a solo trip I come back into the world with more love for myself and my relationships, more excitement for my projects and work, and clearer about why I’m on this earth. It’s the single most potent modality I have in my toolkit. For people who want to give it a try, I have a starter pack document at bit.ly/solonaturetrip
Thank you to Dianna and Jesse for joining us in our Offline Encounters series, and for being a beautiful reminder to us all of the beauty that exists outside of our screens.
We challenge you to take one piece of inspiration out into the world with you this weekend- find some solo-time to connect to yourself, make a thing, head to a museum, unplug.
Love the big quiet concept & a lot of what Jesse is recommending here. Need to try the solo nature trip sans phone but def worry a biiiit about safety as a woman? Would love to hear from women who’ve done this
Love the big quiet concept & a lot of what Jesse is recommending here. Need to try the solo nature trip sans phone but def worry a biiiit about safety as a woman? Would love to hear from women who’ve done this