Nowadays, we participate in many colliding realities. These ‘realities’ have insinuated themselves so effectively into our subconscious that we forget that there is a tangible flesh-and-blood world all around us.

WE rush around in our everyday lives — toting smartphones and tablets — as we multi-task with family, friends, work and leisure. Trying to do too much, we end up feeling mediocre, half-baked, misunderstood and tired, very tired.

Having accepted yet another invitation to speak, this time in Istanbul, Turkey, I found myself sitting through intense presentations on the state of the world economy from men in dark suits.

While the proceedings have been eye-opening, I’ve been unable to switch off from work back home. Without prompting, I’ve been checking my Blackberry constantly as it flickers alluringly – or is it menacingly?

In fact, I’ve been so tethered to my work that I’ve had to get up incredibly early (4am in some instances) to catch the morning rush of assignments and news from across South-East Asia.

Colours of Turkey: There are many breathtaking sights and sounds to take in all along the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

Technology has enabled us to achieve so much more than we ever thought possible. But has it also imprisoned us? Has it enslaved us to unrealistic goals as we seek to cover too many agendas? Are we spreading ourselves too thin? I mean, I know I am: but are you in danger of doing the same?

Nowadays, we participate in many alternate, and at times colliding, realities. These “realities” have insinuated themselves so effectively into our subconscious that we can forget that there is a tangible flesh-and-blood world all around us, if only we stopped, put down the smartphones and looked more closely.

Stop a minute and ask yourself: Where are you? Is the sun shining? What can you smell? Are you happy? When was the last time you told someone you loved or valued them?

Physically, we’re sitting in a particular room at a certain time and place, but because of these ubiquitous communication devices, we’re barely present. In fact, we’re almost like wraiths, spirits that are only momentarily connected to reality as we tap fiercely on the hand-held instruments of our subjugation.

It’s that element of being split – of being in a place physically but not mentally or spiritually – that is so damaging to ourselves and all those around us on all levels.

The “reality” we treasure so much recedes and we seem to disappear into alternate worlds.

Social media has made avoiding this an even greater challenge. The more people we engage with on Facebook, Twitter or BBM, the more we risk cutting ourselves up into ever slimmer, less satisfying slices. Multiple interactions become thinner and insubstantial.

So, after an exhausting day being pummelled by new ideas and insights, I retreated, cancelling my dinner plans. I knew I had to literally switch off. So as I charged my Blackberry (the symbol of my electronic enslavement), I decided to go for a walk.

My hosts have housed me at the Ciragan Palace, a grand hotel overlooking the Bosphorus. Stepping out onto the terraces, I paced up and down the length of the hotel property, nearly 300m.

On one side, I had the inky-black waters of the Bosphorus busy with sea traffic from grain carriers to oil tankers, ferries and cruise ships. Beyond that were the wooded hills of Uskudar, while the soaring span of the Bosphorus Bridge loomed above me.

Behind me there was the exquisitely refurbished baroque classicism of my hotel. Originally a 19th-century Ottoman edifice, it was incredibly elaborate.

With nothing to distract me, I stood, I listened and I watched. In that split second, I was living in the moment.

And, it’s only when I finally switched off and separated myself from all those wretched devices that the full majesty and scale of what was before me finally sank in: the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sublime Porte.

The seat of the Ottoman emperors is now a vast, sprawling and modernising city of more than 14 million people, heirs to Rome, Byzantium and the Caliphate.

Sitting down on the terrace, I ordered some hot Turkish tea. At last, I was really, whole-heartedly, in Istanbul.

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