The Dangers of Wisdom 2.0

This year, I chose to not attend the Wisdom 2.0 conference, but I watched from afar, and glanced at a few of the live streams. Wisdom 2.0 always inspires me to reflect on technology and its impact on mindfulness, and vice versa. While a heavy user of tech, I am also very skeptical, and somewhat concerned about what it's doing to me, and the billions of other social media enthusiasts. And here's why . . . 

It is so easy checking my Facebook or Twitter. Feeling bored, restless, annoyed? Rather than sitting with the feeling, I find myself reaching out for the black thingy, typing in the secret code, and going straight for the four familiar icons, one after the other, the white envelope, the green bubble, the little bird that never stops tweeting, and the big 'f'. Past the transient relief, the initial feeling is still there, and the mind has grown even more agitated. That stuff is bad. Same addictive qualities as smoking, or drinking, or eating junk, with one major difference. The addiction is more subtle, and hardly recognized by the outside world. We live in a hyper connected world that demands workers to be in touch 24/7, and encourages friends to text rather that talk live.

Many times before, including on this blog, I have sworn to placing limits on my habit, and it has not worked. The reason: I have overestimated my willpower. Fast reward 2500 years, to the Buddha's teachings back then, about the need to give up "the taking of liquors and intoxicants, of that which intoxicates, causing carelessness", and also "singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments and the watching of entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome". It is easy seeing how those instructions directly apply to our tech obsession. Social media is addictive, it also dulls our ability to be mindful. And if we are really intent on the path, we would do well to abandon it altogether.

It's been interesting watching contemporary dharma teachers and monastics. Some have refused to touch Facebook and Twitter. Others have eagerly jumped in with both feet, at the risk of embarrassing themselves with sometimes unskillful public displays. Yet others have let their students manage their social media presence so they don't have to be tempted. The bottom line is we are all struggling to find our way through this revolution. As with everything, the key is to fumble with awareness, and to not underestimate the risks, nor our vulnerability to this new form of intoxication and entertainment. The role of monasteries becomes even more important, as places of ultimate refuge where the mind can be left alone, without the threat of uninterrupted chatter from our various 'networks'.

What is your relationship with social media? Are you hooked? Or are you able to use those tools without unhealthy clinging? If so, please share. 

Recognizing and Overcoming the Challenges of Mindfulness Practice

Every day, I have been reading a few pages of  The Wings of Awakening, Thanissaro Bikkhu's compiling and commentary of the Buddha's most important teachings, as declared by the Buddha himself. And I am struck by the clarity of the instructions at our disposal. From there to the question, how come not more practice from more people, only one small step that I would like to cross here. 

We know what to do. We know the reward. So, what's the problem?

Starting with myself, I need to reflect on all the moments when I am not mindful, all the missed opportunities to steady the mind and gain more wisdom, all the small forks in the road when I choose the mindless route. Why spend time surfing the Internet, when I could be practicing? Why get impatient while waiting for something, somewhere, when I could use the time as a mindful pause? Why go shopping for more clothes that I don't really need, when I could choose to sit instead and learn from the underline anxiety? Why all those moments, spent acting against my own self-interest?

I sat down this morning and reflected on all the reasons why I have not been more mindful, and why potentially others are not either. And came down with this list:

Let me start first by blaming the environment :). Silicon Valley, out of all places is not exactly conducive to the practice of mindfulness. In the world of Facebook and Google, it is easy to loose sight of the real thing. 

Second is laziness. It takes great mental energy to stay mindful. This is why right effort is part of the teachings. To not give into the temptation to escape a difficult moment, whether because of physical or mental pain, requires willpower. 

Third is the compulsion of mindless computing. The web has brought me so many wonderful gifts, including ready access to the teachings and to many Dharma friends. It has also hooked my mind into unhealthy habits that are hard to give up. 

Fourth is delusion, or the mind's tendency to fool itself into thinking erroneous thoughts. Leading me to drown into hindrances, for a bit too long before I can see them for what they really are. 

This is why I need the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha to keep me on task, 24/7. The Buddha, whose gentle wisdom welcomes me each time I open my computer:

The Dharma, to be found at Access to Insight, the awesome repository of teachings, accessible through just one click. The Sangha in its many forms: online here and also on Twitter and Facebook, but more importantly, in the flesh at Insight Meditation Center, my local center. Making the time each week to reconnect, and remember to practice as I join my friends there for a sitting, followed by a talk from our teacher, Gil Fronsdal.

Which are your greatest challenges to mindfulness practice? 

The Google Plus Wow Factor

I marvel at Google. I just do. Here's why.

Sitting, an insight arises as it did a few days ago. And right there, in the mind, vague remembrance of fragments of a sutta read long ago. Ancient wisdom with the power to stretch what I just felt and began to understand. 

Before Google, to retrieve the whole teaching, I would have had to go through indexes, tables of content, a whole book of discourses even, or I would have had to ask my teacher. 

Now, I find the sutta I am looking for, in just a few seconds. It goes like this. Simply go to Access to Insight, type enough keywords, click on 'Suttas only', and voila! One or several possibilities come up, and it does not take long before the familiar words surface within their original context. I usually copy the most relevant excerpt, and paste it into Blogger post editor. Blogging then becomes an extension of my meditation, a way of remembering the whole process of sitting, experiencing, and further reflecting based on relevant teachings. 

Awesome!

How else have you find technology helpful for your practice? 

What I Learned From Social Media Sabbatical

Nothing like going on a social media sabbatical, to put one in touch with the magnitude of one's attachment to the online world. Indeed, I learned much during this past week away with intentionally no ready access to my usual hangout places. 

First, I got to relive what it's like to have long islands of time, unbroken by online chatter, and the peace and greater presence that comes from shedding that extra layer of activity. I found out that I could live very well, better in fact without being 'hyperconnected'. I came back, determined to no longer break up my day with such interruptions. I still want to maintain all my online friendships, only assign them less time and contain them within one, two at the most small windows each day. 

Second, I realized the importance of reflecting on the underline impulse that moves me to be online so much of the time. At the root, lies the hindrance of anxiety. Some folks smoke a cigarette, others drink a glass of wine . . . I relieve my unease with tweets and updates. In the process, the opportunity for mindful exploration gets lost. A better way lies in using the urge to connect as an object of meditation. 

As 'Was Once', one of the readers of this blog commented, "On your death bed, you won't say I wish I had been online more. You will search desperately for those quiet, immensely fulfilling breaks into the nature of being. I loved every minute away from this machine on my ten day, so much so I will go again." 'Was Once' is right. On my death bed, I will also look back and take an inventory of the few loving connections I made in real life. That I know, from having sat at the bedside of the dying, and heard them each time reflect on their missed opportunities to connect with their loved ones, and also the joy from having succeeding at loving at least one person.

A Retreat From Social Media

Packing for my trip to France tomorrow, I had to decide what kind of electronics to bring? iPhone, MacBookPro, iPad, none at all? The real question had to do with how involved did I want to be with social media during this time away, and how to create the conditions that would best facilitate my intention. The iPad made the final cut. Not Blogger friendly enough that I will be tempted to blog, and yet a good platform to check on emails if necessary. I am also putting my vow out here on this blog, and also on Twitter and Facebook, that I will be taking a ten-day sabbatical from social media. No tweet, no update, no answering comments on blogs, no writing posts, no surfing the Web, no Linking in. Posts appearing on this blog will have been written prior to me leaving and be posted, courtesy of Blogger automatic scheduler. 

When is the last time you have taken a break from social media? Did you notice a difference in your ability to practice mindfulness? And if so, how?

How Technology Can Really Help Me Stay Mindful

Almost every week now, a new mindfulness app comes out, with the goal to use tech to get me to practice more. I love mindfulness, I love tech. And I also think tech people have not yet figured out how to best serve people like myself. As with any new technology, the first thing is to figure out the psychology of the user. What is it that I need as a practitioner?

I will tell you first what I don't need. I do not need another fancy timer, the one in my iPhone is good enough. I do not need another website to go to, to find other fellows to sit with. I've got Twitter and #wannasit or #OMCru with the advantage of flexibility and simplicity. I do not need a counter to keep track of how many minutes I spend meditating. This is not a competition. I do not need tech to tell me when, where, how much, and with whom to practice.

Where tech can be helpful, though, is in mitigating the potential hazards from tech use itself. What I need are built in mechanisms for all the online worlds I visit, that remind me when I have gotten lost.  I want a google app that 'knows' and can warn me when I have been surfing mindlessly for too long. I want a Facebook app that lets me know when I have been spending a bit too much time looking at my friends' pages, or visited the site too many times in one day.  I want a Twitter app that keeps my visits to a predetermined (by me) number every day . . . Of course, there is a glitch. My intention to use tech more wisely goes in the face of advertisers' goals to keep me online longer, and outside of my habitual realms. 

What are your thoughts on mindfulness and tech?

Connected, or Split Self?

Rushing through the day, I found myself eating bowl of cereal while checking emails. And got hit with the realization of the risk to one's well-being, of the mindless use of technology. Not until I paused, and sensed what else was happening, did I notice the split in consciousness that had just taken place. Sure, I had connected to the big world out there, all the way to Stanford, and MIT research labs. I had clicked on interesting folks' profiles, signed up for an upcoming event. Mind was excited . . . And yet, I had related to the world from such a narrow band of consciousness. Only thinking mind involved. 

How about the tasting of dried cherries, of crunchy almonds, of granular cereals, and sweet milk? How about the drumming of the spoon against the bowl? How about the loud sound of chewing? How about the gratitude for such good food taken in? How about the experience of sitting up straight, and bringing the cold metal to one's lips? How about the major event of swallowing? How about the breath? How about . . . ? So many sensations happening either sequentially or in unison, and adding up to a rich, multifaceted  experience. I had missed most of it. 

When multitasking on the computer, the web almost always win. There is nothing wrong with being online. It is all a matter of bringing all of oneself to the experience. Remembering, when I am working online, I am working online, and not doing anything else. I am aware of the experience of fingers clicking on the keyboard, and the cliquetis noise. I am aware of how I sit, and the sensation of the sole of my feet on the floor. I am aware of mind engaged in cyberspace. I am aware of body being breathed. 

Being connected online, and with oneself.

Is Social Volunteering the New Hip Thing?

This week, I had the pleasure to meet Heidi, a young event planner interested in volunteering for our community. Heidi is coming with a group, her group. She has convinced 30 of her single friends to join her in giving some of their time to the elderly. A few hours, one Saturday a month, working side by side, and then getting together for dinner afterwards. 

Heidi is part of a new movement in volunteering. They are young, hip professionals who want to do good and have fun at the same time. They are the same folks with an active social media presence. 

I can smell a new startup in the making, a social volunteering network that would combining social media, old-fashioned volunteering, and youthful spirit. 

My Last Encounter With Klout and Al . . .

Reading today's New York Times article on Twitter and Klout, I wasn't sure whether to laugh, or cry . . . Unbeknownst to me, and millions of other users of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, we are being scored in increasingly sophisticated ways on our influencing power. What started as a fresh social movement is now at risk of being perverted by the lure of money and the trap of power hungry egos. 

As an experiment, I signed up for Klout and was told:

I have an overall score of 47 and I am effectively using social media to influence my network across a variety of topics. However, my Klout score has fallen in the past month and I will need to keep engaging others, and continue creating engaging content to see my Klout score rise again . . . 

I have a network influence of 54 and I am engaged by influencers.

I have an amplification probability of 23 and I am more likely to have my message amplified than the average person.

I have a true reach of 1K and I have worked very hard to successfully build a large, highly engaged network.

I am an 'explorer', meaning 'You actively engage in the social web, constantly trying out new ways to interact and network. You're exploring the ecosystem and making it work for you. Your level of activity and engagement shows that you "get it", we predict you' ll be moving up.'

I influence 1130 users across the social web. 

I am influential about meditation, buddhism, law of attraction (what the heck?), alzheimer's, spirituality, yoga, psychology, huffington post, journalism, blogging.

Just reading the stuff, I could feel greed and fear taking hold. Wanting a higher score. Worried that it might go down if I don't 'engage' more and in the 'right' way. More suffering . . . 

And I decided this would be my last encounter with Klout and al. More important than chasing after influence is the joy of engaging in authentic, meaningful, mindful, rich, kind exchanges with other like-minded people.