Vincent Horn (BuddhistGeeks.com); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly
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| Could this obsessively-used, time-consuming device be useful for contemplative practices? |
Bringing
awareness to how we use social media is, in
many ways, probably more difficult than bringing awareness to how we engage in our other relationships.
For one thing, we’ve
got a lot less practice with it. Social media has only started
bursting onto the scene over the last 10 years.
For another, much of
social media is designed and used to illicit unconscious
patterns of behavior. When we look at Facebook posts or Twitter feeds,
how much self-aggrandizement and opinionated frustration do we see? How much do we contribute?
In response to these
questions, I’ve started exploring ways to make the activity of
socializing online a more contemplative activity.
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| (Kenleyneufeld/flickr.com) |
For months, as I looked into this question, nothing really
happened. It wasn’t until I physically disconnected from the Internet
for 10 days, while on a meditation retreat, that I noticed something
interesting. I noticed that although my body wasn’t on the Internet, my mind
still was.
In particular, as I was practicing, thought strands would run
through my head; they seemed pretty profound to me. (Ha!) My first
impulse was to tweet them. I started humorously labeling these
thoughts “Twitter thoughts,” and I was amazed to see how frequently
they arose. ...
What I’ve come
up with is something I’m calling “#hashtag meditation.” It’s a melding
of the vipassana [insight meditation] noting technique (a basic mindfulness practice) with
posting to social media. ...
How to Practice #Hashtag Meditation
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| Facebook privacy fades (bits.blogs.nytimes.com) |
In the basic practice of vipassana noting meditation, one mentally
notes (or “labels”) experiences arising in the present moment as part of one's direct
experience. The mental note or label is used to stay engaged with
whatever’s arising. The point is to notice what’s arising, not simply to
mentally categorize it. That said, when the notes or labels are used
properly, they help one [BE HERE NOW and] maintain a clear awareness of all that’s happening... More
Encounters with Star People: Untold Stories of American Indians
This is a unique and significant UFO document. Ardy Sixkiller Clarke, a noted American researcher, offers a collection of intimate
narratives of encounters between contemporary Native Americans and "Star People." These first-person accounts reveal a worldview
that definitely accepts the reality of extraterrestrials. These stories
also reveal native cultures that almost universally regard Star People as ancestors, with historical accounts of interactions taking place without fear... More
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