Will my cyborg meditate for me?

I. Rony, Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; MindfulCyborgs.com

Does she remember me? Is she meditating without me? (mindfulcyborgs.com)

  

IN THE FUTURE we will be rich then we'll have time to do the things we don't do now as wage slaves and sidelined automatons in the post-industrial age.

In the future, cyborgs -- sensitive, half-human, half-machine humanoids -- will do it for us.

Robotic lotus (dreamstime)

In the future we will say, "Siro, do a half hour of mindful breath-awareness to get into absorption, emerge, then give me a good 25 minutes of vipassana, you know 'insight contemplation,' and wrap it all up with five minutes of loving-kindness."

"Do you want a relaxing massage afterwards," Siro will ask, "or how about some soothing genmai tea for your nerves? Also, remember to call your mother. It's been awhile." "Siro, call her for me," we will add, "and make my tea extra strong.

Now 
In the present we aren't rich enough to meditate -- you know how much those zafus and zabutons cost, and who has the time?
 

In the present we're plugged in and on the move 24/7. What if someone texts us and thinks we're ignoring them when we don't text right back?
  

He remembered!

In the present we say, "Siri, am I free to sit for 15 minutes?" She answers, "Only 15 minutes, yes, you have lots of 15-minute openings on your calendar."

"No, Siri, I meant an hour -- then, well, with getting set up and cleaning up -- an-hour-and-15-minutes."

"No, you don't have any 75-minute openings, unless you..."

"OH, too bad! I was really looking forward to having a good sit like Siddhartha. Well, maybe in the future. Siri, sext my girlfriend."
 

What's that? - They say in the future this devi will meditate for us. (mindfulcyborgs.com)

(Mindful Cyborgs) Hosts Chris Dancy and Klint Finley with guest Kate Darling on "Extending Legal Rights to Social Robots") Episode 32: Emoji-ing Robots Seek to Fathom Their Origin

Free your mind, the rest will follow

Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; David G Allen, Wise Up (BBC.com, 6-2-14)

“You can’t shut it up by trying to shut it off.” [Observe it without judgment.] (Thinkstock)

 

Is it Zen, or just the art of getting things done?

The new hot trend in Silicon Valley office culture is a Buddh-ish encouragement of workplace mindfulness. Guided meditation is the new free cafeteria meals.

 

But David G Allen, author of the international bestselling productivity bible, Getting Things Done, has been teaching people how to reach higher levels of cognitive thinking for almost two decades. Like Eastern [Buddhist] mindfulness, his solution is simple but challenging to fully implement.

If that doesn’t raise any follow-up questions you can stop reading and get to it. But the truth is most people don’t know how to clear their mind.

 

Combat expat homesickness

Buddhism encourages you to focus on the breath or a single thought to calm the mad monkey screeching in your skull. Such practice has been empirically shown to strengthen emotional resilience and increase happiness.

 

But then the nagging thoughts start to creep in. You know the ones. Not big thoughts, but the mundane, seemingly benign nagging mental memos: “Did I send that email?” “I need to tell my boss something before the meeting.” “What was that idea I had this morning in the shower?” “I know I’m forgetting something.”

 

“We have to shut the mundane up,” Allen said to me in a phone interview a few months after we met on a stage in Austin, Texas, in the US at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival to discuss his well-known productivity method. Allen’s route to freeing the mind of its detritus is a more practical one than prescribed by most religions.

 

Would you work here?

“The strange paradox is you actually have to use your mind to shut your mind up,” he said. But not by meditation or mantras. “You can’t shut it up by trying to shut it off. What you have to do is [ask yourself,] ‘Why is this on my mind?’” More

A Guide to Void-Gazing Meditation

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Wayne Pitches (voices.yahoo.com)

The boundless sky or akasha includes space (bbc.co.uk)

 

Deep in meditation (wiki)

This is a variation on a Tibetan meditation known as "Sky-Gazing." It is named this because the practice involves gazing in a relaxed way at the sky as one meditates. This meditation is essentially the same and can be used indoors or wherever even if the sky is not immediately visible.

Begin by taking a seat with back erect, hands resting on lap. Alternatively, lie down comfortably, but not so comfortably that sleep comes on. Close the eyes, and take a few calming breaths as eyes settle gently behind the eyelids, gazing gently ahead. To relax even further, repeat silently the seed mantra, Emaho (ay-mah-ho). It is Tibetan for "wondrous!" and is the core-teaching of Tibetan meditation. Experience the wonder of being alive, sitting there in immersed in our original Buddha nature.

 

Gazing at Occupy LA (WQ)

Imagine staring out into a vast emptiness, a deep dark void where nothing exists. When this can be imagined easily, begin to breathe in and out as deeply as possible while remaining relaxed. The focus should be on the out-breath, imagining that with each exhalation one is breathing essence out into that void, becoming one with its spacious luminosity. No ego exists here. Feel yourself expanding beyond any corporeal confines, filling that void. More

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• DIY: How to get the most out of meditation
• Book review: Buddha Standard Time
• Meditation for Beginners
• The benefits of meditation in psychotherapy
• Meditation soothes the mind, helps us understand ourselves and creates whole being...
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Breaking Habitual Emotional Patterns (video)

Tamara Levitt, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Pema Chodron (Great Path)

Life can get draining, emotionally taxing, overwhelming -- if we are full of shenpa. (Mutts)

 

Tamara Levitt (beginwithin.ca)

It has been a great honor receiving emails about my short film "Ode to Failure" and hope more people have the opportunity to view it and share their thoughts.
 
It would be a greater honor to share another piece recorded on breaking habitual thoughts and patterns -- a very difficult feat indeed. But with patience and practice, it has often been possible to accomplish.

With the tools shared, the hope is supporting others in attaining some prajñā (wisdom), a clear seeing of what is really happening. This helps us out of our preconceived storylines.

 

• Working with shenpa in meditation and relaxing with positive groundlessness (basic goodness) from Choosing a Fresh Alternative (Talk 5: Bringing Together Practice with the Teachings, Great Path Tapes and Books, gptapes@aol.com)

Pema Chodron (Huff Post)

A very helpful way to practice getting unstuck from our shenpas (our hooks or addictive nature) is the method of the four R’s shared by the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. The four R’s are:

1. Recognizing
2. Refraining
3. Relaxing
4. Resolving.

My video is about how to integrate and work with this invaluable technique.

Know Your "Inner Hooker": Five Ways to Work With Shenpa