Switching off may be the key to finding true connection

[Ben]

This is a good article and should be of interest to all of our members:

You see us everywhere, we connected loners. Walking and texting, sitting in cafes with our laptops - utterly absorbed, talking in our phones, refreshing our messages, scanning news websites, headphones in ears, talking or listening to music or a podcast, Gmail always open, and refreshing, refreshing, refreshing the browsers to avoid that thing that's always a possibility: being by ourselves and really, truly alone.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/societ ... z1TSH2y0Sb

I've decided to post it the Wellness, diet & exercise as it touches on the broader aspect of wellbeing relating to mental health and connection with others.

Your comments are most welcome.

[daverupa]

From the article:

"Technology connects us - but it is also a constant assault on our deeper self."

The writer is diagnosing part of the problem, but avijja foments assumptions which prevent a clear formulation of it, to say nothing of formulating a solution.

namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa

[Pacific]

very interesting. If only people would take note of this kind of thing. when you sit on the train and "do nothing" some people give suspicious looks. it's strange. I remember a time not that long ago when it wasn't like this. The other day I almost ran over a young lady plugged into her iphone, staring at it while crossing a busy road. I've even seen people walking down the street reading a book AND listening to music. how disconnected can you get? Several articles have been published in the media on this topic of late because it's becoming a social concern....

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

It's all just the five aggregates, six consciousnesses etc. or whatever, regardless of whether it's classified conventionally as "offline" or "online".

Mindfulness of these phenomena in accordance with satipatthana meditation is the same either way.

A far more salient question relates to what is conducive to wholesome mindstates, and what is conducive to unwholesome mindstates?

Metta,
Retro.