Gmail and mindfulness? Twitter and meditation? Are these really viable bedfellows? Can technology not only enhance our ability to connect and communicate with one another, but improve the quality and consciousness of our everyday lives?
These were the questions posed at Wisdom 2.0, a unique type of conference that brought together everyone from Zen Abbot Roshi Joan Halifax to Chris Sacca, Strategic Advisor to Twitter. With folks from every corner of the social media world including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Mashable, Huffington Post, and people specifically focused on wisdom in our everyday lives like SoundsTrue, TinyBuddha, and SamovarLife, this conference created a fertile environment for meaningful discussion.
The level of engagement in mindful living practices on the part of individuals who work and build exclusively in an online environment was inspiring and stereotype breaking.
Here are a few highlights:
On having happy employees:
“My goal is to help people to work better and be happier, and as a side effect, create world peace.” – Meng Tan, Jolly Good Fellow (yes-that’s his job title), Google. Tan heads up the Google school of personal growth where employees learn skills such as how to reduce stress, sleep better, meditate, and be happy.
On email health and sanity:
“80% of individuals hold their breath when they check their email, [this is called] email apnea.” – Linda Stone, Consultant (previously at Apple & Microsoft)
On time management and effectiveness:
“Your inbox is a publicly available to-to list. Live off the to-do list. Most people are really effective for only one hour a day.” – Chris Sacca, VC Investor, Strategic Advisor, Twitter
On transparency and truth:
“Social networks are like being in a dharma accelerator, [they] enforce transparency.” – Roshi Joan Halifax
On online distraction:
“Every minute, twenty-four hours of footage is uploaded onto YouTube.” – Gopi Kallayil, Group Product Marketing Manager, Google
On kindness and effective teamwork:
“They don’t know it, but the shuttle driver who drives our job applicants from the airport is part of their interview.” – Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos
On why meditation is worth the time is takes:
“Studies show.. that mindfulness practice increases the brain’s capacity to focus on any given task.” – Phillip Goldin, Neuroscientist, Stanford
So, to sum up: Yes, Twitter can potentially increase the awareness and engagement of a Twitter-er with their own life. Email can be conquered with appropriate technology. Online communities and mobile applications can increase our human capacity for compassion, engagement and meaningful living. What a great time to be alive and using all these new tools for greater connection, knowledge and effectiveness!
Posted in: Events
