Contemplative Computing

Have you ever been in the middle of staring at your email inbox, reading an article, or browsing Facebook, only to experience a sharp and sudden intake of breath? Chances are you were hunched over a bit. Perhaps you take the moment to straighten up and “come back to yourself” before continuing what you were doing.

One thing many people fail to notice when it comes to mindfulness at the computer is the breath. Strangely, even people who meditate or do yoga regularly – those who have a strong awareness of natural breathing cycles – still find themselves holding the breath for excessively long periods when working in front of a screen.

In my understanding, the reasons for this are simple. When faced with the sleek, responsive, and endlessly informative display of a modern operating system our awareness shoots up through the head and out the eyes. This heady, conceptual kind of awareness is called shen in Chinese Medicine. When we become lost in the head – the heavenly, idealized world of our computer programs – we correspondingly forget what’s going on in the body.

One of the most powerful “contemplative computing” habits we can cultivate is maintaining mindfulness of the breath even as we are reading and typing messages, one after the other. Be gentle with yourself. Complete precision is a nearly impossible goal in this case. The important thing is check back as often as we can in a relaxed manner to make sure the breath continues.

Why do this? Well there are internal benefits of feeling grounded and relaxed that come from cultivating a relationship with the breath. Additionally, holding the breath results in decreased oxygen flow to the brain, an important organ for writing emails! It also tends to engage the sympathetic nervous system and release stress signals into the body.

The more relaxed we can remain while using the internet, the clearer and more uplifted our communication will be, and the better we’ll feel to boot!