Beyond Thought . . . Beyond IT?

My own life has paralleled the rise of IT: I was running training on PCs before most folks had heard of them and using the internet before there was a www. And I try to keep abreast of developments, making use of cloud storage for collaboration and so on. But I do wonder where it's all taking us . . . and whether we might be depending on it a mite too much?

Thus I've written an extended article, expanding on what we mean by 'Beyond Thought' in daily life, on how IT may merely be preparing us for something even more powerful and transformative: Connected Living: Beyond the Cloud

It's based on an article I wrote and put on-line at least 15 years ago:
COMMUNICATION WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY

Responding to the post-truth era

We start 2017, it seems, in a new era. One where certain individuals and groups seem happy to invent their own truth and promote it as the one Reality. This sort of thing has always gone on of course but, through social media, a piece of info, by trending, can become de facto truth . . . If we let it.

We each have a choice now more than ever. We can allow fabricated information to flourish or even support misleading posts . . . or we can counter such creeping untruths by, for example, sharing only news or perspectives that have integrity.

Of course, what constitutes dependable or worthy information is debatable. How can we best ensure we respond to a suspect post in the 'right' way?

By giving ourselves chance to reflect and recognising that this is up to us! We can no longer rely on teachers, politicians or any expert to know what our needs are. Even if they happen to be honest they are still unlikely to be aware of our particular circumstances enough to offer the best advice. Deciding what is right for us really is our own, personal responsibility. Surely, at some level, we know what we need to know?

Well, yes, we probably do: but accessing it, as and when we most need to, is trickier. Somehow we need to be able to sidestep those bits of us that are impatient for instant results . . . and ignore (or rise above) those nagging voices in the head that come from inertia or fear.

What tools and techniques are available to help?

Thankfully, these days there are many practices (and related teachers or mentors) that are enable connection into the deeper reality of a situation. I usually turn to Reiki (go here for a free, short explanatory webinar).

For example I'm writing this on a train journey home from a short weekend break. The carriage is fairly empty but at the other end to us are a group of young woman. I find myself getting irritated by their loud voices and raucous laughter. I tell myself that they're just being themselves and enjoying themselves - something I'm often encouraging others to do. That I have difficulty tuning them out stems from never having developed that ability: because I never needed to. But I do see that it’s my issue. So I go into self-healing mode (although Reiki is often presented as a therapy you have a therapist do to you, it is at its most powerful when learnt for self-healing, relaxation and personal growth). I become aware that it’s a rather ancient train and carriage which make a lot of noise when travelling at speed: something else I might find myself getting annoyed by. I smile at the paradox: one irritation has neutralised another! The old train, by being noisier than newer ones makes the sound of other passengers less of an issue.

This is what ‘being present’ is all about: finding a way of seeing a situation that makes it easier to accept those things we cannot change . . . or provides the motivation or courage to change those things that we can. In the post truth era, when we cannot, perhaps, trust others, we can and need to, develop our own ability to see and respond from our own deeper/higher truth. Just the job for Usui Reiki.