Mindfulness is a practice that can prove very useful in effectively relating to the new frontier of “real time” connectivity. Today, we often get so caught up in adapting to all of the rising new possibilities and challenges, learning to use the new technologies to get more done- faster and perhaps even better. However, in the process, seemingly to have become completely dependent upon them, even addicted to all that we use to supposedly make our lives easier, more convenient, and more efficient. What would our lives become without all of our SMART gadgets? What is the cost to our “human nature” and to our “social consciousness” for this instant yet often impersonal connectivity?

With all this new technology and purported efficiency, where is our increase in leisure time- and in our time to relax with family and friends? The blistering pace at which we receive as well as process and assimilate information appears to be consuming our waking moments. Instant and ubiquitous connectivity… just one more email- one more text message- one more phone call… and it goes on and on. Is connectivity to all our “real time” devices disconnecting us from ourselves? Are we so “virtual” that we can no longer discern our “real time”- or our “real presence”?

We often seem to be in touch with everyone else but ourselves. “Real time” connectivity pushes our habitual forces- our entrainment with the outer world- and pushes away our embodied wakefulness. Are we so self-important to be “in” for everyone else 24/7 that we forget who and where we really are in the present moment? To effectively sustain in the “real time” world of communication today, we need to counterbalance with our “interiority”– our inner world- by bringing mindfulness- present moment awareness to all these technological advances. We need to routinely take “pause”, and come to know what we are doing when we are doing it. We also need to learn to disconnect from always being “on” or “in” and be “out” for one’s own “self”.

These are amazing times with some truly awe-inspiring technological advances in “real time” communication, but they need to be balanced and modulated with our capacity to be and to be present while cultivating awareness for how we are using our “real time” advances. We also need to establish clear boundaries for ourselves in the midst of a rapidly changing world of information and communication. Communication could easily morph into a mindless pattern of information exchange where the emphasis is on the device rather than a necessary & useful interplay between human beings. Forgetfulness is a good sign one is beginning to communicate habitually without a real presence of mind… for example, our tendency to leave out “text” in text messages, or “attachments” in emails. Often “right speech” and “tonal quality” are overlooked as information is exchanged too quickly to mindfully review the message that has already been sent. We need to remember the importance of balance and modulation through a presence of mind. Don’t just communicate- “know” that you are communicating with real awareness of the message and of the human experience.

Start simple by taking PAUSE before you SEND…

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