Mindfulness is desperately needed in effectively relating to our new frontier of “real time” connectivity. We have been so caught up in adapting to all of our 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 our “Blackberry” or our “iPhone”, etc? What is the cost to our “human nature” and to our “interbeing” for this instant 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 seem to be in touch with everyone else but ourselves. “Real time” connectivity pushes ourhabitual 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 our interiority- our inner world- by bringing mindfulness to all these technological advances- to take “pause”- and come to know what we are doing- when doing- and to disconnect from always being “on” or “in” and be “out” for one’s “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- cultivating awareness for how we are using our “real time” advances- and establishing 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 an interplay between human beings. Forgetfulness is a good sign one is beginning to communicate habitually without a real presence of mind. For e.g. leaving 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 sent. Again, balance and modulation through a presence of mind. Don’t just communicate- “know” that you are communicating with mindful awareness.

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