Zen Computing

The art of allowing your energy to positively impact your technology.image

You awake to an alarm clock ran by a minicomputer chip. The furnace kicks on blowing warm heat to your toes; all because of the computer timer controlling your digital thermometer. You stumble to the bathroom, clapping your hands together to power the lights.

The TV recorder has taped all of your favorite shows, the fridge has cooled your food to the perfect temperature, and your smart phone reminds you of a 10 o’clock meeting. You remotely start the car to alleviate the dry cold air, thus making your initial shock into the environment easier. The ride to work is surrounded by technical gadgets. From street to street, sign by sign, images of technology rave on until you are almost amidst a panic attack. You sit at your desk at work and multitask millions of different programs and applications to maneuver some intangible benefit for your company.

It seems as if the computers have taken over. They monitor, feed, and control so many tools of our modern world. This lack of control leaves many with a sense of powerlessness. "The damn computer lost all of my work again!" or "[insert techie gadget here] broke and I am in deep trouble as I need to [insert exaggerated problem here.] Of course, without the techie gadget such possibilities wouldn’t exist, but rather than an extra bonus to our lives, they are becoming utilities. Just as electricity became a need, rather than a luxury, computer technology and all technologies like it are now very important to our quality of life.

Now that technology directly influences our happiness, it is important to manage it. So many are in complete resistance to technology even though there is no living without it. This resistance creates an negative energy shift. The technology receives this sort of vibration and reacts in the only way it can: negatively.

Let’s break this theory down with several examples.

1. I really don’t want to be called that much. If it is really important, stop over and see me. Otherwise, send me an email. If it is an emergency, call my mom…she knows how to track me down. Funny that the cell phone I bought last year is barely functional. I rarely answered it. It has been thrown in a toilet, wet on numerous occasions, and always dies when it has been on for only a short while. Coincidence?

2. I know that my computer will be there for me tomorrow, waiting for me to type in new data. I am excited to work with it and complete all of my daily tasks. It knows what I want and provides it quickly and easily. My computer has never crashed on me…and if it does slow down, I give it a break and a massage. Because of my complete knowing of its trustworthiness, it sticks with me.

3. The day started off with kids puking and husbands being grumpy. People called me all day with problems and laid it on me to complete ‘asap.’ My grumpiness and anger starts to build. Rather than take a break, I lay into a computer problem that I need to solve. The person wanting it fixed is pressuring me big time…voice mail, emails and calls to other people asking where I am at. With the pressure on, I just can’t seem to get the error message to go away. It constantly nags at me. Every solution I try laughs at me with its blanket no nonsense error message. The frustration completely takes over, and the computer follows me.

4. Next day, different feeling. A wonderful night’s sleep, followed by breakfast in bed served by a gracious husband. Jovial laughter and a sense of openness to the day leads me out the door with the coffee in hand. Round two with the computer problem that went unsolved the day before. I feel much better. The person with the computer problem is out sick, so I set out to tackle the issue. No pressure, if it works wonderful, but if not then it’ll have to wait until I can find a solution. "How about I just do one more reinstall of the program…who knows," I think to myself as I click out the control panel. Next-next-next-finish-reboot-run.exe=no error message. The problem solved, I decide to enjoy a coffee break with my coworkers.

Our feelings about our world change consistently. Change is constant and so are our thoughts. We can surround ourselves with working tools of technology when we embrace their benefits. We control the technology and how they help us.
Here are some techniques we can use when our gadgets are breaking down, causing us stress and frustration:

  • Ask yourself, what is going on in my life right now and how am I feeling?
  • Can I take care of this problem without technology?
  • Is this a communication problem between people, or technology?
  • Why would I let a silly computer make me so angry? I am in charge!

By evaluating your answers to these questions, you turn your energy around into being in power, rather than a slave to the technology. The happier and calmer you will be reflected in the systems around you.

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