Thank you to over 130 of you wonderful hivers for joining us for this QOTW! It was amazing to see So many great responses from really diverse parts of the world. I’m happy to see some friends from almost every continent share about what Spirituality means to you. It is clear that Spirituality is a very personal thing to us all. Could it be that technology is the catalyst we need to evolve more Spiritually? Could it be that when used properly, technology can help to give us the answers to the questions we have been asking since time begun? Well, time will only tell, but one thing is clear, we Are moving toward a more technological society and have been doing so for a very long time. The speed of our technological evolution is quite mind blowing when you consider that the first public flight in a plane happened just 100 years ago. How far we have come, it has hard to fathom, and the rate of technological progress is only increasing. So let us hold on tight to our Spirituality, and our humanity, and see where this incredible path leads us!
This week I would like to share my own selection of posts from the ecoTrain community from the long feed that you can all see on the #qotw (/trending/qotw) tag. They are not necessarily what we would call the best posts, because how do you judge 130+ peoples opinions and feelings?! I cannot, but these posts are special and offer a great insight into some of the ideas and opinions that we have collectively shared for this QOTW.
Thank you again to everyone who posts, you all make this QOTW what it is! If you haven’t seen us before, the @ecotrain is a global Hive community gathered around the concept of natural giving, living in harmony with nature and making our world a better place. Changing the world starts with changing ourselves and the way we live, love, work and create together as communities .
We deliberately and consciously curate those posts, blogs & vlogs which speak to the issues, challenges and needs of community living and the emerging Hive ecoVillage communities around the world.
Here are some of the topics we support and curate on:
"Sustainability, ecoVillages, Community, Self-sufficiency, Off-grid Living, Homesteading, Permaculture, Alternative Energy, Alternative Lifestyle, Natural Health, Cooking, Eco-Building, Earthships, Recycling, Esoteric, Inner Transformation, Spiritual, Nature"
ECOTRAIN POSTS OF THE WEEK
@zeleiracordero-2
A glimpse in the shadows
Somehow, my mind seems to be incompatible with these two instances. I perceive that the greater the spectrum of the use of technology in life, the greater the dehumanization. And, it is that the current experience presents us with dystopia as a possible executing arm of the society of the future. We already live in a dystopian society and nothing guarantees that there will be substantial changes in two hundred years. In principle, the outlook does not seem so hopeful to me, therefore, I feel that the convergence between utopia and dystopia is necessary to favorably change the current state of things.
At this point, I think it is appropriate to follow the thought of Nietzsche, as profound as it is sometimes misunderstood. I subscribe to the idea that the mind sustains spiritual and bodily experiences. Consciousness sees itself as an ethical entity, as responsible for the consequences that derive from what we do and what we do not do moved by the will. .. "we live in a dystopia and yet on the threshold of a great change"
So, if we accept that if we want to see changes in the world, we have to start by introducing them in ourselves, although for this, we must educate the mind... But how do we do this?
@osomar357
In order to answer this question given to us in week 9:4 of the EcoTraing community, I must touch on several topics that for me are of vital importance and that in fact have been the subject of personal study at one stage of my life. In principle I think the first thing we must define is what is spirituality for the author of the post and define what is religion, since they are two different issues although analogous in a certain sense, since at some point in our spiritual life we can link them.
To define spirituality for me is not easy, since like the Eternal (Our Tutelary Numen), love or faith, it is something that is not definable with words, since it exceeds any kind of conceptualization, but nevertheless it can be experienced. And it is these life experiences that lead us to think that there is something beyond the purely physical and conceptualizable. And when we get to live, experience and feel those metaphysical and transcendent facts in our life, is when we begin to think about spirituality, which as its name says is directly related to the spirit, that spirit that we call God, Yhave, Ala , Hashen, Shiva and stop counting, because according to the culture and religion each human being gives it a different invocation, being the last and one of the best known the definition of Universal Consciousness.
@eco-alex
Can technology and humanity survive together as we know it to be today? A certain amount of detachment from what we consider to be normal may be needed to be able to truly answer this question. There is no doubt about it, the idea of having a microchip in my brain is horrifying, and yet for generations to come it is going to be a most normal and necessary part of life. Implants will become as important, if not more so, than the Internet and computers are to us today. You may have seen the downloads of languages and ninja skills in the Movie The Matrix, well all that and more is a part of what awaits humanity. This will, thankfully, all take time and i don’t think that we or our children will live to see the real shift that is about to happen.
For me at least it is quite easy to have a high degree of detachment from the world we live in today, and especially the culture, way of thinking, and many other things that we seem to share almost globally. I would like to see an end to many things, and a start to many other things. I believe that technology could offer the potential to live in a very different way. I don’t think many people can imagine what a world without money would be like, and yet that is eventually where we will end up. We simply won't need it, and within the not too distant future, technology will be providing most of what we need, in many shapes and forms, to live and be happy. Your personal assistant awaits you!
@sanjeevm
The ecoTrain QOTW this week is tough - thank you @eco-alex fro brainstorming and bringing such a compelling topic - I agree it definitely needs open mind and foresight to accept that technology is being slowly becoming part of our life - even though we want it or not. The good thing about our generation is that we are moderate and I believe, whoever has foresight can always decide how to deal with it - whether you lean more towards technology or believe more in spirituality. Even a perfect blend of both is quite obvious given that, we were borne with more spirituality and as we lived, we have seen technology bringing some good and bad things to our life. And when it comes to our children, I am sure, we will teach them what we believe. When I say teach, it's not like telling them to do something based on what we believe, but inspiring them by our action.
I personally believe Spirituality has a dimension that technology can never reach - however technology can make it better by helping us realize our limits and even understanding spirituality closer - allowing us to practice and take spirituality to the next level by showing it's result in a proven way. Take the example of Meditation and Pranayama, the practice of controlled breathing. They were possibly being practiced by only saints centuries back - the true believers of spirituality. But today, technology has helped us realize its power scientifically, because we can measure the benefits. I have heard about saints doing meditation and pranayama event today without eating any food and surviving for days in the Himalayas - some extreme climate. Today science admits that, it's possible. Some even have demonstrated - Take Wim Hof for example - not everything he does can be demonstrated scientifically - there are criticism but there are evidence as well.
@senorcoconut
Can Spirituality and Technology live together? That is the QOTW that was proposed by the @ecotrain community... So, what do you all think, is it possible? I recently wrote a little something about a similar subject. It had something to do with using apps to help in meditation practices. I can't find the actual post at the moment, but I experienced a good run learning how to meditate with the help of an app.
Yes! Just found the post, here it is: Mindfulness in the digital age
Anyhow it really helped me out (while I was meditating...I have stopped, for no reason but I will again, I'm sure). The point is that it really worked. It's not like having a one-on-one lesson, and far from actually spending some time in a monastery, so don't expect digital technology to be better the real thing... I don't think we’re there yet, and I don't know if we ever will be. Artificial intelligence still has a good way to go. Though Elon Musk is already warning the world about the dangers of AI. He says we should think about creating regulations now, before it's too late! Does he mean, before the robots take over and we won't have a say anymore???
@ford.stem
Well,to me, I think, I am focusing on the pragmatics that is needed to answer this question. I was thinking what to write for the question as a suitable answer, but back then I changed my mind to let my brain think perceptually and promptly to design the best answer regarding the timely question.That made me to set the thematic prologue in the comparative analysis of the two sphere.
So, for the exact reasoning of the two separate field, let us dive onto the separate fields where we could literally discuss real issues and facts.Maybe, my answers would be partially incomplete, like humans have the same tendency, for that case,I would seek your special opinion on points where it needs correction. So,lets go explore the contexts.
Technology & Modern Day Life.
If you observe the life of us who live in town or in suburbs or mega-meta cities, where there is plenty to enjoy and get the help of scientific tools and technical materials;then you would get to see the robotic nature of life.Mostly, those who accustomed themselves to the life of city,they grossly suffer from various complexities which in most cases make them feel physically weak and they lose their mental calmness for practical reasons.
@trucklife-family
There have been many times in my life, when I have wanted to run away into the wilderness, to turn my back on the modern world and total immerse myself in nature. I so often talk about, how a more natural lifestyle is the one for me. And I stand by that. But, I use technology just like most other people. I live in a truck for a start and really enjoyed when I was living a nomadic lifestyle. On top that of that, I have been living off grid, with the help of my solar system, for the last 12 plus years.
Having that solar system has certainly made my life a lot easier and ensured I could remain pretty under the radar. I have gone a few years without a fridge, but living in a warmer climate, I was certainly glad when I finally got one. Yes there are alternatives, using clay pots, something I have used in the past and building a cold storage unit underground, (this I would like to try once I am living in a more permanent space). But for now, I am happy for the convenience of my fridge,that I can plug in to my inverter.
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@pablo1601
When we are faced with situations where we must choose between two alternatives that seem mutually exclusive, the key is to find a balance, a synergy between them so that we can better satisfy our preferred alternative.
This week's QOTW is truly interesting in such a way that I don't think any of us will be able to respond lightly without getting into contradictions.
Reading the original post by @ecotrain where we find the guidelines and basis of the challenge, already the first question it raises is extremely catching;
What really is reality?
From my point of view I could say that reality is what we have in front of our eyes, what we are living in this moment and what we can modify with our decisions.
Technology, which is advancing by leaps and bounds, has imposed another definition of reality on us, which is virtual reality, a reality that is not so palpable. A reality in which technology intervenes.
Undoubtedly, and answering lightly the question of the week, I could say that spirituality and technology are very complex and dissimilar concepts that seem to be unable to unite, like water and oil.
However, if I stop to think more carefully I would tell you that both concepts can complement each other perfectly if we learn to manage a certain degree of balance. In other words, I could tell you that the problem is not the use but the abuse.
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