Wisdom 2.0

Arriana Huffington recently spent the weekend at the happiest place on Earth.  It wasn't Disneyland, but if felt like that to her.  Last week she went to a conference called Wisdom 2.0, which is designed to address "the great challenge of our age: to not only live connected to one another through technology, but to do so in ways that are beneficial to our own well-being, effective in our work, and useful to the world."

The conference is in its third year, and its founder and host is Soren Gordhamer, who has dedicated himself to helping conference members find ways to tap into our inner wisdom even as we integrate more and more technology into our lives. This is also the topic of his book, Wisdom 2.0: Ancient Secrets for the Creative and Constantly Connected.

What is timely about reading this article is that it is exactly the point we discussed in class, and that the readings on our "Brains on Computers" about what we know to be true: that technology is taking over practically every aspect of our lives. "There is also a growing awareness that our increasing dependence on technology puts us at risk of becoming disconnected from ourselves. The fact that this awareness, and the desire to do something about it, is no longer confined to the touchy-feely crowd was amply demonstrated in the conference's list of speakers, which drew from nearly every sector of society." They included:

• Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company
• Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn
• Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. She's not only the first Hindu member of Congress, but, along with newly elected Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, one of the House's first female combat veterans.
• Padmasree Warrior, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer of Cisco.
• Sherry Turkle, psychologist and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other.
• Thupten Jinpa, Buddhist scholar, writer, principal English translator for the Dalai Lama, and a visiting scholar at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford's School of Medicine.
• Jon Kabat-Zinn, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and author of the mindfulness classic, Wherever You Go, There You Are.

Clearly, this was not an anti-technology crowd. Most of them had already launched successful careers, and were at the stage where they're charging ahead and hitting their strides. Having spent a large part of their lives getting acquainted with the benefits of technology, they are now increasingly realizing the costs.

Read this article and link to the Wisdom 2.0 list of speakers.  After you see the list, click on the Videos at the top of the page.  As you contemplate the Unplugged Challenge, you should realize that you are in good company and take it seriously.   Rather than focus on how miserable you are, try to settle in on the quiet.

What do you think?  Are you, or others that you know, giving up some degree of technology use.  It is  a habit, if not an addiction.  Habits can be broken.  I'm just giving you a reason to do so.  Thoughts?