Community

‘’People touch our lives if only for a moment and yet we are not the same from that moment on. The time is not important the moment is forever.’’ Fern Bork

Is there anything better than having a cup of tea or glass of wine with old friends who know you so well that you don’t have to try? Where conversation flows quickly and easily beyond the social norms of work/career/weather/blah blah blah to a more restful place where you can simply say how things are for you today...the good, the bad and the ugly and nobody tries to change you or fix you. Or where you can have a good gossip, talk about the kids/sport/home/latest frock that you picked up and it’s ok to simply chat away. Or it’s even ok just to sit in silence. Bliss.

For me, since becoming a mum and moving away from Sydney, one of the things I have missed most is being part of a community, where I have true connection. Over the last two and half years, I have had to start right over again, in a completely new place and make new friends. And I have – there’s nothing like having a baby or young child to get you chatting to complete strangers! In fact, when I visit Sydney these days, I am reminded how much friendlier I have become, simply by living in a much smaller community where people chat to each other and you know your neighbours. But I relish the times I get to catch up with old friends, particularly those who have been part of my personal development and teaching journey. There is something unique about having shared deep experiences with people within a course room that helps you bond at a different level. You may not share the same taste in music, food or politics but you have shared a part of your heart and your life...and that counts so much more.

Attending an open day at my local meditation centre this weekend, I was also reminded of just how peaceful, inspiring and deeply comforting it is to sit in a course room that holds special energy, strong love. We don’t live our lives in course rooms of course (in fact the very best course rooms I have been part of, inspire you to start living the life you want outside the course room), but these sacred spaces so help refuel us for the rest of our busy lives. And there are times when we all need refuelling. More bliss.

Isolation can affect us all, wherever we live, even in these days of social media where people are constantly ‘talking’ (but is anyone listening?). As a mother and teacher, building strong, real communities is incredibly important to me. And that’s why I am excited to be part of the Keep Evolving team...it’s very nice feeling to know that a new candle is being lit in part of the world...bringing new light and a chance to ‘fill’ your cup.

Joanna Woutersz

LOL!

When I was younger, LOL! meant "Lots of Love."
Now it means "Laugh out Loud."
The change happened sometime during that period where I was frantically trying to catch up with the X'ers and Y's, who were leading the charge into this high tech social media age we now live in.
Why it happened, I have no idea. Surely X'ers and Y's still like to send love to each other, however I find the thought that they might rather laugh at each other rather than love each other slightly disturbing.
That's not all I have found disturbing recently.
In an article recently published in the Sydney Morning Herald, (click here to view) it would appear that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the net, (with its constant distractions and interruptions) is turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers.


Nicholas Carr, author of the recently published book The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember was inspired to write the book after he realised that he was losing his own capacity for concentration and contemplation. This is something I've noticed myself. Apparently, when we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be when looking at the screens of our computers and mobile phones, our brains can't forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give distinctiveness and depth to our thinking. Our thoughts become disjointed, our memories weak. The Roman philosopher Seneca may have put it best 2000 years ago: ''To be everywhere is to be nowhere.''


This has been further researched in a number of studies on students who use their computers during lectures and have a much lower retention rate than those who don't, and also in multi-taskers, who seem to be absolutely hopeless! German researchers found that web browsers usually spend less than 10 seconds looking at a page. Even people doing academic research online tend to ''bounce'' rapidly between different documents, rarely reading more than a page or two, according to a University College London study. Such mental juggling takes a big toll. In a recent experiment at Stanford University, researchers gave various cognitive tests to 49 people who do a lot of media multitasking and 52 people who multitask much less frequently. The heavy multitaskers performed poorly on all the tests. They were more easily distracted, had less control over their attention, and were much less able to distinguish important information from trivia.


So what to make of all of this?


I think is important to keep up with the latest technologies... there's just too much of great value to be gained from a discerning use of the net. However, we need to do this in a way that doesn't lose touch with our capacity for deeper, more contemplative and reflective introspection carried out without the pressure to find the answer quickly.


20 minutes of Meditation each day will meet this need wonderfully.


In the meantime, we need to carefully monitor the use of the new technology on ourselves, but just as importantly... Live, Love, and Laugh out Loud each day.
So LOL to you all.
StJohn.

P.S.  I'd love to hear what you think about all this. Please leave your comments below.   Thanks

Welcome

Hi
Thanks for dropping by.
We've been flat chat getting our Website up and running 
(take a look www.keepevolving.com.au and let us know what you think.)
We'll be getting the blog up and running from Monday 21st Feb.
Expect tips, tricks, ideas, questions, latest information, fun, videos, resources, uplifting stories, stories that touch your heart, inspire, motivate and talk to your soul....  


You’ll find them all here at the Evolution + Blog.


See you then.


All the best,
StJohn, Jo and the Keep Evolving Team