What I am really asking is -- am I cut out for Twitter? "Do twitter and meditation mix" just sounded like a good title. Meditation mixes with anything -- meditation can be a part of any lifestyle. But for someone like me who was drawn to meditation partly because of my "twitter mind", Twitter can be a challenge.
My twitter mind is a lot like the Buddhist "monkey mind" -- jumping from thought to thought like a monkey from tree to tree. Some of us are more that way than others. In Ayurveda, my mind has a lot of vata energy. For those conversant with Ayurveda, I'd say Twitter would aggravate vata, pacify kapha and be neutral for pitta. But that's a whole 'post in the making...
Noticing anything about this post -- does it seem to be jumping around? Too much time spent learning the Twitter ropes got my mind going. The energy there is incredibly frenetic for someone like me. It's also exciting. My mind tends to go off on tangents and free associates. It's great for creativity, but it has to be tamed. I'm sure that's what lead me to the style of meditation I learned and the style I teach.
In my guided meditations, I consistently encourage letting go of thoughts -- not following the train of thought. This allows the mind to detach and settle down. Not only does this allow for deep rest, but it allows for the discovery of what lies beneath our thoughts. When we meditate, we experience the quality of awareness itself -- the silence and stability within. We call it getting centered. It is the opposite of having a scattered attention. The attention becomes one-pointed, anchored.
Twitter could easily scatter ones attention as you jump from tweet to tweet, clicking on links wandering here and there through blog posts, videos, and more. It's all a matter of balance -- finding the right mix of activities that keep us balanced and grounded. The "right mix" isn't the same for everyone. What we need to learn is what works for us.
As I said, for me Twitter is a challenge. It's a fun challenge -- I love the interconnectivity and especially the opportunity to connect with more of our podcast listeners. But because of the way I'm wired, I can't spend a lot of time on Twitter. (And that's a good thing -- I have so many projects to work on!) I have to find a way to make Twitter work for me. I need to tweet my way, and how that will look is just beginning to evolve.
For now, if you follow us on Twitter, you will receive updates of new blog posts, podcast episodes and other news. I'll try to follow you back if you look like a podcast listener. Let me know if I miss you, and suggestions are welcomed!
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Thanks to Vincent Abry for the great Twitter button.