Prana Inward Cyberspace?

A summary of:
Zaleski, J. (1997). The Soul of Cyberspace: How New Technology Is Changing Our Spiritual Lives. HarperEdge: New York.
Reflections purpose 1 - Prana

Zaleski makes this interesting, highly questionably claim:

“Prana is a Sanskrit news sometimes translated every bit ‘life force,’ sometimes every bit ‘breath.’ It is equivalent to the Chinese concept of chi, together with somewhat to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic concept of spirit. In all the major religious traditions, this forcefulness is seen every bit manifesting through the physical torso of the human being. This watch has profound implications for spiritual operate inward cyberspace, where the torso is absent” (34).

What’s bizarre virtually this is that Zaleski seems to intend that physicality is a necessity of spirituality… whereas most would in all probability say that the spiritual is fundamentally non-physical. (While I intend this is a unsmooth reductionism, convey this opinion, for example: “[John Perry Barlow] But I also intend that anytime you’ve got a large let out of people going somewhere they can’t convey their bodies, you lot are engaged inward spiritual activity. It’s that simple” (51).) And for Zaleski, this physicality poses a item employment to engineering if nosotros are hoping to have got unopen to form of spiritual experience. He uses the illustration of an early Skype-like technology: “It seems similar it’s leading toward the betoken where it won’t hold out much unlike than me sitting inward front end of you lot an talking similar this, except for the lack of prana” (43).

I intend Zaleski’s sticking betoken amongst this is that he doesn’t intend it is possible for ritual sacraments, similar Holy Communion, to hold out performed online. In reply to Zaleski’s questions on the matter, John Perry Barlow responds, “If you lot don’t have got the grounding inward the wine, the physical manifestation, I tin consider where they would intend that there’s no potential for that holy voltage betwixt the physical symbol together with the spiritual reality” (35). But nosotros have got to enquire ourselves what exactly he thinks is missing (he does non clarify that well). If it is the possibility for transformation, this is clearly non true. Buddhist interviewee John Daido Loori responds, “‘That existence the case, …we’d have got to say there’s no chi, which is what we’d [Buddhists] telephone outcry upwardly it – breath, life – there’s no chi inward a operate of art. And I don’t purchase that for a second. I experience that fine art tin hold out transformative, has been transformative’” (166).

It also seems that sometimes what Zaleski thinks is missing is the full-body engagement, the form that would hold out associated amongst “flow” (233). In that case, nosotros powerfulness do good to enquire whether nosotros actually consider whatever form of spiritual departure betwixt a calculator game together with a wii game, if the latter involves our whole body. I would say not.

Zaleski also defines the missing chemical gene this way: “The interruption amongst the torso inward cyberspace is most apparent when coming together other people through live, text-mediated chat, every bit inward IRC or the chat rooms of AOL. The prana, the subtle energies, are lost. The incarnate being, the human being, behind the words tin solely hold out imagined, simply every bit the reader of these words tin solely imagine the writer. What fills the infinite left past times the absent prana is self-projection” (233). This, too, seems bizarre, together with I approximate it actually depends on what you lot hateful past times ‘subtle energies’, or ‘self-projection’. As i interviewee was quoted saying, “‘I totally disagree that there’s no prana inward cyberspace. That’s similar maxim you lot have got to lose your humanity because you’re using a unlike course of pedagogy of communication” (253).

Zaleski softens his declaration solely slightly amongst this admission: “I believe that [prana] does interruption inward cyberspace, limiting the medium’s potential for spiritual operate inward communities every bit good every bit on the private level. But limit does non hateful negate, together with spiritual work, which calls upon us to convey others, to dearest them every bit ourselves, does convey house inward virtual communities” (254). If this is the case, together with hence the finish is to strengthen the connections betwixt individuals, inside communities, to heighten the prana. The employment (as I volition larn inward to a greater extent than depth virtually inward farther posts on Zaleski) is that cyberspace produces wide experiences, but non deep ones; hence the pattern challenge would hold out to focus on creating deeper bonds betwixt people (another means to say this is increasing strong ties, rather than weak ones).

This give-and-take of prana raises other interesting questions. What do nosotros intend is exchanged inward a spiritual experience, for example? One interviewee, Sheikh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani, responded: “Because you lot know that ever spirituality is high-tech. Spirituality is a form of unloosen energy transmission from human beings to each other, if nosotros are able to have it, because human beings are receivers together with transmitters at the same time” (61). This is fascinating, to a greater extent than oftentimes than non because it clearly solely makes feel inward our modern scientific paradigm. You wouldn’t listen someone depict it similar this 200 years ago, would you?

Another query this has made me consider is what I intend is happening inward a spiritual process. John Perry Barlow said, “So much of what the spiritual procedure is virtually is sliding upwardly together with downward betwixt those 2 poles of the physical together with the immaterial” (35). Where does do come upwardly into this? Some consider do every bit essential to spiritual increase (perhaps this is a assort query inward itself?).

And this has also been helpful for helping me intend virtually what form of spiritual alter I would similar to realize inward technology. Two assort ideas were raised past times this book. The get-go is inspired past times this quote from Loori: “So, how do you lot exercise them inward a means that nourishes? Cyberspace is hither to stay. How tin nosotros exercise it to nourish” (167)? That is a fabulous description of the form of spirituality I’m aiming at. It should nourish us, nourish our souls, be, every bit I said, ‘soul-satisfying’.

The other thought is rattling different, inward that it aims at the foundations of the construction. Loori said this: “Sacredness is something that’s earned through time. Kyoto is sacred. Jerusalem is sacred. Rome is sacred. Stonehenge is sacred. These are sacred places because of what has been position into them” (173). Given this, how tin nosotros pattern sacredness into cyberspace? Is it possible to pattern it inward such a means every bit to brand people care for is every bit sacred? Pesce, for example, tried something similar this:“[Pesce] The thought was [in approbation the Internet], inasmuch every bit possible, to sanctify cyberspace. If nosotros don’t bless our creations, they dehumanize us” (262). There is a large difference, however, inward approbation something that is non inherently sacred, together with designing something to hold out sacred.

The truth is that cyberspace represents tremendous opportunity, just because it is unbounded together with emerging. It is non anything, beyond what nosotros say it is. For example: “‘Cyberspace is a land that has been created where in that location is an absence of obstructions,’ explained Thomas E. Miller to me…. Miller is a Namgyal Monastery official together with the human who conceived of the approbation [different from above]. ‘That’s the means cyberspace was designed. Which creates the potential for something to arise. And the nature of what volition arise in that location is theme upon the motivations of the people that exercise it’” (280). In that case, why would nosotros ever say that nosotros could non create an meshwork that allows for prana?