mindfulness

Meditation

Written for some poetry award last December, this clunker is what you get when you think too much while writing poetry on black coffee: now, here i do what i am supposed to do, i sit down and place a pillow underneath my behind, while thoughts billow in my mind in front of me there ...

Digital Detox

I woke up one day wondering how long it had been since I last went an entire week, or even a few days, without an Internet connection, without being absorbed by the virtual reality of our all-encompassing communication network. I couldn't remember. Was it 1996, the year before I purchased my first laptop computer? Was ...

Contrast

Mijn internetloze verblijf in Thailand de afgelopen twee weken was een weldadige ervaring, waar ik hard, zoals de volksmond zegt, 'aan toe' was. De afwezigheid van de eindeloze stroom Facebook-prikkels zou me in verveling en lamlendigheid hebben kunnen storten, doch dit gebeurde niet. Ik tippelde vitaal door de hete straten van Bangkok tot ik bij ...

"Mindfulness, the practice of sitting still and focusing on your breath and thoughts, has surged in popularity over the last few years, with a boom in apps, online courses, books and articles extolling its virtues." This is as close to the final stage of commodification as it gets. The "practice of sitting still" is now ...