There has been much talk about the "collective
consciousness" of cyberspace, yet as of now it seems more acceptable
to call it a "collective culture." As with any culture there are certain
values that are universal such as love and compassion. These are also
intrinsic to spirituality. Is it possible for these values to emerge
on the World Wide Web? Is culture and spiritual tradition merely information
passed between people and could a community be present without these
values?
Whatever human behaviors are found offline will be, and are, found
online--including the practice of love and compassion, but also of
hate and exploitation. Today, the Net in general values particular
human behaviors approximately as American culture does, because the
Net, and the Web, are dominated by Americans--that is, by members
of a culture that is primarily a blend of secularists and Judaeo-Christians.
(Capitalism and pop culture flourish on the Web, but spiritually oriented
sites thrive as well--tens of thousands of them.) As the Net becomes
more of a global community, it may actually reflect a stronger spiritual
tone, as cultures that are more overtly spiritual and less secular
than ours, for instance the cultures of Islam, help to shape it. In
any case, the Net will always reflect spiritual values, as it is a
creation of humanity and we are beings with a spiritual dimension.
You pointed out in The Soul of
Cyberspace
that the web is arranged laterally, not horizontally.
This appears to be a domain where hierarchies diminish and equal representation
is emphasized. But English is still the dominant language of the World
Wide Web. How do you think this affects the spiritual dialogue and
"community" that is emerging there?
The English language itself affects the spiritual dialogue and community
of the Net, including the Web, only modestly. Language embodies a
certain way of considering the world--in the case of English, as a
group of discrete objects (nouns) that act (verbs), rather than as,
say, a series of processes--that shapes the world view of those who
speak and write it. And world view in turn affects spiritual understanding.
Of more import is that the Net is dominated by English speaking peoples,
primarily Americans, and thus, as I mention above, reflects above
all American culture and values--including the cherishing of democracy
and personal liberty. Which in turn means that organized spiritual
groupings that emphasize democracy and personal liberty are more likely
than others to thrive on the Net.
In many spiritualities the land and place
where one lives is sacred. Native cultures define their spirit as
a part of the community of the natural world they inhabit. This is
also prevalent in Buddhist and Taoist practices. Since the Web is
dominated by western language and technology, do you think this may
be a further "pioneering" step away from land-oriented practices?
Given the degradation the natural world is currently encountering,
do you think that this separation has bearing on escapism or otherworldliness?
There is no land on the Net of course, which is composed not of
the stuff of the "real world" but of 1's and Os. Ultimately, the Net
is a mathematical construct. The Net's divorce from nature is its
most serious drawback, particularly insofar as it means a divorce
from the body, which is our primary anchor to reality and thus to
spiritual energies. Certainly, many people go to the Net to escape,
to dream technicolor dreams in this landless, bodyless virtual world.
It may be that those who spend much time in cyberspace will learn
to cherish the natural world--as the saying goes, absence makes the
heart grow fonder. There's nothing like spending four hours staring
at a computer monitor to make you appreciate, once you log off, the
tang of fresh air, the scent of a flower, the push of the wind against
your skin.
You wrote, "our souls become what we make
of them. So will the soul of cyberspace." Whereas sites such as The
Spire are working towards establishing a "civil discourse" of the
world's spiritual traditions, most of the Web is dominated by business.
If cyberspace is a reflection of ourselves, what do you think this
means on a spiritual level of today's consciousness?
The most rancorous workplace I've experienced in my three decades
of employment has been a workplace devoted to nonprofit spiritual
study. The most genteel has been a workplace devoted to for-profit
business study. That the Web is dominated by business isn't a problem
for spiritual growth, if one is open to the possibility of spiritual
work in the midst of everyday life, including business life. However,
while business may be conducted on the Web, it's questionable as to
what extent whether religion or spiritual practices can be. Nearly
all spiritually oriented sites on the Web are informational. Spiritual
practice--be it meditation, the taking of sacraments, the performance
of ritual--is absent, with a few exceptions, among them prayer. There
are prayer rooms on the Net, and there are prayer meetings. The absence
arises from the absence of the body in cyberspace, and the consequent
difficulty of engaging in spiritual practices that depend on the body--from
formal sitting to baptism to eating a Kosher meal to being in the
presence of a spiritual master.
Lao Tzu said, "He who strives for knowledge
increases every day; he who strives for Tao decreases every day."
You made the observation that attention is "the basic tool of spiritual
realization." When most people surf the Web they are like hungry ghosts,
grasping for the ever-increasing wave, jumping from page to page.
How do you think this may affect spiritual practices, and more specifically,
the multitude of youth on-line today?
The Web is a giant dream machine. But then, so is much else in life.
We're likely to fall spiritually asleep anywhere, online or off. We're
hungry ghosts nearly always, no matter where we are or what we are
doing. The Web does present a particular challenge, as it is a particularly
powerful giant dream machine. But that doesn't mean that it should
be avoided, especially by adults, but only that spiritual vigilance,
or watchfulness, or wakefulness, is called for with renewed vigor
online as well as offline. Children generally don't have the tools
or experience to resist or to be aware of media, including the Net's
hypnotic powers, however. My observation tells me that kids tend to
grow more slack-jawed around TV sets than around computer monitors,
though. Most computer programs demand some degree of interactivity,
while surfing the Web is a relatively pro-active pursuit. Zombies
can watch TV, but not surf the Web. Still, better for a kid to go
ride a bike, or play piano, or play with the dog, than to spend a
lot of time staring at a screen.
Related Links
Rewiring DotCom Culture
Paulina Borsook, a critic of high-tech culture and writer for Salon, Wired,
and Mother Jones, joins Paul Saffo, Director of the Institute of the
Future, and Kevin Jones, journalist and business analyst for Forbes ASAP
and Interactive Week, to take a hard look at the "religion" of silicon
valley."
Virtual Apathy
Are 'technolibertarian' values dominating the dot com landscape? Paulina
Borsook denounces the 'cyberselfishness' of silicon valley.
Writing...the Zen Way
Joanne Kyger talks about her poetry and her meditation. 'When the mind is
shapely, art is shapely'--a quote originating from Lucian Carr--was a
dictum of the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and is held up by Joanne Kyger.
