# Liked: Our Dystopian Now – Om Malik...
I often wonder why we don’t think of now as dystopian. We live in a time where we have had destructive hurricanes and wildfires reach our urban borders. Information warfare unleashed by totalitarian regimes is impacting the democratic process. The reality is torn between real and fake. Why do we worry about artificial intelligence and robots, when in our now, the humans are creating a society that is undesirable and frightening. Or is it because deep down we know that we will program our animal instincts into machines and software that runs them?
Anything we can do to take back even the slightest control and empower ourselves is essential to lessening the dystopian nature of our existence.
For some that has meant stepping away from Twitter after the last straws of Trump literally starting a "mine is bigger than his" contest with Kim Jong-un or Jack Dorsey taking a 10 day silent meditation retreat when it is felt he should be speaking out and leading the network through turbulent times.
Om's post got me thinking that our perception of dystopia itself is likely time based and depends on where we are in that timeline.
We nostalgically look back through rose tinted glasses and wish now could be like the good old days. We extrapolate this feeling fowards so can only imagine life getting worse.
But could the generations that came before have considered their time as dystopian and would have considered ours, with its technological advances, relatively utopian?
Dystopia, and our interpretation of it, is cultural, political, economic; "now" is our point of reference which we compare everything to so, perhaps, it is natural to not even consider now as dystopian. It's just now, it just is and we accept it accordingly whilst subconsciously using it to fuel our fears.
Our present concerns didn't exist in the past so, surely, it must have been better. By extension, on our mental timeline, the future can only get worse.
We must learn the lessons from now to stop that from happening.
# Just three days in to my new meditation routine I'm already finding it easier than I have in the past.
A lot of the problem with meditation is that you are often not really told how to do it, just given sweeping statements that you are instantly expected to grasp.
Oak is the first app I've personally used which actually tells you how to focus on your breath. It's guided meditation is simple which helps you settle quickly but, rather than just saying "focus on your breath" you are told to identify where you most feel it and that becomes your focal point.
For me, it's the feel of the air in my nostrils during inhale then switches to the relaxation of my chest during exhale. Identify and focus.
It may seem a simple, perhaps insignificant, distinction to make but, in doing so, it illustrates that your practice is unique to you and, because of this, there is no right or wrong way to do it.
Too often we get hung up on doing things in exactly a certain way (often as dictated by someone else) but there is no single right way for everyone.
@colinwalker I also started using Oak for some days now and really like it so far. Headspace strangely never stuck for me - maybe now is just the right time for Oak. ¯(ツ)/¯
@coolcut Yeah, Headspace never stuck for me either. The simplicity of Oak seems to be what works for me.
@colinwalker I'm really enjoying Oak. Hoping to meditate at least 20 minutes a day, but historically have never gotten past the urge for each session to be over.
@jack I’m starting at 10 but want to build. I think 20 minute sessions are about as long as I’d want to go.
@colinwalker I'm still at 10/day. Going with that for a couple weeks before bumping it up. Very tempted to try one of those 10-day retreats but afraid I'd lose my mind. :)
@jack I’d have been fine in my younger days. When I lived on my own and was a bit of a loner I could days without talking to anyone. Not so sure now though.
@colinwalker I’ve given Oak a try after you mentioned it over the weekend. I also downloaded buddhify & Insight Timer to give them a whirl. I like buddhify‘s wheel approach; Insight Timer’s insistence on signing up for an account was a turn-off.
@schuth Exactly the reason I’ve not dived into Insight Timer myself. What potentially interests me in Buddhify is the tailored meditations but I’ll see how I go for a while.
@jack I'd suggest avoiding retreats if you haven't done much meditating - they are hard work and you need to be comfortable meditating for good chunks of time first. I've been sitting off and on for 10 years for up to 1.5hrs/day and still haven't braved more than 3 days of retreat
@schuth You can use InsightTimer as just a timer without signing up
@tonybloggs that sounds like good advice. Maybe I’ll be able to work up to it eventually.
@tonybloggs I did see that, and I’ll probably attempt it at some point. It’s a bit too unstructured for where I’m at in right now, which is fine. I’m hoping I’ll be comfortable with some unstructured meditation by summer.
@jack otoh, going to a meditation retreat can be really good immersion training. Note: my background is Soto Zen, and that’s mostly “just sitting.” Note also, tho, that I did my first three days of retreat with untreated ADHD and it was incredible.
@jw Same background :) ...I did do some retreats in my early days but they were HARD. But yep there is value in immersion too, I'm just suggesting that being able to sit for 25+mins a couple of times a day on your own first will help a lot.
@tonybloggs word. I'm not sure I've ever sat more than 15 min at a time outside of a retreat, but that's ok! Everyone has a different method. ?