Buddhist Geeks

Mike Redmer is a freelance UX designer and mindfulness coach. His most recent project, the ReWire App, is part of a growing field of technology designed to assist the end user in attaining greater degrees of concentration ability and contemplative awareness. In this second part of their conversation, host Vincent Horn discusses with Mike the subtleties of contemplative design and the current state of contemplative technology. Vincent relates details of his experience with some of these technologies at the recent Wisdom 2.0 conference, and he and Mike discuss the mixed potential each sees in the future of ubiquitous computing. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one, ReWiring Meditation for the Digital Age Episode Links: ReWire: meditation remixed ( http://rewireapp.com ) I used Google Glass: the future, but with monthly updates ( http://bit.ly/1MRE8O4 )

Mike Redmer is a freelance UX designer and mindfulness coach. His most recent project, the ReWire App, came out of a desire to utilize technology to make mediation more effective and engaging. In this first part of a conversation with host Vincent Horn, Mike shares his motivation for creating Rewire and the ways he hopes it can help people develop in meditation. He also describes how he approached designing the app, the improvements he made in the second iteration, and how Shinzen Young’s practice of “Just Note Gone” influenced the end product and Mike himself. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two, Contemplative Technologies Episode Links: ReWire: meditation remixed ( http://rewireapp.com ) The Power of Gone ( http://shinzen.org/Articles/PowerofGone.pdf )

Dr. Reggie Ray is an author, teacher, and the Spiritual Director for the Dharma Ocean Community in Crestone, Colorado. In this episode Reggie and host Vincent Horn conclude their conversation by discussing the recurring cycle of conflict between “authentic lineages” and “institutional lineages” in the world’s religions. Reggie describes the personal toll this conflict had on his teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and how many unorthodox teachers have found themselves threatened and restricted by religious institutions. He then describes how the techniques of Mahamudra can lead us to identify all the places where we hold back as people so that we may find freedom from all forms of restriction. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part one – BG 281: Mahamudra in the Modern World Episode Links: Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations ( http://amzn.to/1MRDXm5 ) Dharma Ocean ( http://www.dharmaocean.org )

Dr. Reggie Ray is an author, teacher, and the Spiritual Director for the Dharma Ocean Community in Crestone, Colorado. He has forty years of study and intensive meditation practice within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Recently, Dr. Ray published an audio training series through Sounds True titled Mahamudra in the Modern World. In this episode Dr. Reggie Ray and host Vincent Horn discuss the basics of the Mahamudra tradition and Reggie’s approach to teaching it. He shares his insight into how his personal practice has changed and deepened through teaching, and he answers questions such as: Is a personal relationship with a teacher necessary? And, how does one know when it’s time to start teaching? This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two – BG 282: Specializing in Letting Go Episode Links: The Forest Dwelling Yogi ( http://bit.ly/1MRDNuI ) Dharma Ocean ( http://www.dharmaocean.org )

Stephen Schettini is an author and blogger at TheNakedMonk.com, and a teacher of Mindful Reflection. He was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 8 years before he left the monastic path and began referring to himself as an ex-Buddhist. In this episode Stephen talks with host Vincent Horn about why he left his monastic order and what he learned from the experience. They discuss why people are drawn to formal religious orders and guru-disciple relationships, and Stephen describes possible alternatives to the guru-disciple dynamic that might be more appropriate for the modern world. Finally, after questioning the very existence of the historical Buddha, they discuss why the myth might be more important than the story of the historical man. Episode Links: The Naked Monk ( http://www.thenakedmonk.com ) “Sick Love” ( http://www.thenakedmonk.com/2013/01/14/sick-love/ ) “Zen Buddhists Distressed by Accusations Against Teacher” ( http://nyti.ms/12MlZgW ) The Novice ( http://amzn.to/12MlVxs )

Ted Meissner is the host of The Secular Buddhist podcast and the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association. In this episode host Vincent Horn concludes his conversation with Ted by exploring the role of Tradition in secular Buddhism. They consider the question of spiritual authority in secular Buddhism and whether it’s possible to see through the filter of culture and tradition. This is part two of a two part series. Listen to part 1: Secular Buddhism. Episode Links: Secular Buddhism ( http://bit.ly/1MRDsbA ) The Secular Buddhist Association ( secularbuddhism.org ) The Secular Buddhist Podcast ( secularbuddhism.org/the-secular-buddhist-podcasts/ )

Ted Meissner is the host of The Secular Buddhist podcast and the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association. In this episode with host Vincent Horn, Ted shares examples of secular Buddhism, why he is skeptical but not cynical about religion, and he stresses what he thinks is the importance of right speech in the modern world. This is part one of a two part series. Episode Links: The Secular Buddhist Association ( http://secularbuddhism.org ) The Secular Buddhist Podcast ( http://secularbuddhism.org/the-secular-buddhist-podcasts/ )

Lawrence Levy is a student of Segyu Rinpoche and a former CFO and board member at Pixar Animation Studios. He left his role as an executive at Pixar in 2000 to pursue a study of religion and philosophy, which led him to Buddhism. In this episode, Lawrence speaks with host Rohan Gunatillake about working at Pixar, the lessons he learned at the company, and how he has applied those lessons to building the Buddhist organization the Juniper Foundation. Episode Links: Juniper Foundation ( http://www.juniperpath.org ) Awakening the Mind ( http://www.juniperpath.org/works/A7614E/Awakening+the+Mind/ ) Pixar ( http://www.pixar.com )

John F. Simon is a visual artist and software programmer whose work can be found in prominent museum collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was also one of the app designers on the world’s first app album, from Björk, called Biophilia. In this episode we speak with John about his long-standing search for the source of creativity, and how that search has led him to explore a contemplative Buddhist practice. During the discussion with host Vincent Horn, John describes the strategy he uses to search for the source of his creativity and the parallels his strategy shares with meditation teacher Daniel Ingram’s progress of insight map. Episode Links: www.iclock.com John’s profile at the Gering & Lopez Gallery ( http://www.geringlopez.com/artists/john-f-simon-jr ) Björk’s Biophilia ( http://bjork.com/#/past/discography/biophilia )

Buddhist Geeks Vincent Horn and Rohan Gunatillake conclude their interview for the KGNU public radio program Sacred Lines by further discussing the intersections between Buddhism and Technology. From the efficacy of mindfulness apps to the ubiquitous question of duality, the Geeks explore what it means to be Buddhist in a technologically advanced world. This is part two of a two part series. Episode Links: CU’s Center for Media, Religion, and Culture ( cmrc.colorado.edu/about ) KGNU ( www.kgnu.org ) buddhify ( buddhify.com )

In a recent interview for the KGNU public radio program Sacred Lines, Buddhist Geeks Vincent Horn and Rohan Gunatillake have a discussion about what it means to be a modern Buddhist practitioner, how technology can complement Buddhist practice, and how geekery and meditation meld. They use the Buddhist Geeks project and buddhify mobile app as illustrations of how they’re experimenting with these various topics. This is part one of a two part series. Episode Links: CU’s Center for Media, Religion, and Culture ( http://cmrc.colorado.edu/about ) KGNU ( http://www.kgnu.org ) buddhify ( http://buddhify.com )

Jonathan Blow is an indie game designer most well known for his time-bending game Braid. In this episode we conclude our conversation with Jonathan by exploring his upcoming game, The Witness, as well as his in-depth exploration of non-duality. This is part 2 of a two part series. Listen to part 1, Quantum Gaming. Episode Links: The Witness ( http://the-witness.net ) Myst ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst ) Nondualism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism ) On Being ( http://www.onbeing.org )

Jonathan Blow is an indie game designer most well known for his time-bending game Braid. In this episode Jonathan describes his journey from a kid fascinated with playing video games in arcades to a game developer concerned with game design as a spiritual practice. This is part one of a two part series. Episode Links: Braid ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game) ) The Witness ( http://the-witness.net )

Michaël Harboun wants to design products that find a balance between inner contemplation and external technology. In this conversation we explore things like transpersonal social networks and speak about the way that gaming can be contemplative (Michael would like to simply call video games “experiences”). We also discuss the idea of “Contemplative Design”, how it works, and how it can lead to innovation in consumer products. This is part two of a two part series. Episode Links: www.MichaelHarboun.com Transcendenz ( https://vimeo.com/25771444 ) www.IDEO.com

“We can only see what we’ve become conscious of.” – Michaël Harboun Michaël Harboun wants to design products that find a balance between inner contemplation and external technology. The concept video for his augmented reality project Transcendenz illustrates the positive potential of finding such a balance. In this episode Michaël and host Vincent Horn discuss the philosophical goals of Transcendenz, the fact and fiction of the current state of some of the technologies portrayed in the concept video–like augmented reality and computer brain interfaces–and finally the way that Buddhist thought has influenced this project. This is part one of a two part series. Episode Links: www.MichaelHarboun.com Transcendenz ( https://vimeo.com/25771444 ) www.IDEO.com Thomas Nagel’s Bat Experiment ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nagel ) Augmented Reality ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality ) Google’s Project Glass ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Glass ) Emotiv ( http://emotiv.com ) InteraXon : Thought Controlled Computing ( http://www.interaxon.ca ) Elliot Hedman ( http://www.buildempathy.com )