The Electronic Tribe in the Global Village
I have a question -
Why is it preferable to read aloud in a group as opposed to reading aloud by yourself?
Can't meditation be an individual process?
Or is there something that reinforces the trance when others are participating?
Sure, meditation can be an individual process.
And in a society based on literacy like the USA most things are an individual process. After all, they say an American is never more American than when they are alone.
But in my society where the oral tradition is still kept alive, we listen more to one another.
And in the larger sphere, the invention of the printing press in 1440 led to the literate individual and the USA, while in 1840 the invention of the electric telegraph led to electronic tribalism in the global village.
But to the literate individual electronic tribalism seems weird and creepy.
And so the literate individual meditates alone, while the electronic tribe meditates together in real time across the world, warm muzzle to warm ear.
It is a shame that as we move into electronic tribalism we are still under the sway of the extreme individualism of the USA. Fortunately we are falling more and more under the sway of China which is a deeply oral culture.
And sharing meditation through reading aloud is a way of joining the electronic tribe in the global village.