“Today’s corporatized mindfulness is largely a do-it-yourself practice (with countless books, meditation apps, podcasts, gurus, and seminars) filling the vacuum of a lonely culture obsessed with self-optimization, mind hacks, and shortcuts to self-care.”
In a previous comment, you wrote: “I’ve reached a point, Sha’Tara, that I believe everything I hear is a lie until proven otherwise.” What is said in this post is why I too say “no!” to everything at the start. Whenever a corporation, or a bank or corporate-owned government push anything it can only be a lie; it can never be the truth because simply put no truth is ever financially profitable.
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Under post industrial society, Sha’Tara, the elites find some way to turn all human needs into a commodity, including the water we drink and the air we breathe. In polluted Chinese cities, they sell people fresh air from Canada in aerosol cans!
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Say what? Fresh air in aerosol cans? That’s in a “Spaceballs” skit, where President Skrooge, after assuring his fellow Spaceballers there is no shortage of air, reaches down in his desk, pulls out a can of air from “Druidia” and inhales deeply…
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Coincidentally, I noticed a couple of days ago that there’s a special edition of Time on mindfulness, and this month’s cover of National Geographic is about mindfulness. Over the past few months, I’ve seen several apparently new magazines on mindfulness. “What is the deal,” I wondered. “Has Wall Street found a new vulnerability to exploit for profit?” Apparently, it has.
I read a little of the Time issue and found the usual hype. As your blog notes, it’s all “mindfulness for a price,” a course, book, app, or other cost-intensive, low-yield guaranteed quick fixes to all life’s struggles. It’s the latest fad for over-committed, hurried people who don’t know how to set boundaries.
I have my own version of mindfulness, gleaned over many years, and it costs nothing. I plan to blog about it someday soon.
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I honestly don’t think it’s a coincidence, Katherine. Time magazine is and always has been the primary cheerleader for capitalism.
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I think the coincidence was that I saw it the same day (or the day before) I saw your post on McMindfulness.
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The Dalai Lama probably laughs at the nonsense. What they are calling mindfullness is not mindfullness at all. It is avoidance of the thoughts of self-poisoning, suicide, environmental catechlysm and nuclear insanity that are engulfing everything.
This society is devouring tself with pollution , violence, marginalization and the greed of the few participating in these few mindfullness scams. A real buddhists believes that mindfulness entails following a path with a heart, not crass escapeism and avoidance
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Brutally to the point, Gloria. Love your comment. My personal path of mindfulness is to become a full-fledged avatar of compassion. I doubt you’ll find that in the corporate new-agey clap-trap, or should I call it what it is: mind trap.
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Well put, Gloria.
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