Ajit Jaokar's preview of his upcoming book

1. Meditation in the Age of Facebook and Twitter
From Shamanism to Transhumanism
June 2011
ajit.jaokar@futuretext.com
0 Copyright : Futuretext Ltd. London

2. Ajit Jaokar
Ajit Jaokar
World Economic Forum - future of the Internet UK based - Hands
on Publisher (futuretext) - Author (Mobile Web 2.0, Social Media
Marketing, Open Mobile) - Chair: Oxford University's Next Gen
Mobile Applications panel - PhD student UCL/UK - Consulting –
Operators, Governments/EU, Startups –
Recent and forthcoming talks include
Mobile world congress(2007,2008,2009), CEBIT,
Stanford University - MIT Sloan - Web 2.0 expo -
Ajaxworld
Supernova - CNN money - BBC - Oxford University
European parliament
Global top 20 wireless blogger
According to fierce wireless
www.opengardensblog.futuretext.com
1 Copyright : Futuretext Ltd. London

3. I want my life back ..
A familiar feeling .. Living in the Real Time World ..
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c6cJxeKiMNI/S7Kz7OB8_GI/AAAAAAAAAGc/X_I1Sz0vl2w/s1600/apps-overload.jpg
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1087/lifeevy.jpg
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4. An inspiration ..
An inspiration – the mindset needed to land a plane safely in the Hudson
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2009/01/16/hudson-plane-cp-w6098563.jpg
http://www.slimfish.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/hudson-river-plane-crash-landing.jpg
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5. Personal development ..
Personal development .. Ancient and the modern ..
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http://www.positivementality.com/images/vision.gif

6. The four ages of meditation ..
The four ages of meditation: Shamanic, Religious, Guru led ..
http://www.oneopenspace.net/yourspace/viewvideo/85/the-earth/the-guru-cartoon-2-of-2
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7. The fourth age of meditation ..
Based on networks .. Social networks and neural networks ..
http://www.networkweaving.com/blog/uploaded_images/ArtTechNet-701564.gif
http://www.landonwerks.com/?page_id=199
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8. A platypus of a meditation book ..
A platypus of a meditation book .. An evolution of meditation ..
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9. Fuchs und die hase ..
Fuchs und die hase ..
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10. The image ..
Pilot/air traffic control
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11. Two sided view of meditation ..
A two sided view of meditation .. Disconnection from external input but
also connection to a network
http://www.networkweaving.com/blog/uploaded_images/ArtTechNet-701564.gif
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinnrouge/3156175315/sizes/m/in/photostream/
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12. SANM
Social – Connected
Augmented – Enhanced human functions through technology
Neural – The brain and social networks
Meditation – Connection to the past and to humanity
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13. Meditation ..
Adaptations of two existing approaches:
- Autosuggestion and
- Autogenic meditation
We consider three modifications to these approaches:
1) We focus on the brain and the neural networks
2) We build on the paradigms of networks and emergence
3) We consider the implications of Meditation as a Transhumanist
technology - implications of meditation in a world of technological
singularity
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14. Meditation and a Gedankenexperiment ..
And more questions ..
• Is the brain an oscillator?
• And if so, does it resonate?
• Can such brains synchronize or harmonize?
• Is such synchronization spontaneous?
• Can such synchronization be enhanced if we develop the brain?
• Can meditation (as we define it here) help in that process?
• Can emergent phenomenon arise from resonating minds?
• Can synchronization and evolution of the brain be augmented by
technology?
• How does the brain itself evolve as we meditate?
There are two phenomenon which study the ability of multiple oscillators
to synchronize: Coupled oscillators and Quantum coherence
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15. Is meditation a transhumanist technology?
The singularity is the point in mankind’s future when we will
transcend current intellectual and biological limitations and initiate
an intelligence and information explosion beyond imagining.
Human intelligence could be augmented by technology either through
amplification or through connectivity allowing humans to transcend
physical limits.
Cybernetics – Think cochlear implant (bionic ear) not Terminator (cyborg)
How do these ideas come together? – The facebook of the
connected mind ..
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16. Facebook of the connected mind ..
But what is facebook? (or for that matter any social network):
A profile , A ‘wall’, private messaging, upload and share content
An individual is the most granular unit of a social network.
But in future, what if you could extend this to a neural level?
To take social networking to the neural level (the facebook of the
connected mind), we need the ability to
• Record brain waves and see them
• Be able to create a visual representation of your mind at a point in time
(a thoughtform)
• Be able to share that thought form with others
• Be able to do so cheaply and globally
15 Copyright : Futuretext Ltd. London

17. Social meditation – a shared hologram ..
Social meditation – A shared hologram
Meditation becomes a ‘shared hologram’ i.e. your state of mind projected
as three dimensional object which can be viewed by others you share it
with.
How will technology act as a catalyst to meditation?
• Measurement of brain waves
• Amplification of brainwaves
• Projection
• Connection and Feedback (social functions)
• Recursion and self reinforcement
• Making technology cheap and globally accessible
16 Copyright : Futuretext Ltd. London

18. Games neurons play ..
Alchemy visualiser, from Neurosky.
Using a technology called the eSense in the NeuroSky MindSet, the
alchemy visualiser is a game that uses feedback to train or relax using
software. In the visual mode of the alchemy visualiser, the user is
challenged to remain in a specific state with feedback through an image
on the screen. This is very similar to meditation using neural imaging.
http://store.neurosky.com/products/alchemy-visualizer
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19. Power of meditation ..
The power of meditation, the mind and your shared human past
http://myfundi.co.za/e/Rock_art_II_Southern_African_rock_art
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20. Launch
Promotional launch offer - $9.99 + postage – contact me by email – offer
valid only till aug 2011 Ajit.jaokar@futuretext.com
19 Copyright : Futuretext Ltd. London