Omnipresence in Cybersapce

here2here very much describes the movement of my physical body since my last blog.

I have visited Malaysia and travelled from Langkawi2KualaLumpur.  In Italy the journey was from Florence2Rome, and in Germany from Berlin2Munich.

In between that all, there was a journey from UAE2SouthAfrica, as well as a moving of house from Dubai2AbuDhabi. 

This blog is the first then from Abu Dhabi as I settle into new surroundings and a new routine. 

No longer do I look out from my balcony and see the Burj Khalifa.  Instead I see the sea, The Yas Viceroy Hotel and Formula 1 racing circuit, The Aldar Headquarters (which we have fondly started calling “The Biscuit”) and in the far distance the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

Cyberspace - the limitless mindspace we find ourselves in when using technology to communicate - has accompanied me in all these moves. This has been made possible by new routers, wifi on the go whenever and wherever I could find it, and even by means of prepaid data in certain foreign locations. It has enabled me to keep in touch. 

On some days, because of the restrictions of physical space, I have felt alone.  On other days, when I was aware that one status update has the possibility to reach family, friends and followers all over the world, regardless of place or time, I have had the slight feeling that I have the ability to be everywhere at once! Omnipresent?

A lover of words, (see my blog, Langu age), I have reflected anew upon the meaning of omnipresence - the property of being present everywhere at the same time. 

Because it is possible to connect by means of technology from most places in the world, we can certainly say that cyberspace itself can be considered omnipresent. However, what is mindboggling for me, is the fact that in cyberspace an online individual can be omnipresent.  

As students all over the world watch an online instructor for example, there is the perception that the instructor is omnipresent, responding to each of them wherever they may be. 

Updates, whether they be words, images or sounds can be seen by thousands and thousands of others all over the world the instant they are posted. The person posting enters the space of all these others simultaneously in a unique way. 

It was an amazing feeling on one of our flights to post an update and realize that even being in an aeroplane is not a restriction to connectivity. My physical body was being transported high in the sky while my online body was in borderless realms.

The responsibility that comes with this is overwhelming in my opinion. As my words and images speed down the corridors of cyberspace they have the possibility to encourage a better world, a world in which acceptance of differences, and kindness and respect towards the other can become the norm. 

Although interaction in cyberspace is taking place by means of networked devices, without the parties being in direct physical contact with each other, the interactions can be equally valuable. 

While in Italy I had the following exchange with the architect Anthony Lawlor: 

@lindahollier Great! In Rome check out San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, interior is a gem off the beaten path http://t.co/3p05Tk3hGT

— AnthonyLawlor (@AnthonyLawlor) May 16, 2014

Over a period of time one becomes very aware of who one can listen to in cyberspace and so I visited the church and sat and soaked in the genius of Borromini. Without understanding every aspect of how he had achieved the wave-like motion of the architecture, I was able to experience its effect. Architecture and music have that in common. They have the ability to move the heart.  

Cyberspace has its own architecture and every one of us becomes an omnipresent architect when we enter its domain.  What are we creating in this amazing space? Are we touching hearts?

Grounded Flight

It is approaching Spring in South Africa and in Pretoria buds and blossoms are beginning to appear here and there.  The general impression when looking at the landscape, however, is still one of dryness. 

When we lived in Germany and returned to South Africa for a visit, the first thing our children commented on at the time was the soil. They noticed that in their opinion South African soil is red while German soil is brown! 

Reminded of that while driving through to Pretoria recently, I wondered how many of us even notice the color of the soil in the area we live. Habits blend us into our surroundings. Surroundings reinforce habits. Perspectives become limited unless consciously challenged. Horizons are narrow unless broadened by awareness.

Returning home to a town once lived in, things never noticed before, suddenly glare at one.   Nothing has changed except the viewer who has gained distance not only physically, but emotionally as well.

Distance lends enchantment to the view, the saying goes but that I feel is only one side of the story.  Distance also enables one to see perspectives not visible from within a particular environment.

In the past, such distance could only be gained by physically moving away.  This was the privilege of a minority and so cultural habits and beliefs were reinforced from one generation to the next.

Today modern travel but more especially technology, has blasted this all apart.  People of different cultural backgrounds can meet online, beliefs are suddenly challenged, new ways of doing things become apparent. 

If I so wish, I can look at pictures of soil in Germany or soil in South Africa, or soil in wherever, read about it or even chat to personages knowledgeable in that field.  

The challenge, however, is two-fold. Perspectives need to be broadened, but at the same time we need to be grounded.

We need to feel the soil beneath our feet, if not barefoot, then through mindful awareness of the sensation of connecting with the ground as we walk. We need to be aware of where we are at and where we are coming from, especially when online where the temptation could be to escape.

As we realize that the other is not so other as always imagined - similarities outweigh our differences; we all want to be happy; we all wish to be freed from suffering; soil may vary but it is still soil - we open ourselves to new dimensions of being. 

here2here offers such dimensions. We meet here, are here together, but at the same time are each somewhere else. 

In such a “place”, in such a “space”, perspectives can only broaden. More importantly, however, mutual acceptance and hospitality allow the collective, meeting here2here, to be grounded in a dimension invisible to the physical eye, sometimes visible to the eye of contemplation, but definitely visible to the eye of Spirit. 

Collective consciousness, shared participation, shared responsibility and shared innovation are soils rich in potential, waiting to be stepped into, holding out gifts of creativity in ways unimagined before.

Let's feel the soil beneath our feet as we take off!