Sunday, August 2, 2009

My Social Media Gurus

Some of you may know that I'm a practicing Buddhist; if not, well, now you do! In the study of Buddhism great emphasis is placed on finding a teacher, a guide, a guru...someone who has walked along the path farther than you have, and can show you the way.

Every important endeavor I've ever undertaken has been with the guidance of a teacher. You can learn only so much from books, which lack the ability to interact, answer personal questions, give more examples, put things in context, or smack you upside the head.

The true teacher is valuable not only for the information they give, but also for their example in the world. A true teacher walks their talk and shows you how it is done. Confusion reigns when we are told to 'do as I say, not as I do.' For me, a true teacher should be consistent.

So I place my hands together and bow to the Social Media gurus that I follow. You can see their names and recent posts in my blog roll below. What I am learning, I am learning from them.

That they are a diverse bunch is a good thing: Social Media has many facets and flavors, and it is helpful for my mind to hear the same thing many times, using different words, different tones, and from different points of view.

This dynamic flow of information allows me to recognize what resonates as truth for me, while at the same time keeping me abreast of diverse opinions.

At the beginning of any Buddhist teaching it is important to set one's intention, and at the end it is helpful to dedicate the benefit of the teaching to others.

I am grateful that once again I have found a worthwhile faculty, and it is my intention to be a star student. And any good that I accomplish I dedicate to everyone who is trying their best to do the same.

4 comments:

  1. Laura, I really love what you have to say here.

    The concept of working with a master, guru, or mentor is very powerful. I had a teacher like that once, for 3 years. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a mentor for each thing we want to focus our attention on? I guess I consider Darren Rowse the guru of blogging. Is it coincidence that he has a background in theology?

    I'm going to go and check out now what you do with garden design. I care a lot about my garden and about the connection gardens give us to the Earth.

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  2. Social media reflects consciousness. Have you not noticied that negativity quickly disipates and the greater good is always served? It truly is amazing! Though, since both are electro-magnetic fields, this should come as no surprise.

    Taking this a step further, we start to get answers to things like paid content. Will things trend that way or not? My view is you can't own content any more than you can consciousness. They both propogate through sharing.

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  3. Laura,

    Cannot say how flattered I am to be part of your noble way. I believe that is what they call the path to enlightenment -- yes???

    @TomMartin

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  4. Yes! My gurus talking to me about consciousness and enlightenment in my blog comments! That's what I'm talkin' about. Thank you. (Tom, you may be thinking of the 4 Noble Truths: suffering exists, it has causes, it can cease, and there is a path to get there. Good stuff!

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