Inner Space - The Final Frontier

"Space: the Final Frontier" - I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and this message echoes in my ears. But as I explore the role of the blogosphere, social media and web 2.0 in general, I find that virtual space is the new frontier. Just as the American West was a frontier fraught with conflict and conquest, so too is the virtual world. So outer space is not the final frontier. Here are some other frontiers we are just beginning to explore:

1) The earth's deep oceans and caves.
2) The brain.
3) The quantum world and potential "multiverses."
4) Inner space.

I think of inner space as mind, the place where our thoughts dwell, which is implicitly related to our brain, heart, body and spiritual self or "soul." Exploration of our thoughts through deep contemplation is a frontier most have little time or energy to encounter in their daily lives. Recently, I've been finding it difficult to budget time for mindfulness exercises or contemplative reflection. The absence of this time manifests itself as boredom or mild depression. Finding new and creative ways to engage thoughts gives life a lot of meaning, so I hope to use a few of the tools below to explore transcendence:

1) yoga
2) sitting meditation/mindfulness exercises
3) DC Shambhala Center
4) All Souls Unitarian Church
5) walking mindfully

Finally, this blog often becomes a repository for politicized media. But I want mindful media to be more than that. Peace and justice are a natural extension of mindfulness, for as we build mindfulness of ourselves, we are disposed to build mindfulness of others (i.e. compassion). However, balancing (and ultimately transcending) the self/other divide is key to practicing mindfulness. So my desire to explore inner space is a selfish desire, but one which may help rebalance my life and this blog in favor of compassion.