Last night we were channel surfing and happened across Piers Morgan speaking with Ariana Huffington about gun control. I was impressed with some of her comments on that subject, but then she spoiled it all by changing the subject to new technology. She was speaking from the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, being held in one of my favorite (not!) cities - Las Vegas. According to Ariana, the focus for consumer electronics this year is on health and wellness, and she introduced the Huffington Post's new app in this genre called, appropriately, "GPS for the Soul."
Based on something called "HeartMath," the app is designed to help you enter into a state of "coherence." You can read all the details at their website, but the basic idea is that our heart rate varies throughout the day, and these variations can be caused by emotional and physical factors. The naturally occurring HRV (heart rate variations) are not all alike, however. Those caused by pleasing factors are of a different and more healthy nature than those caused by stressful or emotionally unpleasant situations. The positive changes in HRV lead to a state of "coherence" of heart, mind, and body.
It is that state to which we should aspire.
And yes, there is an app for that.
When you detect that your heart is in a state of IN-congruence, when your soul has lost its way, simply whip out your phone, dial up the GPS for the Soul app, and there you will find some lovely paintings, music, inspirational sayings, and all sorts of nifty digital ways to dial down your emotional stress and put your heart back into a state of congruence, thereby restoring your soul to its "center".
Friends, might I suggest an alternative? How about a walk outside, or listening to some music, or petting your dog? Why not try reading some poetry or knitting a sweater? For some, a good game of racquetball or tennis might be effective. Others might prefer to bake or throw pots or pull weeds in the garden.
In other words, aren't there a lot of non-digital ways to relax when we're stressed? Must we have an electronic solution for everything??
I hope we haven't become so dependent on our technology that we can't even unwind without it telling us how.
That thought alone is enough to put my heart into a permanent state of incongruence, one that no amount of apps could fix.