I/O Time, Core Time, Plug-Out Time

For many years I felt information/stimulus swamped and world-weary. Over the past few months I have discovered a solution.

I have learnt to parcel my waking hours into three kinds of time.

I/O Time is when I consume media or communicate with others.

Core Time is when I switch of all input and output channels and put myself in a ring-fenced processing mode.

Plug-Out Time is when not just all input-output channels but all processing is sought to be shut or at least minimized.

The reason why I used to feel swamped and weary, I now realize, was that by and large all my waking time used to be I/O Time. Watching, Reading, Listening, Browsing, Talking, Meeting, Presenting, Writing and so on.

Now I make sure 30% or so of my time is Core Time. And I find that not only do I now have a better angle of repose but the productivity and effectiveness of my I/O Time has measurably increased.

Plug-Out time is a state of being when you are ‘just hanging out with yourself”.

Many of us take classes to learn to meditate and then practice it hard and long. I now realize that trying is not meditating.

Trying nothing, being nothing, in other words being plugged-out is meditating. Mantras, breathing techniques, solitude etc. help but are not necessary. I know now that one can be plugged out, eyes wide open, waiting in a crowded airport lounge.

And sleep. What kind of time is that? Sleep time I cannot categorize. All I know is that I now sleep better with the three-way balance back in my waking time.

Open Eyed Meditation

For over 7 years now I have practiced meditating the conventional way.
In a quiet place, preceded by various other practices designed to calm the mind.
And most importantly with eyes closed to enable perhaps the shutting out of thought.
This practice has helped me in many ways. The benefit I value most is my work-in-progress movement from being self-centered to being centered.
However yesterday I came to realize that all "closed-eyes" "traditional" meditation has an overarching purpose.
It is to enable us to reach finally a state of living in meditation.
A state of unreasoning acceptance that participates in the world around us with a unchanging calm.
An involvement in emotions, relationships and work that transcends entanglement.
In other words Open Eyed Meditation.