Big Ideas Free your attention — meditation and mindfulness in the digital age
Mar 18, 2025
Jess Heughan, a meditation trainer and authorized Dharma teacher, shares her spiritual journey of feeling like a 'spiritual orphan' and how mindfulness helps regain control over attention. Nicholas Van Dam, a psychologist and director of the Contemplative Studies Centre, discusses the commodification of attention in the digital age and the risks that come with meditation practices. They explore the emotional benefits of mindfulness and emphasize the need for ethical considerations in mindfulness practices to avoid harmful outcomes.
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From Yearning To A Retreat
- Jess Heughan recounts a teenage yearning that led her to meditate and take a month-long Buddhist retreat.
- That early immersion gave her a community and practices that helped her settle and explore her mind.
Build Ground Before Deep Work
- Use community, scaffolding and kindness to support meditation so difficult material doesn't overwhelm you.
- Build calm-abiding practices first to create ground before facing deeper emotions.
Choose To Delay Tech Reflexes
- Intentionally set boundaries with technology and choose to settle rather than immediately react to devices.
- Create intention and practice to live deeper than constant agitation and phone-driven reflexes.
