Soren Gordhamer is a consultant, teacher, and the author of the meditation book Just Say Om! He has taught stress reduction programs at Google and Buddhist retreat centers; he was the project director for Richard Gere's public charity Healing the Divide. He is also co-founder and CEO of Zooleo, a Web 2.0 Internet Company.
Gordhamer brings all of these talents to bear in this creative and practical paperback on keeping our souls alive in a time when we are frazzled and crazed by computers, cell phones, Blackberries, and iPods. The author admits to being a rabid techie yet also states that something is missing in a life ruled by these technologies, especially when we allow them to become overbearing masters.
The first thing that you notice are the parts of the paperback:
• The Power Source: Consciousness
• The Help Center: Reduce Stress
• The Browser: Creative Mind
• The Search Engine: Go for Truth
In "Apply to Life" sections throughout, readers are encouraged to take an inner journey and try some spiritual practices. Gordhamer focuses on those that help bring more balance to our overworked lives including attention, letting go, connections, being present, seeing irritating people as spiritual teachers, silence, and equanimity. Here are a few tasty tidbits from the book:
• "According to one study, a typical information worker who sits at the computer all day turns to his e-mail program more than fifty times and uses instant messaging seventy-seven times a day."
• "It takes, on average, 16 minutes, 33 seconds for a worker interrupted by an e-mail to get back to what he or she was doing."
• "According to a survey by Pew Research Center, about a quarter (23 percent) of all adults in this country say they 'always feel rushed.' "
