Where is kenneth ?

[Nicobobo]

Sorry to be so straightforward but I really wonder where is Kenneth ? Is he alright ? This forum has been through a lot with the wetpaint platform issue and together with the absence of Kenneth I wonder if this forum is dying or not ?
I kinda remember Kenneth explaining that he was focusing on writing his book for a while and that he would come back after, is that still ongoing ?

Nicolas

[AnthonyYeshe]

He posted some great videos on youtube a few weeks ago. Not sure when the video were made, but worth a look.

http://www.youtube.com/user/kennethfolkdharma

[admin]

Hi Nicolas,

Thanks for being so straightforward; I appreciate the clarity! I've been thinking a lot about this forum, and here are some of my musings:

I feel guilty about not participating on the forum, as though I'm letting people down or bait-and-switching them by hosting a forum and not being here. At the same time, it's clear to me that I need to focus more and that I don't do well when I spread myself thin, so I understand that the situation isn't going to improve anytime soon; I'm going to be an absentee landlord for the foreseeable future as I concentrate on my latest project, which is to see if it's possible to bring the benefits of meditation to people who don't meditate in the usual way. So I want to know if people are getting value out of the forum as it is, even with so little traffic. If so, I'm happy to keep it open. But if people would be just as happy to have the forum archived and then continue their journals at Awakenetwork, that would be fine with me, and preferable in some ways, since I wouldn't feel like I have quite so many loose ends. What do you think?

[Nicobobo]

Hello Kenneth,
to be honest i'm no a big contributor to this forum even when it was on wetpaint, so I don't feel that's it's my place to tell you what to do with it. I did spend a lot of time reading threads on different subjects. So I remain immensely grateful to you, the platform and the others longterm practitioners and contributors who have helped me see things more clearly and also made me discover new aspects of the spiritual path.
I really don't know how things should evolve, one thing is sure the threads and practice journals should not disappear. On awakenet there was a discussion about integrating DhO on it, in fact Awakenet is a platform built to host other forums, maybe that could be a possibility worth looking at.
I hope some longterm practitioners will come give their 2 cents so that the best choice can made.

Nicolas

[Eric_G]

as I concentrate on my latest project, which is to see if it's possible to bring the benefits of meditation to people who don't meditate in the usual way.

Say more. I mean, you're working with people who, say, prostrate themselves from Tibet to India, or ... ?

[cmarti]

I'm biased, just to be straightforward about what I am going to say... so:

I think we could integrate all of Kenneth's online material in one place. I would love to see that happen, because Kenneth was my teacher and is my good friend. I would like him to have a legacy, a one-stop shop for Kenneth's message board material, personal practice logs, conversations, and so on. A place we who know him and those who discover him can go to get everything, easily, and comprehensively.

I'm also a founder and administrator at Awakenetowrk.org, so of course, I think AN would be a great place to do this. My co-founders and I are ready to do the work using volunteers who are also former students of Kenneth's and who also want to integrate Kenneth's message board material in one place - a place owned and operated by Kenneth's students and friends, independent, a place that is backed up properly to protect the content, and so on.

We are ready to move. Any time.

[Eva]

"to see if it's possible to bring the benefits of meditation to people who don't meditate in the usual way." I do believe it is possible to bring at least some of the advantages to some of the people and also such types of things could prove complimentary to traditional meditation as well. Is it possible to discuss this further? What angles/methods/ideas are you looking at? I do think it would be helpful to have some advice or thought exercises available for those who are not the types to sit in meditation, which is where most people are currently at. NLP has some ideas that might be useful as it has a heavy emphasis on thought observation, kind of a cognitive behavioral psych bent. Or are you looking at other angles? Sorry to pry, but this is something I am very interested in.
-Eva

[kennethfolk]

To Chris: Yes. I am ready. And grateful to you and Tom and Nadav and Russell and the volunteers. I feel too spread out, and I long to simplify my online presence. What is the next step?

To Eric and Eva: The short answer is that I am building a mobile app. The essence of what my totally badass Burmese and American meditation masters taught me over a period of decades has nothing to do with sitting alone in the dark or forsaking technology. It's all about bringing attention to the current experience and proving it with a feedback loop, e.g., Mahasi noting. It turns out that it's possible to note interactively with another human or even with a machine, aka a smartphone. And that is my project: to build an app that brings people the benefits of vipassana meditation as they interact with it, and that facilitates real time social noting with other humans. Whether people think they are meditating or just consider it an engaging activity, it's all the same to me as long as they reap the benefits of insight (mindfulness) meditation. Wish me luck.

[cmarti]

Kenneth, thank you very much. I'll be in touch with you very soon!

- Chris

[kennethfolk]

Looking forward to it, Chris.