Centering In And Zoning Out: What's The Difference? Spending Time Alone in Pandemic Time

Season 2, Episode 242,   May 14, 2020, 08:45 AM

What’s the difference between centering down, and zoning out? Pandemic time means we are by ourselves more, so how do we assess our alone time?

Our show pushes back against the unexamined, often unconscious ways that we frame public questions using political or economic modes of thinking. We aim to be part of a growing movement of people who are critical of the narrowness of political and economic categories, and who want to revive a vision of human flourishing that is grounded in the wisdoms of theological and moral philosophical tradition. We see these habits and ways of thinking as being pre-political, and foundational to a healthy and civil shared life in families, communities, economies, and polities.

In short, we want to create a community that is grounded in curiosity, going deep, and shining light.

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Here are timecodes to help you navigate through today’s show:

03:38     In pandemic time, how do we understand the different ways that we can be alone? The basic distinction we are drawing is the distinction between centering in, and zoning out. Are there other ways to understand this? How do you “center in?”

08:41     How do I collect myself, in order to be an effective and loving person?

11:29     Centering practices are about being present and remembering; zoning out practices are about escaping and forgetting. Agree or disagree? How do we find the balance between these (or is there a balance to be found)? What is the role of community in helping us find balance?

15:55     What is the role of celebration in all this?