Girls In Tech

For Girls in Tech on the lookout for new ideas & ways to grow,  allow me to offer a strange recommendation: try doing nothing. Well, not nothing – not exactly, anyway. Rather, try meditation, which is the act of stopping and sitting quietly, and in many cases simply watching your breath and your mind.

Why am I bringing this up for Girls in Tech?  Tech, after all, seems to imply iPhone apps or Twitter add-ons, not a 2,500-year-old technique that takes merely the equipment we’re born with. For two reasons: 1) meditation can help cultivate an entrepreneur’s mindset, from openness to creativity! And 2) an amazing event for beginners is happening in San Francisco next weekend, November 14: Twheet, a daylong, donation-based conference on meditation.

Let me back up just a bit. Meditation isn’t quite a tactic for brainstorming the next Google. However, it can bring greater concentration and more awareness into daily life, allowing space for creative responses to quotidian challenges. Meditation can encourage qualities prized by entrepreneurs: being open to the reality of a situation, transforming tricky moments into learning opportunities, and learning that there’s nothing wrong with “failure.”

Many women working in technology learn early that it is their intentional attitude – rather than “inherent aptitude” – which allows them to creatively meet challenges and be open to the hectic pace of life in Silicon Valley. In this vein, basic meditation is basically awesome for your cranium.

Which is why I’m excited to announce that Turning Wheel Talks, or Twheet, a daylong conference on meditation, is taking place next week, on Nov. 14 in San Francisco. This nonprofit event was pulled together by dozens of creative folks in the Bay Area. It includes: a kick-off introduction to basic meditation, an informal un-conference where folks will lead their own activities, a talk on nonviolent communication & an open house with more info, among other activities.

If you’ve never meditated but want to try, if you’ve meditated and want to grow the hobby, or if you’re a frequent meditator (is that a word?!)  you’re welcome to stop by!  Feel free to bring a friend –or to forward this info to any communities that might be interested.

What: Twheet, an event for young people (under 35)
When: Saturday, November 14
Where: 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, UU Church Conference Facility
When: Nov. 14, 2009 –Ongoing all day. Highlights for beginners: morning introduction to meditation, afternoon peer-led workshops & open house.

For more info: http://twheet.org/ Hope to see you there!