Thread by @Roamfu

1/ HOW DO YOU USE @ROAMRESEARCH FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH?

Sections:
I. Wait a minute: #roamcult was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. What the hell is this!?

II. My current usage

Section I. How could a piece of software help you grow spiritually?

1. Using computing to assist thought is new.
2. Previous tech helped make people saints.
3. Roam helped in other areas. Why not in the spiritual life?

Here's an attempt to explain Roam to a friend. I compare it to traveling.

Biking is an upgrade to traveling with just your legs. Writing is an upgrade to thinking with just your first brain.

https://twitter.com/Roamfu/status/1300977806478778368

The internal combustion engine had to be invented for cars to happen: traveling using controlled explosions of fossil fuels.

Computing had to be invented for Roam to happen: thinking using robots.

https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002106977273565184

Initial attempts to use computing for thinking were simply translations of paper tools: notes, mindmaps, canvasses.

The fun began with thinking tools that are hard or impossible without computing: Anki, spreadsheets, Twitter as inter-mind API, Roam.

https://twitter.com/kcorazo/status/1252669456175689728

Books and writing for spiritual growth is Lindy. We cannot say whether software for the spiritual life is Lindy yet, because it is so new.

My bet is that it is. If the previous tech (writing on paper) works, why not its upgrade?

https://twitter.com/TalebWisdom/status/1270638641212198912

I know of a saint (a quite controversial one) who saw his life's calling **while organizing his notes**

This was just with notes on paper. Software-assisted thinking is simply a more powerful pathway to the same end point.

I've already seen the power of software-assisted thinking in my professional life. It just makes sense to use it for my spiritual life as well.

https://twitter.com/Roamfu/status/1283386164217409536

Section II. My current usage

The spirituality book I'm reading atm is The Spiritual Life by Tanquerey.

He presents the classic division of the spiritual life in this quote. My translation:
- Knowing truth
- Learning to love
- Changing the world

Meditation spans the three. Discursive meditation or mental prayer was the first thing I wanted to try out in Roam.

Knowing the internet, I was hesitant to post this. I was surprised how many of us were using Roam for the spiritual life (see responses).

https://twitter.com/kcorazo/status/1250015306983952388

I have a set of questions I answer everyday. This is essentially "planning." What should I do in the world today? I pick The One Thing in each area:
- work
- service to friends and family
- improving a habit

And list many things to be thankful for

https://twitter.com/kcorazo/status/1266616304191934466

Changing the world starts with changing oneself. In concrete terms that means building good habits and undoing bad habits. This is the system that has worked for me: medium.com/life-tactics/m…

In my afternoon meditations back in April - May, I've tried grappling with religious text (eg, the day's Gospel) like the way I do with journal articles. It's much more exhausting. Perhaps because I need to access ideas spanning my life, rather than just the scope of a paper.

I've stopped this effortful engagement. I want to associate my prayer with friendly conversation rather than combat. But maybe I'll schedule 1 or 2/week.

I feel the need for a device different from the laptop I use for focused execution work, perhaps a tablet, with a diff theme.

I'm not a professional academic, but I imagine Roam would be a great tool for the academic study of scripture, theology and philosophy. Eg, just keeping track of who said what where is a hard with paper. @johnataylor roambrain.com/roaming-romans…

My study is more for my spiritual growth.

If you seek God's will in scripture, and if you want to live the philosophy you study, you'd want them to be a block reference away from the rest of your life.

https://twitter.com/jdsimcoe/status/1263359983481053184

Seeing yourself from the outside is hard. Reading your journal seems to be a good way to do this. Roam just makes this much easier than paper or software designed as paper (eg, folder-based notes).

I'm writing this because I'm about to do my annual silent retreat, with Roam for the first time.

My plan: I'll take notes from preaching, talks and readings and I'll meditate on them, along with old notes.

What else should I test?

I'd appreciate your ideas and prayers. 🙏🙏🙏

Roam-fu thread list, essays and training: roamfu.com