For years, attempts have been made to treat various mental disorders and illnesses with the help of virtual reality. The results are mixed. And now HTC comes with VR glasses called HTC Vive Flow that focuses on human wellbeing.
Meditation with Virtual Reality?
As with many methods that have found their way from the Asian region to the Western world, only certain aspects are picked out and advertised as “miracle weapons”. While it is very good to make people more aware of their own awareness and perception, many of these ancient techniques require a lot of focus and cannot be done casually.
It’s the same with yoga today – in our consumer society, these tens of thousands of old techniques seem as if they had already been developed back then for photos on Instagram. In reality there is much more to it: nutrition, external perception, internal perception, selflessness, breathing techniques, meditation, chants etc … and of course physical movements. It takes many years of experience, consistent practice and discipline to achieve the full potential.
As mentioned earlier, it is a positive development that more and more people are using yoga, meditation and similar techniques. Unfortunately, so much is being monetized here that it is no longer possible to correctly distinguish who is doing it for the money and awareness, and who really wants to help people. It also dilutes how yoga and the like really work, giving many people the impression that these techniques are just hocus-pocus anyway.
Solution for an overworked people
Cher Wang, CEO of HTC, mentions in the presentation video for the HTC Vive Flow that caffeine and medication are not supposed to be the solution to a person’s wellbeing. But should a VR headset be the solution? Probably better than caffeine and medication anyway. But why do we always try to start with the symptoms and not at the source?
Where do our problems come from? Too much work; too much stress; unfair working conditions; no good prospects for our future; the daily news doesn’t really help us either; people want more and more because it is demonstrated to them on social media; people want a virtual reality headset because they are promised to get their psyche under control.
Why can’t we live in a world where we work just as much to stay healthy? Why are we not taught anything about nutrition, physical and mental illnesses in school? Why is it allowed to sell unhealthy food in the supermarket? Is caffeine more bad than right, dear influencers?
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Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/rtS8Fpb3rcI