What is the ultimate technology? Let’s start with a definition of technology:

“The specific methods, materials, and devices used to solve practical problems.”

“Practical” is a tricky word though. For example, the “practical” solution to the problem of designing a better weapon could be entirely counterproductive to the “practical” goal of peace on Earth. A practical technology for creating personal wealth may take one further from the goals one imagined that wealth would accomplish. Agricultural technologies can sometimes create more food while making it less healthy for us.

Our technologies are often used to accomplish things that are not good for us, because we start not with basic values, but with assumptions based on unexamined desires. For example, we decide that “more money” is good, and then design a technology for achieving that which ignores other, possibly more important values. It seems clear that money can be used for good purposes, but it is also clear that it is often used for bad purposes. Another example: Some argue that we create fantastic weapons which do not actually increase our safety.

Technology can be good and useful, or incredibly destructive. With that in mind, here’s a new idea: Spirituality may be the ultimate technology.

Through the methods, materials, and devices of spirituality we can discover what is most important. Isn’t that is the most practical problem which needs solving? Otherwise we pursue what is not important and perhaps even what is most destructive of true value. Achieving mistaken goals is not a “practical.” But once we have a better grasp of what really needs to be done and what is really of value, all other technologies serve us more faithfully and provide more real value.

The ultimate technology? Maybe. Here are a few questions to get you thinking about this…

1. What are the “methods, materials, and devices of spirituality?”

2. How does this idea fit with various religions?

3. Is it possible that “spiritual training” (learning to use the technology) is more important than spiritual beliefs?

4. If separated from religion, is what we call spirituality really just a form of psychological training?