HERE are the responses we have received so far on the Saniblakas foundation’s hi-tech forum on the "EdR DekaLog '95", arranged from the latest to the earliest. After these comes a second grouping of responses concerning the forum project itself, and not the forum subject. 

The internet is an instant forum for any and all - for good and evil. We must remain aware that we will come across both there. Those without the tools to discern the difference can easily be misled. We must follow our hearts, embracing what rings true to us, while rejecting the rest.  

    The instant communication with those all over the world is indeed a blessing. It brings us closer together, like nothing before. We must, however, remember that we are communicating with human beings -- with flesh and blood.and souls -- not simply words on a computer screen from addresses in cyberspace. These human beings have hopes, dreams and aspirations; opinions and agendas. Through communication we can share all these things with one another, and through this sharing we hopefully come to a better understanding of each other.  

    The information overload we are being exposed to via the internet now, I believe, would be missed by most if taken away. Oh, we would survive alright, but our lives....our minds.....would be less rich, less challenged.  

    The information is there for those with the wherewithal to assimilate it while maintaining their sanity. Some others will have trouble handling it. I have always contended that the reason there are so many mentally ill people in this country is that there are too many choices people have to struggle over -- it drives some nuts.  

    As a world community, we have to do a better job of preparing people to handle the overload, and to use it wisely.  

The internet is a natural if crude expression of an inner reality: the oneness of all or interbeing.  

    Before we rediscover our true nature and telepathy once again becomes the mode of communication, the internet can be a good tool for @one-ment. But it is a tool and, sabi nga ni Pilosopong Tama, "...yung screwdriver, para sa screw; it would be unwise to pick your nose with it..."  

"The internet has made the world smaller for those of us who live far from the homeland and whose loved ones are scattered all over the planet. It has the potential to unite people and groups of common causes to strengthen their ties by keeping fast and regular communication open. As with all advances in science and technology, however, the potential for misuse is great.  

    The wise use of any technology, therefore, is for one to be well-informed on its promises as well as its perils, its correct usage, and the ways to guard one's safety and security. It's also best to be aware of one's needs and not just follow the crowd. Plunging into new technology without proper knowledge, the way a child clamors for a new toy because all the kids on the block have one, is immature and could be dangerous."  

"internet is communication -- wisdom is @ one-ment  

"within all of life is the Spirit;  
        it is the well of all experiences of life  
        wherein everyone may gather its waters of wisdom  
        and drink from it.  
"the only way to attain the wisdom of flight is to fly;  
        and, if we seek the Spirit that is within all of life,  
        through the winged we had flown.  
"through the Spirit we may attain the freedom of the winds  
        or brightness of the sun;  
        most of all, we may attain the omnipotence of our true self."  

"E-mail is magic ... i love the immediacy and relative cost-efficiency.  
"internet ... i can live without."  

"The internet should be the highway for global unity, the final frontier for communicating human emancipation against the ills of society. Right now, while there are well-meaning souls, the internet is also the medium for those who cast their elitist, racist, cultist, separatist - to the extreme - murderous thoughts. But eventually, I believe this is the final sign of the times where the complete records of everyone is being tallied for the final days -- not in the religious sense (although it could be too) -- but in the global letting of hundreds of flowers contending for the best thoughts to ensue."  

"I still believe in the saying that anything that is in excess of the normal limit is not good. Hence, information overload does not really help us but rather destroy us. To the point that we are taking more than what we could chew and end up throwing up even what we need to swallow."  

"The e-mail is a product of human's ingenuity and state of advancement in the process of evolution. Like any product, it may be used for advancement or retrogression; good or bad. Being human, on the other hand, is also the process of man and woman's attempt to achieve perfection or being in touch with his/her essence, depending on how we make use of the e-mail, what message we send forward or receive, we either hasten beingness or impede growth. For me, it means reaching out to more people, touching more lives. I suppose, like nature or the air we breath, or anything else in this world, what matters most is that we give it the human touch."  

"It is mind-boggling how modern telecom has conquered time and distance. It takes only minutes, seconds even, to send an email from Glasgow to Chicago, from Los Baños to Las Vegas. Yet, it is heart-rending how Internet has not bridged the distance between hearts of brothers--between Israeli and Palestinian, between Irish and British, between Serb and Albanian."  

    "We are thankful for the fact that we now live in an age when we can chat daily by email with loved ones overseas, at practically no expense, and somehow soothe the anguish of separation. But this can never really replace the smile on the face, the tender touch, the warmth of an embrace, of a loved one."  

"Most information you find in the net is like junk food. Wisdom is REAL food for the soul which information alone will not give you. Only experience can give true wisdom and there does not seem to be a modem that exists which can deliver it to you."  

"Raw data when processed becomes information, information when absorbed by the person becomes knowledge, knowledge when verified to work through time becomes wisdom. The information superhighway carries a lot of data. Some data will eventually lead to wisdom."  
 

What are you doing the survey for anyway? What exactly are you looking for anyway? How will you know if you've gathered enough input? Are you reaching the right people for the answers? You know what will be nice? A content analysis of emails considered significant (to be operationalized) by the people you already have in your address book. Get the demographics of these people and see if you find trends by age, gender, native/expat, etc. then all the responses would be more than just data (as they are now, at least for the purposes of your study) and really become knowledge. So, quo vadis? Hindi ko ma-gets ang objective. 

Comment sent to S.B.:  

What we have been looking for are reactions of various persons to the ten-word statement about the "Info Superhighway" and the matters of information and wisdom for our very own respective human lives. We were certain that the responses would be nuggets of wisdom (not exactly "just data-- as they are now") that would somehow define a pattern that would, in turn, be a microscopic but growing seed of this sort of wisdom in a vast galaxy of information that is the cyberspace. Although we are also curious about the demographics of the respondents and other statistics, this is a forum, a collation and sharing, and not a survey o research, of insights that might likely resist attempts at quantification. We're not too keen about producing information from this growing wealth of wisdom. Some other entity might work on that for us without endangering the respondents' spontaneity and some feeling of privacy.  

     Because we're not really into generating information, we don't know how to answer your question about reaching the "right people." I guess the right people would be those who'd bother to respond with their own wisdom among those people we shall have been able to reach at any given time. And this reach would broaden many times over when we are finally able to upload the Saniblakas Foundation's website on World Wide Web. What is the objective? Gather and share (and gather more and share more) insights about the point of our "DekaLog 95" and hope to inspire some (and eventually more) people, and make this seed grow and its effects ripple out, if you'd pardon the mixing of metaphors. Thanks for your thought-provoking questions. We need more of those, too. Cheers! --EdR  

Maraming salamat sa e-mails, wala akong maibigay na ideas dahil kadalasan ang ideas ko ay nasabi na ng ating mga kababayan. Mabuhay!!!! 

Comment sent to Robie:  

Iba pa rin kung sa iyo manggagaling. Kahit similar sa sinasabi ng iba, ang ideas mo ay siguradong unique dahil ikaw ay unique na tao batay sa iyong unique experiences and circumstances. You can even say you agree with Mr. or Ms. So and So (not a very unique point) and say why on the basis of your own history and situation (very unique). Di ko naman gustong maka-pressure sa 'yo; comment lang 'to sa sinabi mo. salamat sa response na 'pinadala mo. Mabuhay ka at ang mga kasamahan mo, kayong lahat na mga kapatid ko diyan sa boston, etc.  

Comment sent to Joann:  

Thank you very much for adding your gratitude. I'm sure you can add a whole lot more. everyone is unique especially in personal experiences relating to any topic of discussion and all of us can surely learn from your unique reflections and most of us would surely appreciate them ("for better or for worse"--not necessarily resonate with them).