KASINA: Freemium Edition
Software for generating a dynamic meditation object
Dear friends,
Did you know that visual input is the most prioritized sensory input in humans?
Related to this, I’m excited to share a project that I’ve been working on for the past several weeks, or more accurately for the past several years, called KASINA.
Want to see what it’s like to meditate on a visual orb–aka a “kasina”?
I conceived of this app several years ago, but due to constrained resources and lack of software engineering skills I stopped pursuing the idea after a few iterations. Then came the glory of AI, and I discovered Vibe Coding.
After a few weeks of furious vibe coding I have a functional web application that does exactly what I wanted the original KASINA to do, which is to serve as a digital version of the ancient kasinas of yore. But, as we well know, when you digitize something, you change it. We’re digitizing human intelligence, one could say, with AI. And look how that’s changing things before our very eyes. What happens when we digitize the practice of using a visual meditation object?
Try out KASINA
If you’re at all moved by the idea of taking a dynamic visual orb as your meditation object I hope you’ll follow these instructions and try out the Freemium version of KASINA:
Go to Kasina.app and login with the e-mail address that you received this email at.
Navigate to the Kasinas page and pick an orb that you like the look of.
Set the Timer and Start your session.
If you only want to be looking at the kasina, and not your browser bar, make sure you go into your browser and enter “full screen mode.”
Notice that during the session you can use your mouse/trackpad to make the kasina larger or smaller, so find a size that feels right, and feel free to change it as needed.
Now, bring your attention to the visual orb, and pour all of your attention into it. When your mind wanders, simply return attention to the external kasina, and begin again.
With 1 minute left to go you’ll see the kasina gradually shrinks down to nothing as it fades out. This is the visual equivalent of the meditation bell at the end of a practice period.
When you’re done, go to the Reflection page and check our your recent session!
Please let me know if you give KASINA a try by replying to this e-mail, and tell me how it went. And if you really want to trip out on this, I’d recommend doing it at night, or doing it in a dark room. This really enhances the experience, though it works just fine under daylight conditions.
Finally, if you feel moved to continue supporting me in building this and other meditation apps–I’ve got a new app I’m working on called NOTING, which is about 50% of the way complete–you can also become a Premium subscriber of Contemplative Technology. As an additional benefit you’ll get immediate access to the premium version of KASINA, which includes this brand new series of Vajrayana Kasinas:
yours in practice,
Vince Fakhoury Horn | vincehorn.space
+1.828.395.7140 | vjhorn@gmail.com