The World's Best Pavlok Story

During an extended solitary retreat in rural Vermont in early 2020 (oblivious to the pandemic unfolding outside), Tasshin Fogleman was training under his teacher Soryu at the Monastic Academy (MAPLE). The instruction was simple — follow the breath, stop thinking, break through. He couldn't last ten seconds without thinking. Out of desperation he turned to a Pavlok wrist device that delivers a small electric shock on command, using it to interrupt thoughts and train the opposite skill. The piece is a vivid case for not-thinking as a real, trainable capacity — and an unexpectedly effective collision between contemplative tradition and consumer behaviour-change tech.