Who knew that computers could enjoy enlightenment too?

Zenware is a class of software designed to minimize distractions and promote focus and concentration.

Writes Jeffrey MacIntyre of Slate.com:

The philosophy behind zenware is to force the desktop back to its Platonic essence. There are several strategies for achieving this, but most rely on suppressing the visual elements you’re used to: windows, icons, and toolbars. The applications themselves eschew pull-down menus or hide off-screen while you work. Even if you consider yourself inured to their presence, the theory goes, you’ll benefit most from their absence.

Jeffrey goes on to review several zenware applications.

LifeHacker.com writes about the ‘Top 10 Distraction Stoppers.’ They include hiding different elements of the screen to minimize visual overload and using filters and blocking tools to reduce unwanted (or at least unhelpful) intrusions.

WebWorkerDaily.com offers a roundup of zenware tools. Their coverage is heavy on simplified alternatives to the confusing and cluttered modern word processor program.

Of course, this whole zen thing is supposed to work for people too. Or so I hear. You might enjoy the following 72-minute video where Jon Kabat-Zinn (author of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, Mindfulness for Beginners and Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness leads a mindfulness meditation at Google. Jon lectures on mindfulness and meditation for the first 25 minutes and then begins the actual guided meditation.