Walking in My Shoes: An Autoethnography of Techno-Spiritual Practices

Abstract

Technology has become deeply woven into the practices of faith communities who engage in shared prayer, online worship, or meditation. Despite a growing body of research on religious/spiritual practices, the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community has yet to fully investigate Techno-Spirituality, especially through a first-person approach. We explored prayer experiences to understand which elements evoke such experiences from a Christian perspective. We present results from an eight-month autoethnographic study of private prayer by the first author, also a community member, while incorporating both technological (e.g., a Muse 2 electroencephalogram headband) and non-technological (e.g., religious iconography) media. We reflect on emerging practices and limitations of integrating technology during Christian prayer. This paper provides empirical insights on spiritual practices with technologies, and contributes to discourses on Techno-Spirituality in HCI.