Rebecca D. Nie

The meditation apps have done a real service. But there is a structural limit to what a solitary, mediated practice can sustain. Here is what a contemplative community offers that an app cannot.

Close your eyes. Picture yourself in a quiet, gentle, and safe space. Here in the heart of Silicon Valley — this relentlessly spinning hub — you can finally let your guard down completely. Starting with the first chime of the singing bowl, you are not hearing sound. You are feeling it. Deep, sustained sound waves wrap around you like ocean swells. Vibration passes through your skin, ripples through every cell, as if your brain were receiving a deep-tissue massage. Tense shoulders release...