The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray. The comments are by Bruce Mowbray.

This was a "Theme Session" and the theme was (roughly stated): "What do you experience during 'drops'?"

Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Bruce :)
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Cat.
Bruce Mowbray: I can't seem to get thisw cushion to change my sit.
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh! There is goes!
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray: Your gossimer wings are elegant and beautiful, Cat!
Catrinamonblue Resident: ty :)
Bruce Mowbray: gossamer?
Bruce Mowbray: How does one spell that?
Catrinamonblue Resident: I'm not sure :)
Bruce Mowbray: gossamer ... I think.
Bruce Mowbray: Anyway, they are beautiful,
Bruce Mowbray: and they remind me of the Coursera course I am taking right now...
Bruce Mowbray: on Beauty and Symmetry.
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Wol Euler: greetings, pabonauts.
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Wol!
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Wol :)
Bruce Mowbray: Before we get started, here's a link to that course, Cat:
Bruce Mowbray: https://class.coursera.org/ntusym-001
Catrinamonblue Resident: ty :)
Bruce Mowbray: It began just last week and I am already "over my head" -- but it's a FINE course and I'm enjoying it immensely.
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Eliza!
Catrinamonblue Resident: I'll look into it thank you Bruce :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Eliza :)
Eliza Madrigal: hm....odd configuration... where to sit...where to sit...
Eliza Madrigal: :) Hi
Bruce Mowbray: Hee hee.
Bruce Mowbray: Do we have B.O.?
Bruce Mowbray: Perfect symmetry, Eliza!
Bruce Mowbray: and Cat and I were just talking about symmetry.
Eliza Madrigal laughs... wondering what the unique logic of the situation is... like stepping into a dream
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray: [12:55] Bruce Mowbray: https://class.coursera.org/ntusym-001
Eliza Madrigal: ah, wonderful... was listening to the Her links Eos posted, earlier...
Eliza Madrigal: "supersymmetry"
Bruce Mowbray: You mean links to the movie "her," Eliza?
Eliza Madrigal: to the music
Bruce Mowbray: ahhhh!
Catrinamonblue Resident: brb
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, aggers!
Eliza Madrigal: Wonderful arrival, Aggers :)
Agatha Macbeth: Buona sera
Eliza Madrigal: yay... loving this seating puzzle putting itself together
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: hello eliza, aggers
Bruce Mowbray: wu wei
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Aggers :)
Agatha Macbeth: Puzzles can be fun or alternatively annoying I find
Eliza Madrigal: Aggers, that outfit is freaking fantastic ^.^
Agatha Macbeth: TY :)
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Aph!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Aph :)
Agatha Macbeth: Wol has one just like it :p
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Aph :)
Aphrodite Macbain: HIya
Wol Euler: hello aph
Agatha Macbeth: Hi Aphie

--BELL--

Aphrodite Macbain: smiles and settles in
Eliza Madrigal: Wol is looking fantastic too... just in a different sort of way :)
Wol Euler smiles modestly.
Aphrodite Macbain: everyone looks fantastic in their own way.
Agatha Macbeth: Always does :)
Wol Euler: thank you
Eliza Madrigal: lol Aph
Eliza Madrigal: yellow isn't the easiest color to wear.. so that's why it jumps out at me 
Agatha Macbeth: Hi Sanji
Aphrodite Macbain: you are a ray of sunshine Eliza
Agatha Macbeth: And Yaku-ji
Eliza Madrigal: ooo and now seeing Aph has been to kimono shop!
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, San and Yaku!
Aphrodite Macbain: smiles
Eliza Madrigal: (((Aph))))) thank you... am indeed feeling sunshiny today
Agatha Macbeth tickles Liz's feet
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey everyone
Catrinamonblue Resident: HI Yaku, San :)
Santoshima Resident: greetings
Eliza Madrigal giggles wildly
Wol Euler: hello san
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Yaku, San :)
Wol Euler: and yaku
Aphrodite Macbain: yowza seems the gang's all here
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, indeed, an esteemed assemblage.

Aphrodite Macbain: see what you did Bruce?
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: Yikes!
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: be careful what you wish for... hehehe...
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Bruce Mowbray wonders if he should wait a minute or so more before beginning the "theme...." giving time for Yaku to find a cushion, also....
Agatha Macbeth: And here's Bleuji :)
Bruce Mowbray: Yayyy!
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Bleu!
Bleu Oleander: hey PaBers :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bleu :))
Aphrodite Macbain: Could you give me a notecard, Bruce?
Aphrodite Macbain: Hiya Bleu
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Bleu :)
Bruce Mowbray: I will make one more stab at promoting an excellent course at Coursera that began just last week:
Bruce Mowbray: https://class.coursera.org/ntusym-001
Bruce Mowbray: A course in Beauty and Symmetry.
Bruce Mowbray: Well worth looking into.
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Bruce Mowbray: So, are we ready, then?
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Qt :)
Bleu Oleander: so many great courses at Coursera!
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Qt!
Agatha Macbeth: Nanu nanu QT
Catrinamonblue Resident: HI Qt :)
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, and this looks like a good one, Bleu.
Qt Core: Hi all (no answers needed or we won't start anything) ;-)
Eliza Madrigal: lol
Wol Euler: Bruce, would you care to lead us off?
Wol Euler: ty
Bruce Mowbray: kk.
Bruce Mowbray: I've just given everyone a notecard, I hope.
Bruce Mowbray: If not, please let me know.
Aphrodite Macbain: got it
Agatha Macbeth: Indeed you have - I got two :p
Agatha Macbeth: Hi Zenny
Bruce Mowbray: Recently, there has been some discussion in various venues about the viability of PaB...
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Zen :)
Bruce Mowbray: or, that's probably putting it too coarsely.
Aphrodite Macbain: waves at Zen
Bruce Mowbray: ... about what we're trying to do here...
Agatha Macbeth: Cool dude
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Zen.
Zen Arado: Hi all
Bruce Mowbray: So, I thought it might be good to have a theme session.... during which we share our own experiences with the PaB world...
Bruce Mowbray: and I also thought that it might be good to begin with a circle-trip of sharings about our experiences during the "drops."
Bruce Mowbray: What do you think?
Wol Euler nods.
Bruce Mowbray: It's perfectly all right for anyone to get more specific or more general...
Agatha Macbeth: Hi Steve
Bruce Mowbray: whatever seems right to you.
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Eliza Madrigal: sounds great
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Stevie :)
Agatha Macbeth nods
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, steve!
stevenaia Michinaga: waves
Agatha Macbeth: Got the last seat :)
Bruce Mowbray: There are a lot of us here today. . . . so I shall begin, and be brief

Wol Euler: we all get bonus karma points!+
Aphrodite Macbain: two little maids from school are we..
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Agatha Macbeth: Or twelve
Bruce Mowbray: and can we then go counter-clockwise around the circle....
Bruce Mowbray: so Cat, you would be after me.
Catrinamonblue Resident: ok
Bruce Mowbray: cool.
Bruce Mowbray: TY!
Santoshima Resident: that would be looking at the circle from above, Bruce?
Agatha Macbeth: Widdershins
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, looking at the circle from above ground.
Aphrodite Macbain: rather than under...
Bruce Mowbray: Dropping, for me:
Bruce Mowbray: is a choice
Bruce Mowbray: a willingness to be vulnerable
Bruce Mowbray: to whatever's happening
Bruce Mowbray: usually some noises....
Bruce Mowbray: then thoughts about noises
Bruce Mowbray: then judgments about noises
Bruce Mowbray: then judgments about those thoughts
Bruce Mowbray: and those judgments....
Bruce Mowbray: then dropping all of that.
Bruce Mowbray: recognizing the impermanence of all of that.
Bruce Mowbray: and then anticipating the gong again.
Bruce Mowbray: and the fountain's rising.
Bruce Mowbray: and forgetting what I just learned.
Bruce Mowbray: Enough from me for now.
Bruce Mowbray: Cat?
Wol Euler smiles.
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: dropping has changed over time for me... at first it was something I consciously tried, thinking step 1, 2, 3. Now it's more like a pause to catch my breath and look, a noticing of everything and nothing at the same time :)
Agatha Macbeth: Hello E, good to see you

--BELL--

Agatha Macbeth: Hello Zon
Zon Kwan: heya
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Eos, Zon :)
Aphrodite Macbain: Hi Zon
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Zon, Eos :)
Aphrodite Macbain: Eos
Bruce Mowbray: Welcome, Zon. Welcome, Eos.
Wol Euler: hello eos, zon
Eos Amaterasu: Hello, Pabbers
Bruce Mowbray: We're ready for Cat's input...
Bruce Mowbray: and listening...
Catrinamonblue Resident: just as I said for me it's a pause to stop and look :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: done :)
Eliza Madrigal: :) glad you asked again Bruce.. had to scroll up somehow had missed Cat's input... thank you
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Cat.
Bruce Mowbray: Yaku?
Yakuzza Lethecus: I try not to force anything
Yakuzza Lethecus: mostly I have my little mental alehouse going
Yakuzza Lethecus: apehouse
Agatha Macbeth likes 'mental alehouse'
Santoshima Resident: yes
Eliza Madrigal: yeah... me too
Agatha Macbeth: Freud rocks :p
Wol Euler: hehehe
Aphrodite Macbain likes apehouse too
Bruce Mowbray loves "Ape house"
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: Monkeys rule!
Yakuzza Lethecus: it is good to be reminded of stopping, but I am far from real dropping
Yakuzza Lethecus: well so much for now
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Yaku.
Bruce Mowbray: Bleu?
Bleu Oleander: thanks Bruce
Bleu Oleander: from “ Basic Ideas” page on the wiki: “The basic idea of "Play as Being" is very simple. Once every fifteen minutes, you take a 9-second break. During that time you relax, and you free up your attention.
Bleu Oleander: although I don't do that so much in rl, I do try to do it at PaB
Aphrodite Macbain: nods
Bleu Oleander: I don't really see the dropping thing except that it never hurts to see how tightly some ideas are held
Bruce Mowbray also nods.
Bleu Oleander: trying to understand reality is an ongoing interest and whatever ways I can try to do that I find productive ways to use my time
Bleu Oleander: thanks, done :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: :-)
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Bleu.
Bruce Mowbray: Qt?
Qt Core: when i try to do the dropping it feels like sending a sonar pulse (being a submarine)
Aphrodite Macbain: :)
Qt Core: just actively try to figure out what is out there
Qt Core: but it is better when it is the other way around, let say unexpected dropping and what it is there jumps me
Zen Arado: nods
Aphrodite Macbain: nods
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Qt Core: nothing more (if i don't have a few hours)
Bruce Mowbray: Welcome, Raffi.
Bruce Mowbray: TY, Qt!
Bruce Mowbray: Zen?
Aphrodite Macbain: waves at raffi!
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Eliza Madrigal: ty Qt, and Hi Raffi :)
Raffila Millgrove: sorry to be so late (another event)
Zen Arado: ty Qt
Zen Arado: I agree with Qt
Zen Arado: I like to come here to chat and investigate spiritual matters
Zen Arado: but have never been keen on dropping idea
Zen Arado: I read somewhere lately that us Westerners time meditation too much
Zen Arado: we will meditate for X minutes
Zen Arado: instead of just opening up to it and forgetting about time
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Zen Arado: we don't even notice how we regiment meditation into a time schedule along with everything else

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: [ . . . . . Perhaps I should remind folks of the question: 'What is your experience during the "drops"?'   We are going counter-clockwise around the circle and are now with Zen.]
Zen Arado: and a 9 secs meditation seems rather like that to me :) But I see that it can be a good start for some perhaps
Zen Arado: done
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ty!
Eliza Madrigal: ty
Bruce Mowbray: Aph?
Aphrodite Macbain: For me, dropping is not stopping but becoming more aware - of my attitudes, moods, agendas. Stepping out of my head and looking at myself and others
Aphrodite Macbain: It's hard to do- especially moods and attitudes.
Catrinamonblue Resident: nods
Aphrodite Macbain: But I do get some brief insight into the fact that I have them!
Aphrodite Macbain: Done
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Aph.
Bruce Mowbray: steve?
stevenaia Michinaga: The minutes between the 90 seconds I listen, during 90 seconds (and after the sessions) I incorporate, sift through, prune and use the thoughts heard and weave what I filter into enriching my views of my reality as it slowly rebuilds itself into some things new and simpler yet familiar to me since the time I began this journey w/ PaB. I have been richly rewarded by this.
stevenaia Michinaga: done!
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ty, and wow!
Aphrodite Macbain: tx Stevenaia
Bruce Mowbray: TY!
Bruce Mowbray: Eliza, dear?
Eliza Madrigal: ooo
Eliza Madrigal: ty Stevie
Eliza Madrigal: I have shared in other sessions, about my personal practice of dropping, but PaB dropping during sessions is different. ...
Eliza Madrigal: During the stops, I check myself, and I allow what others have said to check me… let things sink in, or really let go of whatever was happening before the drop… offer it up, in a way.
Eliza Madrigal: so I relate to Aph in that sense
Eliza Madrigal: however...
Eliza Madrigal: I was more 'serious' about the drops at first - would almost never go for tea or IM, but when I began to hear so often how often others weren't really 'there' with them and seemed to feel it was almost silly (at times), I began to question my own idealism... I guess that is a tendency I have...
Eliza Madrigal: but keeping my own practices
Eliza Madrigal: At some point I came back to the drops more fully, having let others off the hook, and letting them be just part of my own practice… whatever others were doing.
Aphrodite Macbain: (((Eliza))
Eliza Madrigal: done
Bruce Mowbray: thanks so much, Eliza.
Bruce Mowbray: aggers?
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Agatha Macbeth: Nothing really interesting to say I'm afraid
Agatha Macbeth: So let's move on to Wollie
Bruce Mowbray: kk, thanks aggers.
Bruce Mowbray: Woly?
Eliza Madrigal: :(
Wol Euler: well, okay
Wol Euler: there are so many drops... the ones here, the ninety seconds, I very often just sit still through them
Wol Euler: letting my mind go, not hanging on to what was said or felt
Wol Euler: a clearing-out, as it were
Wol Euler: perhaps that is dropping, though that word feels too deliberate for what I do then
Wol Euler: I *do* drop as a deliberate act which I have learned, when conversation gets too heated
Aphrodite Macbain: nods
Wol Euler:in a meeting yesterday, for example. On the edge of opening my mouth for a heated reply, I just said "no" to myself and threw away that response
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bruce Mowbray listens carefully.
Agatha Macbeth: Age helps
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Wol Euler: gave myself a second to think again and answered calmly, and changed the tone of the meeting.
Wol Euler: that I think is something I learned here
Arisia Vita: greetings all
Wol Euler: done
Catrinamonblue Resident: age has nothing to do with it; I think more a mental maturity :)
Aphrodite Macbain: HI Ari
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Wol.
Zen Arado: Hi Ari
Eliza Madrigal: ty Wol, and hi Ari :)
Aphrodite Macbain: Tx wol
Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Ari :)
Agatha Macbeth: Same thing
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: Let's see, who's next? Eos?
Bruce Mowbray: NO.
Eos Amaterasu: Hmm...
Bruce Mowbray: Sorry!
Bruce Mowbray: San-ji!
Santoshima Resident: Eos, please go ahead
Bruce Mowbray: MY apologies!
Bruce Mowbray: Eos, then?
Eos Amaterasu: heh heh
Eliza Madrigal: ::hot potato::
Eos Amaterasu: I like Bleu's quoting of the "basic idea"
Eos Amaterasu: dropping being in SL, RL, DL (dream life), typist.... who is doing the so-called dropping anyway?
Eos Amaterasu: the 90 seconds here are "" around ?
Eos Amaterasu: I remember when my son was born
Eos Amaterasu: strong vivid awareness, coming from nothing
Eos Amaterasu: first look
Eos Amaterasu: part of being sentient, alive....
Eos Amaterasu: background sound stops
Eos Amaterasu: only then you hear it
Eos Amaterasu: and you feel an open awaring
Eos Amaterasu: that's it
Eos Amaterasu: here there everywhere
Eos Amaterasu: ciao!
Eos Amaterasu: (end)
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhhh!
Wol Euler smiles.
Bruce Mowbray: TY! so much!
Aphrodite Macbain: ciao!
Bruce Mowbray: San-ji?
Santoshima Resident: ty, to everyone

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: San?
Santoshima Resident: bell sound appreciated
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Santoshima Resident: indicates a welcome pause
Santoshima Resident: like a sigh at times
Santoshima Resident: so much attunement to the small screen
Santoshima Resident: of this computer
Santoshima Resident: in trying to keep up with the chat text
Santoshima Resident: at times difficult
Bruce Mowbray: :)

Santoshima Resident: so often the pause is time to reread
Santoshima Resident: practical
Santoshima Resident: and at times, mostly it's just a pause to breathe

Santoshima Resident: and to notice that breathing

Santoshima Resident: and notice the noticing

Santoshima Resident: that's all for now

Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: :) ty
Wol Euler: thank you, san, and thanks to everyone
Aphrodite Macbain: RAffi?
Bruce Mowbray: ty, San.
Bruce Mowbray: So then....
Bruce Mowbray: Raffi?
Bruce Mowbray: no?
Bruce Mowbray: How about Ari?
Arisia Vita: All moments of silence are special to me, for they give me a chance to reach out and touch a friend, to let them know I care. Whenever we have our little 90 sec (or 5 minute) :) breaks, I like to reach out to each of you. done
Wol Euler smiles.
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Aphrodite Macbain blows Ari a kiss
Arisia Vita: color me happy :)
Agatha Macbeth pokes Ari#
Bruce Mowbray gives Ari a big hug.
Eliza Madrigal just realized that what she wrote about dropping, was an example of dropping (expectations of others) itself.. drops drops everywhere ^.^
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Aphrodite Macbain: drips and drops
Eliza Madrigal: that's all :) was just a longer process dropping
Wol Euler smiles.
Bruce Mowbray: Well, as a sort of tangent to that, Eliza, I also noticed that many of us seem to equate dropping with meditation...
Bruce Mowbray: but others see it as a sort of self-improvement session...
Eos Amaterasu: I picked up a kind of devotional quality in what you said, Eliza
Bruce Mowbray: and for others as a time to let in the dog, as it were.
Eos Amaterasu: allowing in the dropping
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Eliza Madrigal: think that is spot on Eos... yes we are each quite unique
Catrinamonblue Resident: I think of PaB as more than a place to explore, more than a place to be, but as a place to find who I am in relation to others, a deep place to be free and open and no judgments anywhere
Bruce Mowbray really wants to "drop" his "leadership role" and so will now listen..... (to any and all comments....)
Aphrodite Macbain: Thank you for doing this Bruce; it's a good reminder of what we are about and what brings us to PaB
Eliza Madrigal: nicely done facilitating Bruce, pre-session too
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Aph.
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Eliza.
Bruce Mowbray: but on with the comments!
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eos Amaterasu: because pauses/drops in RL are rare, this place and sessions are special
Catrinamonblue Resident: nods
Wol Euler nods.
Aphrodite Macbain: I tend to forget what we are about....and it's nice to be reminded
Arisia Vita: speaking of drops reminded me of the quote from Cloud Atlas... My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
Bruce Mowbray: wow!  + ty, Ari!
Catrinamonblue Resident: beautiful Ari :)
Eliza Madrigal: "and the ocean is also in the drop"~ lovely, Ari
Aphrodite Macbain: a PAB LAB of awareness - drops in a big bucket
Bruce Mowbray: (Notices that his typist is feeling "warm and accepted" right now.....)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bleu Oleander: it's interesting to go back and read the wiki under "about our meetings" and "basic ideas" somehow the lab aspect rarely show up in our sessions these days ... perhaps that's what has prompted us to take a look at PaB and where we are?
Santoshima Resident: I'd like to add that this meatho of speaking in turn is very useful as a change from the usual pattern here. thank you for this today, Bruce
Eos Amaterasu: yes, that lab aspect is key.... curiously it's a bit of a game aspect too
Catrinamonblue Resident: yes I likes it too :)
Bruce Mowbray: yw, San....
Bruce Mowbray listens for more on the "game aspect...."
Eliza Madrigal: maybe seeing how each of us is uniquely working with PaB, is the insight needed to understand where the lab aspect went, or if it is just showing up differently?
Eos Amaterasu: willing to consciously play, make up little rules, excursions, and also, for some of us, be somewhat systematic
Bruce Mowbray: ahhhh!
Bleu Oleander: yes, I think its the idea of performing an experiment with the idea that we can discuss the results that's an interesting aspect for me
Eliza Madrigal: oh, nice Eos
Bruce Mowbray: bye for now, San-ji!
Zen Arado:I always thought the 90 secs was a way to introduce people to meditation for even a short period and hopefully they go on to do longer periods?
Eliza Madrigal waves
Zen Arado: bye Eos
Eos Amaterasu: ?
Aphrodite Macbain: I am afraid RL Calls -I would be happy continue this conversation tomorrow at 1pm
Bruce Mowbray: kk, Aph.
Agatha Macbeth: TC Aphie
Bruce Mowbray: THANK YOU!
Catrinamonblue Resident: Bye Aph
Bleu Oleander: I don't view the 90 secs as meditation
Zen Arado: byee Aph
Aphrodite Macbain: thank you everyone
Eos Amaterasu: bye Aph, thnx
Wol Euler: bye to those leaving
Eliza Madrigal: I don't think PaB ever had that agenda Zen, but for some maybe a taste that grows into other areas
Raffila Millgrove: ty Bruce. ty all.
Bruce Mowbray: Maybe several need to leave during the next drop.
stevenaia Michinaga: bye Aph

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: and that is fine, of course.
Bruce Mowbray: I just realized how precious to me are the presences of others...... (especially evident when they leave our circle.)
Eliza Madrigal: nice drop :)
Bruce Mowbray: so, goes back to listening.
Wol Euler smiles.
Arisia Vita: and another nice thing about drops...no matter their individual size or sparkle, when they get together they merge and become one...
Bleu Oleander: also from the wiki: So this is the added suggestion, in addition to "just relax," during our mini-breaks: "Drop what you have in order to see what you are." Play with your identities. Wear them lightly. No need to deny or ignore or suppress them; acknowledge them, but don't  let yourself get stuck to them. Rather than allowing yourself to get glued to your identities, enjoy a freedom from identification.
Zen Arado: oh I thought it was a mini meditation period...not sure what it is otherwise
Bleu Oleander: it's a chance to play
Bruce Mowbray: That is really FINE, Zen: a mini-meditation period for you.... and also for me.... but for others?   Let's see!
Catrinamonblue Resident: to be to see who and what we be in the light from the computer screen :)
Bruce Mowbray listens (and reads back).
Santoshima Resident: agreed Zen
Eliza Madrigal: what you describe, Bleu, could be seen as contemplation.. opening to insight... spontaneity
Bleu Oleander: yes
Eliza Madrigal: maybe meditation and contemplation are close words
Zen Arado: maybe that's why I don't get it...I can't settle into meditation in such a short period
Bleu Oleander: I'm just quoting the wiki
Bruce Mowbray: ty, Bleu!
Bleu Oleander: how everyone interprets and uses PaB is very subjective
Bruce Mowbray: an excellent quote.
Eos Amaterasu: "meditation" is such a loaded and multi-meaning-ed term... "drop" is hard enough :-)
Eliza Madrigal nods nods
Bruce Mowbray: For sure, Eos!
Zen Arado: yeh that's true too Eos
Wol Euler: my problem with the nine seconds wasn't being unable to drop into meditation, it was that it took me several minutes to climb back out of it
Wol Euler: destroyed my productivity
Zen Arado: ha yes Wol
Eos Amaterasu: hmm
Eliza Madrigal: well, like I thought meditative life would make me calmer and my life more orderly.. but that wasn't true either :)
Bleu Oleander: dropping is not required ... It is enough for me to just relax and free up my attention during the pauses
Qt Core: yeah, Others are bad enough at destroying mine ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: "Others"?
Bruce Mowbray: Who is that?
Qt Core: other people
Bruce Mowbray: kk, I think I get it.  but being a hermit, not sure
Eos Amaterasu: there's a kind of grandmother awareness, that lets all the children play
Wol Euler nods.
Bleu Oleander: "makes me calmer and my life more orderly" I would definitely buy something that did that! :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: yes
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Zen Arado: I'm trying hard to be less regimented and time-bound
Bleu Oleander: remembering my grandmother ... not sure she had great awareness going on LOL
Zen Arado: work-life did that to me I guess
Eliza Madrigal: hehehhehee
Bruce Mowbray: Can "drops" be different things for different people and still be consistent with the "PaB methodolgy"?
Zen Arado: and school
Eliza Madrigal nods Zen, can see that
Bleu Oleander: sure Bruce
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Bleu Oleander: why not?
Eliza Madrigal: seems the design of school.. to help us 'fit'
Bruce Mowbray listens for more.
Zen Arado: production lone mentality
Zen Arado: line*
Zen Arado: and lone :(
Eliza Madrigal: good question Bruce ... I think we can safely say we have some data that shows they are
Bleu Oleander: do we all have definite goals for participating in PaB?
Bruce Mowbray: but.... a "laboratory," Eliza?
Zen Arado: dehumanization of work/study practices..but I guess none of you worked on factory production lines
Wol Euler: surely the PaB methodology is to explore the individual experience and appreciation of the world?`
Wol Euler: so, yes
Zen Arado: though it infiltrates other areas
Santoshima Resident: yes, have done that, Zen
Bruce Mowbray agrees totally with Wol on that.
Eliza Madrigal: individual mind labs that come to compare data?
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Santoshima Resident: most work life and school life are such
Santoshima Resident: and the 'lone' you mentioned is poignant i think
Zen Arado: remembers punching a hole in 1000 sheets of metal..then they brought another 1000
Santoshima Resident: in relation to what we are discussing here
Bruce Mowbray ponders the "lone."
Eliza Madrigal nods...
Bleu Oleander: a big part of PaB seems to be about being with friends and sharing a part of our lives together
Bruce Mowbray: (also worked on a car parts factory production line for three years --- my LAST real job, alas.)
Eliza Madrigal: yes Bleu
Zen Arado: yes that's it Bruce
Santoshima Resident: the lone is perhaps what compels to be together
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Zen Arado: Henry Ford started it
Catrinamonblue Resident: I have such a different view of PaB it seems... not seeing it as a lab or experiment but as one of many, many ways of looking and seeing deeply into who we are.... or maybe I'm way off to be thinking of it that way
Bruce Mowbray ponders "lone" as "that which compels us to be together."
Bruce Mowbray: (and agrees!)  (especially as a hermit!)
Eos Amaterasu: I think the lab part is, "let's all try this", and then report back on what happens, discuss that, from 1st hand experience
Bruce Mowbray listens for more from Cat and from Eos.
Eliza Madrigal: lab is just a metaphor... I relate to that too Cat :) the lab quality is that sense of seeing an experience or observation in an environment set apart
stevenaia Michinaga: see you all soon
Eliza Madrigal waves to Stevenaia
Bruce Mowbray: bye for now, steve!
Wol Euler: bye stevie, take care
Zen Arado: bye Steve
Bleu Oleander: I think your view is not different actually Cat, its just a different way of saying the same thing
Santoshima Resident: salut stevie
Catrinamonblue Resident: Bye Steve
Zen Arado: I better get back to production line :)
Santoshima Resident: me too, into the day
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Wol Euler: "way of looking" is a synonym for "lab" in my book :)
Bruce Mowbray: kk, Zen. THANKS!
Eos Amaterasu: one must imagine Sysphus happy, zen
Zen Arado: byee all
Wol Euler: bye zen, work well
Bleu Oleander: yes Wol :)
Eliza Madrigal waves Zen and San :)
Santoshima Resident: thank you all ~
Zen Arado: ha yes Eos
Bruce Mowbray: bye to all those good folks who are leaving.
Catrinamonblue Resident: Bye to those leaving :)
Agatha Macbeth: Byee
Bruce Mowbray: OH. That urt!
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: hurt*
Agatha Macbeth: It urt Mr Iggins
Eos Amaterasu: just you w8
Eliza Madrigal: that's what sacred means I think... set apart?
Agatha Macbeth: Sacred or scared :p
Bruce Mowbray: I don't mean in an ego-rejection sort of way, but more in a "shall the circle be unbroken" sort of way.

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: (Every "drop" is also, potentially, a time that friends will depart....)
Bruce Mowbray: so, perhaps a bit of grief there.
Bruce Mowbray: but also a letting go.  Blessing and releasing.
Catrinamonblue Resident: sometimes it's hard for those departing too :) I should have been off at the top of the hour and yet here I am still
Wol Euler nods.
Qt Core: i always wonder if 90 sec pauses after the first hour are to be observed ;-)
Catrinamonblue Resident: and dinner remains uncooked :)
Bruce Mowbray: Yikes!
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: oh dear.(for my typist too, Cat!)
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Qt Core: and uneated too (isn't eating-time good for dropping ?)
Catrinamonblue Resident: smiles
Eliza Madrigal: and sometimes after the session is over is when it opens up more... so doubly hard :)
Eos Amaterasu: what about sense of mission, so to speak (which I think PaB as a lab had/could have....)
Eliza Madrigal listens
Bleu Oleander: has our mission changed?
Eos Amaterasu: some kind of pursuit or curiosity, that keeps manifesting, trying things
Bruce Mowbray also listens for more on "sense of mission."
Eos Amaterasu: that's subtly different from "bunch of friends to chat and drop with"
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: yes
Wol Euler nods.
Bleu Oleander: agree Eos
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'm not a big "hang out"-er
Eliza Madrigal: lol
Agatha Macbeth: 0.0
Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
Eos Amaterasu: what is our mission, should we choose to accept it?
Bleu Oleander: well we all seem to enjoy hanging out here :)
Catrinamonblue Resident: :) yup
Bruce Mowbray asks himself if what he's doing here is "hanging out."
Catrinamonblue Resident: but I really must go now... hungry people to feed myself included :)
Bleu Oleander: even when not experimenting with dropping we all seem to enjoy the ride
Eliza Madrigal waves to Cat
Wol Euler: bye cat, cook well
Catrinamonblue Resident: Bye everyone :)
Bruce Mowbray: bye for now, good Cat!
Bleu Oleander: bye Cat
Eos Amaterasu: chow chow, Cat
Agatha Macbeth: Bye Cat, love to sloppy joe
Agatha Macbeth: No scraping today Brucie?
Bruce Mowbray: Scraping can wait, aggers.
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Agatha Macbeth: Aww
Wol Euler smiles.
Bruce Mowbray: Priorities.
Eliza Madrigal: it is a strange thing to try to articulate... the sense of coming here, openheartedly to explore...
Bruce Mowbray: First the heart. Then the stomach.
Bruce Mowbray: (contra Maslow!)
Eliza Madrigal: which is different than just keeping up with facts about people
Eliza Madrigal: I enjoy the facts...
Eliza Madrigal: and want to keep in touch...
Agatha Macbeth: What is fact anyway?
Eliza Madrigal: but that's because underneath that there is this exploration  that has allowed me to feel connection
Eliza Madrigal: and trust
Wol Euler nods.
Eos Amaterasu: I keep feeling I want to circulate this more through the RL world
Bruce Mowbray: Trust is a big part of the whole thing, I feel.
Eliza Madrigal nods
Bruce Mowbray: And how do you do that, Eos?
Bruce Mowbray: (not to be personal.)
Bleu Oleander: trust, friendship, conversation all a part of it I think
Eos Amaterasu: well, one way we were doing that
Eos Amaterasu: was when we were doing RL retreats
Eos Amaterasu: but we need more light-weight ways of doing that, I feel
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Agatha Macbeth: There's another subject...
Bruce Mowbray: hmmmm.
Eos Amaterasu: that gets back to 9 sec pauses in RL
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray: kk!
Eos Amaterasu: which was a semi-joke, on the square
Eliza Madrigal: hmm, nods
Bleu Oleander: 1%
Eos Amaterasu: a bit of playfulness with math, yes
Eliza Madrigal: it sort of feels like an unpacked gift, in terms of RL
Eliza Madrigal: which is nice enough :)
Eliza Madrigal: I think I'm over-stimulated... there is a lot here
Bruce Mowbray ponders "unpacked gifts" --- and anticipation....
Bruce Mowbray: Me too, Eliza!
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: and so, I shall be a-scraping up RL din din now.
Bruce Mowbray: THANKS to everyone for being here!
Bleu Oleander: like a big dinner ... need to take a walk :)
Eos Amaterasu: me too, dinner-making time
Eliza Madrigal: thanks Bruce
Wol Euler: bye bruce, thank you for this meeting
Arisia Vita: yes, ty Bruce, and everyone
Eliza Madrigal: bye everyone :) thanks so much
Bleu Oleander: thanks all :)
Bruce Mowbray: I bow to you - each and all.
Qt Core: bye Bruce and ty
Agatha Macbeth: Bye Brucie, scrape well
Wol Euler: bye eos, bye ari, bye bleu
Eos Amaterasu: thanks all, enjoy you all so much, ciao
Arisia Vita: be well and happy
Bleu Oleander: byeee
Eliza Madrigal: (((( ))))
Qt Core: and everyone else leaving too
Eliza Madrigal: am waiting for son to finish writing about "morality in gaming" then we are going for dinner :)
Wol Euler: ah!
Agatha Macbeth: Good heavens
Wol Euler: interesting topic.
Agatha Macbeth: Is there any?
Wol Euler: I'd be curious to read what he says, if he would be willing
Qt Core: interesting teacher
Wol Euler: and would fully understand if not
Qt Core: or whoever inspired that
Eliza Madrigal: this is spontaneous. He says things I've never thought of in my life....
Eliza Madrigal: but it 'matters' to him...
Eliza Madrigal: so he's writing about the good/evil choices presented within a game
Eliza Madrigal: and how that demands that one can't play as themself
Eliza Madrigal: they have to play as a kind of puppet
Agatha Macbeth: Guess kids can relate the topic that way
Qt Core: main observation in gaming one could experiment with different approaches and see what comse out and how it feels

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: but there is a game called "Papers Please" that has more complexity
Qt Core: it seems a little pabbish ;-)
Eliza Madrigal: yeah... lol
Wol Euler: there's a difference between games like Lara Croft or the GTA series where you have to pretend to be the hero(ine)
Wol Euler: and games like WoW where you can create your own character, which is "you"
Wol Euler: at least that's my experience
Wol Euler: pretending to be Lara was never nearly as involving as actually being Stabette
Eliza Madrigal: there is something about the choices presented in the game.. and their limitations
Eliza Madrigal: identity as being dictated in subtle ways
Wol Euler: an interesting concept
Wol Euler: whatever gets kids thinking is good :)
Eliza Madrigal: :) well, gets me thinking too...
Agatha Macbeth: Depends what they're thinking about :p
Wol Euler: it's all good, aggers :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'm inclined to see this as he and his generation voicing the needs of our time more clearly
Agatha Macbeth: Hopefully
Eliza Madrigal: lol Aggers
Wol Euler: I heard in a TED talk last week about two "serious games" which teach how to run refugee camps and how to organize an non-violent insurrection
Eliza Madrigal: whoa
Agatha Macbeth: Satyagraha
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Wol Euler: and thought "Wow! If I'd heard that 25 years ago I'd have quit on the spot and gone to work for them"
Agatha Macbeth: WB Steve
Wol Euler: wb stevie
Eliza Madrigal: yet... the ideal is sometimes so far from the implementation
stevenaia Michinaga: the conversation continues
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Agatha Macbeth: Always does!
Eliza Madrigal: which reminds me of something I was laughing at before coming here.... Wol saying "Even Jesus didn't get all he wanted/his way.." or something like that, lol
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Stevie!
Wol Euler: right :)
Agatha Macbeth ponders
Wol Euler: about feeling like a failure because of lack of accomplishment
Wol Euler: Jesus' mission was to bring about love and peace. He failed.
Agatha Macbeth: Seems he accomplished an awful lot to me
Wol Euler: now, if even Jesus can fail, then surely you can cut yourself some slack :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Agatha Macbeth: Wonder if people will be quoting us in 2000 years
Wol Euler: highly unlikely :)
Eliza Madrigal: eeeek
Agatha Macbeth: 'Those logs were built to last'
Wol Euler: knock two zeroes off that and it's not at all less unlikely
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Eliza Madrigal: wabi sabi
Agatha Macbeth: Mega mega
Eliza Madrigal: okay... son has stomped away from voice recorder...
Eliza Madrigal: guess it is time to go eat
Wol Euler: heheh
Wol Euler: bye eliza, take care
Qt Core: enjoy, Eliza
Eliza Madrigal: ♥ ♥ ♥
stevenaia Michinaga: enjoy
Agatha Macbeth: Bye for now Liz ♥
Eliza Madrigal: thanks, bfn
Agatha Macbeth: Anyway...
Wol Euler: well, my dears, I think it's bedtime
Wol Euler: take care, be happy and well-fed
Agatha Macbeth: Yah
Agatha Macbeth: Schlaf gut
Wol Euler: huh, I can't even remember whether I was here this morning or not
Wol Euler: it seems so long ago
Wol Euler: ♥
Wol Euler: goodnight!
Agatha Macbeth: Almost certainly so!
Agatha Macbeth: ♥
stevenaia Michinaga: -is about to attempt my first Coursera course on Einstein (recommended to me) wish me luck
Agatha Macbeth: Ciao QT and Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: bye
stevenaia Michinaga: hi qt, missed you there by zooming too close
stevenaia Michinaga: https://class.coursera.org/einstein-001/lecture/43

--BELL--

Qt Core: bye Steve, sorry RL called