2008.04.15 19:00 - Introductions

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    The evening started off quietly, but then Ranx strolled by, and I invited him in for a cup of tea.

    Pema Pera: Welcome Ranx!
    Ranx Arcadia: Thanks Pema :)
    Pema Pera: Hi Ranx!
    Ranx Arcadia: how goes?
    Pema Pera: Your first time here?
    Ranx Arcadia: nope. you?
    Pema Pera: I’ve been coming here every day for the last two weeks
    Pema Pera: how about you?
    Ranx Arcadia: nice. do you come for the 6pm meditation?
    Pema Pera: when I can yes, but this week has been difficult
    Ranx Arcadia: I’ve been coming sporadically for the past month or so
    Pema Pera: but I have a different program here
    Pema Pera: which started at seven
    Pema Pera: sometimes there are five or so people
    Pema Pera: sometimes more or fewer
    Ranx Arcadia: nice
    Pema Pera: today I happened to be by myself
    Pema Pera: See http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
    Ranx Arcadia: eek! ill have to check that one out later
    Ranx Arcadia: older computer
    Pema Pera: np
    Ranx Arcadia: doesnt seem like 3 years since I bought it, but time has a way of flying
    Pema Pera: haha, yes I know
    Pema Pera: if you forget, google “play as being”
    Ranx Arcadia: cool. that’s your site?
    Pema Pera: yes, one of them
    Ranx Arcadia: I know what you mean
    Ranx Arcadia: I have about 6
    Pema Pera: haha
    Pema Pera: the one I started for these activities
    Ranx Arcadia: check out Deism.us
    Pema Pera: deism, interesting
    Pema Pera: I have never written a blog before
    Ranx Arcadia: ah, nice… I haven’t really blogged much… good concept though, and I read a few.. mostly technology related
    Ranx Arcadia: do you practice buddhism in RL?
    Pema Pera: interested in Buddhism yes
    Pema Pera: considering myself a Buddhist no
    Ranx Arcadia: same here
    Pema Pera: but sympathetic to the experimental techniques
    Pema Pera: which no doubt will find a place in a future science
    Pema Pera: in some form or other
    Ranx Arcadia: yah… i guess I am primarily what you would call a free thinker
    Ranx Arcadia: and there is a Buddhist temple near my home that I’ve been going to for meditation sessions
    Pema Pera: that’s nice, to have that opportunity
    Ranx Arcadia: yep… there are actually a number of sangha’s in my area
    Pema Pera: I see meditation as a kind of lab
    Pema Pera: using your own life as a lab
    Ranx Arcadia: yes! )

    I then summarized what we are doing here.

    Pema Pera: so what I’m doing here is rather unusual
    Ranx Arcadia: yes?
    Pema Pera: I call it “trading duration for frequency” or “for continuity”
    Pema Pera: normally, when we sit for, say, half an hour a day, the challenge is to integrate what we discover into the rest of our life — otherwise it would be useless
    Ranx Arcadia: yes
    Pema Pera: so we then practice 23.5 hours a day to not meditate . . . . .
    Pema Pera: so I choose a different experiment
    Ranx Arcadia: my brain is so scattered, i really need the meditation time to reset myself
    Pema Pera: every quarter of an hour 9 seconds of a type of meditation
    Ranx Arcadia: hah!
    Ranx Arcadia: cool
    Ranx Arcadia: I try to sit before bed at night…
    Pema Pera: that’s a good time
    Ranx Arcadia: but then, sometimes (oftentimes?) I find myself doing other things… (eg. SL, Wii, Etc)
    Pema Pera: haha
    Pema Pera: interesting too
    Pema Pera: What I’d like to explore
    Ranx Arcadia: technology vices can be so addicting
    Pema Pera: is to see whether we can plant a type of virus in our daily life
    Pema Pera: every 15 minutes
    Pema Pera: a 1% time tax
    Pema Pera: leaving the other 891 seconds open
    Ranx Arcadia: something like an automatic shutdown during that time?
    Pema Pera: but when we can really remind ourselves to stop for 9 sec every 15 minutes
    Pema Pera: sort of yeah
    Pema Pera: not complete reboot
    Pema Pera: but stopping,
    Pema Pera: dropping
    Ranx Arcadia: would be nice..
    Pema Pera: and importantly:
    Pema Pera: writing a few words
    Pema Pera: taking a good breath
    Pema Pera: in like a lab journal
    Ranx Arcadia: once you get geared up during the day, however, it’s tough to stop…. buddhist might call hit habit energy
    Pema Pera: I also call it “poking holes into conventional views of reality” — one hole every 15 minutes

    A little later Cid Jacobs dropped by and gave me a beautiful hand-held Tibetan prayer wheel.

    Pema Pera: Hi Cid
    Cid Jacobs: heya
    Pema Pera: Thanks for the prayer wheel.
    Cid Jacobs: np :}
    Pema Pera: Something you made?
    Cid Jacobs: indeed, made it a couple of hours ago, dakini mentioned wanting to get one together
    Pema Pera: wow, impressive!
    Cid Jacobs: ty
    Pema Pera: You’re an experienced builder?
    Cid Jacobs: somewhat, ive experieanced just about everything in sl
    Cid Jacobs: been here almost 4 years
    Pema Pera: wow!!
    Pema Pera: that’s half of eternity
    Pema Pera: more than half ;>)
    Cid Jacobs: lol
    Pema Pera: you sit here often with Dakini?
    Cid Jacobs: ive just recently started coming here
    Pema Pera: I’ve been coming since a month ago
    Pema Pera: this week is hard, since I’m in California — dinner time
    Pema Pera: I live in NYC
    Pema Pera: 9 pm is easier
    Cid Jacobs: ive very recently started studying the teachings of buddha, and thought my avatar should try to be enlightened as well hehe
    Pema Pera: hahaha, amazing isn’t it, this sense of immersion
    Pema Pera: so yes, didn’t think of it, but:
    Pema Pera: one can have an atheistic avatar
    Pema Pera: a devout one
    Pema Pera: an enlightened one
    Pema Pera: a sinner
    Pema Pera: whatever
    Cid Jacobs: hehe
    Pema Pera: a whole coterie!
    Pema Pera: wow the possibilities . . ..
    Cid Jacobs: its pretty easy for your avatar to follow the 5 precepts in sl
    Pema Pera: did you know that I started something here too?
    Cid Jacobs: oh?
    Pema Pera: every day
    Pema Pera: actually three times a day
    Pema Pera: perhaps too fanatic . . . .
    Pema Pera: . . . but fun
    Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
    Pema Pera: every day at 7 am , 1 pm, 7 pm in the little tea house
    Pema Pera: where I was just sitting
    Pema Pera: feel free to drop by any time you like
    Pema Pera: all very informal

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