2008.04.28 19:00 - Tumbling Tunbleweed

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    I met Maxine in the tea house, that evening. She and I seem the only two who are always punctually on time, at the hour :-).

    Pema Pera: Hi Maxine!
    Maxine Walden: hi, Pema, good to ’see you’.
    Maxine Walden: hope you had a good trip back
    Pema Pera: yes
    Pema Pera: and sorry, I have to read a few important notes
    Pema Pera: about land sale here!!!

    I was distracted, having just seen a few IMs about land for sale in Rieul. I am eager to preserve the atmosphere here, so whenever something comes up for sale, I try to make sure it either goes to one of the neighbors already here, or otherwise I’m willing to buy it. Often one has to act quickly, before someone else snatches a plot-for-sale away. One of the IMs had come from Dakini, and she herself stepped in, while I was reading her message.

    Dakini Rhode: Hi Maxine, Pema :-)
    Maxine Walden: that’s OK. Hi, Dakini, good to see you
    Dakini Rhode: Same here, Maxine :-)
    Pema Pera: sorry to make you wait
    Pema Pera: ah
    Pema Pera: Dakini!
    Pema Pera: well, let’s talk land!!
    Pema Pera: sorry, multiplexing here ;>)
    Cid Jacobs knocks
    Pema Pera: Hi Cid!
    Pema Pera: Please come join us!
    Cid Jacobs: heya, is it ok to come in?
    Cid Jacobs: ty
    Pema Pera: always, Cid!
    Cid Jacobs: :}
    Pema Pera: you all keep talking
    Pema Pera: I’ll send an IM about the land sale to Shashe

    While I was answering my IMs, the others continued.

    Maxine Walden: Dakini, sorry that I seemed to mis-understand you the other day; appreciate your comment
    Maxine Walden: of correction
    Dakini Rhode: Maxine, thanks for mentioning that - I’m not sure whether you misunderstood…
    Dakini Rhode: But I just wanted to say more about my thinking
    Dakini Rhode: Hey, Cod :-)
    Maxine Walden: yes, you know after your comment in response, I realized that I was observing
    Dakini Rhode: oops Cid
    Cid Jacobs: :}
    Dakini Rhode: lol i made myself laugh
    Cid Jacobs: :P
    Maxine Walden: something while not in the room, so I was not really observing, just commenting from outside the situation
    Maxine Walden: and that can miss the immediacy and dimension of the conversation considerably, at least in my experience
    Dakini Rhode: The conversation we had Saturday morning here in the teahouse, with the group which was here, I think hit at some core concepts
    Dakini Rhode: So I was very touched that we were discussing those ideas
    Maxine Walden: Hello, Cid, sorry I was caught up in a thought not to have said hello…yes, Dakini, it seemed a very core conversation
    Maxine Walden: and one which deserved great respect

    Yes, I too was happy and grateful with all that had unfolded over the last few days. I felt that I had been able to express myself more fully, and I also had seen other doing so. The mutual encouragement in our loose group has been really moving.

    Dakini Rhode: I have to share… I had begun to wonder if we were participating in an experiment
    Maxine Walden: please say more, Dakini
    Dakini Rhode: Well I know we are…
    Dakini Rhode: lol
    Dakini Rhode: By the things Pema expressed, I gained more confidence in our practice
    Dakini Rhode: Cid, everything we discuss here
    Dakini Rhode: is logged
    Dakini Rhode: and you can read it all on Pema’s blog
    Dakini Rhode: When Pema concludes his land deals here tonight, he can share the url with you
    Cid Jacobs: playasbeing i think right?
    Dakini Rhode: yes that’s it
    Cid Jacobs: ive got it in my book marks

    I had already told Cid earlier about my blog, like I do wih everyone when I meet them during blog log time, asking their permission to be included.

    Pema Pera: I’ve concluded my part, Dakini
    Pema Pera: I didn’t want to interrupt after I was done
    Pema Pera: loved to listen in ;>)
    Dakini Rhode: :-)
    Pema Pera: yes, it is an experiment
    Pema Pera: but not by us
    Pema Pera: not an academic experiment
    Pema Pera: or psychological or clinical, haha
    Pema Pera: no
    Pema Pera: Being seems to experiment with us
    Pema Pera: that’s how it feels
    Pema Pera: and life as a whole is one big experiment
    Pema Pera: or play
    Pema Pera: same thing . . . . .
    Dakini Rhode: do you know, I am gaining confidence in that
    Pema Pera: I’m so glad to hear that, Dakini!
    Pema Pera: And I’m so glad you prodded me, hehe
    Pema Pera: that’s how the ball got rolling, right?
    Pema Pera: a ball at least

    I was refering to various conversations, starting last Friday afternoon, in which Dakini had needled me to say more myself about how I saw Play as Being, rather than asking others about their experience.

    Dakini Rhode: I realized that logically, not to have confidence is to
    Dakini Rhode: have an overinflated sense of self importance
    Pema Pera: YES!
    Pema Pera: very astute and important observations
    Pema Pera: easy to overlook
    Pema Pera: so true
    Dakini Rhode: 9 sec insight
    Dakini Rhode: haha
    Pema Pera: hahaha
    Pema Pera: wow
    Pema Pera: we get our mileage here all right!

    Yes, I can see how such an insight may pop up during the 9-sec intervals that we are practicing, once every 15 minutes. Some 9-second windows may seem boring or banal while others can suddenly give rise to profound insights like Dakini’s.

    Maxine Walden: But, Pema, think you would agree that we as individuals do need to express ourselves and consider each other’s experience and expressions with respect and compassion…there does feel to me some personal responsibility in our mutual endeavors…
    Pema Pera: oh yes
    Pema Pera: us as the role we play
    Pema Pera: if you play in a theatre
    Pema Pera: hi Sky!
    Dakini Rhode: hello Sky :-)
    Pema Pera: you are responsible for your role
    Pema Pera: but you are not what you depict
    Pema Pera: and when you realize that fully
    Pema Pera: you can play your role in FULL abandon ! ! !
    Pema Pera: if not, then not

    I wanted to say more about how playing a play does not mean dimishing responsability, but the conversation moved in other directions, which was fine too.

    Sky Szimmer: hello everyone. it is nice to meet you Cid for the first time.
    Cid Jacobs: greetings
    Maxine Walden: I might need to differ with you a bit here, I think that …hi, Sky, nice to see you
    Maxine Walden: I think that it may be easy to ‘abandon’ certain elements and attribute that to Being…maybe I am being picky here right now…but I did have some feeling
    Maxine Walden: of pain or misgiving that my perception of Dakini’s remark the other day did not come from a full awareness of her dimension of experience and that she may have felt hurt or scrutinzed by that
    Maxine Walden: I feel some accounatability for that…guess that is what is fueling my pickiness right now
    Dakini Rhode: Maxine, i don’t recall that i felt hurt
    Maxine Walden: OK, again my perception…
    Dakini Rhode: I just thought I should clarify
    Dakini Rhode: I don’t want people to get the impression that I idealize Pema
    Dakini Rhode: (sorry Pema)
    Maxine Walden: right, I spoke from my view, not from having been in the room with you
    Pema Pera: I’m glad you don’t & don’t want to give that impression, both, dakini!
    Dakini Rhode: :-)
    Pema Pera: VERY important
    Pema Pera: The last thing I want is to take on a leader role
    Pema Pera: for many reasons
    Dakini Rhode: Understood, Pema
    Pema Pera: so I thank you for clarifying that
    Pema Pera: and please keep reminding all of us regularly

    I tried to see whether we could come back to Maxine’s objection, which I found very interesting, but Maxine and I did not get the chance to sort this out — another time! With as many meetings as we have, it is perfectly fine to postpone things.

    Pema Pera: Maxine
    Pema Pera: how does what you say differ from what I said?
    Maxine Walden: need to look back at what you said…
    Dakini Rhode: i started to respond to the idea of abandoning personal responsibility
    Pema Pera: Maxine said “I might need to differ with you a bit here”
    Pema Pera: Perhaps I could try to clarify, Maxine?
    Pema Pera: or do you want to say something first?
    Maxine Walden: I think you said ‘you are not what you depict…and when you realize that you can play with abandon…not quite what you said…I think it was the ‘abandon’ which caught my wondering
    Dakini Rhode: ah
    Pema Pera: thank you very much for bringing that up Maxine!
    Cid Jacobs: excuse me for a little bit everyone, ill be back in just a bit
    Pema Pera: sure!
    Pema Pera: Dakini, do you want to respond first or shall I?
    Dakini Rhode: i was going to talk about myself - i tend to be overly self-conscious and hesitant - or so I perceive
    Pema Pera: please talk!
    Maxine Walden: yes, please do, Dakini
    Dakini Rhode: sorry i was trying, lag
    Dakini Rhode: a bit of “abandoning thoughts of the outcome” would not hurt me a bit
    Maxine Walden: ( I really am into our conversation…just need to say I have to leave in 5 min)
    Maxine Walden: please say more, Dakini
    Dakini Rhode: hmmmm
    Dakini Rhode: well, I just made reservations to see the 17th Karmapa
    Dakini Rhode: instead of fretting over whether he’s the “real” one
    Pema Pera: wow, I love to hear how that will be!!!
    Dakini Rhode: He’ll be at the Waldorf Astoria May 18
    Dakini Rhode: Big crowd
    Dakini Rhode: However I’ve been avoiding the whole Karmapa issue because of the controversy

    It was fascinating for me to hear that, given the various connections that I had remembered during the last two months, regarding the 16th Karmapa.
    And I was blown away hearing why Dakini had given her quick consent to me to use the tea house . . .

    Pema Pera: I’d love to come along were it not for the fact I’ll be in Japan then
    Pema Pera: remember that I mentioned the 16th Karmapa, the first day we met, Dakini
    Dakini Rhode: Yes!
    Dakini Rhode: Which was probably why i offered my teahut in the first place
    Pema Pera: WOW
    Pema Pera: that’s amazing to hear
    Dakini Rhode: I feel a connection to 16, although he was dead by the time I knew of him
    Pema Pera: how everything is woven together
    Pema Pera: did I tell you I saw him offer the black hat ceremony?
    Dakini Rhode: no
    Pema Pera: first time I saw a Tibetan
    Pema Pera: it was the 16th doing the black hat . . .
    Dakini Rhode: I saw that on film and it was like I got an electric jolt from seeing it on film
    Pema Pera: I am truly fortunate it seems
    Pema Pera: yes

    I was struck with amazements about all these connections . . . but the action in the tea house moved on: Tara was dropping in, and Maxine had to leave.

    Pema Pera: Hi Tara!
    Maxine Walden: nice to see you all, have to go.
    Pema Pera: Maxine, I know you need to go, but what you brought up is so important
    Pema Pera: we absolutely have to follow that up
    Pema Pera: there is a crucial point there
    Maxine Walden: maybe we can , yes, follow it up…crucial point?
    Sky Szimmer: i’d like to follow up more on that one too.
    Pema Pera: that when you play a role you can play in more abandon then when you think you are what you play
    Tara Farmer: hey hey…I only have a few minutes
    Pema Pera: key point
    Pema Pera: next time!!
    Maxine Walden: OK, will roll that over in mind…lots more to talk about as usual…Bye
    Sky Szimmer: hi tara
    Tara Farmer: Hey sky
    Tara Farmer: et all
    Pema Pera: always good to see you here Tara
    Dakini Rhode: Hey Tarea
    Dakini Rhode: Tara
    Tara Farmer: he he
    Pema Pera: we tumbled more than usual in many conversations here the last twenty minutes
    Pema Pera: you would have loved it!
    Tara Farmer: I see
    Tara Farmer: you know i love that

    I had to sing of a song, which then led me back to my roots of virtual world exploration.

    Pema Pera: have to think now of a song
    Pema Pera: by Michael Nesmith
    Tara Farmer: what song?
    Pema Pera: Tumbling Tumbleweed
    Pema Pera: after he left the Monkees
    Pema Pera: do you know that it is him who got me into virtual worlds?
    Tara Farmer: the actual person?
    Pema Pera: Without him we wouldn’t be sitting here talking
    Pema Pera: yes
    Tara Farmer: or what?
    Tara Farmer: how so?
    Pema Pera: he is a good friend
    Pema Pera: and when I was going to visit him a year and a bit ago
    Pema Pera: he told me:
    Pema Pera: oh, and while you’re here, why don’t you give a popular astronomy talk in my virtual world?
    Pema Pera: I said: sure, why not
    Pema Pera: always fun to try something new
    Pema Pera: well, that’s how I got hooked
    Tara Farmer: and here you are
    Pema Pera: yes
    Pema Pera: and you
    Pema Pera: and all of us
    Tara Farmer: guru to the wanderers
    Pema Pera: hahaha
    Pema Pera: NOT guru
    Pema Pera: booooh
    Pema Pera: you push my buttons, Tara
    Tara Farmer: he he
    Tara Farmer: LOL
    Pema Pera: I can spew fire too
    Dakini Rhode: ohoh NOT guru
    Pema Pera: (first have to learn how from Storm)
    Pema Pera: that’s much better, haha
    Tara Farmer: I push everyones buttons
    Pema Pera: including your own, Tara?
    Tara Farmer: yes sir
    Pema Pera: hahaha
    Tara Farmer: i hold myself at equal to everyone
    Pema Pera: great!
    Tara Farmer: we are all one
    Tara Farmer: like a giant disco ball
    Pema Pera: in Being yes
    Tara Farmer: mirrors reflecting diff light
    Pema Pera: ooooooo disco . . . . . .
    Pema Pera: dangerous

    However, this time no spontaneous chocolate disco . . .

    Dakini Rhode: And here i was
    Dakini Rhode: just going to tell Tara I’m seeing Karmapa in NY
    Tara Farmer: what’s Karmapa?
    Dakini Rhode: ah
    Dakini Rhode: Not a gur
    Dakini Rhode: guru
    Dakini Rhode: haha
    Dakini Rhode: leader of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism
    Tara Farmer: I see
    Dakini Rhode: a buddhist thing
    Tara Farmer: ahhh
    Tara Farmer: i understand
    Tara Farmer: so, what does SL mean to you guys?
    Tara Farmer: clearly it is not just a diversion for you two
    Dakini Rhode: second life
    Tara Farmer: yes

    At this point, I had attempted to give a quick peek at the land that I had been IMed about at the beginning of the session, not wanting to miss the opportunity of the sale. By now I had become pretty used to making a quick camera scan over the area. Then, to my utter amazement, I noticed that no less than a half sim had suddenly come up for sale, directly adjacent to my own land. I couldn’t believe my luck. Here I had been trying to scrounge up 512 square meter here, and 1024 sq.m. there, and now there was 32,768 sq.m. for sale!

    Pema Pera: talking about SL
    Pema Pera: I see that half a sim is for sale
    Pema Pera: adjacent to my land
    Tara Farmer: he he
    Pema Pera: unbelievable
    Tara Farmer: you misunderstand
    Dakini Rhode: what?
    Pema Pera: 32k sq m
    Pema Pera: well
    Pema Pera: shall I get that?
    Pema Pera: not in Rieul I believe
    Pema Pera: but who cares?
    Dakini Rhode: where is it?
    Pema Pera: north of my big Hall
    Dakini Rhode: wow that shopping mall didn’t last long
    Tara Farmer: well, i ought to be going
    Pema Pera: sorry, Tara!
    Tara Farmer: it was great to sit with you, if even for a moment
    Pema Pera: talking about such Earthly things like land. . . .
    Pema Pera: ;-)
    Sky Szimmer: i got to run too!
    Dakini Rhode: I need to ponder your question Tara
    Tara Farmer: no worries
    Sky Szimmer: good evening.
    Pema Pera: sorry Sky
    Pema Pera: to not give you much time to talk
    Pema Pera: this time
    Sky Szimmer: no worries. nothing to say.
    Pema Pera: don’t believe that ;>)

    Sky left and Tara was about to leave too.

    Tara Farmer: just a question
    Tara Farmer: nothing more, nothing less
    Pema Pera: yes?
    Pema Pera: Tara?
    Tara Farmer: yes pema?
    Pema Pera: ah, I thought you had a question
    Pema Pera: sorry, misunderstood
    Tara Farmer: he he
    Pema Pera: overexcited with the possible land sale
    Tara Farmer: another time Pema
    Pema Pera: sure
    Tara Farmer: understood
    Pema Pera: c u !
    Tara Farmer: bye all
    Pema Pera: bye Sky!
    Dakini Rhode: bfn Tara
    Tara Farmer runs around hugging everyone maniaclly
    Pema Pera: hahaha
    Dakini Rhode: lol
    Pema Pera: that’s sweet
    Tara Farmer: and kncking over tea cups
    Tara Farmer: LOL
    Dakini Rhode: heehee
    Pema Pera: if you don’t mind I’ll go after that land now, Dakini
    Pema Pera: what a tumbleweed session
    Pema Pera: let’s see

    With only the two of us left, Dakini and I flew over to the land that was up for sale, and watched the grassy land seemingly stretching out to the horizon. It did not take me long to decide to buy it. I had some money left in my research budget, and this struck me as one of the best ways to use it. After I clicked the buy option, we both saw the land change color, having switch on the “land ownership” option. Dakini did a Crazy spin dance, for variety’s sake, after all the Chocolate Disco ones. Finally, I also bought a few smaller pieces that had simultaneously become available in Rieul. What a day!

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