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!
