The guardian at this meeting was Pema Pera and the comments are his.
That evening I joined in with Dakini’s zen sitting group, next door to the tea house. After the initial chatting, the 20 minutes sitting, and a bit more conversation, Dakini mentioned the upcoming PaB session. I saw no reason to wait, and suggested we sit outside, given the fair number of people. Indeed, it was a good thing that we stayed outside, since we would gather eleven people in total, far more than the tea house could contain comfortably.
Dakini Rhode: Pema has a discussion group starting here in 20 minutes
Ziana Tauber: can I hang?
Pema Pera: sure!
Pema Pera: we can start talking now
Pema Pera: or hanging out
Pema Pera: :>)
Hotaru Myoo: actually
Dakini Rhode: :-)
Hotaru Myoo: I’ll stay too then
Hotaru Myoo: !
Pema Pera: yw, Hotaru!
Ziana Tauber: cool
Pema Pera: shall we walk over?
Pema Pera: there are some benches there outside
Dakini Rhode: good - earlier is better :-)
Pema Pera: may as well
Pema Pera: Ziana, we get together here every day
Pema Pera: four times a day
While walking over, I noticed to blocks floating in the area, next to the tea house, near the benches. I clicked on them to find their owners.
Pema Pera: Dakini, it seems like Solo and Gen have been playing — and not cleaning up after themselves ;>)
Pema Pera: I met them yesterday here
Dakini Rhode: haha practicing rezzing boxes?
Hotaru Myoo: haha
Pema Pera: we were talking about building a pub
Pema Pera: I guess they just couldn’t wait to get started!
Hotaru Myoo: there was a mega prim demo the other day…Ayu and I went
Dakini Rhode: hahaha
Pema Pera: can you remove those?
Dakini Rhode: sure
Dakini Rhode: i think you can, too
Hotaru Myoo: they could have left 60×60x60 m prims here
Pema Pera: what kind of demo?
Pema Pera: let me try Dakini
Hotaru Myoo: be thankful these are little
Dakini Rhode: okies
Hotaru Myoo: nothing really
Dakini Rhode: you can return them
I had to smile with the idea of a megaprim 60 meter on each side,
lying there in the pond. I tried to click and return the first block,
but to no avail.
Meanwhile Ayu joined us.
Removal of the object ‘Object’ from the simulator is disallowed by the permissions system.
Hotaru Myoo: just big objects
Dakini Rhode: hello Ayu
Pema Pera: can’t return Dakini
Hotaru Myoo: Hi Ayu!
Pema Pera: tried
Pema Pera: hi Ayu!
Ayukam Harsley: hi all!
Hotaru Myoo: why?
Pema Pera: can you?
Hotaru Myoo: can you delete?
Dakini Rhode: do you have Zen Retreat group activated?
Pema Pera: ah!
Hotaru Myoo giggles
I switched to activate my Zen Retreat group, but alas, that didn’t help.
Removal of the object ‘Object’ from the simulator is disallowed by the permissions system.
Pema Pera: Removal of the object ‘Object’ from the simulator is disallowed by the permissions system.
Dakini Rhode: ok i’ll check the group settings
Pema Pera: even though I became “clearly” member of the zen retreat group
Pema Pera: ha!
Pema Pera: I bow to your powers, Dakini
Hotaru Myoo: haha
Dakini Rhode: lol i guess i didn’t give you those powers
Pema Pera waiting humbly to receive more powers when the time will come
Dakini Rhode: haha
Hotaru Myoo: Ayu..Have you met Dakini?
Dakini Rhode: ok i need check into it
Hotaru Myoo: She came to ‘lost’ one evening too.
Hotaru was refering to the dancy party of angles, a couple weeks ago.
Dakini Rhode: this is my first time doing a SL group :-P
Hotaru Myoo: Dakini…this is Ayu
Dakini Rhode: hi Ayu :-)
Ayukam Harsley: hi Dakini
Hotaru Myoo: Dakini hosts the sittings everyday here
Hotaru Myoo: rings the bell
Ayukam Harsley: nice
Dakini Rhode: it’s great! I get to sit with nice people :-)
Ayukam Harsley: yes :)
Dakini Rhode: wonderful at the end of my day :-)
Dakini Rhode: Hey!
Types Sideways: oops
Dakini Rhode: oopd
Types Sideways: :))
Ziana Tauber: Types Sideways AND Sits Backwards?
Pema Pera: nice splash Types
Types Sideways: hahaha
Types had joined us, but overshot in the process, probably due to the recent large lag. And yes, the stone benches do regularly leave people sitting sideways or backwards :-) . Types was followed by Tara.
Pema Pera: Ayu and Ziana, we get together here four times a day, believe it or not, at 1 am, 7 am, 1 pm and 7 pm SL time . . . . see http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
Ayukam Harsley: ok
Pema Pera: Hi Tara!
Dakini Rhode: wb Tara
Hotaru Myoo: Hi Tara!
Pema Pera: we talk about many things here
Pema Pera: whatever comes up
Tara Farmer: ha ha
Pema Pera: but somehow vaguely related to the nature of reality
Pema Pera: which cannot be caught in words
Pema Pera: so we sprinkle words around instead
Pema Pera: ;>)
Pema Pera: we have a little practice too
Pema Pera: very little
Pema Pera: much littler than Dakini’s
Pema Pera: not 20 minutes
Pema Pera: not even 20 seconds
Pema Pera: but 9 seconds at a time
Pema Pera: but then every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: in RL
Pema Pera: and here in SL we talk about what happens when we do that
Pema Pera: you see, you landed in a rather strange group . . . . .
Ziana Tauber: what a relief
Hotaru Myoo: lol
Pema Pera: haha!
Hotaru expressed the openness of the 9-sec practice.
Hotaru Myoo: I tink you would have to say that the practice is just a varied
Hotaru Myoo: and suits each individual’s needs
Pema Pera: yes
Hotaru Myoo: but the habituated piece is constant
Pema Pera: the main idea is to shake you up
Pema Pera: shake ourselves up
Pema Pera: a few seconds at a time (^_^)
Pema Pera: but naggingly so
Pema Pera: persistently
Hotaru Myoo: keeping the conversation alive
Hotaru Myoo: the awareness
Tara Farmer sings “A little less conversation …a little more action…..”
Dakini Rhode: nagging and persistent - sounds a little neg. 2 me
Dakini Rhode: especially the nagging
Pema Pera: ((joke joke))
Hotaru Myoo: yes
Dakini Rhode: for me it is more like a love affair
Types Sideways: :)
Hotaru Myoo: I like to think of it as joyful reminders
Ziana Tauber: how about “consistent reminding”?
Dakini Rhode: i love to come back to that space
Pema Pera: me too
Dakini Rhode: that brief moment of dropping
Types Sideways: could say that space is love
Pema Pera: yes
Hotaru Myoo: of course it is
Tara’s questions triggered quite a bit of discussions.
Tara Farmer: self love?
Hotaru Myoo: it is our connection
Hotaru Myoo: no
Hotaru Myoo: I think it is the love of the other
Dakini Rhode: for me, a time to put self aside
Types Sideways: yes
Pema Pera: Please have a look at Dakini’s web site, one of the web sites that is linked to the Play as Being website, under the “links” — Dakini has some wonderful descriptions of what this 9-sec PaB practice can offer
Hotaru Myoo: the awareness of meaning beyond self
Types Sideways: cool
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/ >>===>>> http://zenretreat.blogspot.com/
Dakini Rhode: aw
Types Sideways: :))
Dakini Rhode: ty Pema
Tara Farmer: how do “playing at being” and “creating your own reality” mix?
Tara Farmer: like oil and water?
Dakini Rhode: dakini raises her hand
Dakini Rhode: creating our own reality is what we do the rest of the time
Dakini Rhode: yes?
Pema Pera: nicely put, Dakini!
Ziana Tauber: I thought that that is all we do
Pema Pera: PaB is an antidote
Tara Farmer: life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans?
Tara Farmer: LOL
Hotaru Myoo: insert spiritual practice
Types Sideways: so true
Tara Farmer: to quote ol Johnny
Pema Pera: yes, Tara, and we try to be not-busy for 9 sec at a time
We quickly dreamt up some variations :-).
Types Sideways: life is you happening as you make other plans
Types Sideways: :))
Tara Farmer: LOL
Pema Pera: you is life happening as you make other plans
Types Sideways: :)
Dakini Rhode: life is happening :-)
Tara Farmer: pfft…philosophers all of you
Types Sideways: life = you
Tara Farmer: :)
Tara Farmer: life=cheese
Tara Farmer: ha ha
Dakini Rhode: hi Maxine :-)
Types Sideways: hahaha
Types Sideways: hi Max
Maxine must have been surprised seeing almost a dozen avatars, given that she often comes here in the morning, when there are relatively few.
Pema Pera: well, Tara, the philosophy does lead to some shocking insights, like Dakinis great blog quote: Insecurity results from a mistaken belief in your own importance.
Hotaru Myoo: Hi Maxine
Pema Pera: Hi Max!
Pema Pera: nice to see such a crowd here!
Maxine Walden: hi, Pema
Tara Farmer: i’m sorry pema, but i disagree….i am under the belief that i am important
Dakini Rhode: we are all pretty much there, Tara
Dakini Rhode: we all think Tara is important :-)
Tara Farmer: ha ha
Pema Pera: hehehe
Dakini Rhode: ok i’m being silly
Pema Pera: that’s the Play part
Pema Pera: of Play as Being
Pema Pera: the Being part is harder to express
Pema Pera: we try to do that in many ways — by showing up here regularly all the way to constructing a large forest
Tara Farmer: I just am not enlightened enough to believe my thoughts and actions are not important
Pema Pera: everything is important and nothing is, Tara
Tara Farmer: accepted
Tara Farmer: i have a hard time believing in nothing
Dakini expanded upon her sentence that I had quoted.
Dakini Rhode: if i may
Dakini Rhode: explain what my insight involved
Tara Farmer: but i guess i don’t have to
Dakini Rhode: it was about insecurity
Tara Farmer: i am alle ars dakini
Tara Farmer: all ears
Dakini Rhode: insecurity resulting from thinking you’re tooooo important
Dakini Rhode: hold your importance a little more loosely
Dakini Rhode: lighter
Dakini Rhode: not quite so important
Dakini Rhode: and insecurity seems to melt away
At that moment Friedrich appeared on the scene and like Types overshot.
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: oops
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: autopilot
Pema Pera: Hi Friedrich!
Types Sideways: LOL
Types Sideways: hi Fredrich
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: what an entrance. sorry for the tummult
Dakini Rhode: hi Fred
Types Sideways: very zen entrance
Types Sideways: :))
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: more like a marx bros. one
Types Sideways: hahaha
Tara Farmer: eh…i guess i got a god complex
Hotaru Myoo: explain Tara
Tara Farmer: ummm….
Tara Farmer: the part of zen i cannot seem to grasp is the letting go
Tara Farmer: i do not want to let go
Tara Farmer: does this mean i like to suffer
Tara Farmer: or does it mean i am enlightened
Tara Farmer: LOL
Hotaru Myoo: every religions asks that you let go in some way
Ziana Tauber: If I may, I think it is about letting go of the chargedness of it
I was happy to see the way in which the lightness and chargedness of letting go were being stressed. Indeed, there is nothing in itself that needs to be abandoned let alone denied: the challenge is to hold it all lightly.
Dakini Rhode: why don’t you want to let go?
Tara Farmer: i like the way i am
Ziana Tauber: not letting go of self
Tara Farmer: yes
Ziana Tauber: right
Dakini Rhode: yes letting go of thoughts
Ziana Tauber: it is about being intense about it
Tara Farmer: is it suffering to like myself
Ziana Tauber: no
Ziana Tauber: I don’t think so
Ziana Tauber: It is a western thing to not like yourself I hear
Tara Farmer: I hold myself in huge esteem, as i do all of you
Tara Farmer: it IS about us
Hotaru Myoo: is it?
Tara Farmer: if we are conscious and present
Tara Farmer: it is
Tara Farmer: and many other things
Tara Farmer: but we are vessels of energy
Tara Farmer: a combination of just the right things
Tara Farmer: because we are thinking these things they are in existence
Hotaru Myoo: that is contradictory
Hotaru Myoo: if we are vessels
Tara Farmer: if we were not, they would not exist
Hotaru Myoo: then we are filled with the other
Hotaru Myoo: whatever it may be for each individual
Tara Farmer: what does “the other” mean to you Hotaru
Hotaru Myoo: does it matter?
Hotaru Myoo: it is not the self
Tara Farmer: i guess not
Tara Farmer: isn’t it?
Tara Farmer: we are everything
Hotaru Myoo: every person has the belief that they hold on to
Tara Farmer: i am a bad buddhist…self proclaimed
Ziana Tauber: it is the holding that is the difficulty I believe
Hotaru Myoo: and the y are the vessel for it
Types clicked with the idea.
Types Sideways: hehehe
Types Sideways: bad buddhist
Ziana Tauber: I don’t think there is such a thing as a bad buddhist
Tara Farmer: i said that to isen and he said “what is a bad buddhist”
Tara Farmer: i said me
Ziana Tauber: lol
Types Sideways: hehehe
Tara Farmer: the Dali Lama wouls probably slap me
Tara Farmer: LOL
Tara Farmer: just kidding
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: i think i am partially w/ Tara on this one…. in a way…. (well, not the provoking the Lama part)
Ziana Tauber: I think people can missundertand “emptyness” as “nothingness”
Tara Farmer: ha ha i would not provoke, but would prob get it anyway
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: i have been struggling w./ the tension between accepting things as they are, and wanting to change them
Types Sideways: theres really only one path BE
Tara Farmer: ziana, i understand what you are saying
Ziana Tauber: accept/change doesn’t matter
Tara Farmer: Fried, as a pagan who follows the buddhist path i am torn between letting go and having intention
Ziana Tauber: what are you letting go of?
Cal walked into the party.
Pema Pera: hey Cal ! ! !
Tara Farmer: ziana, i find when people say things like :it doesn’t matter” it makes it seem like a defense mechanism
Dakini Rhode: so if i may paraphrase….
Pema Pera: join the crowd!
Caledonia Heron: hi :)
Tara Farmer: because i feel it does matter
Tara Farmer: hey caledonia
Caledonia Heron: thanks
Hotaru Myoo: Hi Cale!
Dakini Rhode: does it seem that letting go
Ziana Tauber: It does, if it didn’t I wouldn’t be doing what I do in life
Dakini Rhode: would result in nothing
Caledonia Heron: :)
Ziana Tauber: sorry if I came across wrong
Tara Farmer: i see ziana, i am not attacking
Dakini Rhode: nothing there without you?
The discussion heated up further. It took a bit of concentrattion to pieces the lines together. For example, Dakini had just typed “so if i may paraphrase…. does it seem that letting go would result in nothing, nothing there without you?” but it took me a bit of squinting to see that.
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: of course, there is a balance and a middle way here. i think healing is a good analogy
Types Sideways: get it out Tara
Tara Farmer: merely taking the opposite side for arguments sake
Types Sideways: :)
Tara Farmer: he he types
Hotaru Myoo: isn’t that the title of a song?
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: the tension bewteen wanting to improve and accepting yourself the way you are
Tara Farmer pinches types
Pema Pera: hahahaha
Types Sideways: ouch
Caledonia Heron thinks she missed the pithy part :)
Dakini Rhode: Fred the razors edge
Types Sideways: hehehe
Tara Farmer: caledonia, do not worry , you will catch on to our nonsense as it were
Caledonia Heron: lol, maybe :)
Caledonia Heron: maybe even contribute some myself
Pema Pera: the best is yet to come, Cal, when we get started about squizzles
Types Sideways: oh no
Tara Farmer: whats that pema?
Hotaru Myoo: I’ll bite..
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: now, i can also entertain the notion that our inner world is mirrored and paralleled in the outer world (as above, so below), so these internal tranformations neccesarily play out “out there” too
Types Sideways: :))
Hotaru Myoo: what’s a squizzle?
Tara Farmer already wishes she hadn’t asked
Caledonia Heron: ah, sqizzies indeed
Caledonia Heron: uh-oh
Tara Farmer: friedrich, i agree
Given that the squizzle was out of the bag, prompted by me hearing Cal talking about contributing, I wondered where the conversation would meander next.
Pema Pera: weeeelllll squizzles . . . . .
Tara Farmer: he’s typing a lot
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: but, i am not quite prepared to abandon the hubris of Will
Tara Farmer: ha ha
Ziana Tauber: lol
Caledonia Heron: perhaps another time
Tara Farmer squizzles Dakini
Tara Farmer: he he
Ziana Tauber: I am not willing to always get that people arent mean to me : - )
Types Sideways: yes
Types Sideways: please
Dakini Rhode: what is a squizzle?
Caledonia Heron: a forest creature Dakini
Pema Pera: seen only in SL
Pema Pera: and then only rarely
Dakini Rhode: i’ve been squizzled and i don’t know it :-P
Hotaru Myoo: and anime?
Tara Farmer: ziana, explain?
Tara Farmer: that’s for yesterday dakini!
Ziana Tauber: poking fun at myself
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: is that like a jackalope?
Tara Farmer: :)
Pema Pera: and often not recognized as such
Caledonia Heron: I think some will come to our new forest….just maybe
Ziana Tauber: oh, where forest?
Tara Farmer hugs Ziana
Pema Pera: around the corner, Ziana
Pema Pera: several sims worse of forest ;>)
Pema Pera: big project
Pema Pera: we just started
Caledonia warmed up the topic of squizzles.
Caledonia Heron: much more refined than a jackalope Fried
Pema Pera: incomporably so
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: not stuffed, i hope
Ziana Tauber: nice
Hotaru Myoo: Storm said there are trees now
Pema Pera: meeting a squizzle may stuff you
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: and waterfalls!
Caledonia Heron: no stuffing, no stuff, no baggage, just fur and fun
Ayukam Harsley: I’ll be afk for a bit
Pema Pera: We can walk over and have a look in a few minutes
Pema Pera: lots of fun
Pema Pera: lots of fur
Tara Farmer: lol
Ziana Tauber: furries?
Caledonia Heron: soft red fur
Ziana Tauber: I am scared
Pema Pera: with white lining
Caledonia Heron: yes, like a tuxedo
Hotaru Myoo: oh my
Hotaru Myoo: lions and tigers and bears
Pema Pera: a few off-color spots
Tara Farmer: he he
Caledonia Heron: yes, the most rare have spots or brindle
Tara Farmer: “and another with spots”
I began to wonder when we would meet squizzles in the forest.
Pema Pera: no wings but can float
Hotaru Myoo: no wings?
Caledonia Heron: it’s like they’re flying
Hotaru Myoo: absurd!
Pema Pera: most of the time not no
Tara Farmer: sometimes i feel like PaB meetings are in Wonderland
Pema Pera: squizzles are absurdness incarnated
Types Sideways: yes not no not no
Tara Farmer: he he
Pema Pera: yup, Types
Pema Pera: everything that is not a not-squizzle may just be one
Pema Pera: but not sure
Pema Pera: nothing is sure with squizzles
Ziana Tauber: I have my wings on now, now what?
Caledonia Heron: lol, hard to tell where squiz and not squiz starts and stops
Hotaru Myoo: be afraid
Pema Pera: we can fly to the forest?
Hotaru Myoo: be very very afraid
Pema Pera: squizzles never stop
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: do they wobble?
Pema Pera: shall we walk to the waterfall?
Caledonia Heron: sure
Dakini Rhode: folks, I’m wobbling to meet my pillow :-)
Tara Farmer: FIELD TRIP
Caledonia Heron: when they drink too much, yes
Pema Pera: walk or wobble ?
Ziana Tauber: the box said pixie wings but these look an awful lot like dragonfly wings
Just when we were getting up, Sprit was joining us.
Types Sideways: turn down that hair spirit
Spiritnoname Saphir: Hair?
Types Sideways: :)
Dakini Rhode: please do have fun :-)
Maxine Walden: gonna go, guys see you later
Caledonia Heron: bye Maxine :)
Tara Farmer: my walker is broken
Friedrich Ochsenhorn: Sorry to chat and run, but i gots to make a phone call myself. i might pop back in and hitch a TP.
Pema Pera: by Fred!
I had started to walk toward the center of the forest, first in the direction of the Hall of appearance.
Ziana Tauber: who do I follow?
Pema Pera: anyone who walks in the right direction!
Ziana Tauber: are you walking in the right direction?
Pema Pera: like me hopefully ;>)
Pema Pera: but let’s see whether the others follow
They didn’t so I turned back.
Pema Pera: Hi Spirit!
Spiritnoname Saphir: Hiya Pema!
Tara Farmer: pema, whats the deal?
Tara Farmer: are we walking?
Pema Pera: are we going to view the waterfalls?
Pema Pera: Sure, why not!
Tara Farmer: I wanna go
Pema Pera: let’s !
Pema Pera: hi There!
Caledonia Heron: :)
I set out once again, and found Ziana waiting. This time Cal came along, and others soon too.
Pema Pera: others were slow
Pema Pera: catching up now!
Pema Pera: I hope!
Pema Pera: Cal have you met Ziana — guess not yet?
Pema Pera: Ziana, Cal
Ziana Tauber: Hi there
Caledonia Heron: hey :)
The region you have entered is running a different simulator version. Click this message for details.
Pema Pera: here it all is!
The region you have entered is running a different simulator version. Click this message for details.
The region you have entered is running a different simulator version. Click this message for details.
I got stuck for a while oscillating between sims. While the Hall of Appearance was fully in Rieul, the large steps leading to the forest were in Magoja.
Pema Pera: sim boundary
Pema Pera: tricky
Ziana Tauber: nice
Pema Pera: well Tara, what do you think!
Tara Farmer: i love it
Tara Farmer: i’m going swimmming
Pema Pera: walking on water
Pema Pera: you are God, Tara!
The first part of the water was not wet yet, unlike the water directly near the waterfall. We spent quite a bit of time there, admiring what Storm had created in just about a week. It was great to see the whole group darting over the large boulders, splashing and thrashing about in the water, and wandering hither and dither. We also discovered a somewhat spooky forest dwelling that Jobe seemed to have created. Wandering over to the neighbors we found a somewhat similar looking house, blending right in, but alas, the neighbors were not that friendly: we were not allowed to enter their parcel, and so we returned. I wasn’t used to the fact of seeing all of us milling about, yet being able to speak with only a few within earshot. It began to give me a sense of the size the forest will have when it reaches completion.
