2008.05.19 01:00 - Two Lions

That morning at 1 am, Dharma visited me with her friend Terrence, both appearing as formidable lions. First Dharma appeared.

Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: how nice!
Pema Pera: wow
Dharma Voyager: hello
Pema Pera: would be scared if I didn’t know you!
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Dharma Voyager: this is my other self
Pema Pera: good cat!!
Pema Pera: hahaha
Dharma Voyager: hehe
Dharma Voyager: meow
Pema Pera: I’m sure you have more
Pema Pera: than two
Dharma Voyager: only for play… there are really two me’s here
Dharma Voyager: my fairy is really my other
Dharma Voyager: I have a couple more I throw on for fun
Dharma Voyager: but most my friend know me as one of the two

Then Terrence joined her.

Pema Pera: ah, family!
Dharma Voyager: this is my friend terrence
Pema Pera: Hi Terrence!
Dharma Voyager: he is a new born lion today
Terrence Zhangsun: hi
Pema Pera: wow, a fresh lion!
Pema Pera: Hopefully not too fresh!
Dharma Voyager: I thought perhaps you might appreciate the difference with the topic of your blog
Pema Pera: oh sure
Dharma Voyager: Pema… Terry… Terry Pema
Pema Pera: I like anything playful
Pema Pera: and you both sure look playful!
Terrence Zhangsun: nice to meet you, Pema
Dharma Voyager: this is a very nice place
Pema Pera: Same here Terrence!
Pema Pera: Has Dharma told you about our Playing as Being game?
Dharma Voyager: I was trying to teach terrance to stalk
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Terrence Zhangsun: no
Dharma Voyager: actually I don’t know the game
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Dharma Voyager: perhaps you can explain it

I did a quick run through the essentials of PaB.

Pema Pera: well . . . on http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/ I keep a blog
Pema Pera: and it has info on there, but I’m happy to explain from scratch
Pema Pera: more fun that way
Pema Pera: so the basic idea is that in RL
Pema Pera: we do microscopid meditations
Pema Pera: 9 seconds at a time
Pema Pera: every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: (only 1 % of the time)
Pema Pera: for a few hours a day
Pema Pera: and then in SL here
Pema Pera: we talk about what happens
Pema Pera: the idea being that you shoot holes in your cover of reality
Pema Pera: many times a day
Pema Pera: and see what shines through
Pema Pera: hehe Dharma
Dharma Voyager: 9 seconds of meditation?
Terrence Zhangsun: sounds interesting
Pema Pera: you both look lovely
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: ha
Pema Pera: lots of lag
Pema Pera: I type many sentences which are then lost
Pema Pera: oh well, try again
Dharma Voyager: actually this is one of the least laggy places i think we have been in the last hour
Pema Pera: SL is going down hill fast it seems
Terrence Zhangsun: been a few bad ones
Pema Pera: wonder where it will wind up this way!
Pema Pera: anyway
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: a type of meditation
Pema Pera: you could also say: stopping
Pema Pera: stopping dead in your tracks

The two lions seemed to feel more and more at home in the grassy field next to the tea house.

Dharma Voyager: *purrs*
Pema Pera: ooohhhh
Terrence Zhangsun: /purrs
Pema Pera: I wish I had scratch-the-lion-gently gestures!
Dharma Voyager: very gently
Dharma Voyager: hehheheheh
Pema Pera: they must be available somewhere
Pema Pera: if not gingerly
Dharma Voyager: yes
Pema Pera: hehe
Dharma Voyager: I need to find one
Dharma Voyager: too
Dharma Voyager: please explain more the 9 seconds
Pema Pera: ideally meditation is not meant to reach something
Dharma Voyager: I have never even considered
Pema Pera: but rather to express what is already there
Pema Pera: and that you can do in an instant
Pema Pera: let alone 9 seconds
Pema Pera: frequency may be more important than duration
Pema Pera: Each day we are indoctrinated by our surroundings
Pema Pera: telling us we are very limited, needy, we need this and that
Pema Pera: so I suggest an antidot
Pema Pera: 1% of the time we tell ourselves that we do not need anything
Pema Pera: Being is already here
Pema Pera: we are IT
Pema Pera: It plays us
Pema Pera: and we return the compliment by playing IT
Pema Pera: Play as Being
Pema Pera: (or suchness, emptiness, whatever Universal word you prefer for All)
Dharma Voyager: Namaste
Pema Pera: Namaste
Pema Pera: what is really surprising
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Pema Pera: is that many people here have tried it
Pema Pera: and have told how surprised they were
Pema Pera: at how effective such a short meditation can be
Pema Pera: no expectations
Pema Pera: that’s key!
Pema Pera: nothing to lose
Pema Pera: except 9 seconds ;>)
Pema Pera: anyway
Pema Pera: that’s what I’ve been up to, with a lot of friends here
Pema Pera: and most of the time we just chat about anything at all
Pema Pera: 3/4 of the time
Pema Pera: (^_^)

I felt I had talked enough, and asked hem in turn.

Pema Pera: what have you both been up to?
Pema Pera: like that lying pose!
Dharma Voyager: tell him terry what we have been up to
Pema Pera: very natural
Dharma Voyager: thank you
Dharma Voyager: *purrs*
Terrence Zhangsun: Dharma has been showing me how to be a lion
Pema Pera: nice purr!
Dharma Voyager: ty
Dharma Voyager: *purrs*
Terrence Zhangsun: *purrs*
Pema Pera: hehe, sounds like a biiiiig cat
Dharma Voyager: teegee
Dharma Voyager: tee hee
Pema Pera: hehehehe
Pema Pera: is it dangerous to scratch a lion’s belly?
Pema Pera: I guess so
Dharma Voyager: depends on how the lion is feeling
Dharma Voyager: hehehhehe
Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: Terrence feels like growling I take it
Pema Pera: nice teeth!
Terrence Zhangsun: i like the sound
Pema Pera: yes, me too
Dharma Voyager: does it feel different terrence?
Pema Pera: quite rich!
Terrence Zhangsun: actually, it does
Terrence Zhangsun: but in a good way
Dharma Voyager: how so?
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Terrence Zhangsun: being a lion broadens my horizons

We talked about different types of avatars.

Dharma Voyager: these av’s don’t have the same “expierience” factor as do furries… but some how I enjoy this more
Pema Pera: I’ve not much experience with furries
Pema Pera: still have a lot to learn about SL!
Terrence Zhangsun: its more of a complete change to animal
Dharma Voyager: I had dressed a furry … for a short amount of time.. .I was actually and I didn’t realize it till afterward
Pema Pera: I’d love to be something like a Kachina doll, for example
Dharma Voyager: grieving my dying cat
Pema Pera: ah
Pema Pera: that makes sense
Dharma Voyager: unfortunately … me dressed as a furry weirded out my friends
Dharma Voyager: yes she was 17 years old
Pema Pera: really?
Dharma Voyager: yes
Pema Pera: that’s pretty old for a cat!
Dharma Voyager: she seemed to get smarter every year
Dharma Voyager: she was a good old soul
Pema Pera: why did it weird them out?
Pema Pera: yeah, cats grow on you
Pema Pera: I know
Pema Pera: had several of them
Pema Pera: now traveling too much to keep cats . . . . .
Dharma Voyager: it is common for furry av’s to make people uncomfortable
Pema Pera: really????
Dharma Voyager: oh yes
Pema Pera: I had no idea
Pema Pera: too close to human?
Pema Pera: the uncanny valley?
Terrence Zhangsun: don’t know why, but it does
Pema Pera: I’ve met a few furries, and I quite liked them

Dharma told us more about people’s reactions to non-human avatars.

Dharma Voyager: there are probably two main reasons… steriotyped stigma and most people in SL try to emulate RL and sometimes don’t understand people who don’t care to
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Pema Pera: what is the stereotype?
Dharma Voyager: a couple of my close friends became so uncomfortable… well they stopped talking with me
Pema Pera: soft and fuzzy?
Terrence Zhangsun: the whole point of SL is to get away from RL
Pema Pera: wow!
Pema Pera: that’s serious
Dharma Voyager: yes and I do not believe it was a conscious decision
Pema Pera: even more serious
Dharma Voyager: I don’t believe it at all
Dharma Voyager: you see furry culture is one of the oldests on theinternet
Dharma Voyager: furrymush is one of the oldest “meta verses”
Dharma Voyager: I remember it from way back
Dharma Voyager: but with each culture comes its steriotypes
Dharma Voyager: would you like to see what made people so uncomfortable?
Pema Pera: please!
Pema Pera: I always enjoy new experiences
Dharma Voyager: I’m going to change so please be warned
Pema Pera: (almost always)
Pema Pera: haha
Pema Pera: I’m ready
Pema Pera said nervously
Pema Pera: oh, nice!! — like a fairy tale ! ! !

Dharma changed into a nice looking avatar, a cat standing in a human posture, with a purple velvet-like vest.

Dharma Voyager: I actually put some love into this av
Pema Pera: wonderful!
Dharma Voyager: nice kitty
Dharma Voyager: pets terry
Pema Pera: hahaha
Dharma Voyager: I’m not so scary am I
Pema Pera: not at all
Dharma Voyager: but the reaction from this av to my ;lion is like applesand cockroaches
Terrence Zhangsun: my wolf isn’t as detailed
Dharma Voyager: laughs
Pema gives Dharma a big hug.
Dharma Voyager: ty
Pema Pera: yw
Pema Pera: now I have to make up fairy tales
Pema Pera: to fit with your avatar
Dharma Voyager: every once and a while I get the urge to ride my hoverboard
Dharma Voyager: and I will go riding with my kitty on
Dharma Voyager: oh yes
Dharma Voyager: watch
Pema Pera: k
Dharma Voyager: this was another reason
Dharma Voyager: hahahah

Dharma the cat started to play a violin, now really looking fairy tale like. And while playing with one hand, the other hand would keep typing.

Dharma Voyager: have I shown you the violin I made?
Pema Pera: ooooowwwww
Pema Pera: how sweet
Pema Pera: and fun
Pema Pera: typing while playing
Pema Pera: you really look like a character out of a German fairy tale
Pema Pera: like Grimms
Dharma Voyager: nods
Dharma Voyager: cat and the fiddle
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Pema Pera: still have no idea why people may think this scary
Pema Pera: or weird
Dharma Voyager: people get uncomfortable
Dharma Voyager: based on the story lines in their head
Dharma Voyager: you should know that
Dharma Voyager: they based it on that and not what they new of me
Dharma Voyager: sadly to say
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Pema Pera: actually it is a combination of Turkish/Persian and German fairy tale, I think, your outfit
Dharma Voyager: smiles
Pema Pera: might be an interesting fairy tale
Terrence Zhangsun: *purrs*
Dharma Voyager: nice kitty
Dharma Voyager: (tugs on terry’s mane)
Pema Pera: something in a large forest but still lots of sunshine
Terrence Zhangsun: *purrs*
Pema Pera: ivory buildings in the distance
Dharma Voyager: good boy
Dharma Voyager: giggles
Pema Pera: I hope Terrence stays good

Soon thereafter it was time for me to say goodbye.

Pema Pera: ah!
Dharma Voyager: yes
Pema Pera: I have to get out for dinner
Pema Pera: about that time
Dharma Voyager: good boy
Pema Pera: here in Tokyo
Pema Pera: and I’m glad I haven’t been dinner for Terrence ;>)
Pema Pera: (so far)
Dharma Voyager: hahha
Dharma Voyager: I don’t know if he has eaten?
Terrence Zhangsun: i’m full rightnow:)
Pema Pera: hmmmm
Pema Pera: well nice having met you
Pema Pera: hehehe
Dharma Voyager: ohoh terry you have to click the green button on your hud
Pema Pera makes a sigh of relief
Terrence Zhangsun: good to meet you to
Dharma Voyager: thanks for fun pema
Dharma Voyager: gosh it is late
Dharma Voyager: nice kitty
Pema Pera: nice seeing yo both here
Pema Pera: thanks for coming over!
Dharma Voyager: yes was fun
Pema Pera: and bfn
Terrence Zhangsun: i had fun too