Sky Szimmer: hello and welcome
Rajah Yalin: hi there
Sky Szimmer: i was hanging outside the garden practicing my dancing
Rajah Yalin: i was afk in meditation
Sky Szimmer: ah! nice.
Sky Szimmer: have you been to the tea house before
Sky Szimmer: i like your outfit. are you a monk?
Rajah Yalin: i have been before
Rajah Yalin: and don’t be fooled by the outfit i’m only a monk in SL :P
Sky Szimmer: yes. how do you like it?
Sky Szimmer: being a monk in SL that is
Sky Szimmer: have it changed your perspective?
Rajah Yalin: ah it is great
Rajah Yalin: and i would say so that SL development does carry onto my RL person
Sky Szimmer: really! do share please
Sky Szimmer: what have you discovered?
Rajah Yalin: i can have the patience of a monk if i focus on it
Sky Szimmer: nice!
Sky Szimmer: have you been practicing meditation a long time?
Rajah Yalin: for about 14 years though i did try it before then
Sky Szimmer: that is great. Have you been doing the 9 sec practice?
Sky Szimmer: I have been trying but am not good about writing things down
Rajah had to take care of a RL chore.
Rajah Yalin: brb
Sky Szimmer: brb? i dont get it
Sky Szimmer: what is brb?
Sky Szimmer: Please excuse me for I am not good with text lingo.
Sky Szimmer: it is all new to me.
Sky Szimmer: hello rajah….
Rajah Yalin: sorry brb means be right back
Sky Szimmer: oh……..!
Rajah Yalin: yeah brian was wanting the computer for a moment so i thought it to be a good time to get up and make some tea
Sky Szimmer: yes indeed!
Sky Szimmer: nice!
Rajah Yalin: yes i love tea
Rajah Yalin: its almost all i drink
Sky Szimmer: it is good!
Sky Szimmer: so Rahaj, have you tried the 9 sec practice?
Rajah Yalin: yes i’ve been doing it
Rajah Yalin: yesterday was my first day here actually
Rajah Yalin: hi Storm - nice to see you again
Storm Nordwind: Hi Rajah. Hi Sky!
Storm joined Rajah and Sky.
Sky Szimmer: hi Storm! long time no see : )
Storm Nordwind: Far too long yes :)
Sky Szimmer: you guardians have been busy!
Storm Nordwind: Busy? Us? ;)
Storm Nordwind: And this is the first time I have seen you in this form Sky. Why the change?
Sky Szimmer: wanted to be something different.
Storm Nordwind: You succeeded.
Sky Szimmer: wanted to look like you!
Sky Szimmer: : )
Storm Nordwind: Haha - I am honoured! Or should I take wanting to be different as a metaphorical statement?
Sky Szimmer: either which way. it is all good
Storm Nordwind: Rajah, are you totally up to speed with the Play as Being project now?
Rajah Yalin: in fact I am
Sky Szimmer: rajah was just about to tell me about his 9 sec practice
Storm Nordwind: Cool. My apologies for butting in
Sky Szimmer: no… not at all!
Rajah Yalin: i tried to come in this morning but was an hour off, it was just ending as i came in
Storm Nordwind: Easy to do, especially from your remote island!
Rajah Yalin: :P
Sky Szimmer: Storm. Have you been keeping a log?
Sky Szimmer: a journal I mean.
Storm Nordwind: You mean a meditation journal?
Sky Szimmer: yes. well, for the 9 sec practice.
Storm Nordwind: Yes and no. Let me explain…
Sky Szimmer: please
Storm talked about his PaB practice.
Storm Nordwind: At first - the start of April - I kept a notebook with me…
Storm Nordwind: and I jotted down impressions after each one
Storm Nordwind: At that time I was off work so it was easier to do
Storm Nordwind: Later on, when i was at work, it was less easy for me.
Storm Nordwind: On the other hand I was always at a computer
Storm Nordwind: So what I did instead is write thing directly to my blog
Storm Nordwind: Sometimes they are very short
Storm Nordwind: Other times less so
Storm Nordwind: Some days i miss entirely
Sky Szimmer: oh! I haven’t checked out your blog lately. I would love to read up on your latest thoughts.
Storm Nordwind: I am not… er… “religious” about keeping the blog up-to-date! ‘)
Sky Szimmer: lol
Storm Nordwind: There are huge tracts of “stuff” there
Storm Nordwind: Some mini-articles and stories too
Storm Nordwind: Some I can’t 100% say are obviously reflections of the PaB practice
Sky Szimmer: i am sure your blog has interesting food for thought!
Storm Nordwind: But they come always at least come from the inspiration of the practice
Sky Szimmer: that is great.
Storm Nordwind: I hope you find it so. It’s the first I’ve ever written
Sky Szimmer: i have to confess i am just not a note taker myself but I have really enjoyed your blog.
Sky Szimmer: it is a great first effort. seems like you’ve been at it for a while.
Storm Nordwind: Thank you for your kind words! :)
The conversation continued to focus on Play as Being.
Rajah Yalin: what is your blog storm
Storm Nordwind: I will give you the address
Rajah Yalin: okay
Storm Nordwind: http://stormerne.blogspot.com/
Storm Nordwind: It is called “Words of a Seer” - for probably pretentious reasons that we needn’t go into (but I do in the very first entry)
Rajah Yalin: lol
Sky Szimmer: how has it been for your Rajah
Sky Szimmer: have you been jotting impressions down
Rajah Yalin: so i’ve done the 9 second meditation three times but havent been able to jot down what i’ve captured - 9 seconds feels very short
Storm Nordwind: It is short, very true
Sky Szimmer: it is short.
Sky Szimmer: which is great.
Sky Szimmer: easier to do
Storm Nordwind: But please do not feel you are limited by the 9 seconds
Sky Szimmer: not intimidating.
Storm Nordwind: If you have 18 seconds or 27 or 36 or longer, then fine
Rajah Yalin: what would you say is the ‘maximum’ for the practice?
Moon walked in.
Moon Fargis: helo my friends
Sky Szimmer: Storm. have you taken notes on your impressions before?
Rajah Yalin: hi Moon
Storm Nordwind: Good evening Moon
Sky Szimmer: hi moon, nice to meet you.
Storm Nordwind: (I’m aware that it IS evening for Moon!)
Rajah Yalin: its morning here :)
Sky Szimmer: I am just wondering about the importance of note taking.
Storm Nordwind: Note taking is good for several reasons in all practices like this
Sky Szimmer: (Pema, I am trying but resistance is strong!)
Sky Szimmer: yes? how so.
Moon Fargis: dont resist against yourself
Storm Nordwind: For one thing it helps you share your experiences (if that is beneficial)
Storm Nordwind: For another…
Storm Nordwind: it helps you see patterns
Storm Nordwind: and trends and tendencies
Storm Nordwind: And one reason is especially important to me
Storm Nordwind: That is… I have a mind like a … er… i forget… a holey thing… always forgetting stuff!
Storm Nordwind: So it’s useful for many reasons
Storm Nordwind: It is a tool for reflection
Storm Nordwind: However I’m fully aware that reflection is NOT a chosen method of learning for quite a lot of people!
Storm Nordwind: It wasn’t for me for many years!
Storm Nordwind: Both the act of taking notes and reflecting on them always seemed to me to waster time
Storm Nordwind: During that time i could not be in the present experiencing the Now
Storm Nordwind: Or so I thought
Storm Nordwind: Now I find it is useful
Storm Nordwind: There is another reason too and this is linked with the every 15 minutes thing
Storm Nordwind: and that’s that regularity is a powerful thing in itself
Storm Nordwind: It become habit or ritual
Storm Nordwind: And the right habits and rituals can be evolutionary forces in their own right
Storm Nordwind: provided they have life in them
Storm Nordwind: Just my thoughts anyway! :)
Storm Nordwind decides he talked enough! :)
Rajah Yalin claps.
Well, thank you Storm! I couldn’t have said it better. Note taking is a gesture, a ritual, a lab method, all of these and more.
Moon Fargis: :) well awareness is something nice indeed
Moon Fargis: but in your case you just can talk longer if you wish because everything was true
Storm Nordwind: Thank you Moon! :)
Sky Szimmer: how do you remind yourself every fifteen minutes?
Storm Nordwind: Ah Sky… that’s a good question
Storm Nordwind: O don’t
Sky Szimmer: Storm! Do Talk. I enjoy your thoughts
Sky Szimmer: I learn alot anyhow.
Storm Nordwind: I don’t remind myself
Storm Nordwind: Thank you Sky
Storm Nordwind: But the 15 minute period just happens for me
Storm Nordwind: or not
Sky Szimmer: yes? you mean, you just kind of remember every fifteen minutes and then you relax for 9 sec?
Storm Nordwind: Pretty much. I don’t have a watch which goes BEEP every 15 minutes because I don’t wear a watch (though I think some do!)
Sky Szimmer: (got to run soon but by all means to continue forth without me.)
Storm Nordwind: sure Sky
Sky Szimmer: If you all do stay, do you mind forwarding the rest of the notes to Pema
Sky Szimmer: Storm?
Storm Nordwind: Of course
Sky Szimmer: Thanks!
Storm Nordwind: np
Sky Szimmer: Nice chatting with you all! Very nice meeting you two. I must run
Storm Nordwind: Bye for now then Sky
Moon Fargis: ok see you
Storm Nordwind: Namaste
Storm sent me the remainder of the conversation log, as Sky has asked, together with his comments. So from here on it will be Storm’s voice commenting.
We continued our conversation about the core Play as Being practice.
Storm Nordwind: Pema’s original idea was a 1% time tax
Storm Nordwind: He thought that 9 seconds was do-able and not too onerous
Storm Nordwind: But I do another ritual everyday that takes 1% of my time
Storm Nordwind: But I do that in one burst of 10 minutes uninterrupted, just once a day
Storm Nordwind: Nevertheless I try and be more frequent than regular with the 9 second meditations!
Moon Fargis: hmmm
Storm Nordwind: My advice Rajah is to see how it settles in for you
Rajah Yalin: yes its a new thing for me
Storm Nordwind: It’s definitely worth trying in the 9/15 format first
Rajah Yalin: i will trying to write it down next time also
Storm Nordwind: And please feel free to share your notes - if you wish to - at these kinds of sessions.
Storm Nordwind: or in a blog, or whatever
Storm Nordwind: Or not at all if you prefer!
Rajah Yalin: i think im gonna open up a blog - not so ,much for meditation but a blog in general
Storm Nordwind: Sure
Storm wanted to make an important point about whether or not there was “the” way to do things. At the same time Rajah began to mention another more disturbing experience too.
Storm Nordwind: please remember too that, although some of us in PaB have had meditation experience before (and many haven’t) - this is an experiment
Storm Nordwind: There is no “RIGHT” way to do this
Storm Nordwind: We are all exploring together
Storm Nordwind: Some of us have had very deep experiences in the past
Storm Nordwind: And we are wondering whether those experiences can be made more accessible to more people by this kind of practice
Moon Fargis: hmm what kind of experiences do you mean?
Storm Nordwind: Some people on this project have been meditating for 35 or more years. Some have experienced what I believe Zen people call “Kensho”
Moon Fargis: ahhh
Rajah Yalin: in 1998 my fourth year in India i had a deep experience that i cant really word, but it was frightening - i chose not to say anything about it to the guru (i didnt want to seem amateur) - rather immature of me i know - these days i wish i would have gone forward with the meditation cos it was silly to be afraid
Storm Nordwind: You have my deepest sympathies Rajah. I can imagine what that must have been like for you
Rajah Yalin: yes - the ego kept me from asking about it
Moon Fargis: ah yes
Storm Nordwind: perhaps that was the lesson you had to learn from the episode
Storm Nordwind: One nice thing about Play as Being…
Storm Nordwind: we don’t have a Guru
Storm Nordwind: we don’t have a Pope
Storm Nordwind: We don’t have a High priest/ess
Storm Nordwind: We are friends together
We discussed Raja’s experience at more length.
Rajah Yalin: well i spent 5 years traveling throughout india
Rajah Yalin: seeing different styles of meditation teachings, etc.
Storm Nordwind: yes indeed you would most certainly do that!
Moon Fargis: yes there are alot for sure
Moon Fargis: what do you think would that experience be you noticed wich where you afraid of?
Rajah Yalin: i tried to learn a lot about meditation and at times the ego would stop me from asking questions - and it seems that the more i read into my journals, that nowadays i am learning more and more
Rajah Yalin: i dont know - i try not to name things / label it but simply to observe and be aware
Storm Nordwind: The discomfort of the ego - This is what Buddhists might call “self-cherishing”
Rajah Yalin: but at the time i attempted to find out what it was and no experiences that i found were similar to it
Storm Nordwind: You are free to describe or discuss it as you wish or wish not. I can omit it from the chat log if you wish too
Storm Nordwind: Observing and being aware are the good end of the spectrum! :)
Rajah Yalin: its no secret now - at the time i didnt write about it and its no more than a memory
Rajah Yalin: but it was almost as if i had left my body and could not return at all
Storm Nordwind: Ah yes - I have come acrosss that
Moon Fargis: ahhhyes i also have come acrross that from another one i met
Rajah Yalin: entered some cosmic realm where someone was standing in front of me and told me to follow him but i couldnt
Rajah Yalin: and the rest was like i was falling back into my earthly self seeing all these scary images
Storm’s chequered experience was “ringing bells”!
Storm Nordwind: May I ask a very personal question? Please feel free to say no or ignore it
Rajah Yalin: sure ask
Storm Nordwind: Was this experience entirely without the use of “chemical assistance”?
Rajah Yalin: no drugs, no alcohol
Rajah Yalin: in fact i was on an empty stomach
Storm Nordwind: I see. Because it is symptomatic of “forcing the pace”
Storm Nordwind: And if you were not assisted by drugs, perhaps you were going into a particular practice too early
Storm Nordwind: But your teacher should have spotted that
Rajah Yalin: i was my teacher - i just would ask other teachers for their opinions on things and try and find out myself
Moon Fargis: rajah: well you have bein in nothing and everything…i call it awareness.. maybe being.. you know everything is the same.. the stone, the pillow, you me, ..only our mind,ego,body differs
Storm Nordwind: aaaaahhhhh!
Storm Nordwind: Now I understand Rajah
Storm Nordwind: My personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that you were insufficiently protected…
Storm Nordwind: That is something very many practitioners fail to do…
Storm Nordwind: and mostly they get away with it
Storm Nordwind: because the energy that they are generating…
Storm Nordwind: acts like the force of a hosepipe
Storm Nordwind: and blows away everything before it
Storm Nordwind: However, if you were not in a protected environment and did not know about that before you started…
Storm Nordwind: you were wide open to anything floating by that wanted to… how can I put this…
Storm Nordwind: “feed on the energy”
Storm Nordwind: What you were doing were practices that needed a more secure environment or greater prior development
Storm Nordwind: This is not blaming you
Storm Nordwind: And in fact, other teachers should have advised you about it
Rajah Yalin: yes I think that is right
Rajah Yalin: plus i believe perhaps i was a bit too experimental
Rajah Yalin: trying different practices so fast
Storm Nordwind: That, my friend, is so often a recipe for disaster. More so for the talented than less so, believe it or not!
Rajah Yalin: yes but i do think i achieved my goal for my 5 year stay in western / central india
Storm Nordwind: I am very pleased to hear it! :)
Moon had to leave. And we closed with a pleasant digression into future journeys and musical pasts.
Moon Fargis: ok my friends i have to leave now
Rajah Yalin: in 2002 I spent a few months in Tibet and that was great also
Storm Nordwind: Goodbye Moon!
Rajah Yalin: take care Moon - Namaste
Storm Nordwind: Namaste
Storm Nordwind: You are well travelled. What a resource of time you must have had! :)
Rajah Yalin: yeah my contemporaries think i am crazy, but my goal since i was young was to travel
Rajah Yalin: next month I am going to the US and bahaman islands
Storm Nordwind: nice
Storm Nordwind: What spiritual goal will be yours in the US? ;)
Rajah Yalin: have fun :P
Storm Nordwind: haha!
Storm Nordwind: I guess it depends on what fun is for you!
Rajah Yalin: yes i dont get TOO wild these days ;)
Storm Nordwind: haha! And I’m too old to be wild. Except on stage. Give me a Les Paul and a Marshall and you’ll mistake me for someone much younger!
Rajah Yalin: haha so you are a musician too?
Storm Nordwind: Yes. Why “too”?
Rajah Yalin: i do music
Storm Nordwind: Great. Please share
Rajah Yalin: well i play anything stringed and some native instruments
Storm Nordwind: Wonderful
Rajah Yalin: and write songs - I was in a reggae band in the early 90s
Rajah Yalin: reggae is the most popular music here
Storm Nordwind: It’s a while since I’ve played reggae
Storm Nordwind: Must be 5 years ago
Rajah Yalin: most people here do not know who bob dylan is but know who bob marley is
Storm Nordwind: fair enough!
Storm Nordwind: You must have had lots of great opportunities in India for native instruments
Rajah Yalin: well
Rajah Yalin: i did the gautama but i dont think i did it right
Storm Nordwind smiles
Storm Nordwind: And will you play in the US?
Rajah Yalin: not for money or anything - maybe I’ll give a performance though if i can
Storm Nordwind: Wonderful!
Storm Nordwind: You know that there are live performances in SL?
Rajah Yalin: yep
Rajah Yalin: I’ve wanted to bring my music to SL but first i have to get a mic
Storm Nordwind: Please let me know when you do. I’ll be there!
Rajah Yalin: :)
Storm Nordwind: Please excuse me now. It is getting late here (though not the 3am you had the other morning) and i need to parcel up this log
Storm Nordwind: Is there anything in the conversation that you don’t want to be made public. (Or all if you choose)
Rajah Yalin: no i dont mind it being public
Storm Nordwind: Then I will bit you good morning. And once again it was nice to meet you.
Storm Nordwind: And do perservere for a few days on the 9/15 schedule
Storm Nordwind: And maybe discuss it
Storm Nordwind: or see what works for you
Storm Nordwind: And if it doesn’t work in any form, then please feel free to leave it alone! :)
Rajah Yalin: haha okay mate
Rajah Yalin: you take care and I’ll see you again soon
Rajah Yalin: Namaste
Storm Nordwind: Namaste
