Storm was the guardian, that afternoon, and he sent me the following log, with his comments.
Adams waited quietly with me in the Pavilion. I could see in the far distance that Fael and Quilty were at the old tea house and I sent Quilty instructions on how to get to the new place. They teleported over and then Stim arrived too.
Fael Illyar: Hello
Storm Nordwind: Welcome!
Adams Rubble: Hello Fael
Storm Nordwind: This is my first meeting in the Pavilion
Fael Illyar: First for everyone I think :)
Fael Illyar: Hi Stim
Adams Rubble: It’s the first one to start here but we have had four end here
Storm Nordwind: I think the last one was the first - if you’ll pardon the contradiction!
Stim Morane: Hi Storm, Fael, Adams
Adams Rubble: Hi Stim
Stim Morane: … and Quilty
Storm Nordwind: Hi Stim
Adams Rubble: Hi Quilty
Storm Nordwind: I put down the water this morning
Storm Nordwind: And have just been refining it
Fael Illyar: it’s nice. If it just moved a bit slower :)
Yes, sometimes the water appears to be moving a most tranquil way. At other times it appears to be racing along. Very strange. Meanwhile, we were gradually sorting out our communication. On the other hand, it was so peaceful just to sit there and say nothing at all.
Quilty Bookmite: Ah. Sorry.
Quilty Bookmite: Thank you Storm. Seems I was in IM.
Storm Nordwind: It moves very slowly for me Fael. It may be a client side problem
Fael Illyar: could be I guess
Quilty Bookmite: I have had problems today. Had to reinstall my client.
Storm Nordwind: Perhaps this is a metaphor for a wider perception!
Quilty Bookmite: :-)
Fael Illyar: Hi Moon
There were long gaps in the conversation. And, by and by, we were joined by Moon.
Storm Nordwind: It is quiet and peaceful. I am content to sit, but also to listen! :)
Adams Rubble: Hi Moon
Moon Fargis: hello everyone :)
Stim Morane: Hi Moon
Quilty Bookmite: Hi Moon.
Storm Nordwind: Greetings Moon
More wonderful silence…
Adams Rubble: Have you ever had a meeting where nobody talked?
Storm Nordwind: No - someone has always said how quiet it was! :)
Adams Rubble: :)
Storm Nordwind: I could of course ask questions of people. How’s the practice? How’s the record keeping, etc. But sometimes I just sit here :)
Moon Fargis: ahyes the silence
Fael Illyar: I’m feeling somewhat lazy right now :)
Adams Rubble: me too :)
Storm Nordwind: Sometimes I write a lot in the blog and yet in a meeting there is silence
Adams Rubble: I think the log is tiring me a bit too :)
Fael was inspired to start talking about combining meditation and walking.
Fael Illyar: Although, I think I’ll return to the topic I mentioned in the previous meeting.
Fael Illyar: I tried meditating while walking to work today
Moon Fargis: storm: the biggest part of my sim is now finished.. so i will open it soon for visitors now.. but first i will need some help and inspiration from others..
Storm Nordwind: That can be a wonderful experience.
Fael Illyar: Yes, it was quite interesting :)
Moon Fargis: so any ideas or detail from your side would be cool
Storm Nordwind: Sure Moon! I’ll visit after this. Fael, what sort of meditation were you doing?
Fael Illyar: Well, I think I’m doing Zen style so that’s what I think :)
Quilty Bookmite: Did you find it easy to meditate and walk at the same time?
Fael Illyar: It was a bit hard to tell how well I succeeded but it certainly changed how I perceived things
Quilty Bookmite: And did you find you noticed things more?
Fael Illyar: Usually, when I walk, I tend to draw inward. This felt going in the opposite direction.
I told people about a walking meditation practice that I once taught.
Storm Nordwind: I used to teach people a walking meditation technique known as Faru
Quilty Bookmite: What is Faru?
Fael Illyar: I found it was easier to meditate while walking than I thought it would be :)
Storm Nordwind: Faru is a set of techniques based on Anglo-Saxon magic. The walking meditation involved breathing and visualisation
Quilty Bookmite: Ah. I see.
Fael Illyar: Yes, I began it by concentrating on my breathing but let go of that too after a while.
Storm Nordwind: Yes, I can imagine that.
Fael Illyar: Very refreshing :)
Storm Nordwind nods
Adams Rubble: can you explain more about the vizualization
Storm Nordwind: Sure Adams
Quilty Bookmite: I once tried meditation while driving. :-)
Adams Rubble: uh oh
Quilty Bookmite: It worked fine. Just helps me stay centred and calm.
Storm Nordwind: With Faru, the idea first is that you breathe light in and out. That’s the first stage to be comfortable with
Storm Nordwind: The second stage is this …
Storm Nordwind: You imagine that you breathe out by breathing the light out of your feet…
Storm Nordwind: And as you walk…
Storm Nordwind: you breathe out a path for you to walk on
Storm Nordwind: then as you breathe in…
Storm Nordwind: you breathe in the light you walk over through your feet
Adams Rubble: That is kind of beautiful
Storm Nordwind: and then on the out breath breathe out another path of light
Storm Nordwind: This Faru technique is known as the Path of Light
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble: Thank you Storm
Storm Nordwind: When you do this mindfully, amazing things happen
Storm Nordwind: You find that people are unconsciously reluctant to walk over your path that you have breathed out!
Storm Nordwind: But the level of mindfulness you achieve is wonderful
Storm Nordwind: And it gives you a fine sense of poise
Fael Illyar: poise?
Storm Nordwind: poise, as in very aware and sensitive balance
Storm Nordwind: knowing exactly how your body is oriented
Storm Nordwind: exactly where it is and how it is moving
Storm Nordwind: Very good to do in a grassy field in bare feet to start with when practising
Storm Nordwind: The trick is to know how big a path to breathe out
Storm Nordwind: That is part of the exploration
Adams Rubble: :)
Storm Nordwind: You breathe out only as much as you will breathe in as you walk over it
Adams Rubble: It is great to hear all the things one can do
Storm Nordwind: Life is very rich :)
Adams also had an inspiring experience to share…
Adams Rubble: This morning I had an experience on my bicycle which I explain a bit in my blog
Adams Rubble: but all of a sudden I became aware of my breathing and then my muscles working
Adams Rubble: all together-legs, arms, abdomen
Storm Nordwind: fabulous!
Adams Rubble: It was a real feeeling of awareness
Adams Rubble: It came from my beginning to use
Adams Rubble: breath meditation
Stim Morane: good!
Storm Nordwind: That is wonderful. I must read it
Storm Nordwind: Would you mind Adams if I put a link to your blog from mine?
Adams Rubble: not at all :)
Storm Nordwind bows
Storm Nordwind: thank you
Adams Rubble: tee hee
But then she had to leave. And so did Fael.
Adams Rubble: I must go now
Quilty Bookmite: Bye Adams.
Adams Rubble: bye everybody :)
Storm Nordwind: Thank you for coming along
Storm Nordwind: bye!
Stim Morane: Yes, thanks! Bye!
Fael Illyar: There’s someone I should be introducing to how SL works, I think I’ll also take my leave early today.
Storm Nordwind: That’s fine. All understood
Storm Nordwind: Thank you for sharing your experiences again!
Quilty Bookmite: Bye Fael.
Stim Morane: Bye Fael!
Fael Illyar: See you later :)
Storm Nordwind waves
It was interesting how people were exploring. I wondered if PaB was attracting people who like to explore or whether it was itself an incentive to explore. Quilty and I found we had a couple of things in common.
Storm Nordwind: I love how Play as Being is encouraging people to experiment with other forms of meditation too
Stim Morane: yes
Quilty Bookmite: I think I have been meditating the same way for so long I couldn;t imagine doing something different.
Storm Nordwind nods
Quilty Bookmite: Which isn;t to say there is anything wrong with other forms of meditation.
Storm Nordwind: Yes
Quilty Bookmite: Being an engineer I have an analytical mind. I find Zen meditation stops my mind from racing so much.
Storm Nordwind: You too are an engineer?
Quilty Bookmite: Software engineer. I did my degree in electronic engineering though.
Storm Nordwind: Similar to me.
Storm Nordwind: But now I teach
Storm Nordwind: engineers!
Quilty Bookmite: :-)
Quilty Bookmite: I hope they appreciate it. :-)
Storm Nordwind: Well - - some of them are thankful. And the best way to thank a teacher is to put into practice what they suggest
Stim Morane: yes
Quilty Bookmite: Indeed. :-)
Quilty Bookmite: Do you bring your spiritual practice into your work life?
Storm Nordwind: That is a good question!
Storm Nordwind: Let me answer in two ways
Storm Nordwind: Firstly, I don’t often tell people about the practices
Storm Nordwind: But secondly, I see no boundary between spiritual life and non-spiritual, so all of life becomes a practice for me
Stim Morane: of course
Quilty Bookmite: I like that approach!
I recalled how last week someone had asked me to speak in SL on the subject “A ‘not’ so Spiritual Path”. I guess I disappointed them because I was no dividing line!
Quilty Bookmite: When I first became a Buddhist I told just about everyone. I didn;t want to convert them, just tell them. :-)
Storm Nordwind smiles
Quilty Bookmite: Now I just tell people if they ask or it comes up naturally.
Storm Nordwind: I think many people have found out. I have a small laser-cut Kuan Yin block on my desk and people ask about it sometimes
Quilty Bookmite: :-)
Quilty Bookmite: I have a small seated Buddha in my car.
Quilty Bookmite: I occasionally notice it and sometimes it stops me swearing at other drivers.
Moon Fargis: hehe
Storm Nordwind: haha!
Quilty Bookmite: :-)
Quilty Bookmite: I may be a Buddhist but I am far from perfect.
Moon Fargis: well me neither got a buddha here.. just a dharma wheel i wear as necklace
Quilty Bookmite: There is my Wagesa as well but I don’t always wear that.
Quilty Bookmite: I probably should but it gets damaged too easily for me to wear it all the time.
Storm Nordwind nods
Quilty Bookmite: I think it is useful to have these reminders around us.
Storm Nordwind: Yes. And I have found though that we ourselves sometimes become reminders for other people!
Quilty Bookmite: :-)
Stim Morane: one way or another …
Storm Nordwind nods
As Stim took his leave, he assumed (wrongly) than I’d created the whole thing. Dakini can take credit for that. But he was gone before I could advise him.
Stim Morane: Thanks for the new pavilion, Storm! I have to go now, but enjoyed checking in… bye all!
Moon Fargis: bye stim
Storm Nordwind: Bye Stim
Storm Nordwind: Glad to see you again
Quilty Bookmite: I should probably go soon. getting near my bedtime.
Storm Nordwind: Ah yes
Quilty Bookmite: Storm, you are in the UK?
Storm Nordwind: Yes. And you?
Quilty Bookmite: Yes.
Quilty Bookmite: I know it’s a little early but I also know that my daughter will likely wake me up at 5 a.m. :-)
Storm Nordwind smiles
Moon Fargis: hehe
Storm Nordwind: I remember what that used to be like 20 years ago!
Moon Fargis: wanna come with us at hikari quilty before we all go to sleep?
Quilty Bookmite: It’s just as well she is so cute or she’d never get away with it. :-)
Storm Nordwind: or was it 30 years ago?
Quilty Bookmite: Sure.
Storm Nordwind: Then go as you must
Storm Nordwind: Always great to see you
Storm Nordwind: The light will be bright here till midnight (in Scotland)
Quilty Bookmite: And you. It’s been a pleasure again.
Moon Fargis: ok shall we go ?:)
Storm Nordwind: Yes indeed!
A short session? No. Just one where much of the time we relaxed and simply enjoyed being :)
