Pema Pera: Hi Doug!
doug Sosa: looks like yes
Pema Pera: Good seeing you again here!
doug Sosa: long time…
doug Sosa: do you read francois jullien?
Pema Pera: no?
doug Sosa: interesting books on not doing..
Pema Pera: ah!
doug Sosa: but just a book.
Pema Pera: very rich topic, yes.
doug Sosa: yes.
doug Sosa: what is short history of this place?
Pema Pera: you mean the new pavilion we are in now?
doug Sosa: yes, beautiful.
doug Sosa: i miss the fire
Pema Pera: Dakini built it, like the previous place
doug Sosa: amazing. will i ever take the time to do that?
Pema Pera: up to you, Doug :)
doug Sosa: no, circumstances will decide for me..
Pema Pera: :-)
doug Sosa: i just need to be ready to lean into it, and lean away from it.
Pema Pera: in what way?
doug Sosa: well, if circumstanes speak to a deaf ear, nothing. readiness is all.
Pema Pera: sure
Pema Pera: yet we do sometimes feel that we are placed for a choice . . .
doug Sosa: no need to tell me but what are alll the other buildings? Is it ok to explore sometime?
First I thought that the first part of Doug’s last sentence was a reply to me, in a somewhat uncharacteristic way, but then I understood that it refered to what he then wrote in the next part of the sentence, given that his next line below would be the real reply. Texting can be confusing sometimes :-).
Pema Pera: of course!
Pema Pera: You are free to go wherever you like
Pema Pera: it is a very rich area
doug Sosa: “placed for a choice”? wonderfully ambiguous. are we the subject or object of that sentence?
Pema Pera: well, I was just using every-day language, nothing philosophical intended :)
doug Sosa: the water moving to your left and behind is somewhat like the fire. one wonders where it comes from, where it is going.
Pema Pera: that, too, can be explored!
Pema Pera: I can’t leave this place now, since I’m the guardian during this session
Pema Pera: otherwise I could walk with you along the rivers that Storm created
Pema Pera: various rivers
doug Sosa: no, not now. i’ll stay till dinner calls in a shot while.
Pema Pera: connecting this place with neigboring sims
doug Sosa: ah, that would be fun to follow.
Pema Pera: there are some roads in SL, but they are rarily used — people generally teleport
doug Sosa: Since I live on the edge of a river, with alsmot the same bird sounds as here..
Pema Pera: as an alternative, we use riversa nd forests to connect
doug Sosa: people.
Pema Pera: Hi Dakini!
Pema Pera: Hi Sigmund!
doug Sosa: hello both.
Sigmund Schwarz: Hi, Pema, … Doug.
Dakini Rhode: good evening!
Dakini and Sigmund joined us.
Pema Pera: I told Doug you have built this place too
Pema Pera: He hadn’t seen much of it yet
doug Sosa: and i bow in humble gratitude
Dakini Rhode: thank you, doug
Dakini Rhode: and Pema
doug Sosa: blush.
Dakini Rhode: i’m the one blushing here
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: also the only one building us place to gather in regularly, so far!
Dakini Rhode: this was fun
doug Sosa: still bowing, i can’t dont dare look.
Dakini Rhode: especially once i knew you wanted a coffee shop
Dakini Rhode: doug?
doug Sosa: yes?
Dakini Rhode: lol
Dakini Rhode: it’s not THAT grand
doug Sosa: oh?
Dakini Rhode: but i’m happy it’s appreciated
doug Sosa: I just heard a bell..
Dakini Rhode: our PaB bell
Dakini Rhode: it chimes every 15 minutes
doug Sosa: thanks!
Dakini Rhode: the mindfulness bell
Dakini Rhode: an invitation to mindfulness
doug Sosa: i put it on my computer, lovely, but lost it when i , well, another computer story.
Dakini Rhode: i have lots of those stories too
Dakini Rhode: I tried to use voice today, but it took me a long time to get it working…
Dakini Rhode: now i don’t know what button i pushed
Back to rivers and fires.
Dakini Rhode: so what were you talking about when we arrived?
doug Sosa: following the rivers
doug Sosa: that i live in rl on a beaitiful river with the same bird sounds
Dakini Rhode: lucky!
Sigmund Schwarz: really.
doug Sosa: yes.
Dakini Rhode: when i hear the sounds here i can pretend i live on a river
Dakini Rhode: but in fact i live in a highrise
doug Sosa: surrounded by rivers of life and traffic
Dakini Rhode: we do have nice grounds with walking paths and a golf course
Dakini Rhode: a pond, and wildlife
doug Sosa: I would rather a hut by a river than a penthouse on Central park.
Dakini Rhode: it’s interesting, many folks don’t have the option, and yet they must become content too
doug Sosa: we heat with wood, vegetables from the garden, and once a week i go to stanford to see the rest of the (affluent) world.
Dakini Rhode: this helps me understand…
Dakini remembers a very serious fire . . .
Dakini Rhode: and oh! my apartment burned down a few years back…
Dakini Rhode: that really helped me understand
doug Sosa: but this is beautiful too and sometimes in my mind the two environments are on a par with each other, bit delightful.
doug Sosa: “but delightful”
Pema Pera: what happened, Dakini?
Dakini Rhode: i met renters who had lost apartments more than once
Dakini Rhode: neighbors cooking with oil
Pema Pera: did you lose a lot of irreplaceable stuff?
Dakini Rhode: yes
doug Sosa: fires have such appetites.
Dakini Rhode: pretty much a total loss
doug Sosa: I am so sorry.
Pema Pera: must have been hard to deal with
Dakini Rhode: i’ll tell you: going to live in a cave at that point seemed pretty attractive
Dakini Rhode: but yes, “dealing” with insurances, and replacing “stuff”, was hard
doug Sosa: did having stuff on the net make it any easier?
Dakini Rhode: they give you 6 months to replace everything
Dakini Rhode: yes it did, doug
Dakini Rhode: it gave me insight…
. . . and the oil spill that Isen witnessed.
Dakini Rhode: like Isen’s issues with the oil spill
Dakini Rhode: Living in a beautiful town in Alaska, like your place on the river maybe…
Dakini Rhode: and then Exxon Valdez destroys everything…
doug Sosa: hm.
Dakini Rhode: one learns a lot from things like this…
Dakini Rhode: wow am i a wet blanket or what?
doug Sosa: At one point my mother had to put lots of stuff in storage, and the wharehouse burned down.
Sigmund Schwarz: just a mirror …,
doug Sosa: “warehouse”
Dakini Rhode: ouch
Dakini Rhode: we like to think we have some control, but in fact these things show us how little we do have
Dakini Rhode: now i need to try and relate this to play as being…
Pema Pera: impermanence says it all . . . .
Dakini Rhode: well that takes care of the “having” part pretty well…
Pema Pera: Hi Gen!
Dakini Rhode: Hi Gen :)
Pema Pera: haha, Dakini, yes!
genesis Zhangsun: Hi!
Sigmund Schwarz: Hello, Genesis.
genesis Zhangsun: Hi Sig
Genesis walked in, and Doug had to leave.
doug Sosa: I must apologize for my first life dinner is ready! Bye.
Pema Pera: We were talking about water and fire; beautiful rivers and homes burning down
Sigmund Schwarz: go well and eat well.
Dakini Rhode: bye doug!
Pema Pera: too quick to greet :)
Dakini Rhode: Gen, you look like a princess!
genesis Zhangsun: Thank you!
genesis Zhangsun: :)
genesis Zhangsun: You look like a Bond girl!
genesis Zhangsun: Thats a compliment by the way
Dakini Rhode: haha i hadn’t considered that
Dakini Rhode: lol
genesis Zhangsun: I like :)
Dakini Rhode: ty :)
Dakini Rhode: you made me laugh!
genesis Zhangsun: :)
genesis Zhangsun: so nice to be here!
Pema Pera: yes, it’s great seeing you here again!
Dakini Rhode: nice you showed up!
Pema Pera: I normally miss your guardian sessions
Pema Pera: since I’m asleep then
Dakini Rhode: Genesis, have you met Sigmund?
genesis Zhangsun: why no I haven’t!
Dakini Rhode: well, please meet!
genesis Zhangsun: a pleasure Sigmund
Sigmund Schwarz: Likewise, genesis.
The talk switches to the PaB explorations.
Pema Pera: Sigmund, have you had a chance to explore the 9-sec practice a bit?
Sigmund Schwarz: I’ve been mindful of it at times today dispite being busy and have sat with a long breath and expanded awareness from time to time today.
Pema Pera: Glad to hear that!
Pema Pera: Have you tried to write down a few words, sometimes?
Sigmund Schwarz: No, haven’t kept track.
Pema Pera: it may be fun to try, just for a few hours
Pema Pera: I know it sounds a bit silly
Pema Pera: like doing homework
Pema Pera: but surprisingly, many of us have found it useful
Pema Pera: I certainly have
Pema Pera: it seems to form a bridge between realms
Pema Pera: a doorway
Pema Pera: between normal state of mind and other ones
Sigmund Schwarz: I understand it tracks patterns we might not be aware of.
Pema Pera: yes
Pema Pera: patterns that don’t fit in our memory
Pema Pera: and hence are screened out
Pema Pera: but paper is more honest :)
And here is where the title for this session originated.
Sigmund Schwarz: I have a second home at the in between states.
Pema Pera: can you say more about that? Sounds fascinating!
genesis Zhangsun: sounds cozy!
Sigmund Schwarz: smiling
Sigmund Schwarz: some of it has to do with language. Using words that speak to what’s apparently happening and also with how they may resonate below the surface.
Sigmund Schwarz: I mine a lot of information that way plus it leads to a healthy sense of play,.
Pema Pera: can you say a bit more about how you do that? Or how we could explore that?
Sigmund Schwarz: Sure. This evening when I first came to the sitting, our friend Dakini was hovering slightly over the grounds to which I responded something about hanging around, making light of things, hanging in there …. I don’t remember precisely.
Sigmund Schwarz: So, I addressed what was happening in the physical, plus exploring other states of being using language and we connected in an upbeat moment.
Dakini Rhode: like the young folks say, i was “hanging”
Sigmund Schwarz: you was.
Pema Pera: :)
Dakini Rhode: yeth
Sigmund Schwarz: chuckling.
Sigmund Schwarz: I find that using language that way or combining extensions of language can turn up interesting insights, some superficial, some deeper.
Sigmund Schwarz: extensions - dovetailing off of something I or someone else has said.
Sigmund Schwarz: essentially in play though not always.
Dakini Rhode: or would you say extracting some sort of essence from your observation?
Sigmund Schwarz: That’s one of the deeper pay offs.
Dakini Rhode: i often do that in my 9-sec practice
Dakini Rhode: i observe, with curiousity
Dakini Rhode: then write something
Dakini Rhode: a haiku maybe
Sigmund Schwarz: mmh
Dakini Rhode: marbles?
Sigmund Schwarz: chuckling. marble cake.
Dakini Rhode: lol
Sigmund Schwarz: eating it up.
Sigmund Schwarz: plenty for everyone.
At this point Kat joined us. It is so nice to just sit there in the pavilion, without any idea what to expect, and to just see new and old friends dropping by!
Kat Lemieux: HEllo
Pema Pera: Hi Kat!
Pema Pera: come join us!
Dakini Rhode: hi Kat :)
Sigmund Schwarz: Hello, Kat.
Kat Lemieux: Thank you!
genesis Zhangsun: Hi Kat!
Pema Pera: Long time no see here!
Pema Pera: We’ve moved to a new place as you can see
Kat Lemieux: Yes, Nice!
Kat Lemieux: Needed more space?
Pema Pera: yes
Dakini Rhode: Indeed they were overflowing the tiny tea hut
Kat Lemieux: That’s good news
genesis Zhangsun: Kat are you engaged in the 9 second practice?
Kat Lemieux: No, I’m too ignorant to even know what that is
Kat Lemieux: I’ve never formally tried meditation
genesis Zhangsun: i doubt that :)
Dakini Rhode: Kat, you’re from the astro world, aren’t you?
Kat Lemieux: It’s true, but I’d rather be ignorant than stupid. Ignorant I can get over.
Kat Lemieux: Hmmm, I’ve worked in aerospace, and presently have some feet in that world, yes
genesis Zhangsun: yes thats a good way to look at it
Dakini Rhode: I’m trying to recall where we met - was it on mars?
genesis Zhangsun: :)
Kat Lemieux: It was actually here, in this region
Dakini Rhode: ah
Actually, we did go to Mars, subsequently, as a little group, to explore. Read on!
Pema Pera: Kat was my first mentor in SL, when I was still a newbe, half a year ago
Pema Pera: She is also the Director of the ISM, the International Spaceflight Museum
Kat Lemieux: December, so 6 months just about on the nose
Kat Lemieux is obviously not a mathematician
Sigmund Schwarz: neat.
Pema Pera: Mars is part of the museum :)
Pema Pera: Venus as well :)
Kat Lemieux: well, little bits of it
genesis Zhangsun: ah ok!
Kat Lemieux: ;-)
Kat Lemieux: We have a virtual reality room of the Mars surface
Dakini Rhode: aha!
Kat Lemieux: In fact, if you want to tour the whole solar system you can do it at the ISM
Sigmund Schwarz: sounds impressive
genesis Zhangsun: very!
Sigmund Schwarz: neat, thank you, Kat.
Kat Lemieux: YW
Dakini Rhode: ty :)
genesis Zhangsun: yes thanks Kat
Though Kat had visited a few times to chat, I realized we probably never told her what it is that we’re actually doing here :>).
Pema Pera: What Gen was refering to, Kat, was what we are normally talking about here, those rare times that we are reasonably serious that is
Pema Pera: in RL we spend a few hours each day
Pema Pera: during which every fifteen minutes
Pema Pera: we stop for 9 seconds
Pema Pera: dropping everything
Pema Pera: and observing what happens
Pema Pera: as a kind of 1% time tax
Kat Lemieux: I’d be happy to learn about it, but don’t think I could devote hours per day to anything
Pema Pera: ah!
Pema Pera: one minute
Pema Pera: or two
Pema Pera: 9 seconds at a time
Pema Pera: once every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: for a total of an hour or a few hours
Pema Pera: like the time to brush your teeth :)
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
Pema Pera: has the background
Kat Lemieux: Sounds like it would really interrupt thought flow if I was trying to concentrate on something, like programming or writing
Pema Pera: actually, we had some discussions about that the other day
Pema Pera: with a professional programmer
Pema Pera: who was instructed by his boss to do just that
Pema Pera: to clear the mind
Pema Pera: and to look up to see whether he wasn’t working himself into a dead end
Dakini Rhode: actually i’m a professional programmer too
Dakini Rhode: and i find i need to clear my mind regularly
Kat Lemieux: Well, it’s something to consider
Dakini Rhode: stop, drop, and come back and look at things differently
Kat Lemieux: So what do you do in this 9 seconds?
Dakini Rhode: but 15-minute intervals might not be optimal if you’re in the flow…
Pema Pera: anything you like, no precise prescription, though we have several suggestions
Pema Pera: take a couple breaths
Pema Pera: or look at what you think you are, to see whether perhaps it is something you have
Pema Pera: or just look around in appreciation
Pema Pera: of whatever presents itself
Pema Pera: both inside and out
Dakini refered back to the previous session.
Dakini Rhode: actually at the 1PM session today, we went around the table and discussed what we do in the 9 seconds
Pema Pera: looking forward to reading it!
Dakini Rhode: so am i (since i left the session early)
Kat Lemieux: I read some of the early transcripts, when you were just starting
genesis Zhangsun: that will be interesting to read
Pema Pera: there is 300 of them now :)
Kat Lemieux: wow
Dakini Rhode: Pema, how do you get to the older ones?
Pema Pera: through the “digest” button or through the “search” button
Pema Pera: the search is quite good
Pema Pera: if you remember a key word it will get you there
Kat Lemieux: Maybe the archive calendar?
Kat Lemieux: That’s one of the drawbacks o
Kat Lemieux: f the blog format — difficult to take things in chronological order from the beginning
Pema Pera: yes, that is why we are starting a wiki now
Pema Pera: which hopefully will be much more organized
Dakini Rhode: some blogs appear to have monthly archives that you can page back to
Pema Pera: for one thing, the wiki will have more than 20 authors, our whole core group, where the blog is just me . . . .
Dakini Rhode: yes
Kat Lemieux: Yes, if you’re using wordpress that’s a standard feature, but it might not be turned on
Steve dropped by. First he seemed to be seated in mid-air leaning backwards.
Dakini Rhode: Hey, Steve
Pema Pera: yes, I haven’t found that in my blog yet
Pema Pera: Hi Steve!
stevenaia Michinaga: fireworks over here
stevenaia Michinaga: hello
genesis Zhangsun: Hey Steve!
Sigmund Schwarz: Hello, Steve.
Pema Pera: you’re training for a space flight, Steve?
stevenaia Michinaga: sea legs
Then he attempted to sit at the same cushion as Kat. They looked like Siamese twins for a while.
Pema Pera: a gemini flight?
Dakini Rhode: lol
Kat Lemieux: HI, aren’t you being a little friendly for someone who hasn’t been introduced yet? ;-)
stevenaia Michinaga: so much for being done rezzing
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Ket, so sorry
Kat Lemieux: Nice to meet you, Steve ;-)
Kat Lemieux: NP
genesis Zhangsun: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: yes it was wasn;t it
Finally Steve decides to sit at the opposite side of the circle from where we all are seated.
Pema Pera: safe distance from us all :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: looks open here
genesis Zhangsun: better safe then sorry
genesis Zhangsun: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: so, perhaps you can recap….
stevenaia Michinaga: just kidding
stevenaia Michinaga: I didn;t mean to kill the discussion
Pema Pera: Actually I have to go to luch here in Kyoto pretty soon
Kat Lemieux: I think I did that before you got here
Pema Pera: Kat, we start at 1 am 7 am 1 pm 7 pm
Pema Pera: and we’ve been here for more than an hour now
Pema Pera: and in five hours we’re reconvene
stevenaia Michinaga: lol, I feel better now Kat
Pema Pera: pretty busy schedule :)
Dakini Rhode: I think i may be chatted out…
Kat Lemieux: K, I was surprised to see you online, in fact
Dakini Rhode: getting a little sleepy, here :(
Kat Lemieux: Steve, Pema was explaining the 9-second method to me
Sigmund Schwarz: yes, the night is getting longer.
Kat Lemieux: I’m a noobie at this
Dakini Rhode: are you on the East coast too, Sig?
stevenaia Michinaga: aww, welcome I;m sometimes here for the 7:00 meeting
Kat Lemieux: Thanks!
Sigmund Schwarz: Yes, Dakini. Just south of Pittsburgh, closer to the West Virginia and Ohio borders.
stevenaia Michinaga: I;m at the other end of PA, Sig
Kat Lemieux: I was just transcribing some letters from a cousin in Pittsburgh for my genealogy database
Pema Pera: Kat is the Director of the ISM, the International Space Flight Museum, which also hosts our astronomy meetings. She has kindly given us space there, in the same way that Dakini has hosted us here in the tea house when we started
Sigmund Schwarz: Neat, I have family in Philly.
We talk a bit about MICA.
Pema Pera: http://www.physics.drexel.edu/mica/
Pema Pera: is the MICA web site
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, I see you;ve been here since 05
Pema Pera: for our astro gatherings
Kat Lemieux: Soon to be http://mica-vw.org
Pema Pera: yes!
Pema Pera: every day 7:30 am SLT
Kat Lemieux: As soon as Steve (the other one) gets the nameserver info to me
Pema Pera: we call our guardians there “barristas” :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I saw that on the website today
Kat Lemieux: Nice cappuchino machine there, too
Dakini Rhode: well folks, i hope you excuse me if i bow out…
Pema Pera: sleep well, Dakini!
Dakini Rhode: ty
stevenaia Michinaga: night Dakini
Kat Lemieux: Nice to see you again dakini
Dakini Rhode: night all :-)
Sigmund Schwarz: Good seeing you again, Dee. I look forward to more of the same.
genesis Zhangsun: Bye dakini!
Dakini Rhode: :)))
Pema Pera: see you all
Kat Lemieux: Bye, Pema. See you later
genesis Zhangsun: Bye Pema
Pema Pera: thanks for dropping by, Kat, and everyone!
Kat Lemieux: Thanks!
