That evening, I again had difficulty getting a decent internet connection. It took me a while to get into Second Life, and then to walk into the pavilion, where Stevenaia was waiting.
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Pema
Pema Pera: Hi Steve!
stevenaia Michinaga: thought you were flying here
stevenaia Michinaga: the states, I mena
stevenaia Michinaga: mean
Pema Pera: still with a slow connection, in a hotel I’ve never been before, here in Tokyo
Pema Pera: One more night!
Pema Pera: Then I should be back to a better connection, from within the US
stevenaia Michinaga: I;m off to the beach for a week, last night ww/ internet
Pema Pera: Hi Prosper!
Prosper Telling: Hi
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Prosper
Prosper Telling: Hi… I made it without crashing… kinda screwy in SL tonight on my end
Pema Pera: Ah, so it’s not only me then! :)
Pema Pera: I had great difficulty, but blamed it on my internet connection
Pema Pera: Prosper, you have heard about our “guardian” system, perhaps?
Prosper Telling: No… for the first or minute or so looked like we were meeting the White Hot Room (if you read X-men) or that white room in the Matrix.
Pema Pera: :-)
After Prosper had slowly arrived, Sky appeared, and I invited Prosper to become a PaB guardian.
Prosper Telling: Not really actually.
Pema Pera: Hi Sky!
stevenaia Michinaga: I knoe Wiki is not your expertse, but is there a way to put the newer logs at the topm of the list?
Prosper Telling: hi
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Sky
Sky Szimmer: hi
Pema Pera: We meet here 4 times a day, and we like to make sure there is always at least one of us, to greet newcomers — we call that person a guardian, to “guard” the time slot
Pema Pera: Also, the guardian can give some basic information, like pointing to the web site of Play as Being
Prosper Telling: oh, kewl
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/
Pema Pera: In addition, we have a weekly meeting and an email group
Pema Pera: to discuss background issues and things that can’t easily be captured in a chat line :)
Prosper Telling: Sounds practical
Pema Pera: during our last meeting, which is open by the way to anyone, we all agreed to invite you to become a Play as Being guardian
Pema Pera: The fun thing is, there are no obligations, only perks :)
Prosper Telling: It would be a great chance to learn IMHO
Pema Pera: but of course many people do help out in one way or another, depending on time and skills
Pema Pera: We hope you will accept!
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s a burden each of us wears differently
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Prosper Telling: Whole heartedly and honored.
Prosper Telling: Yes, I will.
Pema Pera: Thank you very much, Prosper, I am glad to hear that!
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, and an honor
With Prosper our new guardian, I provided a bit more background.
Pema Pera: Let me give a canned short paragraph for more background — more is on the wiki. Here goes:
Pema Pera: There are no specific obligations involved, and the main thing is that you get on the email group in which we discuss PaB further. Everything else is optional. For example, when someone needs a replacement for leading a Play as Being session, they will send an email to the group, and if you happen to have time and feel like it, you can volunteer to stand in for someone. Or, if you really like to do so regularly, you could get one of the 4×7=28 weekly session slots, to be there once a week — but again, that is not a requirement to become a guardian. We also have a weekly meeting, Sunday morning 8 am SLT, but also that is just optional.
Pema Pera: The main thing is that as “guardian” you become part of the Play as Being community sharing our email exchanges, and you help “guard” the good atmosphere we have.
Prosper Telling: Can you send the canned paragraph again. It evaporated too soon.
Pema Pera: The main thing is that as “guardian” you become part of the Play as Being community sharing our email exchanges, and you help “guard” the good atmosphere we have.
Pema Pera: oops
I sent the paragraph again, and Steve and I explained to Prosper how to capture the information.
Prosper Telling: Aweet… thanx
Pema Pera: actually I just sent it as an IM as well
Pema Pera: but if you open the “communicate” box you can see the whole history of a session, did you know that?
stevenaia Michinaga: Have you tried the “LOCAL CHAT” window under the Communicate” button on the lower left of your screen?
Pema Pera: The communicate button is on the lower left part of the screen
stevenaia Michinaga: what pema said
Pema Pera: wat Steve said
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera wondering how many people have seen the binars in Startrek’s Nex Generation
Pema Pera: Sky, how are you doing?
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I have
Prosper Telling: Sure I have but not which ones they were
Sky Szimmer: goof
Pema Pera: ?
stevenaia Michinaga: “good” I think she said
Sky Szimmer: good
Pema Pera: I just put up, finally after a few days, the July 14 log on the blog, in which you announced you were going to write . . . how is it coming along, if I may ask?
stevenaia Michinaga: see I read and translate Stevenaia-esque typing too, Pema
Yes, I guess it takes one to know one, typo wise :-)
Prosper Telling: Found it!(The local chat log)
Pema Pera: haha, I thought you wanted to say “goofing off” — typos can be so funny
Sky Szimmer: i have my first entry today : )
Sky Szimmer: yes that too.
Pema Pera: Yes, Prosper, that makes life a lot easier, doesn’t it!
Sky Szimmer: me and marco are goofing off.
Pema Pera: haha, Sky!
Pema Pera: oh, how nice
Prosper Telling: Oh, yeah
Pema Pera: I look forward to seeing Marco again, next week
Pema Pera: must have grown a bit bigger by now!
Pema Pera: Shouldn’t Marco have an SL name, by the way?
stevenaia Michinaga: I;ve been busy editing my typos on the Wiki…if that;s what you were asking Pema
Pema Pera: no, I wasn’t, but wow, Steve, now THAT must be a big job
Pema Pera looking wide eyed
stevenaia Michinaga: OMG, yes
Pema Pera: how/where did you write your first entry today, Sky?
Sky Szimmer: in my blog. open sky
stevenaia Michinaga: What is the link Sky
Sky Szimmer: gee. i don’t know
Sky Szimmer: it is the google blog
Sky Szimmer: should there be a link?
Pema Pera: welcome to the blogging club, Sky, that’s wonderful!
Pema Pera: Yes, it is on the web right?
Sky Szimmer: thanks.
Pema Pera: Can you open a web browser?
Pema Pera: while you are in SL?
Sky Szimmer: not too well
Pema Pera: or do you remember the name you gave it?
Prosper Telling: Neither can I.
Sky Szimmer: Open Sky
Pema Pera: one word?
Sky Szimmer: no two
Pema Pera: well, next time you go into it, please check what the URL is, I mean the address starting with “http://”
Sky Szimmer: ok.
Pema Pera: We are all looking forward to reading the open sky!
stevenaia Michinaga: I can;t google it and get anything
Sky Szimmer: i doubt that.
stevenaia Michinaga: it might be one of the 1,000,000 hits
Sky announced her plan, to write as Being, in the spirit of play as Being.
Sky Szimmer: anyway, today i was wondering about if it would be helpful to write in the voice of being
Pema Pera: it often takes a few days, though, Steve, to percolate through google
Pema Pera: oh, wonderful, Sky, sure!
stevenaia Michinaga: on vacation I hioe to be more diligent in my PaB practice and write it down, the beach is the perfect place
Sky Szimmer: http://skyszimmer.blogspot.com/
stevenaia Michinaga: * hope
Sky Szimmer: that sounds great Steve. I was wondering after our last chat when you say you don’t read about this stuff
Sky Szimmer: then when do you get any info?
Sky Szimmer: i don’t know if that link takes you directly into the editing mode of the blog, or to the public viewing
stevenaia Michinaga: info?
stevenaia Michinaga: I often wonder when I get it as well
Pema Pera: yes, the blog addressed works, and I am now linking to it from the PaB web site, Sky — thank you!
stevenaia Michinaga: part of why I enjoy “here” is to find out what other people know about what I think I know
Sky Szimmer: that is great Steve. To know without any concepts from other folks.
stevenaia Michinaga: I find much parallel in the ideas of the group
Prosper Telling: Steve, I douldn’t agree more
Sky Szimmer: I have relied on guides my self
Prosper Telling: couln’t… what were we saying about typos earlier?
stevenaia Michinaga: my typos are proprietary
Sky Szimmer: yes. this is why it is wonderful for me to come here. so i can hear and talk about my favorite topic
Sky Szimmer: that’d be great. maybe in ten minutes?
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, and here it said by voices in a number of different ways
stevenaia Michinaga: hear
Sky Szimmer: So, Steve, you just came upon similar thoughts on your own?
stevenaia Michinaga: it seems the more you hear what being is and everyone’s appoach to life, the more clearity if gives to the concepts
stevenaia Michinaga: I ahven;t read it or had a teacher if that what you are asking
Sky Szimmer: neat.
Pema Pera: sorry Steve, haven’t read what?
stevenaia Michinaga: whenever I pick up a book on Buddism, I immediately get lsot in the terminology, dharma, zen and words to long for even me to type
stevenaia Michinaga: haven;t read much on being, eastern thought
Sky Szimmer: OK Guys. got to go. see you all soon again!
Sky quickly left, and we continued talking about Being.
stevenaia Michinaga: Philosophy
Pema Pera: There is not much written on what I call “Being” :)
stevenaia Michinaga: perfect, then I;m ahead of the curve
Pema Pera: not specifically using that word, and in fact not too much about the notion even with other words
Prosper Telling: Yeah I find myself in the “I don’t know camp” on this one
Pema Pera: And it doesn’t come from Buddhism
Pema Pera: There is a little bit of history, but only a little bit.
Pema Pera: The one person from whom I learned most about Being is Stim (Steven Tainer in RL)
stevenaia Michinaga: there seem to be an parallel these in that , or at least in this group
Pema Pera: He wrote a book on behalf of his teacher, more than 30 years ago, called Time, Space and Knowledge
Pema Pera: Those were three aspects of reality, where the totality of reality was called Being
Pema Pera: That book has been more influential for me than any other book I’ve ever read
Prosper Telling: On one Buddhism seems a bit simple, there are causes, there are effects, beingness arises but on the otehr hand, nothing arises
stevenaia Michinaga: I see it on Amazon
Pema Pera: and during the 28 years since I first read it, Being emerged more and more clearly, wanting to play . . . hence Play as Being
stevenaia Michinaga: a light read?
Prosper Telling: What are the three aspects?
Pema Pera: Space is the openness of Being, you could say
Pema Pera: Time more the energy or creativity
Pema Pera: Knowledge the details, perhaps, of all the intricate structure we find
Pema Pera: but that doesn’t do justice to the book
Pema Pera: and there is no need to read the book
Pema Pera: unless you’re particularly curious about how I meandered onto Being :)
Different ways to get in touch with Being.
Pema Pera: Somebody like Avastu found Being in a very different way, for example
Prosper Telling: Terminally curious I’m afraid.
Pema Pera: haha
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, or a path that leads you
stevenaia Michinaga: like this group has done for me
stevenaia Michinaga: puts the questions that are difucult to ask..in front of us here
stevenaia Michinaga: I enjoy that
Prosper Telling: Yeah, Being is still tantalizing to me… It’s like the Zen veiw of “Now”. It seems to include everything
Pema Pera: Prosper, http://www.amazon.com/Time-Space-Kno...6435282&sr=1-1 is the amazon link
Pema Pera: or start with “Tarthang Tulku” as author and “Time, Space and Knowledge” as titlle
Pema Pera: rather confusing.
Pema Pera: So make sure to pick up the book published in the late 1970s
Pema Pera: but watch out: there are several later books in the same series, and the series is ALSO called “Time, Space and Knowledge”
Prosper Telling: I opened a note pad to copy weblinks to
Pema Pera: not the 1980s or later
Pema Pera: Steve, we all appreciate your input
Pema Pera: authentically Stevenaiaesque!
Pema Pera: ah, prosper, you can catch the whole log!
stevenaia Michinaga: indeed
Pema Pera: much simpler
Pema Pera: then you can read everything later.
Prosper Telling: Yes, I can
Pema Pera: go to edit on the top bar
Pema Pera: then click on preferences
Pema Pera: then on Communication
Pema Pera: then click on all the white squares except the top one
Pema Pera: or at least that is one way to do it — you may choose another combination
Pema Pera: and then everything you and others type will be there to read at your leisure later one
Pema Pera: *on
Pema Pera: including URLs.
stevenaia Michinaga: or wait and pick it up on the PaB wiki
Pema Pera: principle of least action, Steve ? :)
Pema Pera: but to come back to what you wrote, Steve, yes, your personal exploration attitude is an inspiration to all of us
Pema Pera: in which you follow your own lights / antennas
Pema Pera: rather than a system
Steve then shared a great observation about speakers and listeners.
stevenaia Michinaga: I was talking about this today and what people take from exposure to things and people… they usually take things far more subtler than what is presented,, but see more the spirit of the presentor.. I thought of it as children picking up the manor of the parents, not the words, ie, they do as they see, not what they are told
stevenaia Michinaga: I see that happening here amongst people in the group
stevenaia Michinaga: as the last thing I am is a teacher, but I am told otherwise..scratching head
Prosper Telling: lagging is getting me… I won;t be far
Pema Pera: yes, Steve, that’s a very nice comparison, with what children pick up
Pema Pera: If nobody in PaB would follow a system, we might get too diffuse; if everyone would follow a system, we might get too rigid; the wonderful thing about this group is that many people bring in the wisdom and strength of particular ancient traditions and yet other people like you function as a reality check to make sure we will be able to talk about it all authentically, in our own words, dropping any reference to systems.
Pema Pera: I guess we lost Prosper.
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, lag got the best of him
Pema Pera: And yes, I see what you mean — reading blogs from sessions where I was not present, I noticed that: that people often respond to what may have been implied, rather than said directly
Pema Pera: Another sign of the intensity and depth of more and more of the conversations
stevenaia Michinaga: often I refer to other conversations I have here as well, it becomes more of a continuum
stevenaia Michinaga: and others do as well
Pema Pera: YES!
stevenaia Michinaga: we can;t keep talking about the same thing over and over but soon we being to look at the same things from diferent perspectives
stevenaia Michinaga: *begin
Pema Pera: yes, very much so
Pema Pera: inexhaustible it is . . . .
Steve talked about Pia describing her PaB practice.
stevenaia Michinaga: Pia mentioned greater awearness of the moments of life from coming here and practicing
stevenaia Michinaga: i find that wonderful
stevenaia Michinaga: that incites me to work on those 9 sec moments now
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: so I will see what happens on my vacation
Pema Pera: Yes, Pia shows her awareness in two ways: in the descriptions she gives, and in her actions — have you noticed how often she has brought a dispersed conversation back into focus?
stevenaia Michinaga: not specifically, but she tends to ground things nicely
stevenaia Michinaga: give them personal meaning
stevenaia Michinaga: if that;s what you mean
Pema Pera: here is an example
Pema Pera: from a log that I just put up, so I still remember:
Pema Pera: http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/peace-and-love/
Pema Pera: At the end you said:
Pema Pera: “stevenaia Michinaga: from a group of unfocused minds to just the opposite so quickly with just a word.. love and peace stevenaia Michinaga: it’s wonderful”
Pema Pera: And halfway it was Pia starting that topic when she said:
Pema Pera: “Pia Iger: anyway, maybe we can talk about peace and love today?”
Pema Pera: I guess Pia introduces those notions in such a light-handed way that it may not always be clear how she is steering :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: not sure steering is the word
Pema Pera: suggesting? focusing?
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Pema Pera: nudging?
stevenaia Michinaga: it then became a very intense conversation of love, if I remember
Pema Pera: yes, it was wonderful to read
Pema Pera: felt as if I had been there myself
stevenaia Michinaga: I forgot if you were or weren;t
Ha, this was funny! I later realized that I had been there, but I had just read a number of session logs where I had not been present, so I mistakenly thought I had not been there :-).
Pema Pera: sometimes, strangely, reading a log where I wasn’t present can feel almost more real than one where I was present . . . .
stevenaia Michinaga: I guess you are here, even when you are not, Pema
Pema Pera: no I wasn’t there at that session
Pema Pera: hahaha, and so are you, Steve, and we all!
stevenaia Michinaga: great, another log to correct th typos…:)
Pema Pera: well, I have to leave now . . . . haha, Steve
Pema Pera: btw
Pema Pera: if you correct typos, it may be tricky if people comment or hook into your typos — how do you handle that?
stevenaia Michinaga: had you last sushi before you left?
stevenaia Michinaga: like tonight, I will probably leave them
Pema Pera: sushi is only one of very many versions of Japanese food — less than 5% of what I eat here :-)
Pema Pera: leave them? why?
stevenaia Michinaga: if people refer to them, seems silly to remove what they are refering to
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Neela
Pema Pera: ah, of course, yes, in that case, for specific typos
Neela Blaisdale: Hello Pema and Steven. Just stopped by to say hello
Pema Pera: Hi Neela!
Neela Blaisdale: Couldmn’t be here earlier
Pema Pera: I’m afraid it will be hello and goodbye, Neela
Pema Pera: I just told Steve I have to go
Pema Pera: But great to see you even though briefly!
Neela Blaisdale: Yes have a good night
stevenaia Michinaga: have a good trip back Pema
Neela Blaisdale: Yes good flight
Pema Pera: Thanks, Neela and Steve!
Pema Pera: c u soon!
