That night at 1 am I, Pema, was the guardian. When I arrived at the pavilion Artemisia, Fael and Umbriel where there already, engaged in conversation.
Fael Illyar: Artemisia, have you been here before?
Fael Illyar: Hi Pema :)
Umbriel Levenque: Hi Pema
Artemisia Svoboda: I seem to have a bit of time lag
Pema Pera: Hi Fael, Artemisia, Umbriel!
Artemisia Svoboda: Hi Pema
Faenik: why not?
Pema Pera: Nice seeing you again here Umbriel :-)
Umbriel Levenque: Same here Pema. How was the dinner?
Pema Pera: fine! I like Japanese food
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Pema Pera: Artimisia, nice to meet you!
Artemisia Svoboda: Nice to meet you too
Pema Pera: You were “born” in Second Life just a few days ago, I see
Pema Pera: Welcome!
Pema Pera: Have you been here with our group before?
Artemisia Svoboda: Pema, I was here with you a few days ago
Artemisia Svoboda: I am Leonore in RL
Ah, my memory is now beginning to resemble that of Storm, it seems :-) Is it rubbing off, now that I’m working so much with him? I’ll ask him whether it is contagious . . .
Pema Pera: ah, I’m sorry
Pema Pera: OF COURSE
Pema Pera: hahaha
Faenik: indeed?
Fael Illyar: :)
Pema Pera: ah, those SL names, so confusing . . . ..
Pema Pera: I guess I just instantly swapped you in my mental name space for Leonore . . . .
Artemisia Svoboda: Yes, it might have been easier to stick to my RL name…
Pema Pera: okay, I will now visualize you as ARTEMISIA
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Pema Pera: there is a lot of advantage in doing so, yes
Pema Pera: the problem is that when we enter SL, we have to choose a name, and at that point we know nothing about SL . . . .
Artemisia Svoboda: so ture
Artemisia Svoboda: so true
Pema Pera: in any case, good seeing you again!
Having recovered, I proceed to introduce Artemisia to Fael and Umbriel.
Pema Pera: Fael and Umbriel, Art is an old friend of mine
Fael Illyar: Ah :)
Umbriel Levenque: Ah
Pema Pera: and an alumnis of many Kira summer schools
Pema Pera: how many, Art?
Fael Illyar: Hello Artemisia :)
Artemisia Svoboda: I think three
Artemisia Svoboda: Hi guys
Pema Pera: three out of five, not bad! :-)
Umbriel Levenque: Nice to meet you (well again) Artemisia
Artemisia Svoboda: Today I am moving house in RL, so I won’t stay very long
Pema Pera: ah, that must be a chore to do, I wish you good luck with it all!
Pema Pera: Within the same city?
Fael Illyar: I’ll be away from home for a couple of days starting today as well :)
Artemisia Svoboda: yes, within the same city
Pema Pera: will you remain in internet contact, Fael?
Fael Illyar: I can check my email there … if I remember :)
Fael Illyar: perhaps even SL … that’s still uncertain
Pema Pera: Artemisia, did you get a chance to play a bit with the Play as Being 9-seconds explorations?
Artemisia Svoboda: not yet…
Pema Pera: I look forward to hearing about it, next time you have nine seconds free in your busy schedule (^_^)
Pema Pera: or a few times nine seconds . . .
Pema Pera: (just teasing)
Artemisia Svoboda: sure!
Artemisia and I have a decade behind us of teasing each other regularly . . .
Artemisia Svoboda: how about you others, do you have experience with the 9-sec exercise?
Faenik: why not?
Fael Illyar: Yes, I do them all day, usually.
Umbriel Levenque: Ah
Artemisia Svoboda: all day… does that mean once an hour? once every few minutes? Just curious…
Fael Illyar: every 15 minutes … well, except when I sleep
Artemisia Svoboda: so when you started doing it, did you have any tricks to help you remember?
Pema Pera: (the web site http://playasbeing.wordpress.com/ describes the basic ideas)
Fael Illyar: Yes, I still have a bell sound going off every 15 minutes.
Faenik: なるほど^^
Artemisia Svoboda: wow, what a commitment
Fael Illyar: Hi Rowan :)
Rowan Masala: Hi Fael, all
Umbriel Levenque: Hi Rowan
Artemisia Svoboda: hi Rowan, nice to meet you
Rowan Masala: and you, Artemisia
Pema Pera: hi Rowan!
Rowan Masala smiles
Rowan Masala: forgive me for interrupting. please continue
Rowan joins us, and we continue to talk about the PaB explorations. After a minute or so, she disappears, but then manages to come back into Second Life quickly.
Pema Pera: Artemisia is relatively new here in PaB, Rowan, and asked us about our experience with the 9-seconds exploration. Would you like to say a few words about you have experienced it, what your impression has been
Pema Pera: (not to put you on the spot, just any impression is fine)
Pema Pera: oops
Pema Pera: well, Umbriel, how about you?
Pema Pera: wb, Rowan :)
Umbriel Levenque: You mean 9 sec Pema?
Fael Illyar: I’ve found the 9 seconds to be very useful :)
Umbriel Levenque: um… all day as Fael mentioned
Umbriel Levenque: And also when interacting with people at times
Artemisia Svoboda: do you mean useful as in providing insights?
Fael Illyar: That too but the most useful thing is learning to let go of things fast :)
Faenik loves wells!
Fael Illyar: Like, if you get shocked by something you see or hear, you can recover from it much faster after doing PaBs for some time.
Artemisia Svoboda: learning to let go of things fast - I think that will motivate me to try it out
Fael Illyar: taking a “pause” becomes a second nature when you need one.
Rowan Masala nods
Umbriel Levenque: Ah :-)
Pema Pera: I have had a similar experience myself, and I find it very encouraging that so many people here report that the explorations have really helped them — it is surprising in a way, since when we started there was almost no structure. The only suggestion I made in the beginning was something like “drop what you have to find what you are” - which is rather open ended :-)
Fael Illyar: it seems to be enough :)
We talk about being flexible with the notion of 9 seconds, which is more a guide line and certainly not meant to be a strict instruction.
Pema Pera: Rowan, what is your sense, have you enjoyed playing with it too?
Rowan Masala: I’ve had some trouble feeling like I’m able to really let go that quickly, so I’ve been using more extended pauses, but I’m trying to shorten them now, to get to the point at which I can do it in a few seconds
Fael Illyar: When I started, I did the pause for as long a I felt necessary.
Rowan Masala nods
Fael Illyar: it naturally got faster as I did it more.
Rowan Masala: that’s good to hear
Pema Pera: and there is no need to strive for perfection
Rowan Masala: encouraging
Pema Pera: just letting go a little bit is good enough!
Umbriel Levenque: Yes Pema
Rowan Masala smiles
Fael Illyar: no point looking at the clock for exactly how long it takes :)
Artemisia Svoboda: Do you guys also do it when in the middle of a conversation with other people?
Fael Illyar: that’s not a true pause if you do that :)
Rowan Masala: I haven’t tried that at all yet
Umbriel Levenque: Very helpful when I do that
Pema Pera: oh, I think it can be a pause, on a different level
Fael Illyar: Yes, I do it in middle of conversation. That’s where it often tends to be most useful
Pema Pera: yes
Umbriel Levenque: It also give the other to pause as well
Pema Pera: Doug Sosa was the first one, I believe, to talk about that here
Faenik loves wells!
Pema Pera: we don’t have to stop what we’re doing - it is more a sense of stepping back, to be less glued to what you’re doing
Artemisia Svoboda: right
Pema Pera: become a little bit a watcher of the situation, without really decoupling
Pema Pera: at first you may feel like an oscillation, between participating and watching, but after a while you can integrate both
Pema Pera: naturally, without effort
Pema Pera: just a matter of practice
We talk about wu-wei.
Artemisia Svoboda: now what does that mean? Are you then not stepping back for nine sonds, but in a continuous state of non-attachment?
Pema Pera: “stepping back” can mean many things — one way in which I like to play with it is to move from “doing” to “not-doing”, wu-wei in Taoism
Pema Pera: not-doing as not manipulating
Pema Pera: letting everything develop naturally
Pema Pera: not interfering
Pema Pera: does that make some sense, what I’m trying to point at with those terms?
Rowan Masala nods
Artemisia Svoboda: yes, it does
Fael Illyar: not being attached starts becoming more and more natural state as you do the pauses more
Pema Pera: yes, very much so
Rowan Masala: and it’s interesting to me that stepping back, which seems like a pulling away, actually lets you be more fully present in the moment
Fael Illyar: it’s not an on or off thing. You just learn more things you can be detached from all the time.
Pema Pera: yes, Rowan, isn’t that delightful ?!?
Rowan Masala nods, smiling
Fael Illyar: very personal development, that one :)
Fael Illyar: low hanging fruit first
Pema Pera: yes, Fael, :)
Pema Pera: and we’ve talked about good attachments too, Art
Pema Pera: Wol likes to talk about that :>)
Fael Illyar: how about attachments worn lightly?
Pema Pera: yes indeed!
Fael Illyar: is that what you mean?
Pema Pera: yes, not attached does not mean completely detached
Pema Pera: there is always the question of balance, the middle way
Umbriel Levenque: This wearing lightly… interests me
Pema Pera: not attached to the clothes you wear doesn’t mean always walking naked :-)
Pema Pera: yes, Umbriel?
Rowan Masala laughs
Fael Illyar: Hi Kristen :)
Pema Pera: Hi there, Kristen, great seeing you again!
Rowan Masala: that was one of my favorite lines from First Knight, when Guinevere tells Arthur that he wears his power so lightly
Rowan Masala: Hi Kristen
Umbriel Levenque: Hi Kristen
Artemisia Svoboda: Hi Kristen, nice to meet you
Kristen Lefevre: hey everybody
Kristen Lefevre: sorry i’m late
Kristen joins us, and we continue to talk about `wearing lightly.’
Pema Pera: thank you, Rowan, I didn’t know that line, that’s beautiful !!
Pema Pera: np, Kristen, there is no late or early here
Pema Pera: everyone comes and goes
Kristen Lefevre: :-)
Faenik is a hairy black ball with eyes and ears.
Pema Pera: so we wear our explorations lightly :-)
Rowan Masala: ah, thank you Faenik. I had been trying to figure that out :)
Rowan Masala: yes–wearing lightly
Kristen Lefevre: I just come to listen mostly anyway
Kristen Lefevre: a nice change
Rowan Masala: I hadn’t thought of that in some time. nice to think about
Fael is wearing Faenik lightly
Artemisia Svoboda: Piet, what does wearing lightly mean when you get really excited about something, e.g. a scientific project?
Pema Pera: you allow the excitement to be there, without being completely washed away by it, like having a great glass of wine without falling under the table
Umbriel Levenque: Hard to do that Pema
Pema Pera: hehehe
Pema Pera: the first glass shouldn’t be too hard perhaps?
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Pema Pera: but there are many levels — perhaps even the falling under the table can be done in different ways, bluntly and lightly?
Pema Pera: heavily and lightly?
Artemisia Svoboda: :)
Pema Pera: Kristen, how have you been?
Rowan Masala laughs
Kristen Lefevre: I’ve been doing good Pema, ty
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Fael Illyar: yes, you can fall under the table making a lot of noise or little :P
Pema Pera: we’re talking about the 9-seconds explorations, and how they can help us to “wear things more lightly”
Kristen Lefevre: nice…I’ll just observe
Pema Pera: like cutting along the grain instead of accross the grain
Pema Pera: (spelling of grain here correct? any natives?)
Rowan Masala: I think that’s correct
Pema Pera: not forcing, not manipulating
Pema Pera wondering why would have grain in it - not seeds for sure!
Pema Pera: *wood
Rowan Masala: and the fact that you don’t even need outside implements when working with the grain instead of against it
Pema Pera: (argh!)
Pema Pera: yes, Rowan, it all becomes so easy
Rowan Masala: the tearing is fluid, effortless
Pema Pera: you can then fall under the table even without having to drink wine :-)
Rowan Masala laughs
Rowan Masala: or be buoyed up without it
Pema Pera: and without hurting yourself — that’s important too :>)
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Time for Artemisia to go.
Artemisia Svoboda: I’ve got to go back to RL
Artemisia Svoboda: thank you all, guys, for sharing
Pema Pera: great seeing you again, Artemisia!
Umbriel Levenque: Bye Artemisia
Pema Pera: good luck moving!
Rowan Masala: Artemisia, would you like a PaB tshirt or tattoo?
Artemisia Svoboda: I will be gone for a few days
Artemisia Svoboda: but i will try to find 9 seconds!!
Faenik: indeed?
Artemisia Svoboda: I mean: try to remember to take 9 seconds…
Artemisia Svoboda: By everybody
Kristen Lefevre: bye art
Rowan Masala: bye Artemisia
Pema Pera: looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you again, Art!
I then remembered the nice T-shirts that Rowan had given to all the PaB guardians. I start wearing mine, joining Rowan who had walked in with one of her T-shirts, also a purple one.
Pema Pera: thanks a lot for the shirt, Rowan!
Pema Pera: what a wonderful idea
Rowan Masala: you’re welcome. I hope it was ok to make them without clearing it with you first
Pema Pera: I tried to wear it the other day, but SL was in one of its sloooow days and couldn’t even get it on
Pema Pera: this is my debut!
Pema Pera: of course, Rowan, yes, thank you so much!
Rowan Masala smiles
Pema Pera: now we’ll have to make RL T shirts
Pema Pera: for our reunion in Princeton next month!
Pema Pera: How difficult is it to make T shirts?
Rowan Masala: in RL or SL?
Pema Pera: in SL?
Rowan Masala: oh, it’s easy
Rowan Masala: I use Robin Wood’s template
Rowan Masala: you just need graphics software that allows you to work with layers and alpha channels
Rowan Masala: like GIMP or Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro
Pema Pera realizing he has to do some homework first . . .
Rowan Masala: I’d be happy to make any tshirt you’d like. It takes only moments
Pema Pera: great! I may well take you up on that, Rowan
Rowan Masala: please do
Pema Pera: Kristen, do you have any questions about what we’re doing here?
Pema Pera: we’re always happy to give some background
Pema Pera: and much of the time we are just chatting
Pema Pera: as you can see
Kristen Lefevre: no just kinda doing something else atm
Kristen Lefevre: I’m listening as I can
Pema Pera: :-)
Kristen Lefevre smiles
Pema Pera: Rowan, thanks for volunteering to help with the library that Moon suggested
Rowan Masala: Pema, are you in Princeton or elsewhere?
Pema Pera: an exciting project!
Pema Pera: in Kyoto right now
Pema Pera: almost dinner time here
Indeed, it was getting time for me to leave.
Pema Pera: Princeton is my home base
Rowan Masala: oh good–was hoping you weren’t having to wake up in the middle of the night to be guardian
Pema Pera: thanks, Rowan — are you awake in the middle of the night?
Rowan Masala: not usually
Pema Pera: or are you dreaming right now that you are at a PaB session?
Fael Illyar: Hi Quilty :)
Rowan Masala laughs
Faenik: could be
Pema Pera: Hi there Quilty!
Rowan Masala: how would I know?
Umbriel Levenque: Hi Quilty
Rowan Masala: Hi Quilt
Quilty Bookmite: hi. Can’t stop.
Pema Pera: Well, guys, shall we tell Rowan that we are all figments of her imagination and that she will wake up soon?
Pema Pera: or shall we keep it secret?
Fael Illyar: hehe :)
Umbriel Levenque: :-)
Rowan Masala laughs
Pema Pera: Did Quilty come and go?
Rowan Masala: well, I’ll wear this meeting lightly, particularly in case I wasn’t really here
Fael Illyar: Yes, he did :)
Pema Pera: yes Rowan, we never know . . . .
Pema Pera: But it’s 6 pm now, and I’ll have to go to dinner . . .
Pema Pera: great seeing you all here again!
Umbriel Levenque: Bye Pema. Nice to see you again.
Rowan Masala: be well, Pema
Pema Pera: I wish I could take my new T shirt with me to dinner . . . .
Kristen Lefevre: bye pema
Pema Pera: see you all soon again!
Fael Illyar: See you later Pema :)
