2008.09.14 07:00 - Watching Actions

Adams Rubble: Adams Rubble was the guardian and the notes are hers

Adams Rubble: I arrived early at the pavilion because I could not log in from home. I sat for a while before Steffle arrived. Since it was her first time and she was the only person there, the introduction took some time

Adams Rubble: Hello Steffle
Steffie Denimore: hi
Steffie Denimore: what is this place?
Adams Rubble: This is a pavilion where meetings of the Play-as-Being group are held
Steffie Denimore: oh
Steffie Denimore: thank you
Adams Rubble: We are a group that explores reality through 9 seoncd meditations every 15 minutes
Steffie Denimore: I see
Steffie Denimore: is there one going to start
Steffie Denimore: or or you sitting here alone?
Adams Rubble: Yes, there is one now but no else has arrived yet :)
Adams Rubble: let me give you a notecard
Steffie Denimore: haha you're kidding
Steffie Denimore: ok
Steffie Denimore: ty
Adams Rubble: There is a website there with much more information about the group
Steffie Denimore: ok I will look sometime
Adams Rubble: I had a bit of trouble getting on SL this morning and it is possible others are having trouble too
Steffie Denimore: it seems slow
Adams Rubble: One thing, we keep a log of our meetings on the website. Do you have any objection to appearing there?
Steffie Denimore: I guess not
Adams Rubble: Thank you
Steffie Denimore: not like we've said much
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble: One certainly wants to be aware before they do say much :)
Steffie Denimore: true
Adams Rubble: We meet four times a day, very 6 hours, at 1, 7, 1 and 7
Adams Rubble: that is SL time
Adams Rubble: You are very new to SL
Steffie Denimore: ok great
Steffie Denimore: what all is there to do in sl?
Steffie Denimore: I met a guy who buys me everything I want
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Steffie Denimore: but am always bored
Adams Rubble: I came in to SL looking for the art sites and then I found this group and I spend most of my time here
Adams Rubble: One can find pretty much what they want
Steffie Denimore: is there any other cool places?
Adams Rubble: Do you know how to search places?
Steffie Denimore: yes but I want more than shopping
Steffie Denimore: it is fun
Steffie Denimore: but sometimes you want to interact more
Adams Rubble: I spent my first two weeks doing just shoppong :)
Steffie Denimore: lol
Steffie Denimore: well i lucked out
Steffie Denimore: I met a guy who wanted to take me shopping
Adams Rubble: You can use the search window to search for other things that interest you
Steffie Denimore: he likes to watch me shop he says
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Steffie Denimore: I can't argue that
Steffie Denimore: I like to watch him watch me shop
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: What are your other interests?
Steffie Denimore: I meditate some
Steffie Denimore: thats why i came here
Adams Rubble: Ah. There are a number of meditation places
Steffie Denimore: yeah but I'm not sure about virtual meditation
Adams Rubble: The Zen Retreat next door has one at 6 pm SLT
Steffie Denimore: lol
Steffie Denimore: maybe more discussion places
Steffie Denimore: I don't know
Steffie Denimore: I don't know what i want to do
Steffie Denimore: that is the problem
Adams Rubble: There is a new one with teaching. hold on. Let me see what landmarks I have
Steffie Denimore: ok

Steffie Denimore accepted your inventory offer.
Steffie Denimore: thank you
Steffie Denimore: looks like someone joined us
Adams Rubble: You should have received four
Adams Rubble: Hello Gaya, meet Steffle :)
Gaya Ethaniel: _/!\_
Steffie Denimore: 4 what?
Steffie Denimore: I got one landmark
Gaya Ethaniel: Lovely to meet you Steffie
Steffie Denimore: hi gaya
Adams Rubble: which one did you get?
Steffie Denimore: you too
Steffie Denimore: hikari
Adams Rubble: OK
Adams Rubble: Hmm. The others don't seem to be going. Maybe SL problem

Faenik: なるほど^^
Adams Rubble: There is a new place called the "Buddha Center" that is just opening which had teaching and a meditation center
Adams Rubble: Then the Zen Retreat is another. You can search for these

Steffle Crashed and lag put our following statements in the wrong order

Gaya Ethaniel: Hm... yes it seems
Adams Rubble: She left?
Adams Rubble: How do you like that? Maybe she crashed
Gaya Ethaniel: Seemed tped out
Adams Rubble: Hmmmph
Gaya Ethaniel: Ah well
Adams Rubble: You look very nice today
Gaya Ethaniel smiles. Thank you
Gaya Ethaniel: Adams looks different with that hair/outfit
Adams Rubble: Yes. But Couldn't change today. had trouble getting into SL
Gaya Ethaniel: It's been real laggy yes
Adams Rubble: I like this outfit though...and the hair :)
Gaya Ethaniel smiles. Yes nice change.

Gaya and I had talked away from PaB and I brought her up to date with my newest insight about myself

Adams Rubble: I had a bit of settling down in the past 10 or so hours
Adams Rubble: Last night at 7pm PaB session Adelene was talking about cause and effect. That is watching how nehavior follows thoughts
Adams Rubble: behavior
Gaya Ethaniel listens
Adams Rubble: I had watched thoughts but never actions
Adams Rubble: so I thought about the past two weeks and had a couple of insights
Gaya Ethaniel listens
Adams Rubble: One is that I saw the limitations of my "self" in dealing with RL groups. Just lack of experience and technique
Adams Rubble: I realized that RL groups have a social function which is less than here in SL
Adams Rubble: Here we can get right to ideas fairly quickly
Gaya Ethaniel nods

Kicking the dirt away

Adams Rubble: The other part of my dream is that I realized that PaB has been strong under the dirt all along
Faenik loves wells!
Adams Rubble: I just have to kick the dirt a little and there it is right below the surface :)
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Adams Rubble: So although I seemed to have lost sight of it
Adams Rubble: It was strong as ever
Adams Rubble: :)
Gaya Ethaniel: That's how it goes most of time
Gaya Ethaniel: One step forwards two steps back
Adams Rubble: or vice versa :)
Gaya Ethaniel nods
Adams Rubble: although the three step kicks up the dirt more :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Less stepping backwards as we continue the journey or yes, kick up moreo dirt <smile>
Gaya Ethaniel: Have you watched behavours leading thoughts as well?
Adams Rubble: No, this is new to me
Gaya Ethaniel: It's rather refreshing doing the other around also.
Adams Rubble: But I think that watching one's actions will be very helpful in accepting one's limitations
Gaya Ethaniel nods

Sorting selfs

Adams Rubble: I separated *** from me in my dream
Adams Rubble: That is *** is "self"
Gaya Ethaniel listen
Adams Rubble: I more or less said that *** just goes with the flow
Faenik: why not?
Adams Rubble: Faenik still is spouting wisdom
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Gaya Ethaniel: How did *** take your suggestion?
Adams Rubble: I don;t know if *** knows yet. hehe
Gaya Ethaniel smiles. Sure *** does
Adams Rubble: When I say "I", I think it is my inner self
Adams Rubble: Adams not involved in this one
Gaya Ethaniel: Inner self = Being?
Adams Rubble: Hmmm. I haven't made that connection yet but very likely
Adams Rubble: The person who was there at birth and will be there at death
Adams Rubble: And yes *** is probably explaining this and thus knows
Gaya Ethaniel: So Adams R and *** are being connected to this 'inner self'?
Faenik is a hairy black ball with eyes and ears.
Adams Rubble: We all are part of the *** corporation :)
Adams Rubble: hehe
Gaya Ethaniel: *** is a part of 'inner self' then?
Adams Rubble: In this case *** is denoting the RL "self" not the inner self
Adams Rubble: *** is a name given by parents

Finding the inner self

Gaya Ethaniel: If the inner self is Being... Adams R and *** are part of the inner self
Faenik: why not?
Adams Rubble: Well, may be, but for my understanding my thoughts, I see them separately
Gaya Ethaniel listens
Adams Rubble: My inner self does the witnessing
Adams Rubble: Nisagargadatta says all memory comes from "self"
Adams Rubble: The inner mind does the processing
Gaya Ethaniel ponders on 'inner self/mind'
Adams Rubble: The inner person is the real person, and in that sense Being
Gaya Ethaniel listens
Adams Rubble: When I watch my toughts, I can see them trying to cloud over what my senses are experiencing
Adams Rubble: These thoughts come from memory
Adams Rubble: and some of them go back to memory
Gaya Ethaniel nods. I see thoughts as a mist...
Adams Rubble: Yes
Gaya Ethaniel should go get some canvas and paints
Adams Rubble: :)

Seeing thoughts

Gaya Ethaniel: Please tell me more about the thoughts and your experiences. How they relate to each other.
Adams Rubble: My blog is more detailed here but let me sum up a little
Adams Rubble: I can see this happening best when I am walking in nature
Adams Rubble: I walk along with trees, clouds, flowers, birds, water (rives, canals or ponds)
Adams Rubble: Beautiful, lovely things
Adams Rubble: But if I am bothered by something
Adams Rubble: All I see are thoughts
Adams Rubble: unless I inetervene and force them away
Gaya Ethaniel wonders how Adams 'forces' thoughts away
Adams Rubble: This happened on the walk right before my operation and only near the end did I realize it and start to use Storm's walking meditation to clear the air
Adams Rubble: Yesterday I had my first walk in the woods since the operation
Adams Rubble: (still do)
Adams Rubble: and I had negative thoughts about the last two weeks
Gaya Ethaniel listens
Adams Rubble: so I remembered the previous walk
Adams Rubble: and yesterday I was able to deal with it more effectively
Adams Rubble: They kept coming the whole walk but I kept remembering and willed them away
Faenik: why not?
Adams Rubble: Other times, when I have been doing the seeing exercises which require me to look for the thoughts
Adams Rubble: I can see them arising and going even more clearly
Faenik: indeed?
Gaya Ethaniel: What makes them to go away Adams?
Adams Rubble: Some go away on their own. When I am doing a seeing exercise, I can will them away by concentrating on what I am seeing
Adams Rubble: I think this is a meditation technique isn't it
Adams Rubble doesn't know that much about meditation
Gaya Ethaniel nods. Yes seeing/acknowledging/accepting them make them go away

and seeing actions

Adams Rubble: The new thing is getting detached from actions, from behavior and then being able to see where it is coming from, and where the limitations are
Gaya Ethaniel nods. Yes what I am a second ago is different from what I am now
Adams Rubble: I am excited about that
Gaya Ethaniel: So accepting actions/thoughts (all in the past effectively) could become easier
Adams Rubble: yes!
Adams Rubble: I am not beating myself up because I am not effective in a RL group
Adams Rubble: I have a choice to become better at it or avoid the groups, not fear them
Adams Rubble: Not sure which I plan to do. hehe
Gaya Ethaniel nods
Gaya Ethaniel: Fine either waay you decide for sure
Adams Rubble: yes gaya
Gaya Ethaniel smiles

Steffle Returns and we return to PaB introductions

Adams Rubble: Hello Steffle
Adams Rubble: :)
Steffie Denimore: hey :-)
Gaya Ethaniel: _/!\_
Steffie Denimore: I crashed before
Gaya Ethaniel: wb
Adams Rubble: A shortcoming of SL, unfortunately
Steffie Denimore: thanks
Faenik: could be
Adams Rubble: We all get used to surprises in SL; one never knows what might happen next :)
Steffie Denimore: still rezzing
Steffie Denimore: ok lol
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Adams Rubble: An elephant or giraffe might pop in and start telling us about Budhism :)
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Steffie Denimore: lol, what?
Adams Rubble: You'll see in time :)
Gaya Ethaniel nods
Steffie Denimore: is this Buddhist?
Adams Rubble: No, there are many Buddhists in our group but thi includes all religions or no religions. It is based on scientific pronciples
Steffie Denimore: k
Adams Rubble: I came looking for Buddhism and ended up using Christian metaphors to understand myself better
Steffie Denimore: I'm not real religious
Adams Rubble: Most of us aren't but want to understand ourselves better
Steffie Denimore: seems that is always the question isn't it?

What is a visit among friends without a misunderstanding. Steffle gets right to the heart of the matter and I miss it

Steffie Denimore: who are we?
Adams Rubble: The stopping many times during the day allows us to beserve what we are doing and sometimes break habits
Adams Rubble: We are the Play-as_being group
Adams Rubble: There is much more information on the website
Gaya Ethaniel ponders on Steffie's question...
Steffie Denimore: oh I meant it rhetorically
Steffie Denimore: as in that is a classic question
Adams Rubble: ah, sorry
Steffie Denimore: who am I?
Steffie Denimore: :-)
Gaya Ethaniel nods. An important question indeed
Adams Rubble: We also are good at misunderstanding each other
Adams Rubble: and then fixing it :)
Steffie Denimore grins
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Adams Rubble: That is the basic question Steffle
Steffie Denimore: yes it is really
Faenik is a hairy black ball with eyes and ears.
Steffie Denimore: its not something you can just answer
Steffie Denimore: like, "I'm a girl"
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Steffie Denimore: or "I'm nice"
Gaya Ethaniel smiles
Adams Rubble: This method cuts through much to get to that basic question
Adams Rubble: Hello Pia
Gaya Ethaniel: _/!\_
Steffie Denimore: hmmm
Steffie Denimore: I don't see anyone
Adams Rubble: One of our group just came online here because we have another meeting starting at 8
Adams Rubble: Gaya and I need to go to that one
Steffie Denimore: oh it isn't here?
Faenik: why not?
Steffie Denimore: ok, I'll shop then
Steffie Denimore: lol
Adams Rubble: :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Hope to see you again Steffie. We meet here 4 times a day. Please refer to the website for the time table
Adams Rubble: Please come again to another meeting
Gaya Ethaniel: _/!\_
Adams Rubble: It was nice meeting you :)
Steffie Denimore: ok I will
Steffie Denimore: I have the lm
Adams Rubble: bye :)
Steffie Denimore: thanks again, it was nice meeting you both
Gaya Ethaniel: Have fun Steffie