2008.12.11 19:00 -Playing as Being writing? Why not?

The guardian for this meeting was Sylectra and the comments are Sylectra's.

Susi Alcott: hi Solo

Solobill Laville: Hi, everyone

Pila Mulligan: hi solobill

Solobill Laville: Heya, Steve

Pila Mulligan: hello stevenaia

stevenaia Michinaga: hello

Susi Alcott: hi stevenaia

stevenaia Michinaga: seems like it's still last night

Solobill Laville: :), Well I changed my clothes...

Sylectra Darwin: hey folks

Susi Alcott: I combed my hair

Susi Alcott: hi Sylectra

Solobill Laville: hehe Susi

Pila Mulligan: hi Selectra

stevenaia Michinaga: hi Sylectra

Sylectra Darwin: hihi!

Solobill Laville: Hi, Syl

Sylectra Darwin: I had trouble in the teleporter.

Sylectra Darwin: They had to reassemble my atoms.

Solobill Laville: We'll have Scotty get on that

Sylectra Darwin: So I had a wardrobe malfunction

Sylectra Darwin: it got my skirt.

Sylectra Darwin: Pila, that's a cool name.

Pila Mulligan: thanks, it is Hawaiian for Bill

Sylectra Darwin: I like! Are you new here?

Pila Mulligan: somewhat

Pila Mulligan: about a week now

Sylectra Darwin: Well it's good to see you.

Pila Mulligan: thanks, same here :)

Solobill Laville: Looks like we are about to play volleyball or something, our side against your side ;)

 

Solobill was referring to the way we were sitting on the cushions; separated into two groups facing one another. 

 

Sylectra Darwin: heh

Sylectra Darwin: Our side rocks. We have a LION

Adelene Dawner: hehe

Sylectra Darwin scritches Adelene behind the ears.

Solobill Laville: Can lions spike?

Solobill Laville: I think so

Sylectra Darwin: Lions can do anything. Have you read the Narnia Chronicles?

Solobill Laville: Oh, yes...just read 'em all except The Silver Chair to me boy

Sylectra Darwin: Is that the last one?

Solobill Laville: Yes

Sylectra Darwin: That would be neat to reread them as an adult.

Sylectra Darwin: Anything new come to light for you when you did?

Solobill Laville: Actually, that wouldn't apply to me, I was a Tolkien kid....

Solobill Laville: So it's all new :)

Pila Mulligan: ah, the Hobbits :)

Solobill Laville: :)

Solobill Laville: Oops. lost Syl

 

An innocent question for Steven gets deep fast.

 

Solobill Laville: Steve, I have a question for you

stevenaia Michinaga: listens

Solobill Laville: You had mentioned last about work = meditation

Solobill Laville: for you

Solobill Laville: could you expand on that?

Pila Mulligan: welcome back Sylectra

Sylectra Darwin: thank you. For some reason I keep getting logged out.

stevenaia Michinaga: I see people who enjoy their work in diferent ways

stevenaia Michinaga: the harder I work the more the focus within me stands out with what I am doing

stevenaia Michinaga: when a few of us were in princeton for our first get together I tried to show the group how... in a non-verbal way, so everyone drew on paper, just long enough to put a few lines down

stevenaia Michinaga: then we passed the paper

Solobill Laville: Yes! I saw that

stevenaia Michinaga: the room grew strangely quiet as each of us focused on the point of marker

Pila Mulligan: nice idea

stevenaia Michinaga: on the paper and what came from that

stevenaia Michinaga: that is my meditation

Susi Alcott: _/!\_

stevenaia Michinaga: mind to hand to instrument to paper

Sylectra Darwin: Except of course when I started disrupting the group.

stevenaia Michinaga: then there was the sylectra effect, yes

Sylectra Darwin: You started it.

stevenaia Michinaga: It's just one example of how an internal focus results in an external expression in complete silence

Solobill Laville: Hey, Geo

Pila Mulligan: hi Geo

Susi Alcott: hi Geo

Geo Netizen: Hi everyone

Adelene Dawner was thinking earlier about how playing tetris can be a meditation, if you're good enough at it.

Sylectra Darwin: Hi Geo!

Solobill Laville: That is a good example, Steve

Solobill Laville: Ooh, Ade, good example too

Sylectra Darwin: I liked the exercise.

Solobill Laville: Can I ask a follow up question?

Solobill Laville: for both of you?

Adelene Dawner: of course

stevenaia Michinaga: you don't really have to ask to ask

Solobill Laville: :)

Solobill Laville: What is the role of the "Drawer" or "Tertis Player" during your time of doing it? i.e. are you observing, etc. ?

Adelene Dawner: not as such... when I'm really into a tetris game, the game happens by itself, just about. Some signifigant part of my brain is occupied making that happen, but 'I' am not involved with that part directly.

Solobill Laville nods

Susi Alcott: 'only' the body is doing

Adelene Dawner: exactly

Solobill Laville thinks; something is doing...but what?

Sylectra Darwin: Would this be a good time to bring up the Ouija Board?

Pila Mulligan: :)

Sylectra Darwin: I always wondered what was producing those answers.

Solobill Laville: If ya have an SL version!

Sylectra Darwin: Maybe the same thing.

Sylectra Darwin: Hmmm, Solobill....

Sylectra Darwin: idea.

Sylectra Darwin: I think it's the subconscious.

Sylectra Darwin: Natalie Goldberg writes books about writing and opening up your creativity.

Pila Mulligan: ahh, the flachette, in Chinese

Solobill Laville: is that the "internal editor" Pila?

Pila Mulligan: Richard Wilhelm wrote about a Chinese writing method, i believe he used the European term flachette

Solobill Laville: ah, ok

Pila Mulligan: it is essentially letting the pen speak

Pila Mulligan: hi Pema

Sylectra Darwin: Hello Pema.

Pema Pera: Hi there!

Solobill Laville: Hey, Pema

Geo Netizen scratches Ade’s ruff

Sylectra Darwin: We were talking about what moves us when we play Tetris, or free-write, or draw

Solobill Laville too scratches Ade's ruff, again :)

Sylectra Darwin: Pila said it was like the flachette, in Chinese.

Geo Netizen: When the mind acquires a skill, it more and more offloads the effort from the consciousness to other areas of the brain and packages more and more steps in to a single mental unit.

Sylectra Darwin: Yes, Geo, sometimes my drive home from work happens that way. It's scary when I get all the way home and can't remember the drive, though.

Sylectra Darwin: It's the opposite of mindfulness.

Geo Netizen chuckles

Solobill Laville: Yes, and, moreso, what is the source was what I was driving at

Solobill Laville: How much does one's awareness of being in a "meditative state" affect that state...

Geo Netizen: Good question

stevenaia Michinaga: interesting way of saying mastery of a tool

Pila Mulligan: kind of like being aware of being in water affects swiming, I'd say Solo

Pila Mulligan: it's there :)

Sylectra Darwin: It

Geo Netizen: Hmmm .... not sure of that

Solobill Laville: hmmm..but being aware of water doesn't make you sink

Sylectra Darwin: is maybe good and bad at both extremes.

Pila Mulligan: capital I It :)

Sylectra Darwin: darn enter key.

Geo Netizen: Yes Solobill

Solobill Laville: Yesterday, Steve had mentioned how his work is a kind of meditation (my words)

Solobill Laville: Something I'd love to achieve!

Solobill Laville: BUt I feel that I need to intersperse work with meditation...

Geo Netizen scratches Ade’s ruff and loves the warmth

Sylectra Darwin: Somehow I think...that if Steven washed dishes for a living he would find THAT meditative too.

Geo Netizen chuckles

Solobill Laville: :)

stevenaia Michinaga: truer than you think

Pila Mulligan: whatever is accomplished by meditation -- in its essence -- probably can also be acocmplished by other practices

Geo Netizen: That would be an excellent tallent, turn all things into meditation :)

Adelene Dawner: hm

Adelene Dawner digs up a quote

Adelene Dawner: [3:41] Adelene Dawner: About meditation...

[3:41] Adelene Dawner: Does it help to describe it as the process of letting your brain finish all the thinking it has backlogged on its to-do list?

stevenaia Michinaga: more of a way than a talent

Susi Alcott: also the strength of the spirit

Sylectra Darwin: Yes, Steven is very Tao.

Susi Alcott: yes

Sylectra Darwin: I am working on being more so.

Solobill Laville: Ade, to me that is more of perhaps what dreaming does...

Susi Alcott: is it easy for you syl to 'let go' ?

Adelene Dawner: Then perhaps dreaming is a kind of meditation?

Sylectra Darwin: It's getting easier by the month! LOL

Geo Netizen nods towards Ade

Sylectra Darwin: I've let go of nearly everything in my life in the last few months.

Solobill Laville: Perhaps, it depends on what one defines meditation as

Susi Alcott: so your going foreward well

Adelene Dawner nods at Solo.

Pila Mulligan: there is an obscure Chinese theory named the Tao of I (that relates to wu wei): literally it is the way of change

Sylectra Darwin: (Susi, yes, thanks :-) )

Pila Mulligan: being in harmony with nature is the essence, and this discusison reminds me of the effect -- kind of what is being discussed

Sylectra Darwin: Very interesting, Pila!

Pila Mulligan: as we approach a natural harmony we see this appearance -- to use Pema's term -- of a smoothness of things

Sylectra Darwin: I think of it also as a sort of stretching of one's view of the world, as in, my world is getting bigger.

Sylectra Darwin: When we give in to fear and stop taking chances or letting go, that is making our world smaller.

Susi Alcott: _/!\_

Sylectra Darwin: Not sure how that relates but it seems to.

Sylectra Darwin: Smoothness, yes.

Susi Alcott: relates 130 %

Solobill Laville: Tentatively offers, is it truly a smoothness, or is it ourselves being smooth?

Pila Mulligan: :)

Susi Alcott: just let the river to take

Pema Pera: ;)

Pema Pera: perhaps we are being smoothed out

Susi Alcott: hi Pema

Pema Pera: hi Susi :)

Pema Pera was just quietly listening, for a change <- Susi

Pila Mulligan: but don't bliss out and miss the stop signs :)

Susi Alcott: smiles

Pema Pera: nor the bliss signs

Pila Mulligan: yes

Solobill Laville shakes his head and thinks he should try that...

Sylectra Darwin: Blissing out sounds lovely, Pila!

Sylectra Darwin: I think I have forgotten to do that lately.

Pila Mulligan: it is an old hippy phrase Sylectra :)

Pila Mulligan: like bliss ouot man :)

Solobill Laville: Hey, what about the young hippies??

Pila Mulligan: :)

Solobill Laville: hehe

stevenaia Michinaga: are there any?

Geo Netizen chuckles

Solobill Laville: ah...probably not

Susi Alcott: why ?

stevenaia Michinaga: cept on holloween

Solobill Laville: hehe

Susi Alcott: thinking there shall always be

Sylectra Darwin: I know at least one in Tulsa.

Sylectra Darwin: Bless their young little joyful hearts.

Solobill Laville: Can hippies drive a leased vehicle?

Sylectra Darwin: It's very fun to go dancing to trance music with them.

Pila Mulligan: Solo ?

Solobill Laville: Just thinking about the allowable thresholds for modern "hippiedom"

Pila Mulligan: ahh, maybe a leased VW van

Solobill Laville: (I was called a "hippie" today ;))

Sylectra Darwin: Cool, Solobill :)

Pila Mulligan: mazel tov

Solobill Laville: hehe

Sylectra Darwin: I am happy if I don't get called "Ma'am"

Solobill Laville: lol

Sylectra Darwin: I am almost the oldest person in my department at my new job.

Susi Alcott: me too

Solobill Laville: "Can I se your ID?"

Sylectra Darwin: Everyone else is 36 or under - mostly 23.

Sylectra Darwin claps

Sylectra Darwin: I love it when they ask to see my ID.

Sylectra Darwin: What does hippie mean anyway?

Susi Alcott: freedom

Pila Mulligan: don't worry, I love it when I get my social security check, Syl

Solobill Laville: Today I think it is more of a "look" than a "meaning"

Solobill Laville smiles at Pila

Sylectra Darwin: I think it should be a state of mind rather than a fashion statement.

Sylectra Darwin: ...says the girl who is trying on her shirts during the discussion. hehe

Geo Netizen laughs

Solobill Laville: nice

Solobill Laville: :)

Sylectra Darwin: (if you can't laugh at yourself...)

Sylectra Darwin: Does anyone have another topic they would like to bring up?

Geo Netizen loves the periodic pause in rezzing between outfits :)

Pila Mulligan: we almost got to reincarnation here at this time last night, as a topic

Susi Alcott: maybe your not the only one

Solobill Laville: Whoa...

Pila Mulligan: :)

Solobill Laville: Big topic

Pila Mulligan: a biggy?

Pila Mulligan: it kind of dribbled in at the end after some left

Solobill Laville: and THAT counts as ALMOST?

Solobill Laville: ;)

Pila Mulligan: well, it was proximate :)

Pila Mulligan: has the topic been batted around here before much?

Pila Mulligan: would that 50% have room for the concept?

Pila Mulligan: or <50%, excuse me :)

Solobill Laville: but a good topic :)

Sylectra Darwin: reincarnation is a cool topic!

Sylectra Darwin: I haven't seen it, but Pema would know better.

Solobill Laville: Probably if the other >50% could talk about heaven and hell, perhaps!

Sylectra Darwin: That's fair.

Susi Alcott: lol

Pema Pera doesn't know about reincarnation :)

Adelene Dawner: If I remember correctly, it came up and we reasonably quickly concluded that the science doesn't support it, and, past that, there's no way of knowing.

Solobill Laville doesn't believe it in logically, but intuitively kinda does...

Pila Mulligan: as a theory bit is pretty ubiqitous in older traditionsof the east

Pila Mulligan: it is *

Solobill Laville: indeed

Susi Alcott: not to remember former lives, makes probs; but they are known

Sylectra Darwin: I have this book called Death and Consciousness, which tries to logically make the case for the soul living after death.

Susi Alcott: to start to remember; it brings other kind of probs, but they are not clearly known before

Sylectra Darwin: It covers the whole gamut from life after death to out of body experiences.

Pila Mulligan: has it been examined in science?

Pema Pera: I think the problem starts when we project the idea of reincarnation within a world view that is limited to the currently most popular one, with a material world and consciousness connected with brains and all that . . . hard to find a place for reincarnation there

Susi Alcott: well; it's found out, that when the person dies, the body gets lighter

Solobill Laville: It is all interesting, of course, but a nice first start for me would be to really continually BE HERE NOW

Geo Netizen: Workday tomorrow …. should call it a night

Geo Netizen: Bye all

Susi Alcott: and that's always the same amount of weight

Pema Pera: I second Solo

Solobill Laville: Bye, Geo

Pema Pera: by Geo!

Pila Mulligan: bye Geo

Susi Alcott: bye Geo

Pema Pera: in a way, we reincarnate each moment . . . and we can use that opportunity to be new

Pema Pera: but I don't want to deny the interesting aspect of reincarnation as it is normally discussed -- I just don't have anything to contribute to the debate

Solobill Laville: We watched Nova episode tonight with the kids about bees

Solobill Laville: and it showed a hornet attacking and killing lone drone bee

Solobill Laville: that had live probablky about 2 weeks

Solobill Laville: So, it occured to me, how does life justify life?

Solobill Laville: Or is nature's profundity so cheap?

Solobill Laville: That is hard to swallow

stevenaia Michinaga: justify?

Pema Pera: each moment life's value is in that moment . . .

Susi Alcott: does life know such ?

Pila Mulligan: do hornets eat bees?

Solobill Laville: so many questions! ;)

Sylectra Darwin: I think we attribute human values to nature, which doesn't need human values.

Susi Alcott: ppl can justify....

stevenaia Michinaga: only people can justify

Solobill Laville: Well, humans do put a value on life

Pema Pera: good seeing you all! Off to a meeting

Pila Mulligan: bye Pema

Sylectra Darwin: Nice to see you Pema

Pema Pera: see you soon again

Susi Alcott: bye Pema

Sylectra Darwin: Have a good meeting!

stevenaia Michinaga: bye

Pila Mulligan: balance

stevenaia Michinaga: I'm off as well, see you all soon

Sylectra Darwin: Gnight, Steven

Pila Mulligan: bye Steve

Susi Alcott: see you steve

Solobill Laville: Bye, Steve

Sylectra Darwin: I will be going to bed too - long day at work for me.

Solobill Laville: Night, then :0

Pila Mulligan: nice to meet you Sylectra

Susi Alcott: sleep well

Solobill Laville: oops :)

Sylectra Darwin: Nice to meet you too Pila

Solobill Laville: I will call it a night as well

Pila Mulligan: see you next time

Pila Mulligan: bye Solobill

Susi Alcott: bye Solo

Sylectra Darwin: Thanks Susi - have a good evening/afternoon/morning

Sylectra Darwin: :)

Solobill Laville: night all