2009.01.17 07:00 - Appreciation or Anticipation?

I, Pema, was the guardian that morning. When I arrived, Scathach was already waiting, and Doug arrived just on my heels.

Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Pema
Pema Pera: Hi there, Schathach!
Pema Pera: Scathach
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: Scáthach
Pema Pera: (hehe)
Pema Pera: (not so easy to get all the details straight)
Pema Pera: Hi Doug!
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Doug
doug Sosa: morning.
Pema Pera: (my avatar typing motions are spurious . . . )
doug Sosa: looked like a whole book!
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: (problem is: denying you are typing requires you to start typing . . . )
doug Sosa: actually, looked like keith Jarret at the piano, sorry i couldn't hear it.
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: I'm in Tokyo right now, meeting many SL people here, one meeting every few hour, about a dozen in all over four days
Pema Pera: Unlike the US, in Japan most anything is concentrated in one place, in/around Tokyo, so actually easy to meet a bunch of people sharing a strange hobby -- like Second Life :)
Scathach Rhiadra: and do you meet them in SL too?
Pema Pera: oh yes, often
doug Sosa: i envy that. my life is too dividednow between two worlds that each requirea my life.
Pema Pera: we have a Japanese evening in the Kira Cafe, where I meet most of them once a week, on Tuesdays
Pema Pera: 5 am SLT on Tuesdays

Doug then expressed some unhappiness, and I was able to make him at least a bit happier, fountain-wise first, and experiment-wise later.

doug Sosa: i will speak for myse;lf. i used to like to come to the 7am and 7 pm sessions, reporting on experiments, and finding a group of about six. now most times i have come
doug Sosa: there are just a few or none, and no talk of experiments. so i've come less and miss it more.
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, the 1 am session rarely has more than two, at least on Saturdays
Pema Pera: perhaps there are seasonal variations, or who knows why, we have gone through a few waves, I think
Pema Pera: but in any case, you are always free to talk about experiments, Doug!
Pema Pera: Like right now ;)
Pema Pera: (I myself hesitate to do so, given that I'm already talking so much so often . . . )
Pema Pera: (but I love to be tempted!)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
doug Sosa: the experiment is a study in presence and awareness. i find that what used to work for me is not now. it starts with simple things like the formality of this fountain...

The magic incantation for controlling the fountain is revealed!

Pema Pera: well, if that is your biggest problem, Doug, we can do something about it!
Pema Pera: Next wish?
Pema Pera: and btw, Scathach, I have had very good conversations often with two people here -- like with Susi the other day, and with others as well
doug Sosa: to be able to listen to meaningful exploration, and some continuity of people, and less random talk.
Pema Pera: larger and smaller groups both have their advantages
Scathach Rhiadra: so have I:)
Pema Pera: so Doug, let us talk non-random!
Pema Pera: what's on your mind, experiment-wise?

Doug's choice of experiment focused on the economy.

doug Sosa: what is most on my mind is, can one "see" the economy and is it more ore less "real" than the grass around this pavillion?
Pema Pera: how do you work with that as an experiment?
doug Sosa: same. 9 sec, where is it? Let it see me, what do i experience?
Pema Pera: what happened when you did the economy experiment?
doug Sosa: well, i do it every day. it becomes as real as a day with the sun, or a fog or hunger between meals.
doug Sosa: i can 'see" it evewhere, as the land is registered in data bases and moey is pulled out.
doug Sosa: moey=money
doug Sosa: but i am training myself to see it.
Pema Pera: how are you training yourself to see it?
doug Sosa: mixing he normal stuff with the 9 sec. i notice that the way i see space is changing. it is no longer so cartesian, more lines of force, interconnections, like a three dimensional oriental caret, or a deep cup of miso.
Pema Pera: connected with the economy?
Pema Pera: connected with the economy?
doug Sosa: it IS he economy, field heory, pregnanat with manifestations.
doug Sosa: as the lot nedtto me goes from being worth 600,000 to 00,000 ther are many reprecussions (great word).
doug Sosa: 400,000
doug Sosa: nedtto=next to
doug Sosa: the "worth" is a field, not a manifestation.
Pema Pera: yes, much of what really affects us seems abstract in many ways, like money and monetary value, yet is very concrete in its consequences
Pema Pera: like the term Being that we use here, which sounds so terribly abstract, perhaps the most abstract of all, yet is most consequential of all, a most precious and concrete resource . . . .
doug Sosa: yes.good to be reminded. So besides being, what are the just one level lesser? I think most meditators tret the physical things as more real than the abstract, but i am coming to doubt it.
doug Sosa: cristobel join us.
Pema Pera: oh, there are very many levels between Being and our every-day way of looking at the world . . . .
Pema Pera: Hi Cristobel!
doug Sosa: click on a pillow.
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Cristobel

Clicking on Cristobel's profile, I saw that she had entered Second Life only that same day.

Cristobel Aquila: Hi there, I'm sorry I've only just started & I don't know how to sit down
doug Sosa: click on a pillow and you will see a wheel of choices.
Pema Pera: right click on a pillow, that is
Pema Pera: and choose "sit"
Cristobel Aquila: Afraid I can't as I'm on a mac & the mouse won't let me configure right click!
Pema Pera: ah, command-click
Pema Pera: the key left of the space bar
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: there you go!
doug Sosa: wonderful!
Cristobel Aquila: Thank you so much! Been standing for hours
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pema Pera: less than 24 hours though . . . I see you are born today!
Pema Pera: (born as in arrived in Second Life)
Cristobel Aquila: Yep, its my birthday lol..Wish I could haveworked out the wheel before! I might have got myself a decent outfit :)
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: By the way, Cristobel: We get together a few times a day to chat about the nature of reality, and everything else, and we have a wiki http://playasbeing.wik.is/ -- we record our conversations there. Do you mind being included in our blogs?
doug Sosa: you look great, colors and, well, freshness :)
Cristobel Aquila: no not at all! Thanks :)
Pema Pera: thank you!
doug Sosa: you can click of the link pema put there in chat.
Pema Pera: In Second Life there are very many different groups, it is really a hugely dense human network -- we're just one of the many activities
Cristobel Aquila: Came over here as it looked so peaceful. There are some aggresive ones about
Pema Pera: oh yes!!
Pema Pera: we're a meek bunch here :-)
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Cristobel Aquila: :)
doug Sosa: love it, the virtue of meekness.
Cristobel Aquila: thank you. So whats the discussion?

A short intro to PaB followed.

Pema Pera: various aspects
Pema Pera: we like to stop for a few seconds every quarter of an hour
Pema Pera: as a micro-meditation you could say
Pema Pera: shooting little holes in our every-day focus on what is at hand
Pema Pera: and open up our horizon that way
doug Sosa: if you relax a little, how does experience get experienced? So we report on our experiences relaxing..
Cristobel Aquila: sounds interesting..
Pema Pera: it started as a kind of joke: a one percent time tax
Pema Pera: 15 minutes has 900 seconds, so we stop for 9 seconds every quarter of an hour
doug Sosa: it is onebig powerful experiment. the 9 seconds are a delight, and a bit frightening.
Pema Pera: but remarkably, most people report that it changes their life, within days in fact
Pema Pera: Scathach, do you remember how you got started? That was a couple months ago?
Cristobel Aquila: ok why frightening?
doug Sosa: because without the normal assumptions, just looking at experience directly, it is fuller, more floating, less stable, more rich.
Cristobel Aquila: I meditate with my yoga everyday if that counts
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, when I started I was very surprised at how much I could refocus by the regularity of the 9 seconds
doug Sosa: very related. the 9 sec is wonderful because it allows for more "sessions" and no need or props of any kind. i like to do it just continuing wit what i am doing.
Scathach Rhiadra: has a definite impact on the rest of the 15 mins
Cristobel Aquila: Its good to give yourself 'time out' a few seconds reflection can change evrything..
Pema Pera: and yes, yoga is a great preparation, helps you to be more open
Pema Pera: yes, insight does not "require" time
Cristobel Aquila: I started yoga when I was 7
Pema Pera: wow! Your parents taught you?
doug Sosa: wonderful.
Cristobel Aquila: My mum was into transendential mediation back in the 70's
Pema Pera: Scathach, I'm glad to hear how the 9 sec made such an impact so quickly -- if I may ask, was it right the first day, or after a few days, or later?
Scathach Rhiadra: within a few days, it took time to get into the regularity, so to speak, not forget so often

I always find it heart warming, each time I hear how potent the simple-sounding 9-sec practice is for so many of us, and so quickly so.

doug Sosa: pema, how do you know when it is time for the 9 econds?
Pema Pera: oh, generally I do it just a few times an hour, not precisely every 15 minutes
Pema Pera: but it depends on the person:
Pema Pera: some people use a bell on their computer
Pema Pera: then you don't have to think about it
Pema Pera: some people prefer a more loose approach
doug Sosa: good, me too, its like a new slow heart beat... about every so often the ure just is there now.
doug Sosa: ure = urge
Pema Pera: Cris, the instruction on our web site is very short, mostly something like: stop for 9 seconds what you're focused on, and try to drop what you have to see what you are
Pema Pera: but you can take that literally or more freely
Cristobel Aquila: I guess its a good way of living in reality as most people these days are in such a rush they spend their time living in the future so to speak.
Pema Pera: yes!
doug Sosa: i think they are so into saying i am
Pema Pera: Doug likes to take it freely: stopping the automatic identification with what you are doing, rather than stopping the activity
doug Sosa: busy they have no time left
Cristobel Aquila: am I looking out of the window to appreciate the view or am I anticipating something thats about to happen?
doug Sosa: Yes pema, exactly right.
doug Sosa: the tikiest was driving, but for 9 sec i was a much better driver!
doug Sosa: trikiest
Cristobel Aquila: lol
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: and the most challenging part is to see whether you can even drop the "I" :-)
Cristobel Aquila: yep
Pema Pera: to see only what appears in your view through the window, without a you judging
Pema Pera: without good or bad, usefull or useless
Pema Pera: just what appears as it appears
Cristobel Aquila: just 'be'
Pema Pera: YES!
Pema Pera: :)
doug Sosa: you are quick, actually, seems, well practiced
Pema Pera: your and our lucky day, that you found us right after entering Second Life!

It was hard to believe that Cristobel had met us by chance, as she was about to confirm . . . :-)

Pema Pera: what is your main interest/goal/expectation for entering Second Life?
doug Sosa: us is really many, maybe forty? with four sessions a day.. and a few extra
Cristobel Aquila: :) thank you... I'm actually here for research purposes as a friend of mine is trying to create a sort of spiritual second life
Pema Pera: ah, you didn't find us randomly then, but did a search?
Cristobel Aquila: no not at all, just by fate :)
Pema Pera: good for you (and for us, as I mentioned :-)
Cristobel Aquila: completely random & bad flying
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Cristobel Aquila: well turned out to be good flying :)
doug Sosa: now you be able to sit at your friend's place. :)
Pema Pera: did you catch our web site? http://playasbeing.wik.is/
Cristobel Aquila: Yes, will save it.
Pema Pera: do you know how to open the "communicate" window?
Pema Pera: blue button left bottom
Pema Pera: that has the whole history of a session
Pema Pera: all the text exchanged
Pema Pera: we get together as Doug said 4 times a day, 1 am 7 am 1 pm 7 pm SLT (Second Life Time, California time)
doug Sosa: your choice of colors, are you doing some kind of art?
Cristobel Aquila: Ok thanks, my friends site is only in very early stages but its a teaching site to help people understand reaction/cause/ effect & the responsibility we have to the planet & each other
Pema Pera: do you have a slurl or other pointer to the site?
Cristobel Aquila: I'm an interior designer :)
doug Sosa: interesting we started today before you came talkign about whether we can "see" the economy i meditation.
doug Sosa: and an exterior designer.
Cristobel Aquila: I believe you can, thats why I sold up 18 months ago & am renting. No wesite as yet, will be a year or so
Cristobel Aquila: haha
Pema Pera: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, is the site not in SL?
Cristobel Aquila: no but I guess it could be!
doug Sosa: is RL california ?
Pema Pera: ah! I also thought you meant SL :-)
Cristobel Aquila: sorry I'm confused
Pema Pera: about what, Cris?
Cristobel Aquila: whats RL
Pema Pera: Real Life
Pema Pera: as opposed to Second Life
Cristobel Aquila: ah ok. I'm actually in London
Pema Pera: (for some reason people don't say First Life . . . )

One by one we started to say goodbye.

doug Sosa: i must go, cristoble good to have you, hope you come back. Scath and pema, bye for now.
Pema Pera: bye Doug!
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Doug
Cristobel Aquila: Bye doug & thanks for letting me sit
Pema Pera: actually, I am a very exterior designer: astrophysicist, writing computer simulations of stars and galaxies :-)
Cristobel Aquila: WOW! I actually buy my houses by the stars - orientation etc.
Cristobel Aquila: Shame about the light pollution tho
Scathach Rhiadra: I have to go too, nice to have met you Cristobel, bye Pema, namasté
Pema Pera: bye Scathach!
Pema Pera: yes, few places where you can see the Milky Way these days . . . .
Pema Pera: Hi Anonymous!
Pema Pera: Come join us if you like
Cristobel Aquila: Occasionaly can see it. The best stars I ever saw where in Shri Lanka & Maldives. I'm afraid I have to run too. Maybe I can join in againanother time.
Anonymous: weeee!
Pema Pera: sure, we're here ofen enough
Pema Pera: It's time for me to get some sleep, 1 am here . . . .
Cristobel Aquila: Take care & thanks
Pema Pera: bye Cris!
Cristobel Aquila: by
Pema Pera: Sorry, Anonymous, we're about to take off
Cristobel Aquila: just need to know how I get out of hear lol
Pema Pera: several ways
Pema Pera: command-q is the easiest
Pema Pera: on a Mac
Cristobel Aquila: Many thanks
Pema Pera: yw!
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With this eloquent remark, I did not even try to ask for permission for inclusion into the chat log, and left the name of our latest visitor "Anonymous".