2009.01.20 13:00 - Happy New President Day!

I, Pema, was the guardian for this afternoon's session. Around the time I came in, Scathach arrived as well, and Wol would soon follow.

Pema Pera: Hi Scathach!
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Pema:)
Pema Pera: How is life treating you?
Scathach Rhiadra: not too bad:)
Scathach Rhiadra: and you?
Pema Pera: How fascinating that you are studying Tibetan in SL, as I heard the other day! -- oh, I'm fine, thank you!
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, I didn't expect to do that in SL:)
Scathach Rhiadra: discovered a group for Tibetan translation
Pema Pera: ah, most of us do so many things we never expected we could or would do in SL!
Pema Pera: Hi Wol!
Wol Euler: hello pema, scath
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Wol:)
Scathach Rhiadra: I think I've ended up doing more in SL than I do in RL
Pema Pera: it is easier, faster, the barriers are lower
Pema Pera: and many people are inviting, friendly
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, i agree:)
Pema Pera: Hi Myoko!
Myoko Fhang: Hi guys
Wol Euler: hello myoko
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Myoko
Wol Euler: happy new president day!
Pema Pera: :-)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Fefonz
Myoko Fhang: Yeah...congratulations!
Wol Euler: hello fefonz
Pema Pera: Hi Fef!
Myoko Fhang: hi fefonz
Fefonz Quan: hi Wol, Scath, Pema, Myoko

With Fefonz and Myoko, there were now five of us.

Pema Pera: Yes, it has been an amazing change in the US, and it will be fascinating to see the consequences . . . .
Pema Pera: I arrived in the US by the time Reagan was elected . . .
Pema Pera: And this is now a time of more hope and expectation than I can remember during those almost 30 years . . . .
Wol Euler nods.
Myoko Fhang: The whole world is waiting in anticipation!
Wol Euler: So happy.
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Wol Euler: I watched it from the office, online. Very moving. A wonderful speech and the benediction was also great
Pema Pera: I was asleep, unfortunately, in Japan
Fefonz Quan: yes, i saw it live too on an auditoriu, here
Wol Euler: it'll be youtubed and transcribed. A German translation is already posted, but I can't see it in English anywhere yet
Myoko Fhang: Hahahaha
Wol Euler: yeah, it is odd
Pema Pera: what fun!
Pema Pera: Hi Joe!
Myoko Fhang: Thos germans are very efficient < )
Fefonz Quan: Hey Joe
Fefonz Quan: :)
Pema Pera: Like watching German TV and seeing the NY cops all speak German :)
Wol Euler: that's the reason why. germans don't like subtitles
Pema Pera: come join us Joe!
Wol Euler: it wud have been simultaneously translated live on some channel
Fefonz Quan: yeah, that dubbing is so weird
Myoko Fhang: Imagine Obama dubbed...
Fefonz Quan: to japanese :)
Pema Pera: oh, he will of course
Pema Pera: and he will be pretty fluent!
Pema Pera: Hi Joe, nice to meet you!
Myoko Fhang: Hi joe
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello joe
Joe Nirvana: hi everyone

Joe joined us; it was his first time to visit PaB.

Pema Pera: Joe 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?
Wol Euler: (could someone else give Joe the IM introduciton plase, I am wrestling wiht a new viewer client and not very responsive)
Joe Nirvana: not at all
Pema Pera: thank you!
Pema Pera: You found us by looking at the SL search, you told me, right?
Joe Nirvana: I'll read the wiki when I get a chance and get up to speed
Pema Pera: oh sure, no rush!
Joe Nirvana: yes
Pema Pera: I'm glad that search works!
Pema Pera: Compared to Google, the SL search is rather primitive :)
Joe Nirvana: yes, I found that I have to do a lot of sorting
Pema Pera: Today, I'll have to leave early, at 1:30 pm, for an interesting reason: I have to make my first phone call with the lawyer with whom I'll discuss how to apply for US citizenship -- seemed like a good day to start the process, today
Pema Pera: Can someone else keep the rest of the chat log?
Pema Pera: I'm the guardian-on-call today
Scathach Rhiadra: very auspicious day:)
Fefonz Quan: congrat Pema
Joe Nirvana: that sounds great, Pema
Wol Euler: good luck and congrats, Pema. Indeed an auspicious day
Fefonz Quan: i can record the rest of it
Pema Pera: I've had a green card for 29 years, so it seemed about time, but I put the idea on hold, for rather obvious reasons . . . .
Joe Nirvana: I've worked with many Canadian nationals on green card, but not citizenship
Pema Pera: Thank you, Fefonz!
Wol Euler smiles
Pema Pera: Ah, are you a lawyer, Joe?
Joe Nirvana: oh god no! I just have had many people of non-U.S nationalities work with me
Wol Euler: :)
Pema Pera: ah! I'm from Holland, but have lived half my life in the US.

Wol picked up on Joe's response.

Wol Euler: a heartfelt denial.
Pema Pera: haha, yes!
Pema Pera: You came to SL recently, Joe, what are your main interests, or goals for exploration?
Joe Nirvana: good question
Joe Nirvana: I'm just a business guy from the computer industry, but have read much over the last several years on quantum physics, reality, etc.
Joe Nirvana: it caught my attention big time (although as a layperson... in spades)
Pema Pera: one of the great things about SL is that it encourages communication between professionals and amateurs
Pema Pera: everyone is a professional in some things, and an amateur in many more fields
Joe Nirvana: well - you've certainluyu got the amateur here!
Wol Euler is going to log off and change viewers. Back in a few minutes.
Joe Nirvana: apparently at typing as well ;)
Pema Pera: :-) -- about six of us
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: or five now :)
Joe Nirvana: what have the topics been generally about?
Pema Pera: Joe, what we do is that in RL we like to stop roughly every fifteen minutes, for about 9 seconds, to try to drop what we have in order to see what we are -- to sum it up very briefly
Pema Pera: a kind of 1% time tax, or mini-meditations, or gentle reality exploration
Myoko Fhang: Hi gen
Scathach Rhiadra: Hey Gen:)
Fefonz Quan: and HI Gen :)
Pema Pera: Hi Gen!

Genesis joined us, so there were now seven of us.

Joe Nirvana: I find the whole topic of reality interesting from many angles
genesis Zhangsun: Hey Myko, Pema, and all!
Joe Nirvana: hi
Pema Pera: What makes us unusual, I guess, Joe, is that we have a very open and playful attitude
Pema Pera: and we all have very different ideas and backgrounds
Pema Pera: yet what connects us that we are all happy to explore for ourselves, individually and collectively
Pema Pera: we don't like to discuss abstract ideas and concepts, but rather prefer to compare notes about our actual exploreations
Fefonz Quan dispalys playful
Scathach Rhiadra: wb Wol:)
genesis Zhangsun: hey Wol!
Joe Nirvana: i assue these are explorations based on meditation?
Wol Euler: hello again everyone, and hi gen.
Fefonz Quan: or mediattion based on exploration
Fefonz Quan wonders what happened
Pema Pera: I myself prefer not to use the word mediation much, since it has so much ballast . . . .
Pema Pera: btw, unfortunately I now have to leave
Pema Pera: see you all soon again!
Joe Nirvana: bye
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Pema, good luck:)
genesis Zhangsun: bye Pema!
Fefonz Quan: bye Pema
Myoko Fhang: Bye bye
Wol Euler: bye pema, good fortune.

I took off, and Fefonz would later send me the chat log, which I am reproducing here; I would return after about fifteen minutes.

Joe Nirvana: I'll have to read the wiki and get up to speed a bit
Joe Nirvana: thanks for letting me drop in - see you later
Wol Euler: there's a lot of it there :)
Wol Euler: any time, Joe.
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Joe
Fefonz Quan: bye Joe,
Myoko Fhang: bye joe
genesis Zhangsun: bye Joe
genesis Zhangsun: moment of silence on a historic day ;)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Wol Euler: happy new president day!
Wol Euler: (yes, I did say that earlier. I've been repeating it all day long)
Fefonz Quan: i had a deja vue indeed
Wol Euler: :)
genesis Zhangsun: this morning I completely forgot about the inauguration and went to yoga but my yoga teacher had us listen to the speech while doing yoga
genesis Zhangsun: it was pretty cool very Berkeley
Fefonz Quan: yeah, sounds great
Wol Euler: :)
genesis Zhangsun: something about the energy rubs off on you
Fefonz Quan: change-- (downward dog)--- etc.
genesis Zhangsun: :)
genesis Zhangsun: hopefully upward facing dog
Wol Euler: it feels that way Gen.
genesis Zhangsun: yeah here in Berkeley people are going nuts, dancing on the street etc
genesis Zhangsun: you kind of can't ignore it
Scathach Rhiadra: a real party atmosphere:)
genesis Zhangsun: I am eager to see how this all pans out in reality
Fefonz Quan: here in the more snowy east coast they are much more restrained
Fefonz Quan: me too, Gen
genesis Zhangsun: I am really excited but of course what is happening is very much on the symbolic level
Fefonz Quan: though the energy of people itself can change thing
genesis Zhangsun: and a symbolic shift I believe can create a reality shift too
genesis Zhangsun: yes

New words are being coined.

Fefonz Quan tries ooptimism
Wol Euler: oh yes, definitely.
Fefonz Quan: (ooptimism - thing going by chance the right way :))
genesis Zhangsun: hehe :)
genesis Zhangsun: love that kind
Wol Euler: heheheh
genesis Zhangsun: man though Mr. Obama has some tough issues ahead of him
Wol Euler nods soberly.
genesis Zhangsun: what a way to start
Scathach Rhiadra: but he has a lot of good will from everyone around the world
genesis Zhangsun: yes I think that is the most important shift for American foreign politics
Wol Euler: but he started very well, I thought, by calling a spade a spade. You can't solve a problem whose existence you won't admit.
genesis Zhangsun: yes Wol
Scathach Rhiadra: yes
Fefonz Quan: well, somethings are clearly admitable
genesis Zhangsun: but he will have to go beyond admitting and actually having to make tough decisions and I think we will find out very quickly whether he will live up to his promises
genesis Zhangsun: I am so happy that Bush it out though :)
Fefonz Quan: i think people would like to find out quickly, but lots of times
genesis Zhangsun: so these are minor details ;)
Fefonz Quan: it takes time to see whats wrong and what's right
genesis Zhangsun: yes indeed
genesis Zhangsun: like for example the shutting down of Guantanamo seems like a good idea but doesn't really address the underlying wrong which is the treatment of prisoners around the world
genesis Zhangsun: we know those prisoners are going to some place pretty similar be it in Australia or whatever
genesis Zhangsun: oooo getting political scary
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Wol Euler: hello adams
genesis Zhangsun: Hey hotstuff!
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Adams
Fefonz Quan: hello Adams :)
genesis Zhangsun: referring to Adams

Enter Adams, then me, then exit Genesis.

Adams Rubble: Hello everyone and token dull person :)
Wol Euler smiles. It is a great look, Adams
Adams Rubble: It's really a halloween look :)
genesis Zhangsun: I'd better get going
Wol Euler: just as pema returns...
Fefonz Quan: Hi Pema
genesis Zhangsun: Pema's back
genesis Zhangsun: we take turns ;)
Scathach Rhiadra: wb Pema
Wol Euler: ah
Wol Euler: just as pema returns...
Fefonz Quan: Hi Pema
genesis Zhangsun: Pema's back
genesis Zhangsun: we take turns ;)
Scathach Rhiadra: wb Pema
Wol Euler: ah
Fefonz Quan: preparing the Kira workshop, Gen?
Pema Pera: hi again!
genesis Zhangsun: no right now grants Fefonz
Adams Rubble: Hello Pema :)
genesis Zhangsun: see you all later
Adams Rubble: bye Gen :)
Fefonz Quan: See ya, Gen :)
genesis Zhangsun: bye Pema going back to work ;)
Wol Euler: bye gen
Scathach Rhiadra: byeGen
genesis Zhangsun: bye
Pema Pera: Bye Genesis!

Fefonz brought up the notion of group energy . . .

Fefonz Quan: considering the new president, again,
Fefonz Quan: i watched it with many people on the same room, and it gave it a more powerful feeling, leading me to the question
Fefonz Quan: of how the energy of being with people in a room is different from being alone, even if there is no direct communication witrh them
Adams Rubble: :)
Pema Pera: that even applies to SL here
Pema Pera: when we don't speak
Wol Euler: I think we are always communicating, fefonz. We radiate feelings and opinions and thoughts and desires
Fefonz Quan: even, but much less i think
Wol Euler: words are the least of it
Fefonz Quan: nice phrasing it, Wol :)
Wol Euler: ty :)
Fefonz Quan: i believ it's true
Pema Pera: different . . . . less in some ways, in important ways . . . perhaps more in some other ways though
Pema Pera: <- Fefonz
Fefonz Quan: though, talking about watching things without judgements,
Fefonz Quan: it seems we are so much biased towards people
Fefonz Quan: that it makes it much more difficult to be "cool" about them
Adams Rubble: I didn;t feel that today
Fefonz Quan: (cool== non judgmental, equanimity)
Fefonz Quan: what didn't you feel Adams?
Adams Rubble: I think the ceremony puts everything into perspective
Adams Rubble: I felt glad to see Bush go but feel cooler about Obama
Adams Rubble: He is about to be tested
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Adams Rubble: and will either do well or not
Adams Rubble: then we will decide
Fefonz Quan: i agree. then i reffered more to the people really being in the room with me
Adams Rubble: But he recognizes the world has changed and there are problems to be solved
Adams Rubble: and that is a step in the right direction
Adams Rubble: ah
Adams Rubble: sorry

. . . and I wondered about the similarities and differences with group energy in RL and SL.

Pema Pera: I agree Fonz, about the kind of palpable presence of people in a room . . . yet there is another aspect, that some physical treats or people can distract/detract from other aspects of the personality that may come through better through SL . . . .
Pema Pera: like poetry having a powerful impact, potentially, sometimes more than words spoken in the presence of a person -- seeing the words on paper gives it a kind of starkness and directness
Fefonz Quan: yes, maybe the radiating that Wol mentioned, although being so rich and effective, also add some extra noise to our perception
Pema Pera: RL and SL seem to be complementary in some ways . . . .
Fefonz Quan: because we are so tuned to it
Adams Rubble: yes Pema
Fefonz Quan: DL is calling in kira, isn't it?
Scathach Rhiadra: also crowds can have a bad effect, mobs
Scathach Rhiadra: being part of crowds
Fefonz Quan nods :)
Pema Pera: ah, yes, Dreams are!

Fefonz was refering to Maxine's Dream Workshop, a weekly presentation at the Kira Cafe, with the very first meeting starting right then, at 3 pm SLT.

Fefonz Quan: not you, scath
Pema Pera: Okay, time to end this session!
Wol Euler: isn't that later on? I thought 18:30
Pema Pera: no, 2 pm SLT
Adams Rubble: bye everyone :)
Wol Euler: ah! ok, ty
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Adams
Fefonz Quan: OK, see you there :)
Pema Pera: bye all
Wol Euler: bye to those who aren't going!
Fefonz Quan: bye all
Pema Pera: I wont' be able to attend
Pema Pera: though it should be a lot of fun!
Fefonz Quan: bye pema
Scathach Rhiadra: bye Pema
Wol Euler: Alf Kelberry says "hello", Pema :)
Pema Pera: thanks Wol!
Wol Euler: :)
Wol Euler: bye for now
Pema Pera: bfn!