2009.02.03 13:00 - Snow, Buddhism, PaB Meditations

The Guardian for this meeting was Fefonz Quan. The comments are by Fefonz Quan.

Scathach and me are in the Pavillion, both after a snowy day on RL. Tarmel appears very briefly during the session, and jumped swiftly to RL.

I enjoy the snow, and Scathach, though got jammed in the traffic due to it, finds it a good opportunity to meditate.

Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Fefonz
Fefonz Quan: Hy Scath, was a little afk
Fefonz Quan: good to see you though :)
Scathach Rhiadra: Hi, yes you are still a sphere of white light to me:)
Fefonz Quan: you see my real nature :)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Fefonz Quan: not less real than the avatar, for sure
Scathach Rhiadra: true:)
Scathach Rhiadra: its very quiet here, usually more people around
Fefonz Quan: yes, i was surprised too, being teh GoC on this time slot for the first time
Scathach Rhiadra: who was here before?
Fefonz Quan: I'm not sure, Antonia joined the forces and wed 7am was good for her, so i gave it up and chose from the vacant ones
Scathach Rhiadra: ah
Fefonz Quan: here outside there is a beautiful snow falling down softly,
Fefonz Quan: covering the tree branches and the grass and the roofs of cars and buildings
Scathach Rhiadra: we have snow too:)
Fefonz Quan: is there any specific PaB issue on your mind today?
Scathach Rhiadra: not so nice though, it took me 3 hours to drive home from work, just 9 miles:)
Fefonz Quan: wow, that's frustrating!
Fefonz Quan: a lot of time to practice at the car )
Fefonz Quan: Hey Tarmel, good to see you :)
Scathach Rhiadra: true, it was sort of peaceful:)
Tarmel Udimo: hey scath and fefonz
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Tarmel:)
Fefonz Quan: it's nice that you say that scath, most of the people will go crazy
Scathach Rhiadra: one of the benefits of meditation, and Buddhism:)
Fefonz Quan titally agree
Fefonz Quan: totally *
Scathach Rhiadra: you realise that small things are not so important, can be an oppurtunity to practice
Tarmel Udimo: sorry phone in RL byb
Tarmel Udimo: BRB
Scathach Rhiadra: :)

  

We discuss Buddhist meditations, drifting to the Dalai Lama, India and Nepal.

Fefonz Quan: which stream of Buddhism do you practice, if i may ask?
Scathach Rhiadra: that is one of the things I notice about the 9 sec practice...
Scathach Rhiadra: oh, mostly Tibetn Buddhism
Fefonz Quan: so the practice involves many visualizations?
Scathach Rhiadra: I go to the Dalai Lama's teaching a few times a year if I can, and go to a local Kagyu Cantre
Fefonz Quan: Oh, that sounds great, hearing HH teach
Scathach Rhiadra: hmm, yes, but I am more inclined to stick with basic meditation
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, it is great to hear him:)
Fefonz Quan: i only got to shake his hand in Dharamsala with all the tourists :)
Scathach Rhiadra: over the years I keep coming back to mindfulness meditation
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, you were in Dharamsala?
Fefonz Quan: yep, during a trip to india. it is a beautiful and inspiring place
Fefonz Quan: (been there at 97)
Scathach Rhiadra: I was there in 80 and 89
Scathach Rhiadra: not Dharamsala though
Fefonz Quan: way ahead of me :)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: mostly in Nepal
Fefonz Quan: yeah, i got to nepal to, first on that trip, then in my honeymoon at 2007 :-)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: Kathmandu is one of my favourite places in the world
Fefonz Quan: I'm not surprised, and Pokara is beautiful too.
Fefonz Quan: the best landscapes i'v ever seen
Scathach Rhiadra: yes the lake and Annapurna range:)
Tarmel Udimo: hi folks, I'm back, but its looking like I'll need to go
Fefonz Quan: nice of you to come, Tarmel, even for a short while :)
Tarmel Udimo: I am Guardian at 1:00 and have a lot to do until then, but needed my early morning SL hit :-)
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, see you soon, take care:)
Tarmel Udimo: bye all
Fefonz Quan: one man's early morning is anothers night :)
Fefonz Quan: see you :)
Scathach Rhiadra: namasté.

  

PaB and meditation, some likes and alikes arise during conversation. Scath defines PaB as micro-meditation. I like it :)

Fefonz Quan: i also practice mostly vipashyana meditation
Fefonz Quan: which is mindfulness for me
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Fefonz Quan: very PaB alike in many ways
Scathach Rhiadra agrees:)
Scathach Rhiadra: that is one thing I found with the 9 sec, if you have experience of mindfulness meditation, it is easier to 'fall into' it during the 9 secs
Fefonz Quan nods
Scathach Rhiadra: so it is really many micro-meditations, spread throughout the day
Scathach Rhiadra: easier to keep focused the rest of the time
Fefonz Quan: brb
Scathach Rhiadra: ok
Fefonz Quan: i'm back
Scathach Rhiadra: wb
Fefonz Quan: yes, you don't need to detach from daily missions
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Scathach Rhiadra: just like short refreshes, if that is a word, at regular intervals
Fefonz Quan: i feel that it has the advantage of being imersed in the dialy schedule, because sometimes it is hard to bring meditation energies from long workshops / evenings to real life, leaving the two experiences separated
Fefonz Quan: which miss most of the point for me
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Scathach Rhiadra: like living in two separate worlds sometimes
Fefonz Quan: exactly, ML and RL
Fefonz Quan: maxines workshop is about to start
Scathach Rhiadra: and the trivial annoyances you encounter during the day don't have so much importance
Fefonz Quan: they don't still they effect us so emotionally many times
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, that is true, but the next 9 secs comes around so quickly, maybe it is easier to let them go:)
Fefonz Quan: good point :)
Scathach Rhiadra: well, I have to have an early night, got an early start in the morning
Fefonz Quan: and i'll go for dreams, but the workshop kind :)
Fefonz Quan: thanks for the talk, and have a good night's sleep :)
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, I would just fall asleep at he keyboard tonight, so i will give it a miss this week
Scathach Rhiadra: thank you, take care, namasté:)

Fefonz Quan: _/!\_