2009.03.05 19:00 - Crunchy philosophies

The Guardian for this meeting was Sylectra Darwin. The comments are by Sylectra Darwin. 

I had called Stevenaia earlier from the grocery store where it seemed hopeless that I would extricate myself in time to start the meeting, so he was there when I arrived. I was actually only a few minutes late but thought I would be much later.  

stevenaia Michinaga: You made it.
stevenaia Michinaga: How did you do that?
stevenaia Michinaga: What happened?
Sylectra Darwin: What do you mean?
stevenaia Michinaga: I sent everyone away
stevenaia Michinaga: You made it.
Sylectra Darwin: hehe
stevenaia Michinaga: How did you shorten shopping
Sylectra Darwin: You sent them away?
Sylectra Darwin: I told them I despaired of getting done in time and so I had to get a sub.
stevenaia Michinaga: Just kidding
Sylectra Darwin: nah, it just worked out organically.
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Sylectra Darwin: We have food.
Sylectra Darwin: It is good.
stevenaia Michinaga: Yea, you can eat.
Sylectra Darwin: We have Lucky Charms.
stevenaia Michinaga: Son loves those, but prefers coco pebbles.
Sylectra Darwin: Those are good too but I especially love Nesquik chocolate cereal.
stevenaia Michinaga: hmm, never tried that, but I've moved on to sugar free, well sugar flavor free.
stevenaia Michinaga: Shredded Wheat, Special K.
stevenaia Michinaga: Same calories but not butt weighted.
Sylectra Darwin: I like Shredded Wheat, it's my fav.
Sylectra Darwin: Even the non sugar kind!
Sylectra Darwin: Well I had a pretty good day despite having to wake up really early for a car inspection I failed.
stevenaia Michinaga: Right, the Okie glass.
Sylectra Darwin: Yeah, actually Colorado glass.

(The after-market tinting in the front side windows was a problem for New Jersey inspectors.)

Sylectra Darwin: The car was purchased in Colorado but I bought it in Oklahoma.
Sylectra Darwin: Hi Mellow :)
stevenaia Michinaga: Hello Adams.
Sylectra Darwin: Hi Adams.
Adams Rubble: Hello Steve and Syl. Mind if I join you?
Sylectra Darwin: Please do.
Adams Rubble: Hello Mellow.
stevenaia Michinaga: Yes, we've just been reviewing our day.
Sylectra Darwin: Current topic is no more mentally complex than breakfast cereal.
Sylectra Darwin: But I did have a nice lunch - went downstairs with the other SEOs for a bite to eat and had a lovely time.
stevenaia Michinaga: So true, and where it goes when you eat it.
stevenaia Michinaga: How did we get there Sylectra?
Sylectra Darwin: Where - cereal?
stevenaia Michinaga: Yes
stevenaia Michinaga: Hello Mellow have you been here before?
Sylectra Darwin: Mellow have you hung out with us before?
stevenaia Michinaga: ok
Mellow Blitz: Nope, but been interested for some time so decided to stop by.
Sylectra Darwin: Cool!
Adams Rubble: Welcome Mellow :)
Mellow Blitz: thanks
Sylectra Darwin: http://playasbeing.wik.is/
stevenaia Michinaga: Then he knows that breakfast cereal if part of the nature of reality.
Sylectra Darwin: This is our wiki, that talks about the group's usual purpose and methods.
Sylectra Darwin: Hi Maggie!
Adams Rubble: Hello Maggie
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Maggie
Magdalena Colclough: oops
Sylectra Darwin: Mellow, do you mind if we record the chat log and include you in it for posting on the wiki?
Mellow Blitz: Thanks Sylectra, I actually looked at it yesterday, had all the questions I had about the group answered :)
Magdalena Colclough: I didn't realize this was where I had logged off--excuse me if I landed on anyone.
Mellow Blitz: Oh no problemo, although I probably wont be talkin much, I like to listen heh.
Sylectra Darwin: Feel free to land on me - one of those days, hehe.
stevenaia Michinaga: Mellow, we record our meetings, do you mind if your comments are recorded Mellow.
Adams Rubble looks and sees it is not her.
Magdalena Colclough: lol
Sylectra Darwin: You don't have to talk, just glad to have your company.
Mellow Blitz: thanks
Adams Rubble: Wow, you are up very late Mellow :)

Adams was referring to Mellow’s home country which I gathered was somewhere in Europe.

stevenaia Michinaga: http://playasbeing.wik.is/Information/Play_As_Being_in_a_Nutshell
Mellow Blitz: Yeh I guess you could say that.
Mellow Blitz: But then again I don’t sleep much.
stevenaia Michinaga: How did you come across the group Mellow?
stevenaia Michinaga: Realizing you said you weren’t going to talk…
Mellow Blitz: Well I have been searching around for Philosophy type groups that have discussions and have been across a few, so just bouncin around a little.
Mellow Blitz: Lately I've been thinking about the "bigger" picture and why some things are the way they are I guess. Ya know, the regular confused person type stuff.
stevenaia Michinaga: If by considering such things makes you confused, I would not agree.
Mellow Blitz: how so?
Sylectra Darwin: nods
stevenaia Michinaga: Then those who don’t consider those things you would presume would be less confused.
Mellow Blitz: Ha I guess that’s pretty true.
stevenaia Michinaga: I feel seeking... allow for some resolution of questions asked.
Adams Rubble admires Steve's logic
stevenaia Michinaga: Which , of course leads to some confusion.
Adams Rubble: :)
Mellow Blitz: :)
Adams Rubble: Confusion is a human trait.
stevenaia Michinaga: My big question: What is confusion?
Adams Rubble looks around in confusion
Magdalena Colclough: lol
Mellow Blitz: Won't disagree with that, everyone is searching for answers to some degree.
stevenaia Michinaga: Can everything ever be answered?
Mellow Blitz: lol
Sylectra Darwin: It's the questions that matter, not the answers.
Magdalena Colclough: 42
Sylectra Darwin: lol
stevenaia Michinaga: Is that the answer? 42
Adams Rubble: hehe
Magdalena Colclough nods
stevenaia Michinaga: A punch line without a joke.
Magdalena Colclough: There would be a joke if you READ.

Magdalena was hinting at The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  

Magdalena Colclough: ;P
Mellow Blitz: hmm, that’s an interesting way to look at it. Questions are what matter. Maybe we are supposed to just ask questions because it kid of gives us comfort even though we wont get them answered
Sylectra Darwin: Life is a punch line without a joke.
Mellow Blitz: kind*
Magdalena Colclough: Or a joke without a punch line
Adams Rubble getting confusider
Sylectra Darwin: haha, was going to turn it inside out, myself!
Mellow Blitz: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: now there's a topic for the evening
Magdalena Colclough: :)
Sylectra Darwin: Excellent.
Mellow Blitz: that’s interesting because I know I’ve heard of religions where you look inside your self for the answers (god has a personal type relationship with you).
Mellow Blitz: instead of looking at religious institutions for the answers
Magdalena Colclough nods
stevenaia Michinaga: most "institutions" believe they have the answered, seeking stops at the door?
stevenaia Michinaga: Most
Adams Rubble: Some religious institutions look for you to give you the answers.
Adams Rubble won’t say which ones
stevenaia Michinaga: oh?
Mellow Blitz: lol
stevenaia Michinaga: lol
stevenaia Michinaga: you starting a new religion Adams?
Adams Rubble: hehe
Sylectra Darwin: oooh, can I join?
Mellow Blitz: what type of religion is this
Adams Rubble: The ones knocking at your front door.
Magdalena Colclough: Does it involve worshipping cats?
Mellow Blitz: Jehovahs...
stevenaia Michinaga: Doesn’t all humanity worship cats.
Adams Rubble: :)
Magdalena Colclough: Only the enlightened among us.
Mellow Blitz: haha
Mellow Blitz: Egyptians much?
Magdalena Colclough grins.
Adams Rubble offers up a mouse.
Magdalena Colclough 's cat takes it happily.
Adams Rubble: Or a moose depending on the size of the cat.
Magdalena Colclough: lol
Mellow Blitz: ha
stevenaia Michinaga: Forgot what the topic was..again.
Mellow Blitz: me too
Adams Rubble: hehe
Adams Rubble: I thought it was lunch.
Magdalena Colclough: Was it something about inside out?
stevenaia Michinaga: You will fit in just fine Mellow.
stevenaia Michinaga: ...smile
Adams Rubble: Unfortunately I must go. It has been fun. bye all :)
Mellow Blitz: thanks :)
stevenaia Michinaga: We have our moments of lucidity, then our heads just empty out.
Magdalena Colclough: Goodnight, dear Adams.
Mellow Blitz: bye Adams
Sylectra Darwin: Thanks for popping in, Adams.
stevenaia Michinaga: night Adams
Sylectra Darwin: poof!
Mellow Blitz: What do you mean by inside out?
Mellow Blitz: seat stealer!

I hadn't noticed someone stealing Mellow's seat....hmm. You have to watch these avatars. They are rambunctious.

Magdalena Colclough: You were talking about religions in which you seek for the truth inside yourself.
stevenaia Michinaga: Much of what we do is about reflection, within and as an observer.
Mellow Blitz: oh yes I see now. Yeh, I think for some reason lately these seem more and more appealing to me. I mean if there is a god, why would he not give us the ability to see our truths from within, instead of relying all our trust on institutions
Mellow Blitz: I dunno heh
stevenaia Michinaga: It has much to do with the 9 second meditation mentioned in the Wiki.
Mellow Blitz: I agree stevenaia.
Magdalena Colclough: Maybe we should turn the fountain off and let it be a placid reflecting pool, and see what happens.
Mellow Blitz: I actually didn’t read that, would you mind summarizing it to me :)
stevenaia Michinaga: Play as Being is an open ended exploration of reality. In real life, we have a basic practice of "drop what you have to see what you are" -- - every 15 minutes or so, just spending roughly 9 seconds, dropping what you're doing, taking a good breath, letting things be open, and then resume your normal activities --- after wards, write down a note of whatever comes up during the 9 seconds.
Mellow Blitz: That’s interesting.
stevenaia Michinaga: When we switch from what we have to what we are, what do we find? Can we make conjectures, hypotheses about what Being could be, and play with those in our day-to-day life? What happens when we do?
Mellow Blitz: I might just try that :) why is it 9 seconds?
Magdalena Colclough: because that's 1% of 15 minutes.
Mellow Blitz: interesting, very interesting
stevenaia Michinaga: Funny you should ask...
stevenaia Michinaga: --Experiment Before starting the experiment we ask participants to take a look at our Steps in Preparation page. The format of the Experiment is to ask participants to pay a sort of 1% time tax. Roughly each quarter of an hour, participants spend about nine seconds on this type of exploration (there are 900 seconds in 15 minutes, hence the 1% tax). During this time they are asked to take a full breath, relax, and focus on considering themselves as Being. We think of it as taking a 9-second moment, or a micromeditation, between tasks during the day. Although frequency and consistency are important we suggest that participants don't get hung up on following a schedule
Mellow Blitz: oh I see I see
Mellow Blitz: I like it
Magdalena Colclough: And there are those of us who have difficulty accomplishing much in 9 seconds.
stevenaia Michinaga: This is the basis of the group, Adams has a Blot of just these observations.
stevenaia Michinaga: Blog
Mellow Blitz: Oh I see now, I'm going to try this out for sure.
Magdalena Colclough: I'd be interested in seeing the blot :)
stevenaia Michinaga: Blog dear Maggie.
Magdalena Colclough: I like blots better.
Sylectra Darwin: Me too, lol
Magdalena Colclough grins at Sylectra.
Sylectra Darwin: The 9-second moment is a great experiment.
stevenaia Michinaga: So we meet 4 times a day and post the logs of our conversations on the wiki.
Sylectra Darwin: Sometimes it works great and sometimes not, much like anything in life that involves your state of mind.
Magdalena Colclough nods
Mellow Blitz: It kind of reminds me of something I similarly do now, where I sometimes just stop what I’m doing, especially if I’m stressed and just think to myself, all I have is this moment, this exact time in space. Nothing after I can change, but the future I can plan. But still its only this exact second I can only "be," ya know?
Sylectra Darwin: Hello Eliza.
Magdalena Colclough nods at Mellow
Eliza Madrigal: Hi... :) No worries to catch me up.
Mellow Blitz: I mean nothing before* (past) I can change.
stevenaia Michinaga: yes Mellow quite similar
Magdalena Colclough: Hi Eliza
Mellow Blitz: :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hello :))
Mellow Blitz: hey Eliza
stevenaia Michinaga: Any pause and reflection has an impact on what you are doing.
Mellow Blitz: I agree. It's almost like meditation is the ultimate key haha.
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Eliza
Eliza Madrigal: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: Only here can a conversations begin a conversations with breakfast cereal and touch on the nature of the universe.
Mellow Blitz: haha true true
stevenaia Michinaga: We think it makes us overweight and thoughtful.
Magdalena Colclough: Breakfast and the expanse of the universe are closely related.
Mellow Blitz: I’m afraid I think I must be on my way though :( But I will definitely stop by again sometime!
stevenaia Michinaga: When put that way Maggie.
Eliza Madrigal: "See heaven in a box of cornflakes..."
Magdalena Colclough: Good to meet you, Mellow.
Sylectra Darwin: And as with a high-fiber breakfast cereal, life lived a certain way can blow right through you leaving you cleaner.
Magdalena Colclough: lol
Eliza Madrigal: Hahhaa
stevenaia Michinaga: yes we meet at 1:00 and 7:00 am and pm SLT every day.
stevenaia Michinaga: oh he left
Sylectra Darwin: I think maybe he had a computer glitch.
stevenaia Michinaga: hmm
stevenaia Michinaga: How did he know.
Eliza Madrigal: haha precognition?
Sylectra Darwin: grins
Sylectra Darwin: brb
Sylectra Darwin: back
Sylectra Darwin: So how far can we stretch the cereal analogy?
stevenaia Michinaga: With better puns, perhaps.
Magdalena Colclough: Averil was a cornflake girl. Thought it was a good solution. Hanging with the raisin girls. She's gone to the other side...
Sylectra Darwin: Yeah, well what about the choices of cereal in the average grocery store being like the philosophies available to us in life?
Eliza Madrigal: Hahha
Eliza Madrigal: Lucky Charms vs. granola?
stevenaia Michinaga: Not sure where Count Chocula puts me, then.
Eliza Madrigal: I always liked Booberry, but no one else must have....
Magdalena Colclough: I did.
Sylectra Darwin: Count Chocula, well, anybody that likes raspy cereal that scrapes the roof of their mouth is a born ascetic.
Sylectra Darwin: Booberry!
Magdalena Colclough: haha--Noah an ascetic.
Eliza Madrigal: It seemed to disappear before the others :)
Sylectra Darwin: Little blue ghost marshmallows and "whole-grain" nuggets.
Sylectra Darwin: Peanut Butter Crunch.
Magdalena Colclough: Crunch Berries
stevenaia Michinaga: Was perfection, now...toxic.
Sylectra Darwin: When I like to torture myself I buy Grape Nuts.
Sylectra Darwin: crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch......
Eliza Madrigal: Hahhaha :) For every cereal there is a season...a season for grainy...a season for smooth...
Magdalena Colclough: Oh man I haven't had Grape-Nuts in so long.
Sylectra Darwin: crunch crunch crunch.....
Eliza Madrigal: Have to let them sit a long time...Zen cereal.
Magdalena Colclough grins at Eliza
Sylectra Darwin: Full of nutty goodness.
Eliza Madrigal: Ooo Ahh
Sylectra Darwin: My mom used to let it sit until the milk was warm.
Sylectra Darwin: She would eat that squishy mess half an hour later.
Sylectra Darwin: Maggie, where's your hair?

Maggie was now perfectly bald and wearing dark sunglasses.

Magdalena Colclough: the matrix glasses seem to have digested it
Sylectra Darwin: s'alright. We love you.
Sylectra Darwin: I've gone sans hair before.
Magdalena Colclough grins
Eliza Madrigal: Grape-Nuts requires sitting...not so much Cheerios.
Eliza Madrigal: You have to acquire a "no hair" to go without, right?
Sylectra Darwin: That sounds like a Zen koan, about Grape-Nuts.
Sylectra Darwin: nuts.
Sylectra Darwin: I think I should write an essay about Grape Nuts.
Eliza Madrigal: :) Absolutely
Sylectra Darwin: Sort of a Grape Nuts pastiche.
Magdalena Colclough: I think there's an audience for that, Sylectra
Eliza Madrigal: :::raising hand:::
Sylectra Darwin: yes?
Eliza Madrigal: No...am audience
stevenaia Michinaga: well, you do have a blog
stevenaia Michinaga: but better see if it's been done before
Eliza Madrigal: I read "Seek Help" - must be tired :)
stevenaia Michinaga: well I must go, you have the log claimed, Sylectra?
Sylectra Darwin: I will, thanks Steven.
Eliza Madrigal: Bye, nice to have a little fun with you guys :)
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Magdalena Colclough: Bye Steven
Sylectra Darwin: indeed!
Eliza Madrigal: Night, or Good Day! :)
Magdalena Colclough: goodnight, all
Sylectra Darwin: Goodnight/day

Guardian’s postscript: I was so intrigued by our discussion of breakfast cereal that I posted a blog entry on Grape-Nuts, one of my personal favorites which has been on the market for over 100 years.