2009.04.29 19:00 - Slowing Down Time

The Guardian for this meeting was stevenaia Michinaga. The comments are by stevenaia Michinaga.

buddha Nirvana, Pema Pera, Pema Pera and Pila Mulligan joined me for this meeting.

buddha Nirvana: hi steven:)
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Buddha and gina
stevenaia Michinaga: gina, are you coming from a dance?
stevenaia Michinaga: we could watch gina dance all night
stevenaia Michinaga: hello gina
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Pema
Pema Pera: Hi Gina and Steve and Buddha!
gina Broono: good evening all wise people
Pema Pera looking around for wise people
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Pila Mulligan: greetings
gina Broono: Pean, do not look farther than yourself
Peer Infinity: hi :)
Pila Mulligan: hi Peer
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Peer
Pema Pera: Hi Pila and Peer!
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Pila
Pila Mulligan: hi Steve
Pema Pera: Well, Gina, we try to help each other to wisen up, I guess :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: I was late for this this afternoon's PaB RL discussion, were you there earlier Pila?
buddha Nirvana: sry... hi everyone
gina Broono: hello
Pila Mulligan: hi buddha
Pila Mulligan: yes Steve -- I had to leave early
stevenaia Michinaga: I'll check the log when it;s posted, my week is just moving by quickly
Pema Pera: boy, do I know the feeling! :)
Pila Mulligan: :) -- mine is also, and that's unusual situation here
stevenaia Michinaga: how long will you in japan Pema?
buddha Nirvana: unusual how pila?
Pema Pera: until the end of May, Steve
Pila Mulligan: the pace of life for me is usually quite sloe buddha
Pila Mulligan: slow*
buddha Nirvana: though you meant 'here' as in SL
Pila Mulligan: nope
buddha Nirvana: thought
buddha Nirvana: ah , ok:)
Pema Pera: :)
buddha Nirvana: well we are thursday here in the UK, and yesterday did seem to be be sunday
Pila Mulligan: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: that is quite a time shortcut
buddha Nirvana: :)
gina Broono: buddha u r i nUK?
Pila Mulligan: maybe we're going through a slick spot on the space time continuum
gina Broono: new moon
Pila Mulligan: :)
gina Broono: time of renewal
gina Broono: and spring time
buddha Nirvana: gin sorry, yes i am
gina Broono: very interesting buddha
buddha Nirvana: yes?
gina Broono: being in UK
gina Broono: us all being scattered around the globe and meeting here
Pila Mulligan: Pema, some day I'd love to observe a science discussion of the state of the art theories on the expansion of space and time (if the premise is not wrongly assumed)
Pila Mulligan: would Kira be a venue for such a session?
Pema Pera: sure, we've had various talks on those topics
Pema Pera: at MICA
Pila Mulligan: cool
Pila Mulligan: is there a schedule?
Pema Pera: http://www.mica-vw.org/
Pila Mulligan: thanks
Pema Pera: some activities are joint MICA/Kira
buddha Nirvana: i saw a very interesting doc on a guy who uses grand sculputers to manipulate light
Pema Pera: sculputers?
Pila Mulligan: grand sculputers?
buddha Nirvana: i really cant remember his name, but he was US based
buddha Nirvana: yes, huge crators, buildings, sculptures
stevenaia Michinaga: I never checked for comments on my half baked understanding on that topic Pila
Pila Mulligan: ahh, Steve gave me a primer during this sesssion a week or so ago
buddha Nirvana: i;ll try and fish his name out for another session
gina Broono: sculputers not sculptures would be an interesting concept: a mix between computers and sculpture
buddha Nirvana: eek typo:)
Pema Pera: :(
Pema Pera: skulputers . . . .
gina Broono: it was a lovely typo
Pema Pera: before computes
Pema Pera: *rs
buddha Nirvana: lol:)
buddha Nirvana: no doubt such things have already been carved
stevenaia Michinaga: Gina, have you seen Adam's exhibition on RL and SL Sacred architecture?
gina Broono: a creative typ-o
gina Broono: no, i'd love to
stevenaia Michinaga: anyone have a link handy (Pema)
stevenaia Michinaga: I think there is one at the Kira Cafe
gina Broono: i cannot get into it yet
buddha Nirvana: )or computers made from skulls)
stevenaia Michinaga: get into what?
gina Broono: Kira
gina Broono: i just added it to my groups that may help
stevenaia Michinaga: the Architecture exhibit is at the Hall of Appearances
gina Broono: I'll check it out after here
gina Broono: thank you generous people
stevenaia Michinaga: I'll post the locations in the log as well
stevenaia Michinaga: the web links take you to an SL location if SL is running
stevenaia Michinaga: the marvels of computers and SL
gina Broono: I can hardly wait to visit, I expect something like Zaha Hadid's work
stevenaia Michinaga: no, these are recreations of RL works, temples of various religions
gina Broono: oh I see
gina Broono: there are many brilliant minds that created all this SL world
gina Broono: I cannot get enough - every day I discover another wonderland

stevenaia Michinaga: speaking of Space and Time, Pila, I am noticing a change of sense of both as I do more Tai Chi
Pila Mulligan: :) cool
buddha Nirvana: how so steven?
Pila Mulligan: things go quite slow sometimes, grasshopper :)
stevenaia Michinaga: an interesting sense of change of pace
stevenaia Michinaga: while walking slow in NYC, the relative sense of movement and time sense change (everyone moves fast in NYC)
buddha Nirvana: are all the senses effected ?
Pila Mulligan: in more than 30 years of tai chi practice I only had one occasion to use it at need in a real life situation, and it was just like in the movies -- time got *very* slow, appearing one frame at a time, kind of like a preview of what was happening
Pila Mulligan: oops, sorry
Pila Mulligan: bad timing
stevenaia Michinaga: many time puns tonight
Pema Pera: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s nice to be able to just... change your sense of the perception of time, Sunday was a "World Tai Chi Day" event, there was a large group of us moving through time slower
stevenaia Michinaga: you used Tai Chi to defend yourself Pila?
Pila Mulligan: once
Pila Mulligan: once upon a time ... :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I was learning it more as exercise since I stopped doing yoga, not realizing it was also for defense
Pila Mulligan: it is more exercise than martial art, usually
stevenaia Michinaga: yoga is hardly defensive
Pila Mulligan: in a sense it can be though -- energy wise
Pila Mulligan: yoga
Pila Mulligan: strengthening your prana :)
stevenaia Michinaga: my what?
Pila Mulligan: your chi
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Pila Mulligan: "Prana is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis. "
Pila Mulligan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prana
stevenaia Michinaga: nothing is simple
gina Broono: everything is simple
gina Broono: it's how you look at it
Pila Mulligan: nothing is everything
stevenaia Michinaga: usually from the begining end it;s not, but like any process, things usually become more simple with time
gina Broono: and the more acceptable and bearabe
gina Broono: bearable*
stevenaia Michinaga: not sure I would go that far
stevenaia Michinaga: in general
stevenaia Michinaga: was thinking more in terms of learning, digesting concepts, and then comes understanding
Pema Pera: Steve, can you tell us a bit more about your experiences walking in NYC in a more tai chi way?
stevenaia Michinaga: I was just using the NYC walking as an analogy
stevenaia Michinaga: I have a NYC walking gate that generally keeps pace with most when I am getting places in Manhattan
gina Broono: walking gate?
stevenaia Michinaga: step
gina Broono: oh, gait
Pema Pera: jumping gates perhaps ? :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: speed that I walk
Pema Pera: that's what many do at the subway
gina Broono: NY state of mind
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
gina Broono: i do it often as I live here
gina Broono: brisk
gina Broono: with a purpose
stevenaia Michinaga: Tai Chi is like walking slowly amongst the speedi walkers
gina Broono: purposeful walking and being
gina Broono: dear people, I have to go for now
gina Broono: see you tomorrow night
gina Broono: keep smiling
stevenaia Michinaga: bye gina
Pema Pera: bye Gina!
gina Broono: and spread the happiness and joy to all fellow earth residents
gina Broono: as you do here
gina Broono: : )
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s like meditation, but I suppose that to literal as isn;t tai chi called walking meditation?
gina Broono: Pema, ty
Pema Pera: yw :)
stevenaia Michinaga: perhaps I'm just moving into that "place" of understanding
Pila Mulligan: [interested but has rl phone call]
stevenaia Michinaga: tai Chi may just be another tool like the 9 second or 90 second meditations
stevenaia Michinaga: anything done with consistence open you up to changes in perceptions
stevenaia Michinaga: *opens
Pema Pera: viewing the world in a different way is a great form of active meditation
Pema Pera: if you do that in the midsts of daily activities, it has more chance to let you integrate it with daily life, compared to sitting on a cushion
Pema Pera: there are many variations: walking while viewing the world as a dream
Pema Pera: or as a kind of heavenly realm, if that fits with your background and other practice
stevenaia Michinaga: meditation as a "heavenly realm"?
Pema Pera: no, seeing the world around you as a kind of heavenly realm
Pema Pera: the sacredness in and as everyone and everything
stevenaia Michinaga: well ofcourse
Pema Pera: of course?
stevenaia Michinaga: everything as sacredness
Pema Pera: well, it requires you to remember, first of all, to do that, and then to stick with really putting yourself into that frame of mind for a while
stevenaia Michinaga: it is.. and then there is perceiving it as such
Pema Pera: It's easy to talk or think about it as an idea, but actually doing it initially takes some effort, but can have very powerful consequences, quite quickly, if you really do it.
Pema Pera: and it changes everything: your way of breathing, your posture, your whole presence
Pema Pera: like with tai chi, but starting with a thought rather than a physical posture
Pema Pera: complementary
stevenaia Michinaga: interesting how little of that has begin in the west, most of it borrowed from the east
stevenaia Michinaga: but yes, it is very complementary
Pema Pera: Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen master, had a very interesting one-liner about this, something like:
Pema Pera: we are amazed by the idea of astronauts walking in space, or someone walking on water, but in fact, each time we walk on the grass or on the sand, it is equally miraculous
stevenaia Michinaga: nods, I must go, RL calls
Pila Mulligan: bye Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: thank you Pema, Peer and Pils
Pila Mulligan: thank you
Pila Mulligan: happy walking :)
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Pema Pera: bye Steve
Pema Pera: time for me too
Pema Pera: good seeing you all again!
Pila Mulligan: bye Pema
Pema Pera: bfn
Pila Mulligan: Peer, have you and Pema talked more about the wiki ideas?
Peer Infinity: no, we haven't
Pila Mulligan: he seems kind of busy
Peer Infinity: yes
Pila Mulligan: well, I need to deal with another rl phone call -- see yuo next time, Peer
Pila Mulligan: bye