2009.05.27 19:00 - Music, baseball and other meditations

Wol Euler recovered this session from the autologging database and suggested a title.

  

 

Pema Pera: Hi Buddha, Peer, Fortune!

Fortune Crystal: I liked your entrance Pema

Pema Pera: hehe

Pema Pera: keeps the juices flowing :)

buddha Nirvana: hey pemma:)

Fortune Crystal: lol

Pema Pera: Hi Aurel!

aurel Miles: i apologize for being a little late

Pema Pera: Hi Paradise!

Paradise Tennant: hi hi everyone :)))

buddha Nirvana: hi:)

Fortune Crystal: Hi Henry, I saw you fall out of the sky. Great entrance

Pema Pera: And hi Sophia!

aurel Miles: hello all

Fortune Crystal: Great, you are most welcome

SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi All :))

Pema Pera: Yes, born in Second Life today, I see, Henry, welcome!

Pema Pera: 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?

Pema Pera: And please feel free to take a seat

Pema Pera: do you know how to sit down?

henry Sorrowman: no

Pema Pera: you can right click on any open cushion

Pema Pera: and then choose "sit" from the pie diagram

Pema Pera: on a mac command-click

henry Sorrowman: thanks

aurel Miles: now you can touch the cushion to change position

Pema Pera: yw :)

aurel Miles: like that

henry Sorrowman: what is this game all about

aurel Miles: you mean sl?

Fortune Crystal: secondlife you mean?

henry Sorrowman: yes

aurel Miles: what a good question

SophiaSharon Larnia: :)

Fortune Crystal: great topic, Henry!

henry Sorrowman: thanks

aurel Miles: for me, it has turned into more than a game

aurel Miles: i am presently staying with a friend i met in sl

aurel Miles: while travelling in Boston

henry Sorrowman: wow

aurel Miles: sl is an extension of my rl

Fortune Crystal: I joined to participate in a group that I heard about on email.

Fortune Crystal: The experience has also become a larger more important part of my life.

henry Sorrowman: what can you do in the game

aurel Miles: i know at least a dozen couples who met and married here - married in rl i mean

aurel Miles: it is not really a game

Pema Pera: for me it is both a communication medium and more: a different world, in addition to the world of dreams, the world of real life, worlds of fantasy

aurel Miles: you can do anything here that you can do in rl

aurel Miles: but you can also fly

buddha Nirvana: its possibly nearer a social networking site than a game

aurel Miles: change your appearance

Fortune Crystal: I agree with Buddha

aurel Miles: and you never get physically hurt

aurel Miles: yes - me too

Paradise Tennant: social interactive platform .. a virtual connection hub :)))

buddha Nirvana: there are to to be played here too if you like games:)

Fortune Crystal: you can take class to learn (interact with powerpoints and everything) like learn a language. You can have a job like a sales person or make and sell art on the SL store you own. You can be a concert singer and play (via streaming media) to an audience where avatars from around the world come and listen to you perform. you can be famous :-)

aurel Miles: my friend is a research librarian at Harvard University - she built their library here, there are hundreds of schools teaching classes here, leading discussions - hundreds of artists making art and music - thousands actually, galleries, lectures, concerts on and on.

Pema Pera: like I'm now sitting in a coffeeshop in Tokyo, pouring rain outside, and yet I can meet you all here :-)

henry Sorrowman: how would you go about getting a job

aurel Miles: and i am in Boston in a 100 year-old house near Harvard

Paradise Tennant: :)) downtown toronto on the waterfront also in pouring rain :))

aurel Miles: i'm from Ottawa

aurel Miles: :)

Paradise Tennant: waves at you :))

aurel Miles waves back

henry Sorrowman: i am in swansea 3am in the morrning

aurel Miles: you get a job here the same way you would in real life

Paradise Tennant: see :))) a connection hub :)

aurel Miles: visit places

aurel Miles: check ads

aurel Miles: or go out and make your own

aurel Miles: i earn my living here by writing for a few sl publications when i want money

aurel Miles: there are magazines inworld

aurel Miles: even a tv station in germany

aurel Miles: it really is exactly what you make it

henry Sorrowman: so far abit confusing but getting there

aurel Miles: and that has made me see my rl in the same way - i'm less limited in rl since coming to sl

aurel Miles: because i realize the limitations are mostly in my head

Paradise Tennant: very confusing at first :))

SophiaSharon Larnia: check out NCI Henry, they have good classes on sl, you can find them by looking in your search bar at the bottom of the screen :)

buddha Nirvana: yea, i remember i was stuck in the sea for an hour when i first signed on

buddha Nirvana: :)

SophiaSharon Larnia: :)

aurel Miles: i couldn't figure out how to pick things up

aurel Miles: for days

buddha Nirvana: hehe:)

Paradise Tennant: i spent my first four days falling :)))

Paradise Tennant: great fun

aurel Miles: i still do that a fair bit

aurel Miles: i was a terrible trespasser at first

aurel Miles: wanted to see everything

Paradise Tennant: lol

buddha Nirvana: i liked to change my clothes infront of others alot too at first

aurel Miles laughs

SophiaSharon Larnia: haha

Pema Pera: SL is like a testbed or laboratory for life -- in a short time you can try out all kind of things, and meet all kind of people -- and so meet yourself more too

aurel Miles: i made a pact with myself when i got here

aurel Miles: i decided i would say yes to everything

aurel Miles: i would only have one avatar

henry Sorrowman: thanks for the advice i am off to travel

Paradise Tennant: :)) it is a way to meet people talk get to know alittle bit of their day to day life .. you will have friends around the globe and in turn the world becomes much smaller indeed

aurel Miles: i would not bring money in or take it out

aurel Miles: bye Henry

aurel Miles: i have kept my rules and it has been interesting

henry Sorrowman: thank you

Fortune Crystal: I also decided to start with zero money, very interesting way to start on SL

SophiaSharon Larnia: bye henry

Pema Pera: you really feel like a new immigrant at first, in a new world . . .

aurel Miles: true

Paradise Tennant: yes and it so full of wonder :)) the ability to fall . to fly .. to be in different places in a blink ... :))

Pema Pera: yes, wonder is a key to SL

Pema Pera: and wonder, or appreciation, is also at the center of Play as Being

Paradise Tennant: :)) the center of life

Pema Pera: looking in wonder at anything that happens, every moment, in RL, SL, dreams, etc

Fortune Crystal: nods

aurel Miles: hello Kenji

SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi Kenji

aurel Miles: welcome

Fortune Crystal: welscome kenji

kenji Pookes: Hi all

Paradise Tennant: well think if you really see the wonder is inevitable :)

Pema Pera: Hi Kenji!

Paradise Tennant: hiya kenji

Pema Pera: Have you been here before, Kenji?

kenji Pookes: Yes, several times

Pema Pera: so you know about our web site, http://playasbeing.wik.is/

Pema Pera: which happens to be down right now :(

kenji Pookes: Yes. I should also say that I chatted with your wife the other day, Pema

Pema Pera: yes, I just noticed that on your profile :)

Pema Pera: she (Kiremimi Tigerpaw in SL)

kenji Pookes: In both SL and RL

Pema Pera: told me about you and your interests

Pema Pera: small world :-)

kenji Pookes: Certainly is

Pema Pera: have you gotten a bit of a taste of what we're doing here, so far?

kenji Pookes: Yes, I think so. In general, not tonight specifically, however.

Pema Pera: (btw, my wife is a sociologist, also interested in SL)

Pema Pera: have you played with our 9-sec explorations by any chance?

kenji Pookes: Not really--I don't quite get that. I understand the 90 second breaks.

Pema Pera: on our web site we have a short introduction

Pema Pera: the main exploration practice is very simple:

Pema Pera: in RL, during the day, every quarter of an hour we pause for 9 seconds

Pema Pera: (or roughly a few times an hour, doesn't have to be precise)

Pema Pera: 9 seconds as a 1% time tax (15 minutes = 900 seconds :-)

Pema Pera: and during that time we try to drop what we have in order to see what we are

Pema Pera: that's all -- but many people report that this changes there lives within a few days already

kenji Pookes: I see

Pema Pera: Compared to traditional meditation forms, we trade duration for frequency

Pema Pera: emphasizing integration in daily life -- a stage that normally comes after years of meditation practice

Pema Pera: we more or less switch the order -- for busy people

Pema Pera: not giving them any excuse: ten breaks of 9 sec is about the time to brush your teeth

Pema Pera: no excuse not to do it :-)

kenji Pookes: How does one enter into a trance-like state in 9 seconds?

Pema Pera: and also many people here who are regular meditators enjoy the complementary aspect of the 9-sec practice with their own approach

Pema Pera: ah, no trance at all!

Pema Pera: very relaxed and playful

Pema Pera: just take a deep breath and get out of the rut of whatever you happened to be in

Pema Pera: open up

Pema Pera: see the world

Paradise Tennant: just a moment of refocus .. being aware of you breath .. the moment .. :))

kenji Pookes: I see. My experience with meditation, of a type, has been closer to emptying the mind

Pema Pera: oh, both are compatible, more than that even

buddha Nirvana: namaste

Pema Pera: bye Buddha!

buddha Nirvana: nini:)

Paradise Tennant: namaste buddha :)

SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Buddha

kenji Pookes: Good night

Pema Pera: opening, letting go, stopping, dropping, emptying . . . it's all related

Paradise Tennant: and actually makes life more interesting .. because you become more attuned to the flow ..

Pema Pera: but we are not a Buddhist group: some here are Christians, Hindus, Sufis, Taoists

Pema Pera: though Buddhists are in the majority

kenji Pookes: I'm an atheist

Paradise Tennant: :))

Paradise Tennant: 9 sec mediation and being in the moment is pretty much non denominational :))

Pema Pera: yes, we have various atheists here too

kenji Pookes: I suppose it is

Pema Pera: who are interested in exploring the nature of reality independent of any tradition or belief system

kenji Pookes: In general, I think Buddhism and atheism are relatively compatible

Paradise Tennant: :))

Pema Pera: may I ask what kind of meditation/exploration you prefer?

Fortune Crystal: is this a general question for the group?

Pema Pera: for now, for Kenji :-)

kenji Pookes: Well, I don't meditate. But I have done zen meditation. The form of exploration I prefer is thinking and discussion.

kenji Pookes: Oh, one more, I am a musician.

Pema Pera: but of course, anyone can speak up :)

Pema Pera: for me too, all those form mix and strenghten each other

Pema Pera: sitting, reading, talking . . .

Pema Pera: like we do here

kenji Pookes: Music and thinking are very intertwined for me

Pema Pera: what instrument, Kenji?

kenji Pookes: I play drums and also piano

Paradise Tennant: :)) music is actually a wonderful meditative tool

Fortune Crystal: listening to music could be considered meditation because it is focusing on one thing and emptying the mind of other things

Paradise Tennant: :)) changes your physiology on many levels :))

kenji Pookes: Yes, it creates an interesting flow of clearing the mind. But when done with others it can be a form of communitas

Paradise Tennant: :)) do not think music is complete without ..someone genuinely listening :)

Fortune Crystal: good question

kenji Pookes: The presence of an attentive audience can increase the level of performance and intensify the sense of unity among the musicians

Fortune Crystal: nods

Pema Pera nods too

kenji Pookes: However, I can become quite engrossed even when practicing alone

kenji Pookes: Sometimes when playing I suddenly realize that I am making odd faces and humming along with the music--I don't even notice in many cases, but sometimes I become aware of it. Interesting.

Pema Pera: sound is so much more direct than vision . . . .

kenji Pookes: I wonder about that

Fortune Crystal: please explain further pema, interesting idea

Pema Pera: and deaf people seem to feel more isolated than blind people, I hear

Pema Pera: though you might have expected it the other way around

Pema Pera: from pure information processing

Pema Pera: "direct" may not be the best word; "intimate" perhaps?

kenji Pookes: Pema, have you ever tried to hit a baseball?

Pema Pera: sure :)

Pema Pera: in high school -- softball it was

kenji Pookes: Under what conditions? Casual play or in a serious game?

Pema Pera: in Holland baseball was not a big thing

kenji Pookes: Softball is different.

Pema Pera: hmmm, school play, but not very serious

Pema Pera: just something we had to do in class

kenji Pookes: Let me explain. The hitter is trying to lock onto a moving target which is coming at 75 to 100 mph. From the time the ball leaves the hand of the pitcher, the hitter has 1/4 of a second to do several things.

Pema Pera: Hi Kiremimi!

Kiremimi Tigerpaw: hi,

kenji Pookes: 1. see the ball, 2. track the ball, 3. determine the spin of the ball, 4, decide whether or not he can hit it, 5. pull the trigger and wsing or not

Paradise Tennant: hi kiremimi :))

kenji Pookes: Hi Kiremimi

Pema Pera: (Kenji, you see I conjured up Kiremimi :-)

SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi Kiremimi

Pema Pera: yes, that must be a very intense experience, Kenji

kenji Pookes: I guess so. Back to the baseball--the experience of hitting is extremely visual, so much so that one has to become one with bat and ball. Very intimate.

Pema Pera: yes, I can see that

kenji Pookes: Bad pun.

Pema Pera: not intended :-)

Pema Pera: of course, all senses can be intimate, certainly touch and smell and taste

Paradise Tennant: hm use to find it you hit it right .. the sound of connecting would tell you whether or not you had a home run.. :))

Pema Pera: but sound seems to connect people more intimately than sight, i guess -- but that's just a conjecture based on what I've heard and seen (no pun!)

kenji Pookes: Yes the sound can do that, but the feel can too. I think my point is that sound, feel, sight are intertwined and can all be equally intimate. more intensely so when they are truly connected

Fortune Crystal: nods

Pema Pera: yes for sure!

Pema Pera: Kiremimi and Kenji, you already met in SL, right?

Kiremimi Tigerpaw: yes we did

kenji Pookes: Yes, we did

Kiremimi Tigerpaw: at kira cafe

kenji Pookes: Unfortunately, I had to run to go and take my kid to a baseball practice, I think

Pema Pera: :)

kenji Pookes: It was something like that, in any case.

Kiremimi Tigerpaw: nice to see you here

aurel Miles: i am falling asleep must be off - niight all

SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Aurel, me too :)) bye all

Pema Pera: bye Aurel!

Paradise Tennant: nite nite aureal

Paradise Tennant: sigh .. late on the east coast I should go too :)) be well everyone namaste :))

Pema Pera: bye Paradise!

kenji Pookes: Goodnight!

Fortune Crystal: Have a wonderful day everyone!

kenji Pookes: Good night Fortune

Pema Pera: bye Fortune!

Pema Pera: about time for lunch for me here, in Tokyo

Pema Pera: well, I'll join my colleagues in RL

Pema Pera: Nice to meet you, Kenji!

Pema Pera: Bye Peer, Kenji, Kire

kenji Pookes: Nice to meet you, too, Pema

Kiremimi Tigerpaw: by pema

kenji Pookes: Cheers