2009.09.29 13:00 - Malta retreat revealed

The Guardian for this meeting was Mickorod Renard.

  Bodacious Lemondrop

 Mickorod Renard: hi bodacious
    bodacious Lemondrop: hi, may i sit?
    Yakuzza Lethecus: sure
    bodacious Lemondrop: thanks
    Bertram Jacobus: hello bodacious :-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: hi
    Mickorod Renard: are you new here?
    bodacious Lemondrop: somewhat
    bodacious Lemondrop: new to this place
    Mickorod Renard: well the chat here is logged and made public on a wiki
    bodacious Lemondrop: excellent
    Mickorod Renard: so if you are uncomfortable with that let me know
    bodacious Lemondrop: no
    bodacious Lemondrop: not at all
    Mickorod Renard: hey,,have we lost Yaku?
    Bertram Jacobus: did you find this place by chance bodacious ? :-)
    Bertram Jacobus: yes.yaku disappeared ;-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes.,,,was sifting through the many philosophies, discussions etc
    Mickorod Renard: lol
    bodacious Lemondrop: and came here to walk and be
    Mickorod Renard: you can read up on our past chats on the wiki
    bodacious Lemondrop: thank you
    Bertram Jacobus: whaow - i found this place too by chance few month ago ... :-)
    Mickorod Renard: some days we chat in a more regulated way,,on certain topics
    bodacious Lemondrop: and you meet and discuss
    bodacious Lemondrop: or just sit?
    Mickorod Renard: bit of both
    Bertram Jacobus: we talk
    bodacious Lemondrop: can i ask your backgrounds?
    Mickorod Renard: I am not young and have a varied background
    Mickorod Renard: I work in education
    Mickorod Renard: am interested in philosophy and anything almost
    Bertram Jacobus: re yaku ... :-)
    Yakuzza Lethecus: thx
    bodacious Lemondrop: are you connected with a certain type of buddhism or meditation?
    Bertram Jacobus: and the backgrounds of the people here are various ... which one is yours bodacious ? :-)
    Mickorod Renard: I am christian, but the trend here is more Budhist
    bodacious Lemondrop: i practiced a japanese form of buddhism for over 25 years...
    bodacious Lemondrop: then i moved on to advaita vedanta (more hindu)
    bodacious Lemondrop: the practice of non duality
    Mickorod Renard: we have regulars from all corners of the world and religions
    Mickorod Renard: that sounds very interesting
    Bertram Jacobus: but here are also not religious orientated people and hindu and islam ...
    bodacious Lemondrop: that is good
    bodacious Lemondrop: i am more into the practice of being
    bodacious Lemondrop: mindfulness
    Mickorod Renard: sounds like this is the place for you
    bodacious Lemondrop: i guess i "stumbled" into the right place!
    Bertram Jacobus: the practise of being is exact that what happens here (!) :-)
    Mickorod Renard: yes, I would say so
    bodacious Lemondrop: excellent!
    Mickorod Renard: maybe you can tell us a little about what you have practiced?
    bodacious Lemondrop: me?
    Mickorod Renard: yes
    bodacious Lemondrop: i chanted for many years...but gave that up
    bodacious Lemondrop: i feel that each moment is a meditation, if you live each moment mindfully
    Bertram Jacobus: and i would like to ask : isn´t hindu practise mostly linked with one or more gods ?
    bodacious Lemondrop: then the need for chanting, or prayer is not necessary if you dont feel impulsed to do so
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes, hindu religion is a belief of many gods
    bodacious Lemondrop: that is not what i am into
    Bertram Jacobus: i understand you very well bodacious ... :-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: advaita is more of what Ekhart Tolle and others believe in
    Mickorod Renard: I am not very good at practicing anything..but I like to learn heaps
    Bertram Jacobus: interesting ... and advaita does not include gods ?
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes, i am the same
    bodacious Lemondrop: no not really
    bodacious Lemondrop: check out adyashanti.org
    Yakuzza Lethecus: i think the same, i am also not great in practicing, but i try to keep in contact in order to   pick up things :)
    bodacious Lemondrop: he was a zen monk who got into advaita
    Bertram Jacobus: hello agatha ... :-)
    Mickorod Renard: you sound very knowledgable Bodacious
    Bertram Jacobus: ty for the url bodacious ! :-))
    bodacious Lemondrop: you're most welcome
    bodacious Lemondrop: thanks, Mickorod
    bodacious Lemondrop: :)
    Mickorod Renard: ok,,back on again
    Mickorod Renard: yes, we have been doing lots of work in connection to being
    Mickorod Renard: but there are certain members who drive it well
    Mickorod Renard: and we try and learn
    Mickorod Renard: Bert, you are Buddhist yes?
    Bertram Jacobus: i was ... ;-)
    Mickorod Renard: and what about you Yaku,,any preference?
    Bertram Jacobus: nowadays i try to be on all ways which are linked with love ...
    Bertram Jacobus: yaku seems to be away as sometimes...
    Mickorod Renard: thats strange, I think I am similar Bert
    Bertram Jacobus: in the deep spheres of the net ... ;-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: i think they're two emotions, fear and love
    Bertram Jacobus: yaku*
    Mickorod Renard: yes,,he is into philosophy..no doubt thinking hard
    Bertram Jacobus: for me the contraries are fear and trust - and love and hate ...
    Yakuzza Lethecus: oh, i was grabbing a drink and got the philosophyclass on 2nd monitor :P
    bodacious Lemondrop: but do you agree that hate comes from fear?
    bodacious Lemondrop: trust comes from love...the trust of the divine
    Bertram Jacobus: at least one reason bodacious, yes
    Mickorod Renard: I think hate comes from a loss of power
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes, that is true as well
    bodacious Lemondrop: and stems in the egoic self
    Mickorod Renard: yes
    Bertram Jacobus: there we have another one. yes mick :-)
    Mickorod Renard: I look back and see that i was too much of a control freak
    bodacious Lemondrop: funny i was a control freak as well
    Mickorod Renard: and many of what I dislike about myself has its origins there
    bodacious Lemondrop: and now i realize there is nothing to control
    Mickorod Renard: me too
    bodacious Lemondrop: its much more freeing, no?
    SophiaSharon Larnia is very sleepy, but listening :))
    Mickorod Renard: but breaking the habit is not exactly easy
    Mickorod Renard: yes,,very freeing
    Bertram Jacobus: feel comfortable sophia ! :-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: no, the cellular body, the wounds, the habits all want to go there
    SophiaSharon Larnia curls up with blanket
    Bertram Jacobus: :-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: it takes resolve to stand up and see that its all just drama
    Mickorod Renard: nice
    Mickorod Renard: yes, and in some cases a catalist
    Mickorod Renard: catylist
    Mickorod Renard: oh well,,u know what I mean
    bodacious Lemondrop: how so?
    Mickorod Renard: well,,sometimes it takes a shock,,or a loss of something that cannot be controlled,,to accept that control is so frugal
    bodacious Lemondrop: ahh...yes, you are so right
    Mickorod Renard: like a traumatic event
    bodacious Lemondrop: everything is changing in every moment, its hard to hold on to anything
    Mickorod Renard: its better to appreciate what is
    Mickorod Renard: and to see,,all that one can
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes, and accept what is...even if you cant always appreciate it
    Mickorod Renard: yes
    bodacious Lemondrop: well, it seems we got that covered...
    bodacious Lemondrop: hehehe
    Yakuzza Lethecus: nabend wol :)
    Mickorod Renard: its like a refreshing breeze..instead of stagnant clutching
    Mickorod Renard: Hiya,,Bodacious is new to here
    Mickorod Renard: but she is no novice to being
    bodacious Lemondrop: blush
    Wol Euler: ah, another canadian :)
    bodacious Lemondrop: yes!
    Wol Euler: welcome
    bodacious Lemondrop: thank you
    Mickorod Renard: a lot quieter than lastnight
    Bertram Jacobus: yeeaah :-)
    bodacious Lemondrop: yw
    Wol Euler is all tired out from a very long day at work
    Mickorod Renard: yes?
    SophiaSharon Larnia is napping on the couch :)
    Wol Euler: yep
    arabella Ella: did you all get the info I sent to the group about the Malta retreat in January?
    Mickorod Renard: me too,,but here is a little less stressful
    Wol Euler: yes, indeed, it sounds wonderful. Count me in.
    Bertram Jacobus: so relax wol sophia is also already curled in a carpet ... ;-)
    Yakuzza Lethecus: but don´t fall alspeep sophia :)
    SophiaSharon Larnia: grins
    Mickorod Renard: are you going Wol?
    arabella Ella: fantastic Wol would be great to have you join us here
    Mickorod Renard: well,,there is no way I can miss it then
    Wol Euler grins
    Mickorod Renard: he he
    Wol Euler: you flatterer.
    arabella Ella: and I am offering to provide a personal taxi service from airport to the hotel
    Bertram Jacobus: i did not check my mails yet ...
    arabella Ella: better check it out Bert ... it could be an offer you may find difficult to refuse :)
    Mickorod Renard: well, I am not so sure about women drivers
    arabella Ella: hey Mick that is unfair
    Mickorod Renard: may be too scary
    Wol Euler: boo.
    SophiaSharon Larnia: hiss.
    Mickorod Renard: eeek
    Bertram Jacobus: lol
    arabella Ella: if Wol only has hand luggage I could even offer to go to airport on my bike ... more fun
    Wol Euler: ha!
    Wol Euler: just for that, I will take only my backpack. YOu'Re on.
    arabella Ella: :)
    Pema Pera: Hi everybody!
    Mickorod Renard: Bodacious is new to the PaB Pema
    Bertram Jacobus: lol. one should take a film of that: ara and wol on ONE bike (!) ... :-)
    Pema Pera: Hi Bodacious, welcome!
    bodacious Lemondrop: thank you
    arabella Ella: no way Bert ... he he ... I cannot imagine that on Youtube
    Pema Pera: talking about a scene during the upcoming Malta retreat???
    arabella Ella: :)

    arabella Ella: yes
    Pema Pera: hehehe
    arabella Ella: Wol just said she is interested and i offered to meet her at airport on my bike
    Pema Pera: a motorbike right?
    arabella Ella: and Lia is interested too
    Pema Pera: I'd be interested!
    arabella Ella: and I am offering a personal taxi service from the airport
    Pema Pera: years ago since I rode a bike
    Mickorod Renard: am I going to be the only man,,other than Pema?
    Wol Euler grins
    Pema Pera: my first motorbike was two years older than I was
    arabella Ella: you may ride mine here Pema ... but it is more a large scooter rather than a proper motorbike ... but good enough for me and 250 cc anyway :)
    Pema Pera: sounds good, Arabella!
    arabella Ella: :)
    Yakuzza Lethecus: Right now i also consider to join you in malta :)
    Pema Pera: great!
    arabella Ella: fantastic Yaku
    Mickorod Renard: wow
    arabella Ella: it will be a great experience no doubt
    Wol Euler cheers
    Pema Pera: another Man, Mick, so not to worry :)
    arabella Ella: he he
    Mickorod Renard: phew
    Wol Euler: I wonder, should we make nametags?
    Pema Pera: :)
    Pema Pera: face tags, perhaps, with avatar faces!
    Pema Pera: or masks
    Wol Euler: yep, and SL names
    SophiaSharon Larnia: laughs
    Mickorod Renard: with our real names on? mine is the same
    Pema Pera: I can bring long copper colored hair with me . . . .
    Wol Euler: :)
    arabella Ella: I have worked in tourism in the past so i can easily recognise people I have never met before
    Pema Pera: wow
    arabella Ella: I will come to the airport with a board saying 'Wol'
    Wol Euler: :)
    Wol Euler: the farmhouse sounds marvellous, ara.
    arabella Ella: thanks ... I never knew it existed but i asked around
    Pema Pera: I just realized I'm the only one in the group of 8 here that was at the first retreat -- anyway, we had no confusing whatsoever with the 12 of us; in a few minutes, you knew clearly who was who; the personalities shown through so very clearly!
    Wol Euler: oh yes )
    Pema Pera: Well, Wol has met a fair number of us in the last few months
    Wol Euler: I found at the wedding that it took only about half an hour to get used to the flesh avatar :)
    Wol Euler: just another Appearance, really.
    Mickorod Renard: I may come incognito
    Wol Euler: the cigar smoke will give you away.
    Pema Pera: hehehe
    Mickorod Renard: sorry,,cant resist being stupid
    Mickorod Renard: it may be a givaway
    Pema Pera: it must become an interesting place: a mix of cigar smoke and motorcycle exhaust
    Wol Euler laughs
    Bertram Jacobus: hello eos ... :-)
    Pema Pera: Hi Eos!
    Wol Euler: pema, will you be there?
    Eos Amaterasu: Hi gang!
    Pema Pera: sure!
    Pema Pera: Eos, we're recruiting for Malta, will you be there too?
    arabella Ella: Well Pema my bike is only a year old so it should still be exhaust free and very environmentally friendly :)
    Eos Amaterasu: Hmm, tempting....
    Pema Pera: Mick was scared he would be there with too many women . . .
    arabella Ella: It would be great if you could join us too Eos
    Pema Pera: so he can now relax
    Mickorod Renard: yea,,well I think they beat me up here a bit
    arabella Ella: but Mick that's Brits for you!
    Mickorod Renard: true
    arabella Ella: not likely to be many Brits at Malta retreat
    arabella Ella: we may spoil you ... you never know
    Mickorod Renard: I will just meditate on that for a bit
    arabella Ella: (although we will need someone to do some cooking)
    arabella Ella: :)
    Wol Euler suggests taking turns.
    Mickorod Renard: like swap?
    Wol Euler: or a rota.
    Pema Pera: :)
    arabella Ella: perhaps we could encourage the new profs from the virtual phenomenology group to come over and do some japanese cooking for us
    Wol Euler: there should be enough of us that everyone would only have to cook once
    Pema Pera: now that's an idea!!
    arabella Ella: yes
    Wol Euler: and we would still have the option of restaurant or takeaway.
    arabella Ella: :)
    Caledonia Heron: hello :)
     Wol Euler: wow, fancy meeting you at a time like this :)
    Caledonia Heron: :)
    Eos Amaterasu: How many are signed up for Malta?
    arabella Ella: only around 4 so far but we only just started
    Pema Pera: more than that have expressed interest, I believe, Ara:
    arabella Ella: yes
    Pema Pera: Eos, Lia, Bertram, Doug, Yaku, Mick, Wol, Pema
    Pema Pera: did I leave out someone?
    Pema Pera: Arabella!
    Pema Pera: hehehe
    SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
    Mickorod Renard: he he
    arabella Ella: and maybe we could encourage Fefonz and Zen too
    Pema Pera: nine in total so far
    arabella Ella: the guest house only has 12 rooms
    Bertram Jacobus: only two women ... ;o)
    arabella Ella: :)
    Mickorod Renard: will there be lots of silent stuff?
    arabella Ella: not if you are around Mick :)
    Wol Euler: I hope so :)
    Wol Euler: ha!!!
    Pema Pera: a day of no talking, and a day of no eating, and a day of no smoking . . . .
    Mickorod Renard: we have been informed the women will do rota
    arabella Ella: he he ... you wish
    Wol Euler scowls and throws a cushion at you
    arabella Ella: dream on
    Mickorod Renard: I think I need to bring my dishwasher
    Bolonath Crystal: namaste
    Yakuzza Lethecus: good night everyone
    Bertram Jacobus: ara - did i read that correct ? : the price for the guesthouse is 25 € a day and for the farmhouse 30 € a day, so that we have to pay 55 € a day each ?
    Pema Pera: Alas, RL calling -- glad to hear the excitement about Malta!
    Pema Pera: bye everybody!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: quietly slips away :) Bye everyone
    arabella Ella: yes Bert you got it right ... the guest house is not expensive and the meditation farmhouse have asked for a donation so i have suggested euro.30 per person per day
    arabella Ella: but if we are quite a few we could reduce our contribution for the meditation farmhouse too
    arabella Ella: and it may be likely i can provide transport ... we will look into that closer to the date
    Mickorod Renard: how many days is it?
    Mickorod Renard: cos it will total up
    arabella Ella: it's minimun three full days
    arabella Ella: at around Euro.55 per day
    Bertram Jacobus: i see ... but what i did not see yet : when shall the retreat be (!) ? :-)
    Mickorod Renard: then other than that would be outside the farmhouse?
    Eos Amaterasu: & maximum 5 days?
    arabella Ella: 25-29 Jan
    Bertram Jacobus: okay ...
    arabella Ella: 26-28 are the retreat itself
    arabella Ella: and if anyone wishes I can organise a trip to Gozo on 29
    bodacious Lemondrop: it was nice to meet you all, have fun planning your Malta retreat
    bodacious Lemondrop: so long!
    Wol Euler: bye bodie, take care
    Bertram Jacobus: hope to see you again bodacious ! :-)
    arabella Ella: one suggestion i would like to bring up with Pema is
    arabella Ella: to use the guest house for the retreat on day one
    Mickorod Renard: of the 5 days?
    arabella Ella: and to just use the farmhouse on day two and day three and possibly camp there at night too for the adventure
    arabella Ella: but that is just a suggestion
    Bertram Jacobus: sounds not bad to me ...
    Mickorod Renard: well,,it sounds fun
    arabella Ella: its very easy to fly here from germany Bert
    arabella Ella: lots of flights from different destinations
    Mickorod Renard: and from the uk
    arabella Ella: yes
    Bertram Jacobus: easy yes, but the question will be how expensive ...
    Mickorod Renard: depends what days the flights are
    Eos Amaterasu: round trip costs
    Mickorod Renard: does ryanair fly from germany?
    arabella Ella: yes but there are two daily flights from frankfurt for example
    arabella Ella: not sure about ryanair
    arabella Ella: regular airlines can often be just as cheap nowadays
    Bertram Jacobus: i´ll try to check it out ...
    Mickorod Renard: well,,maybe I will av to look it up
    arabella Ella: air malta and lufthansa have regular flights from germany
    Bolonath Crystal: ryanair flies from bonn, as far as a know
    arabella Ella: not sure if they fly to malta from bonn
    arabella Ella: where are you Bert ... closest airport i mean?
    Mickorod Renard: I better get saving,,and maybe santa will leave me some tickets too
    Bertram Jacobus: frnkfurt would be ok, also düsseldorf
    arabella Ella: ah ok
    arabella Ella: just checked ryanair
    arabella Ella: they dont fly here from germany
    arabella Ella: but air malta and lufthansa do so regularly
    arabella Ella: and end of january is low season
    Bertram Jacobus: i´ll check the prices ...
    Mickorod Renard: may need some woolies as the weather wont be soo hot
    Eos Amaterasu: Highly recommend doing the RL retreat, by the way :-)
    Bertram Jacobus: and very kind that you want to do the transfers ara ! :-)
    arabella Ella: :)
    Mickorod Renard: yes,,a very kind gesture
    arabella Ella: Malta is small you can get to so many places here in just 30 mins
    arabella Ella: and the timing is good so i will be able to get away from work
    Bertram Jacobus: how are the teperatures in january there ?
    arabella Ella: often daytime between 15 - 18 celsius
    arabella Ella: nightime is cold but never below 0
    Wol Euler shivers
    Mickorod Renard: thats my problem,,i will have to negociate to get out of work,,supposed to stick to school hols
    Bertram Jacobus: "okay"... ;-)
    arabella Ella: it is like spring in germany
    Bertram Jacobus: warmer then in germany ... :-) - yes
    Eos Amaterasu is being called, slips away... thnx all
    arabella Ella: Bert if you wish to check out airmalta
    arabella Ella: it is
    arabella Ella: www.airmalta.com
    arabella Ella: and Yaku and Wol too of course
    Bertram Jacobus: i´ll have a look soon. but not now. ty ;-)
    Wol Euler: :)
    arabella Ella: ok
    arabella Ella: no rush
    Mickorod Renard: ok folks,,I have to go home
    Mickorod Renard: bye,,nameste
    Bertram Jacobus: okay ... i´ll leave too ...
    Wol Euler: I shall head off too, get an early night for once.
    Bolonath Crystal: and nite ara, i'm leaving 2
    arabella Ella: nite Bolonath