2009.11.11 01:00 - love indicates reality

The Guardian for this meeting was Bolonath Crystal. The comments are by Bolonath Crystal.

    Bolonath Crystal: namaste repose :)
    Repose Lionheart: Hi -- is a young av inappropriate for this group?
    Bolonath Crystal: not at all :) have a seat
    Repose Lionheart: great
    Bolonath Crystal: is this your first visit here?
    Repose Lionheart: my second
    Bolonath Crystal: ah, great. so you already know that the meetings are recorded and published on our wiki page? is that ok with you?
    Repose Lionheart: that's fine with me ã‹¡
    Bolonath Crystal: fine
    Repose Lionheart: ah -- i see you're hosting
    Bolonath Crystal: yep
    Repose Lionheart: i'm new to sl, too
    Repose Lionheart: mid-August this year
    Bolonath Crystal: oh, so you are much more experienced than me... i registered just a few weeks ago
    Repose Lionheart: lol!

sl as a way to reexperience childhood

    Repose Lionheart: well, I must be becomming what they call an "elder"!
    Bolonath Crystal: we all must ;)
    Repose Lionheart: there is some prejudice about young avs in sl
    Repose Lionheart: seems like a good way to test the tolerance of a place
    Bolonath Crystal nods
    Bolonath Crystal: do you like to tell me about your experiences?
    Repose Lionheart: well, I've learned to change avs like socks
    Repose Lionheart: though my human avs always seem to look like me in rl
    Repose Lionheart: the psychology of this place must be interestng
    Bolonath Crystal: how old are you in rl, may i ask?
    Repose Lionheart: over 18 Bolonath
    Repose Lionheart: street legal!
    Repose Lionheart: One thing i find aluable about al
    Repose Lionheart: is the anonimity
    Repose Lionheart: what i am in rl raises walls between me and many people
    Repose Lionheart: i like being present with people -- just a heart and a mind
    Bolonath Crystal: somehow when one sees a young av, one assumes that there is also a young rl user behind
    Bolonath Crystal: which is of course nonsense
    Repose Lionheart: there are many reasons people wear young avs
    Repose Lionheart: i was just dancing at the Vortex -- a young av hangout
    Repose Lionheart: the av was appropriate for the venue
    Repose Lionheart: also -- some people werehurt as kids
    --BELL--
    Repose Lionheart: and it can be deeply healing to reexperience being a kid and being happy at the same time
    Bolonath Crystal: i never thought of using sl as a kind of therapy
    Bolonath Crystal: interesting
    Repose Lionheart: yes, for some it is
    Repose Lionheart: it gives an interesting paralax on experience in rl
    Repose Lionheart: forgive my spelling -- i'm tired
    Bolonath Crystal: never mind :)
    Repose Lionheart: yep
    Bolonath Crystal: i am using sl as a kind of 'higher developed telephone' *g*
    Bolonath Crystal: so my av is not very unlike my rl incarnation
    Repose Lionheart: oh -- how does that work?
    Repose Lionheart: i see
    Bolonath Crystal: it gives me the opportunity to vommunicate with ppl i probably never have met otherwise
    Bolonath Crystal: communicate*
    Repose Lionheart: yes, that's for certain
    Repose Lionheart: the first gathering like this was attended by people from France, Italy Malta and several other places
    Repose Lionheart: including me from California
    Bolonath Crystal: yes, there are ppl from many places in this group. i am german
    Repose Lionheart: Oh! Wouldn't have guessed
    Bolonath Crystal: well, how could you? ;)
    Repose Lionheart: everyone in the world has better language skills than Americans!
    Bolonath Crystal: lol, i wouldn't generalize that
    Repose Lionheart: I know -- was teasing a bit. ã‹¡
    Bolonath Crystal: ;)

'many ways to drive oneself deeper'

    Repose Lionheart: So, you practice a varient of Hinduism?
    Bolonath Crystal: i am an advaita vedantin. that's a kind of indian philosophy
    Bolonath Crystal: but not neccessarily hindu
    Repose Lionheart: yes
    Bolonath Crystal: it seems to be compatible with buddhism as well
    Repose Lionheart: ISKCON?
    Bolonath Crystal: no, i am not devotional enough for that
    Repose Lionheart: I see -- more jnana yoga
    Bolonath Crystal: iskcon is not 'advaita' at all. it is rather typical dvaita
    Repose Lionheart: oh, yes
    Bolonath Crystal: you know a lot about yoga :)
    Repose Lionheart: no, only a little...
    Repose Lionheart: practice in my own way, i suppose
    Bolonath Crystal: are you practising yoga in any form?
    Bolonath Crystal: ah
    Bolonath Crystal: you were faster *g*
    Repose Lionheart: LOL
    Repose Lionheart: there are many ways to drive oneself deeper
    Bolonath Crystal: sure
    Repose Lionheart: not sure if i'm doing what needs doing in this place
    Bolonath Crystal: pls tell me about your practice. i am always interested in learning new ways
    --BELL--
    Repose Lionheart: this conversation is interesting to me -- but am i supposed to be doing anything differently?
    Bolonath Crystal: feel free to do as you like :)
    Repose Lionheart: oh, there we go
    Repose Lionheart: ok
    Repose Lionheart: tell me about your own practice
    Bolonath Crystal: my fav practice is raja yoga
    Repose Lionheart: ahhh
    Repose Lionheart: do you spend time on it every day?
    Bolonath Crystal: i try to embed my practice in my daily life
    Repose Lionheart: yes, as do i
    Bolonath Crystal: i am not meditating regularly as i should...
    Bolonath Crystal: but as time and mood permits *g*
    Repose Lionheart: discipline is easier for the old they say
    Bolonath Crystal: thank you. makes me feel young, lol
    Repose Lionheart: lol
    Repose Lionheart: good --plenty of time left
    Bolonath Crystal: have you heard about swami sivananda btw?
    Repose Lionheart: too, there are state of mind in which the passage of time is irrelevant and nearly unnoticed
    Bolonath Crystal nods
    Repose Lionheart: he sounds familiar
    Repose Lionheart: but i can't quite place him
    Bolonath Crystal: he was a qutie famous yoga teacher in the 19./20 century in india
    Repose Lionheart: oh, yes
    Bolonath Crystal: set up the sivananda tradition
    Repose Lionheart: yes
    Bolonath Crystal: my teacher was a disciple of swami vishnu-devananda, a disciple of sivananda. vishnu-devananda founded a numver of sivananda-ashrams in us and cananda
    Repose Lionheart: oh, i see
    Bolonath Crystal: oops, sorry for type mismatch
    Repose Lionheart: don't woory about it
    Bolonath Crystal: :)
    Repose Lionheart: i can hardly see my own keyboard i'm so tired ã‹¡

'any world in which love is possible is truly real'

    Repose Lionheart: what are your early impressions of sl?
    Bolonath Crystal: i am not yet familiar with all the possibilities here. in the beginning it was somewhat confusing
    Repose Lionheart: Yes, I agree with confusing!
    Bolonath Crystal: but i got a lot of help from the ppl here :)
    Repose Lionheart: yes, i too...
    Repose Lionheart: And I beginning to find people who've thought deeply about the nature of this place
    Repose Lionheart: I'm
    Repose Lionheart: this is very much a real world
    Repose Lionheart: any worlld in which love is possible is truly real
    --BELL--
    Bolonath Crystal: yes, in it's own way it is real. real ppl in a virtual environment
    Repose Lionheart: ahhh...nice custom, that
    Repose Lionheart: an environment with its own different social and psychological dynamics
    Bolonath Crystal: as an advaita vedantin, rl is not too real anyway. so sl is just another illusion on a different level
    Repose Lionheart: yes, of course -- never put that together, but should have.
    Repose Lionheart: interesting perspective
    Repose Lionheart: must be about 11 am where you are?
    Bolonath Crystal nods
    Repose Lionheart: I've got to go get some sleep -- middle of the night here, I'm afraid
    Bolonath Crystal: yes
    Repose Lionheart: Thanks, Bolonath -- good to meet you!
    Bolonath Crystal: thank you for the conversation. it was very nice meeting you :)