2009.12.20 07:00 – Pizza and Onion

Vendy Walpole: Welcome Aidan!
Vendy Walpole: Hello :-)
Aidan Spiritor: hello Wendy
Vendy Walpole: I am not sure have I seen you here before?
Vendy Walpole: Is this your first time?
Aidan Spiritor: Not first time but you may not have been here when I was last here
Aidan Spiritor: Is session planned for this time?
Vendy Walpole: Yes
Vendy Walpole: It starts at 7 am SLT
Aidan Spiritor: OK If I sit in for a while?
Vendy Walpole: There are 4 sessions a day
Aidan Spiritor: I see
Aidan Spiritor: thank you
Bertram Jacobus: hello aidan and vendy ! :-)
Vendy Walpole: Of course, you are most welcome, we are open for all who wish to attend and join us
Vendy Walpole: Hello Bertram :-)
Aidan Spiritor: very well
Aidan Spiritor: Hello Bertram
Vendy Walpole: You know that we record the chat and edit it on the web site if you allow with your part too?
Aidan Spiritor: No problem
Vendy Walpole: If you do not want your lines be edited, we shall remove them
Vendy Walpole: Okay
Vendy Walpole smile
Aidan Spiritor: No need
Bertram Jacobus: no cavy today vendy? (wasn´t it your ava yesterday?) ... ;-)
Vendy Walpole: No mouse today :(
Bertram Jacobus: oh - why :-( :-( ? ;-)
Vendy Walpole: I let her sleep beside the fire place
Bertram Jacobus: okay ...
Bertram Jacobus: and hello sophia (!) ... ;-)
Vendy Walpole: Thought that visitors could think we are tiny group :-))
Bertram Jacobus: lol I see
SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi everyone :)
Vendy Walpole waves to Sofia
Vendy Walpole: Hello Sophia
Aidan Spiritor: Helo
SophiaSharon Larnia: helllllo
Aidan Spiritor: hello :-)
Vendy Walpole: I must admit I feel more comfortable as a mouse though.
Vendy Walpole chuckles
SophiaSharon Larnia: avatars?
Vendy Walpole: yes
Bertram Jacobus: yes. strange ... ;-)
Vendy Walpole: using this as a more official one
SophiaSharon Larnia: ah yes, i feel strange when i take off the ears and tail lol
Vendy Walpole: that is very intersting, as they are true part of us
SophiaSharon Larnia: have an official one too, now that you mention it lol
Vendy Walpole: or perhaps they are part of our inner selves
SophiaSharon Larnia: inner selves, yes
Bertram Jacobus: for me its only strange when i used a female ava ...
Vendy Walpole: How did you feel Bertram?
Vendy Walpole: You used it yesterday I think?
Bertram Jacobus: that was not strange yesterday. Because it was the ava of a female friend and the reason was to help and to show her ...
Bertram Jacobus: oh mom please - my pizza ! .... :-)
Vendy Walpole: So, there was no connection between you and the avatar
SophiaSharon Larnia: lol Bertram, are you okay ;)
Vendy Walpole: Sure
Bertram Jacobus: but as i built a female ava by myself once because of curiosity - THAT was strange ! ...
Bertram Jacobus: ty. yes. why shouldn´t i sophia ? :-)
SophiaSharon Larnia: i didn’t understand the pizza reference :)
Vendy Walpole: well, me too, thought pizza is coming
SophiaSharon Larnia: did someone grab the log?
Vendy Walpole: yes, i did
SophiaSharon Larnia: ok :)
Vendy Walpole: Instead of Adams
SophiaSharon Larnia: nods
Vendy Walpole: This is his slot
SophiaSharon Larnia: I had a male avatar once, but cancelled the account
Vendy Walpole: I would like to try to see the world with male eyes
Vendy Walpole: How was it to you Sophia?
Bertram Jacobus: pizza is ready here. out of my oven :-)
SophiaSharon Larnia: alt i meant... I kept telling anyone I talked to I was female... I couldn't seem to stop myself
Vendy Walpole: hahahaha
SophiaSharon Larnia: giggles
Vendy Walpole: Will you share the pizza with us?
Vendy Walpole: I am rather hungry.
--BELL—
The conversation shifts… from the pizza to our insights about PaB, then a shift to the interaction between different worlds and a new shift happens, towards the emptiness…
Bertram Jacobus: i would like so veery much, but the technique is not able yet to do that (!)
Bertram Jacobus: i regret that very often ...
Vendy Walpole nods
SophiaSharon Larnia is hungry from shoveling 2 feet of snow (not done yet :( )
Bertram Jacobus: aidan - you have an interesting profile - how did you find this place ? ... :-)
Vendy Walpole: This sharing pizza between two worlds reminds me of Project Natal I saw recently
Aidan Spiritor: I found it through friends
Bertram Jacobus: ah. nice :-)
Bertram Jacobus: natal project ? what is that ?
Vendy Walpole: Did you get our info notice last time Aidan?
Aidan Spiritor: friends in the buddhist community
Vendy Walpole: I was shocked when saw the video
Vendy Walpole: Let me give you the link please
Aidan Spiritor: no, I've been away from sl for a month or so now
Vendy Walpole: Let me explain you shortly then
Vendy Walpole: first to Aidan;
Vendy Walpole: we meet here daily at 1;7 am slt and 1;7pm slt
Vendy Walpole: to chat, discuss and share our experiences
Vendy Walpole: in mostly playful way
Aidan Spiritor: Thank you for the link...
Vendy Walpole: but the core of PaB is to explore the nature of reality
Vendy Walpole: You are welcome Aidan
SophiaSharon Larnia: I remember seeing you before Aiden, nice to see you
Vendy Walpole: And we do that practicing micro meditations here and in every day life
Aidan Spiritor: so , what are the latest insights any of you have gained into the nature of reality?
Vendy Walpole: Each 15 minutes and they last about 9 seconds in RL, here 90 seconds
SophiaSharon Larnia: grins
Aidan Spiritor: Nice to see you too
Bertram Jacobus: i don´t do this meditation very often i would like to admit ...
Vendy Walpole: We are explorers and travelers
SophiaSharon Larnia and does little else, since its so hard to say in words
Vendy Walpole: We do not have definite answers yet though there is common base
Vendy Walpole: There are 3 steps in this practice
Aidan Spiritor: I don't consider myself a Buddhist but do have an active practice.
Vendy Walpole: We are not only buddhists here though there are many
Bertram Jacobus: my latest experiences or impressions are : may be NOTHING is proved knowledge in the end (!) ...
Aidan Spiritor: Yes, I gathered..
Vendy Walpole: Have you read the book Siddhartha by Hesse Aidan?
Aidan Spiritor: what do you mean by "proved"?
Aidan Spiritor: No, I did not read that book but will now.
Bertram Jacobus: the scientific way of research : try and show and repeat
Vendy Walpole: In the book, a friend meet Siddhartha after he became Buddha and ask him:
Aidan Spiritor: I see. In my experience scientific method comes up short when addressing spiritual questions.
Vendy Walpole: "Please tell me what you have learned about the life. I know you know the meaning of life now."
Vendy Walpole: And Siddhartha replied that he would tell him but it won't be of help for his friend
Vendy Walpole: cause each should learn through own experience what is the meaning of life.
SophiaSharon Larnia experiences at the moment involves coming to grips with her own search for meaning
Vendy Walpole: I mention this in a purpose to tell you that each of us has own experiences of PaB practice
Vendy Walpole: and we share them here
Vendy Walpole: they are all unique
Vendy Walpole: but often similar
Vendy Walpole smile
Aidan Spiritor: As are our experiences generally..
Vendy Walpole: Yes
Bertram Jacobus: common AND separated i think sometimes ...
Vendy Walpole: I myself find this helpful to get better perception and to learn to be here now
Vendy Walpole: which is not easy.
Vendy Walpole: We practice mindfulness shortly said.
Bertram Jacobus: what especially do you find not easy vendy - if i may ask ? ...
Vendy Walpole: To be here and now Bertram
Vendy Walpole: It happens but not as much as I would like
Bertram Jacobus: ah okay. in general or related to the group vendy ?
Aidan Spiritor: Closest I have come to'experiencing reality' is glimpses of understanding "emptiness is form, form is emptiness"..

--BELL—

SophiaSharon Larnia: Can you say more Aiden?
Vendy Walpole to Bertram: generally speaking.
Bertram Jacobus: we had some or even some more talks here relating to the topic emptiness and some were not very comfortable with it and others were ... hm ;-)
Bertram Jacobus: i don´t remember who was who ... ;-)
Vendy Walpole: Emptiness for the ego mind sounds as something like death almost
SophiaSharon Larnia: oh? will have to read those logs, I've fallen quite behind
Bertram Jacobus: i like the topic !
Aidan Spiritor: I see. the concept can be frightening--or create a sense of groundlessness..
SophiaSharon Larnia: HI Eliza :)
Bertram Jacobus: yes
Vendy Walpole: Hello Eliza :-)
Bertram Jacobus: hello eliza ! ... :-)
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Sharon, Bert, Vendy, Aidan :)
Aidan Spiritor: Hello Eliza:-)
Eliza Madrigal: Nice to see you again Aidan :)
Aidan Spiritor: You too
Bertram Jacobus: and not everybody knows this topic -
SophiaSharon Larnia: it is frightening in a way, I'm not sure if I understand it enough to be frightened, or if I'm not frightened because i don't hold onto it as much as I think others do??/ I'm not sure
Aidan Spiritor: Hmmm
Eliza Madrigal: Which topic please?
Bertram Jacobus: emptiness
SophiaSharon Larnia: emptiness Eliza,
Eliza Madrigal: :) Wow, Nice
Bertram Jacobus: :-)
Aidan Spiritor: " emptiness is form, form is emptiness"
Eliza Madrigal: none other than ;-)
SophiaSharon Larnia: maybe see it as too conceptual
Vendy Walpole: I understand emptiness as a state of an observer who reaches the peace
Vendy Walpole: maybe I am wrong?
Aidan Spiritor: That could be a problem, needs to be experienced like Rigpa..
Bertram Jacobus: i follow the dalai lams explanation: it meant there is no inherent being , nowhere
SophiaSharon Larnia: nods
Eliza Madrigal: There are writings which refer to 16 kinds of emptiness...
Bertram Jacobus: sry for the typos please
SophiaSharon Larnia: my experience of emptiness has been floating on a sea of empty mind, not the same thing
Aidan Spiritor: do you recall any of them?
Vendy Walpole: 
Vendy Walpole: ah, no worries, I am the best in that - typos
SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles
Eliza Madrigal: For it is one of those brilliant things that has layers which open up into one another, in a way
Bertram Jacobus: hehe . okay . :-)
Eliza Madrigal: For *me, I meant to say
Vendy Walpole: I almost forgot...the Project Natal I mentioned is about interaction between two worlds which has been realized by Microsoft
Eliza Madrigal: And no, Aidan, I just thought it was interesting not to think as though we'd find one 'definition' ?
Bertram Jacobus: uups !? THAT sounds interesting !
Vendy Walpole: It is fascinating! I still can't believe
Vendy Walpole: let me give you the link
Bertram Jacobus: I’ll check that out - ty for the hint vendy ! :-)
Eliza Madrigal nods
Aidan Spiritor: I agree, words can point the way but fall very short of truly explaining it
SophiaSharon Larnia: interact in what way? Move something in a virtual world, and in the real world something moves?
Vendy Walpole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxU_T...eature=related
Vendy Walpole: In that video, there are two persons, each in one world, in rl and in virtual
Vendy Walpole: they communicate!
Eliza Madrigal: wow
Vendy Walpole: the avatar in the virtual world can see the real person and listen and react to her speaking (that is a woman)
Vendy Walpole: The "avatar" is a boy named Milo
SophiaSharon Larnia looks at her webcam
Eliza Madrigal thinks about imaginary friends .. this gets spooky
Vendy Walpole: who has emotions :-)
Eliza Madrigal: brb
SophiaSharon Larnia: what is moving the avatar?
Vendy Walpole: This is connected with pizza that Bertram got in his room, we could soon really share it
SophiaSharon Larnia: a person (did watch the whole thing
SophiaSharon Larnia: didnt*
Vendy Walpole: That world is very similar to SL
Bertram Jacobus: the latest generation of roboters can divide to their self belonging parts from not to themselves belonging parts (!) so that they can learn to move in rl ... thats called also learning by incorporation ...
SophiaSharon Larnia: how share it, a pizza cant be sent by pixels through to be manifested in a physical form
--BELL--
Worlds, layers and core… The part where the onion appears!
Vendy Walpole: well, the woman from the RL side of screen passed a piece of paper to the boy at the other side of the screen
SophiaSharon Larnia: yet* laughs
Bertram Jacobus: all this leads me to the thought that consciousness can be everywhere ...
Eliza Madrigal: I could not wait one second to show my son "Aidan" , whose face lit up watching that :)
Bertram Jacobus: :-)
SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles
Vendy Walpole: What actually happened, the boy scanned the text on the paper, read it, and the paper appeared in his hand
Vendy Walpole: virtual paper of course :-)
Eliza Madrigal: In watching that my mind instantly leaps to what comes after that...
Vendy Walpole: so, he knew what is written inthere
Eliza Madrigal: so fascinating
Vendy Walpole: yes, I can't stop thinking
Vendy Walpole: what follows!!!
Eliza Madrigal: !!!
Eliza Madrigal: No distance
Bertram Jacobus: for me, its a copy of our world , developing
Bertram Jacobus: all based on duality
Vendy Walpole: yes
SophiaSharon Larnia: i was just thinking that Bertram
Eliza Madrigal: yes, and the film "Avatar" coming out touches the same places
Bertram Jacobus: :-)
Vendy Walpole: and that copy is getting closer to the original
Vendy Walpole: I often ask myself how many layers the "reality" has
Bertram Jacobus: my impression is unbounded
Vendy Walpole: there is a core and layers, many of them, like in an onion
SophiaSharon Larnia: is there a core?
Eliza Madrigal: deeply embedded dream...
Bertram Jacobus: the core emptiness and the layers form
Eliza Madrigal smiles @Sharon :)
Vendy Walpole: That is Being, to me
Aidan Spiritor: Yes, Bertram that seems like a real possibility to me as well-I believe it may be referred to as "primordial consciousness"
Vendy Walpole: the core
Eliza Madrigal: well, all pointers I think
Bertram Jacobus: now i thought the same
Bertram Jacobus: eliza :-)
Eliza Madrigal: pointers can distractions or tools... yes?
SophiaSharon Larnia: like the term non-differentiated knowingness, looking it up
Aidan Spiritor: Yes, I agree
SophiaSharon Larnia: no layers there
Aidan Spiritor: Not sure what is meant by layers of emptiness?
Vendy Walpole: Layers of reality for me Aidan
Vendy Walpole: As i see it so far
Vendy Walpole: The core would be Being and ultimate reality and the layers are creation of the mind
Aidan Spiritor: Reality layers/ What would one layer be?
SophiaSharon Larnia: well, i meant that we were talking about a core and layers, primordial consciousness being the emptiness and non-differentiated knowingness being a definition of that, so the core no layers
Eliza Madrigal: yes I can see that... for me layers implies sheerness... transparency
Aidan Spiritor: HMMM..
Eliza Madrigal: form as not obstacle
Vendy Walpole: agree Eliza, that is only in the mind
SophiaSharon Larnia: just word play, I guess :)
Eliza Madrigal: but one can't get there trying or from 'outside' approach... so yes... the intrisic core...
Eliza Madrigal: no real need for layers, but I do like them :)
Eliza Madrigal: haha
Aidan Spiritor: Words fall short in describing the experience of emptiness..
Eliza Madrigal: absolutely
Vendy Walpole: and the experience of the truth either
Aidan Spiritor: But it seems words are the best tool we have other than practicing..
Vendy Walpole: yes, so far
Eliza Madrigal nods... and words can be pointers which can lessen 'our' density perhaps
Aidan Spiritor: And it's really fun to try :-)
Eliza Madrigal: Yes! :)
Vendy Walpole: Thats why we gather here to share through the words what we experience
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes, its nice when you get that locked in feeling, to a thought stream :)
Aidan Spiritor: Exactly..
Eliza Madrigal: Have to get going to another meeting. Thanks Vendy! Bye for now all :)
Bertram Jacobus: :-)
Vendy Walpole: Bye Eliza, see you
Bertram Jacobus: bye eliza ! ...
Aidan Spiritor: I need to go as well . BFN :-))
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Aiden :)
Vendy Walpole: Was nice to meet you Aidan
Bertram Jacobus: bye aidan . was nice to meet you !
SophiaSharon Larnia: whoops spelled you name wrong again sorry
Vendy Walpole: Bye! Have a great day.