2010.01.08 07:00 - Gardenias in the Darkest Hour of the Night

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    The Guardian for this meeting was Eliza Madrigal. The comments are by Eliza Madrigal who was joined by Geoff, Eden, SophiaSharon, Zen, and Yakuzza.

    Geoff has been away for a few weeks, and catching up with PaB, makes a few observations about recent discussions. This leads us to begin discussing how to handle change as individuals and groups.... 

    Like... What if each of us happened upon PaB each time as a friendly place we'd never been before.. where we perhaps sat each time with treasured & famliar friends, who always showed up in new avatars with different names ?

               

    Eliza Madrigal: Hey Geoff!
    Geoff Baily: hi Eliza
    Geoff Baily: nice to be here with you
    Eliza Madrigal: yes, you too :) It was such a lovely session yesterday too, wasn't it...
    Geoff Baily: interesting what comes up
    Geoff Baily: interesting what is not picked up!
    Eliza Madrigal: Hm, not picked up?
    Geoff Baily: not talked about
    Eliza Madrigal: Hm, curious now...
    Geoff Baily: you have been busy over the vacation
    Geoff Baily: lots of new thnings in PaB
    Geoff Baily: I have so much to learn
    Eliza Madrigal: Which new things? Sometimes when one is in the midst of something, sense of time changes :)
    Eliza Madrigal: Hi Eden :)
    Geoff Baily: the topic sessions, Hi!! Eden
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah!
    Geoff Baily: for example
    --BELL--
    Geoff Baily: also the ancient history of PaB is important; Hi Zen
    Eden Haiku: Good morning Eliza! Good afternoon Geoff and Zen!
    Zen Arado: Hi Geoff, Eden, Eliza
    Eliza Madrigal: Hi Zen :)
    Eden Haiku: No more snow in the pavilion...
    Eliza Madrigal: Ancient History of PaB... what an interesting phrase/title :)
    Eden Haiku: Early Spring ;-)
    Geoff Baily: yes
    Geoff Baily: spring of PaB, there is a long way to go I think
    Eden Haiku: Ah yes, piles of snow over there. With shovels! ;-)

    An observation I think to make, is that sometimes and especially in families, what one person experiences as a discussion, another can experience as an argument or conflict. Talking about the talking can be awkward, but if done from an open place, maybe well worth the trouble :)   


    Zen Arado: not much conflict here yet
    Zen Arado: usually happens with groups sooner or later unfortunately
    Geoff Baily: mmmm
    Zen Arado: but hope not
    Zen Arado: it isn't inevitable is it?
    Eden Haiku: Is there a schism in the making?
    Zen Arado: not that I know of
    Geoff Baily: unknowns
    Eden Haiku: Hope not ;-)
    Zen Arado: am I being pessimistic or realistic?
    Eliza Madrigal: I don't think so at all
    Eliza Madrigal: re schisms, etc.
    Geoff Baily: lots of creativity
    Eliza Madrigal nods...
    Geoff Baily: and new ideas
    Zen Arado: or of inevitability of conflicts
    Eliza Madrigal: things change, and in SL, things can change quite quickly...

    Missed Geoff's little joke during the session.. hah...


    Geoff Baily: lots to digest
    Geoff Baily: like at Christmas
    Zen Arado: hope it stays the way it is
    Geoff Baily: can't
    Geoff Baily: change is ever here
    Eliza Madrigal finds PaB a lovely refuge... and the changing nature to be part of the safety
    Eliza Madrigal: so many voices, so many angles...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi everyone :)
    Eliza Madrigal: Hi Sharon! :)
    Zen Arado: Hi Sharon
    Geoff Baily: hi Sharon
    Eden Haiku: HI Sharon :-)
    Eliza Madrigal: We were talking about pab, and perceived changes....
    Zen Arado: or my worry about future !
    SophiaSharon Larnia: I caught your comment about changing nature being part of the safety, can you say more?
    Eden Haiku: ;-)
    Eliza Madrigal: what is wonderful, is that each new voice and guardian brings a kind of energy....
    Eden Haiku: Don't worry Zen, be happy ;-)
    Eliza Madrigal: so of course there is constant change... it is an open environment :)
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal: Re changing nature... it isn't natural for things not to circulate...
    Eliza Madrigal: it is when things stop changing one should worry
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Zen Arado: true Eliza
    Zen Arado: think things tend to rigidify though
    Zen Arado: perhaps
    Zen Arado: human foible
    Zen Arado: seeking security in familiar

    A bit of a pet topic, but it seemed to have importance to our discussion...


    Eliza Madrigal: Hm... then shall we talk about groundlessness...
    Zen Arado: noticed some talking about 'old days of Pab' in guardians meeting
    Zen Arado: wishfully :)
    Eliza Madrigal: yes, there is an intimacy to things when they begin perhaps...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: I think I heard that when I started too
    Eliza Madrigal: an initial excitement.. and Pema was able to give a lot of time individually, etc
    Eliza Madrigal: He still does... but pab is larger now... and I think still very dynamic
    Zen Arado: it's not the same as it was :(
    Eliza Madrigal: Of course not
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal: I don't frown about that... thank goodness
    Eliza Madrigal: I'm having trouble wrapping around what I want to say...
    Zen Arado: bigger group - different dynamic
    Eliza Madrigal: but it has to do with groundlessness and change, and having an open heart
    Zen Arado: I always do :)
    Eliza Madrigal: which allows many people in
    Eden Haiku: Ar you nostlagic of a time you weren't here Zen? That is mega-nostalgia ;-)
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal: and allows for things to feel different... for a new food to be on the table sometimes...
    Eliza Madrigal: a new picture on a wall or two
    Zen Arado: I was here quite a while ago you know
    --BELL--
    Eden Haiku: Groundlessness Eliza?
    Eliza Madrigal: we have these daily practices of, for instance, letting go of what we have to see what we are....
    Eliza Madrigal: letting go is what though... it is acceptance of a kind of groundlessness
    Eliza Madrigal: of constant change...
    Eliza Madrigal: which brings the energy, really....
    Eliza Madrigal: the breeze...
    Geoff Baily: yes
    Eliza Madrigal: so if that is what is 'real'... constant change....
    Eliza Madrigal: it is safer to embrace, as it were, that
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Geoff Baily: energy
    Eliza Madrigal: which basically means embracing others...

    Eden and Sharon relate comfort and confidence in 'being grounded', so we do a bit of playful contrasting... 


    Eden Haiku: Ah I see...I'm always working on 'grounding' myself, I didn',t get you. But I see what you mean now, thanks Eliza.
    Eliza Madrigal: :) yes, it was a new kind of idea to me this year, too
    Zen Arado: I know the theory ..it is practicing it I find difficult
    Geoff Baily: like a new start Eliza?
    Eliza Madrigal: So I think basically there is nothing that diff. from pab other than trying to let everyone take leads and initiatives, etc
    Zen Arado: keep slipping back into old patterns
    Eliza Madrigal: New Start all the time, Geoff :)
    Eliza Madrigal: Every Moment :)
    Geoff Baily: yes
    Eden Haiku: Yes, like birds in formation or dolphins swimming together.
    Geoff Baily: as it eer was
    Geoff Baily: ever*
    Zen Arado: we need support of others
    Eliza Madrigal: We've had some changes, with the forming of the Working Group... and then one steps back and lets those changes settle I think...
    Eliza Madrigal: it was meant to be a help for everyone.. give clear ideas of people doing various things, etc :)
    Eliza Madrigal: make it easier to roll with changes that come up


    SophiaSharon Larnia: interesting contrast groundlessness and being grounded
    Eliza Madrigal: Yes indeed
    Zen Arado: grounded in groundlessness?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: what part does the ego play in that, do you think?
    Eliza Madrigal: hmm...
    Zen Arado: ego wants solid ground I think
    SophiaSharon Larnia: one, stripping off the layers of and the other something to stand on
    Eden Haiku: I need solid ground.
    Zen Arado: a solid idea of self
    Eliza Madrigal: ego wants the illusion of control/identity/unchanging....
    Eden Haiku: No, solid ground. not the same ;-)
    Geoff Baily: now? Eden but not always
    Eden Haiku: Connection to the centre of the earth.
    SophiaSharon Larnia: didnt think of it in those terms before, i always thought being grounded was a sign that i was doing something 'right'
    Eden Haiku: Yes, me too.
    Zen Arado: yeah...not 'up in the clouds'
    Eliza Madrigal: Well, solid ground would be that which is 'real' as contrasted with what is illusory (Ie stability)
    Eliza Madrigal: so one could phrase it that way, too....
    Eden Haiku: It is different fro one person to the other also I suppose.
    SophiaSharon Larnia: grounded as in being sharp in the moment
    Zen Arado: Pema Chodron talks a lot about groundlessness

    Eliza Madrigal: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." H. Keller

    Geoff Baily: and for a person at different times
    Eden Haiku: I will go for the daring adventure anytime...;-)
    Eliza Madrigal: yes Zen... she was very helpful for me with this... with a feeling of scrambling when rugs feel pulled out from under...
    Zen Arado: me too
    Eliza Madrigal: abandonments, etc...
    Zen Arado: me too again
    Eliza Madrigal smiles at Eden re adventure
    Eden Haiku: ;-)
    Zen Arado: she had this prob when her husband walked out
    Zen Arado: Pema I mean
    Eliza Madrigal: yes
    Eliza Madrigal: and others I'm sure... it is a constant... things shift
    Eliza Madrigal: friendships, relationships, housing markets....
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Eden Haiku: I had this inage in a dream once: a floating rug of roots and vines and flower...
    Eliza Madrigal: ooooo

    Real Life and Distance...


    Zen Arado: I am finding SL distances me a bit from RL friends
    Zen Arado: anyone else find this
    Zen Arado: my friends are so computer illiterate
    Eden Haiku: Yes, me too. Time is not as elasctic as I would like it to be...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i have, it has fluctuated
    Zen Arado: tell me to get a real life!
    Eliza Madrigal: Well, it is certain that it is difficult to convey the depth of this place :)
    Geoff Baily: so true Eliza
    SophiaSharon Larnia: what some people say about it is also true in a way
    Eliza Madrigal: I find that relating and exploring here has caused me to be more 'daring' and perhaps risky in conversations with rl friends and strangers though
    Zen Arado: so many older folk computer phobic
    Eliza Madrigal: surprising turns
    Eliza Madrigal: Sharon, like?
    --BELL--
    SophiaSharon Larnia: well, do i need to spell it out for the log?
    Eliza Madrigal: no.. wondered which aspect .. for instance my rl friends used to think of it as a general kind of chat room, etc...
    Eliza Madrigal: but then saw that my meditative practice was tightening...
    Eliza Madrigal: that I was becoming more focused
    Eliza Madrigal: so now they listen a little more
    SophiaSharon Larnia: nods
    Eliza Madrigal: give it perhaps a bit more gravity
    Eden Haiku: Yes, I keep initiating conversations with strangers in the subway or at the movies. I almost click on their right shoulder to have more info...I also listen better to the people close to me. PaB is showing me skills about empathy. I like that!
    Zen Arado: I feel I am being humoured a bit
    Eliza Madrigal: A tool of empathy... that has to be the strongest 'pro'
    Eliza Madrigal: sharpening our empathy skills :)
    Zen Arado: ah yes ..talking to so many strangers in SL might loosen shyness a bit
    Eliza Madrigal: It definitely has for me
    Eden Haiku: I kind of keep quiet about SL, I don't want my friends to rush in here...;-)
    Eliza Madrigal was *mortifyingly* shy as a child
    Eliza Madrigal: hahah, Eden
    SophiaSharon Larnia: that would be fun :)
    Eliza Madrigal: for rl friends to rush in?
    Eliza Madrigal: Most of mine would be dancing all day I think...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i wish some of my rl friends would do so Ive tried to lol
    Eden Haiku: You don't know my friends Sharon ;-)
    Eliza Madrigal smiles
    SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal would not want for her mother to be able to track her down in SL....
    SophiaSharon Larnia: haha
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eden Haiku: ;-)
    Zen Arado: my friend are an older age group is the prob
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal: It seems the average age range within pab and some communities is around 50... or is that my imagination?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: most of my friends have young children and dont have the time or patience for the interface
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah, SL seems a godsend when kids are small and one spends so much time stealing moments :)
    Zen Arado: surprising how many 'older' ppl there are
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i can see how :))
    Eliza Madrigal: Mine are older, but when younger I depended greatly on a writing group I was a part of via email and message boards
    Eliza Madrigal: it was a way of staying connected with my interests... think I might have lost it otherwise :)

    Eden Haiku: Also, being able to meet people with similar interests withouct actually havibg to wake up at 3 in the morning in an ashram...That is nother part I like!
    Eliza Madrigal: Yes!
    Zen Arado: SL has been great for me over this Christmas period
    Eliza Madrigal: Though, it sounds fun to wake at 3AM in an ashram :)
    Eliza Madrigal: With a feeling of isolation, Zen?
    Zen Arado: and weather so bad in Britain atm
    Eliza Madrigal nods
    Zen Arado: yes
    Eliza Madrigal: So with all things there is a balance..
    Zen Arado: many of my RL activities were cancelled this week

    Eden waxes nostalgic in a way that beautifully translates, to us, the scents she remembers.... 

    Eden Haiku: It was, I had a bout of nostalgia about that yesterdy. Ah, the smell of incense and gardenias in the darkest hour of the night, walking in the gardens to go to meditation...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: ive heard it is bad there
    SophiaSharon Larnia: the weather in britian, not the ashram :)
    Zen Arado: worst snow for years
    Eliza Madrigal: MMM.... seems so nurturing, Eden
    Eden Haiku: Not easy to go out then Zen?
    Eliza Madrigal: We need to do that for ourselves from time to time... place ourself in nurturing situations we can't easily get out of...
    Zen Arado: no...just managed shopping this morning

    We get a bit silly...


    Eden Haiku: Yes, It has been nurturing. But change took over years ago... so now, I'm stuck with you pixels! ;-)
    SophiaSharon Larnia: oh good running out of food and everyhting is the worst
    Eliza Madrigal: situations which break down the shells .... bombard ourselves with beauty
    Eliza Madrigal: hahah Eden
    Eliza Madrigal: We can eat pixel food
    SophiaSharon Larnia: :) Eden
    Zen Arado: no self in those pixels though :)
    Zen Arado: or is there?
    Eliza Madrigal: sharing the space between the pixels
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eden Haiku: Yes, groundlessness bliss!
    Eliza Madrigal: centered in centerlessness
    Eliza Madrigal smiles
    SophiaSharon Larnia: laughs
    Eliza Madrigal: joyful path
    SophiaSharon Larnia: then where do you go, no center ;p
    Eliza Madrigal: yes where...
    Eliza Madrigal: perhaps one doesn't go... but lets go...
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Eden Haiku: Driving our avatars into a more connected world, who knows, we might fall into our screens like Alice behind the Mirror?
    SophiaSharon Larnia is Alice
    SophiaSharon Larnia: lol
    Eliza Madrigal giggles
    Eden Haiku: Hi Alice!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: waves
    Zen Arado: well I would put a coat on first to come here :)

    Eliza Madrigal: Alice: "I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"

    --BELL--
    Zen Arado: or sit in front of the fire in my cottage
    SophiaSharon Larnia: brb
    Eliza Madrigal pictures Zen in front of the fire with a pipe and a dog
    Zen Arado: whos was it said 'my words mean what I want them to mean' in AIW?
    Zen Arado: and slippers :)
    Eden Haiku: Pipe and a dog, yes!
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Zen Arado: and a cat too don't forget :)
    Eden Haiku: yes, a Cheshire smiling cat!
    Eliza Madrigal smiles widely
    Zen Arado: :)
    Zen Arado: nothing left but the grin
    Eliza Madrigal: Bliss full no-cat, cat
    Geoff Baily: or just the smile
    Eden Haiku: Picturing Zen ;-)
    Eden Haiku: and the left grin
    Eliza Madrigal: hehhe
    Zen Arado: its cosy though :)
    Eliza Madrigal: See what happens... even in SL we pick up one another's mannerisms...
    Zen Arado: Hi Yaku
    Eliza Madrigal: Eden laughing like Storm...
    Eden Haiku: Talking of the grin...hello Yakuzza!
    Eliza Madrigal: Hi Ya :)
    Yakuzza Lethecus: good day guys
    SophiaSharon Larnia: back Hi Yakuzza
    Eliza Madrigal: Yes, it is a good day
    Geoff Baily: hi Yaku
    Eliza Madrigal: :)

    Human Energy Field, Reiki, Healing, Chakras, and Zen's Third Eye ...   ;-)


    Zen Arado: I am investigating HEF
    Eliza Madrigal: HEF?
    Eden Haiku: My laugh is a bit more feminine isn't Eliza?
    Zen Arado: human enery field
    Zen Arado: energy
    Eliza Madrigal: yes, quite Eden :)
    Yakuzza Lethecus: pab got really a lot of fancy acronyms :)
    Eliza Madrigal: as opposed to just the regular ones...
    Zen Arado: anyone do Reiki?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: interesting Zen
    SophiaSharon Larnia: im reiki I
    Eliza Madrigal: yes, say more, Zen?
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah, how neat Sharon
    Eden Haiku: I'm Reiki 2
    Eliza Madrigal: Oh gee....
    Zen Arado: just investigating
    SophiaSharon Larnia: laughs
    Zen Arado: used to think it nonsense
    Eliza Madrigal is reiki 0
    Eden Haiku: oh oh...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: didnt follow through on it, but am conscious of it at times
    Zen Arado: but coming round to thinking there is a lot of truth there
    Eden Haiku: Reiki 0 is the best one Eliza: the groundlessness one! The best kind!
    Eliza Madrigal: that's wonderful
    SophiaSharon Larnia: it comes into awareness at strange times
    Eliza Madrigal: hahah Eden
    Eliza Madrigal: Being aware of body and energy seems a plus no matter which way we look at it...
    SophiaSharon Larnia: althought he energy itself has no name for me, it is just a name
    Eliza Madrigal: what is it really though... say more?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: for a method, the energy is there o matter who developed a method
    Zen Arado: can you feel an inner energy field as suggested by Eckhart Tolle Eliza?
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah, yes I'm very aware of the 'inner body'
    Eliza Madrigal: but it seems energy field implies something else? more a collective?
    Eden Haiku: At the source of Reiki, there was this question by a theology student in Japan: 'How did it work when Christ applied his hands and people would heal'.?
    Zen Arado: maybe the same thing different names?
    Eliza Madrigal: hmm
    Zen Arado: Qigong?
    Eliza Madrigal: go on Eden?
    Eden Haiku: The teacher went to Mount Fuji to reflect on the question.
    Eden Haiku: And there, he "received' mantras and techniques of Reiki. That is what is transmitted now.
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah
    Zen Arado: interesting
    Eliza Madrigal: I didn't know reiki dealt with mantras
    Zen Arado: you can do it from a distance too?
    Eliza Madrigal has experienced feeling 'better' after a session here....
    Eden Haiku: I was joking but nevertheless, I think you can access Reiki even if you haven't been trainde in it Eliza. You might be doing it, channeling this nhealing energy, when you are touching your child's foerhead when he has a fever.
    Zen Arado: when they start talking about chakras and third eye I start getting switched off though
    Eliza Madrigal: hmm
    Zen Arado: maybe diseases are caused by energy blockages
    Eliza Madrigal tries to hold herself back from talking about chakras and third eye...
    Eliza Madrigal: hehe
    Zen Arado: just my owm skeptical mind
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eden Haiku: Are you a practionner of Reiki yourself Zen?
    Zen Arado: no
    Zen Arado: just looking at the whole HEF idea
    Eliza Madrigal ha the same inclinations until relatively recently Zen, so can't be too hard on you
    Zen Arado: it keeps coming at me from different directions
    Eliza Madrigal: but now I find chakras/third eye rather profound
    Eliza Madrigal: times and seasons :)
    Zen Arado: it's as if something is leading me there
    Eliza Madrigal smiles
    Zen Arado: ever feel that?

    --BELL--

    SophiaSharon Larnia: Bye for now all :) Take care!
    Eliza Madrigal: yes, Zen
    Zen Arado: bye Sharon
    Eliza Madrigal: Bye for now Sharon, good to see you :)
    Eden Haiku: I would say go for it Zen, for Reiki. It is very useful for self-healing.
    Eden Haiku: Bye Sharon.
    Zen Arado: you can do it on yourself?
    Eden Haiku: Yes.
    Geoff Baily: i must go soon too, thanks all for an interesting session
    Zen Arado: bye Geoff
    Yakuzza Lethecus: bye geof
    Eliza Madrigal: Good to see you Geoff :)
    Eden Haiku: And everytime you give healing energy to somone, it goes through you too, it brings light to your body.
    Geoff Baily: bye all good to see you
    Eliza Madrigal: hmmm, yes Eden
    Zen Arado: so...have to overcome chakra/third eye resistance and I am home :)
    Eliza Madrigal: giving is receiving, in energy terms I think
    Eliza Madrigal smiles to Zen... you don't *have* to
    Eliza Madrigal: but I think it will keep coming up
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Eden Haiku: Yes Eliza and yes Zen, you can take what is useful to you. The bridge won't fall if you don't (I'm talking to the engineer here!)
    Zen Arado: some of my RL friends can do it
    Eliza Madrigal: hehe
    Zen Arado: in my neditation group
    Eden Haiku: Words well without third eye!
    Eliza Madrigal: There is a light meditation called a 'body scan' where one just basically, before getting up in the mornings... scans from head to toe, relaxing tensions, etc
    Eliza Madrigal: this is a surprisingly healing practice
    Zen Arado: yes I know about that
    Zen Arado: do it for group sometimes
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah! :)
    Zen Arado: starting to do it more often myself
    Eliza Madrigal: So why does such a thing work do you think... we're relaxing into something...
    Eliza Madrigal: something healing
    Zen Arado: a way of getting out of my mind and more into my body
    Eliza Madrigal: :)
    Eden Haiku: Well, it was very nice sharing with you this morning. I have to go now. have a nice day! Good luck with energy fields Zen ;-)
    Zen Arado: like Tolle says about feeling someone with your body
    Eliza Madrigal: Thanks so much Eden, Nice to see and sit with you as always :)
    Zen Arado: if you se what I mean
    Eliza Madrigal nods to Zen...
    Zen Arado: bye Eden
    Yakuzza Lethecus: dinner now, bye everyone
    Eden Haiku: Oh and bye Yakuzza, You are so quiet this morning. Already in retreat mood maybe?
    Zen Arado: hthanks Eden
    Eliza Madrigal smiles
    Yakuzza Lethecus: hehe, not yet :)
    Zen Arado: :)
    Eliza Madrigal cannot wait to hear about this retreat when everyone returns
    Eliza Madrigal: :)))
    Yakuzza Lethecus: i try not to think about it
    Zen Arado: where is it?
    Eliza Madrigal: Malta
    Yakuzza Lethecus: malta
    Zen Arado: nice
    Eliza Madrigal: Yes, they will be meeting in a farmhouse...
    Zen Arado: I would go if I could manage it
    Eliza Madrigal: seems such a wonderful setting
    Eliza Madrigal: There will be more...
    Eliza Madrigal: I'd love to have gone too... but hm, patience :)
    Zen Arado: but retreats difficult for me since I am disabled
    Zen Arado: I go to them in Ireland
    Eliza Madrigal: Do you need to bring many things along to be able to function?
    Zen Arado: went to 2 last year...Zen retreats
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah, wow
    Zen Arado: I am in a wheelchair
    Eliza Madrigal: zen retreats can be serious can't they
    Zen Arado: yes been going to them for 5 years or so
    Eliza Madrigal: Ah, most places will accomodate a wheelchair I think... but yes I guess there are added considerations
    Eliza Madrigal: when travelling
    Zen Arado: teacher comes here from San Francisco zen center
    Eliza Madrigal: Oooh
    Zen Arado: very few retreats cater for disabilities properly Eliza
    Eliza Madrigal: I went through an illness which has some residues... only recently began to talk about it in SL...
    Zen Arado: yes I don't talk much about disability
    Eliza Madrigal: but it is one of those life things that keeps one in mind of essentials
    Zen Arado: yes
    Eliza Madrigal: perhaps can add a kind of 'seriousness' to one's character :)
    Zen Arado: don't know
    Zen Arado: just glad I am still alive and pain free
    Eliza Madrigal: Yes :)
    Zen Arado: talking about one's disability can kind of make you focus too much on it I think
    Zen Arado: I stopped going to disability froums for that reason
    --BELL--
    Zen Arado: prefer to focus on positives
    Eliza Madrigal: yes indeed
    Zen Arado: anyway I better go on a positive note :)
    Eliza Madrigal: there are positives in everything
    Zen Arado: yes
    Eliza Madrigal: and even our limitations can be doorways :)
    Zen Arado: I know
    Eliza Madrigal: like this... who comes to SL :)
    Zen Arado: yes it opened the doorway to SL
    Eliza Madrigal: Have a lovely day
    Eliza Madrigal: I will too :)
    Eliza Madrigal: Bye for now
    Zen Arado: you too :)
    Zen Arado: bye

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