2010.04.01 07:00 - Your account at the Being Bank is ready

The Guardian for this meeting was Storm Nordwind. The comments are by Storm Nordwind.

The title comes from a short mention early on in the session. I couldn't resist it. Nevertheless the rest of the session is more interesting. We talk about what we have learned, new adventures... and many other things.

Several of us battled to get into Second Life for a while, and we arrived in ramshackle order.

Eliza Madrigal: Morning, Bleu
Eden Haiku: Good morning Eliza:)
Bleu Oleander: Hi Eliza, Eden!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Eden :))
Eden Haiku: Good morning Bleu :)
Eliza Madrigal: I don't see you yet, Eden
Bleu Oleander: I think it's very laggy today in sl
Eliza Madrigal: Hm, guess she is having trouble logging in
Eliza Madrigal: I feel rather laggy in RL today
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bleu Oleander: ha!
Bleu Oleander: me too!
Eliza Madrigal: hehe
Bleu Oleander: puppy got us up at 5 am today
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, wow
Bleu Oleander: hey Storm
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Storm :)
Bleu Oleander: your music thingy is great
Storm Nordwind: Hi : made it at last
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Eden, welcome back :)
Storm Nordwind: SL wouldn't let me in
Bleu Oleander: I had same problem today
Eliza Madrigal: Hm... strange

It's both April Fool's Day and the second birthday of Play as Being.

Eden Haiku: Sorry, I crashed. Foirst time it happens qith this computer:)
Eliza Madrigal: My daughter woke up to her favorite internet site changing their theme to vampires, as a joke :)
Eden Haiku: Ah yes. April's fool, better be aware :)
Storm Nordwind: Any, Bleu, glad you like the music thingie :)
Eliza Madrigal: yes, and Happy PaB Birthday :))
Storm Nordwind: YAY!
Bleu Oleander: 2 years!!
Bleu Oleander: that's an eternity in SL
Eden Haiku: Yeah!
Storm Nordwind wonders what he has learnt in 2 years
Eliza Madrigal: oh my.... yes time and learning seem concentrated here....

Pema arrives and, since he brought Play as Being inro Second Life in the first place, the congratulations fly!

Storm Nordwind: Good morning Pema. Happy Birthday!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Pema! Happy PaB Birthday !! :)
Bleu Oleander: hi Pema
Eden Haiku: Happy birthday Pema:))
Bleu Oleander: Congrats on 2 years of PaB!!
Pema Pera: Hi there, Bleu, ELiza, Storm, Eden -- yes, happy birthday!!

How many???!

Pema Pera: hard to believe that soon we will have had 3,000 PaB sessions . . . .
Pema Pera: probably already 2,000 here in this pavilion
Bleu Oleander: wow
Eliza Madrigal: oh my
Storm Nordwind is astonished
Eden Haiku: wow!
Bleu Oleander: really something to celebrate!
Pema Pera: :-)
Storm Nordwind: And how many, at least potentially, stoppings and droppings in that time?
Pema Pera: hehehe
Pema Pera: let me count the droppings . . . . .
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: I make it 46720 nine seconds practices!
Bleu Oleander: a lot of space for being!
Storm Nordwind smiles broadly
Eliza Madrigal comes up with 14,900 hits when she types "eliza madrigal playasbeing" into google... hehe
Bleu Oleander: ha!
Storm Nordwind: o_O
Pema Pera: !!!
Eliza Madrigal: Whew... will be going now....
Eliza Madrigal: haha, Kidding :)
Pema Pera: :)
Bleu Oleander: :)

I can't resist the image that comes to mind. Your account is ready.

Storm Nordwind: A lot of credit in the Being Bank
Pema Pera: hahaha
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Pema Pera visualizes Being Bank ads
Pema Pera: "drop your money, let go of it all, we'll take care of it"
Bleu Oleander: high interest accounts!
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: :)

Eliza returns to my own previous pondering. What have I/we learnt in that time?

Eliza Madrigal wonders if Storm figured out what he has learned in 2 years....
Storm Nordwind: I've learned that it's really quite OK to keep my childlike sense of wonder, seeing new things each moment of each day by resting in Being
Eliza Madrigal: Ahhhhh, Nice!
Storm Nordwind, for example, sees with pleasant surprise Eden's shoals of fish swimming underground right now
Eden Haiku: What about you Pema, what did you learn in 2 years? yes, my school of fishes,,,:)
Pema Pera: (Pema has learned that after 2 years all PaBers start looking remarkably alike, at least T shirt wise)
Eliza Madrigal smiles @ Pema
Pema Pera: other than that . . . .
Pema Pera: hmm, so much . . . .
Pema Pera: a combination of two things, I guess
Pema Pera: one is that I've learned to find words for many aspects of playing with the notion of Being, allowing it to become more and more concrete/direct/integrated
Pema Pera: and the other is that that then stimulates, and is stimulated by, a way of living where Being is an actual resource
Pema Pera: but in a seemingly rather paradoxical way
Pema Pera: not as "providing" anything
Pema Pera: rather as "Being" all you ever need
Eliza Madrigal: hmmm
Eliza Madrigal: yes I see the difference there... deeper rest
Eliza Madrigal: Welcome Back, Eden :)
Eden Haiku: Crashed again, sorry. I let go of my school of fishes, in case they are crashing the system. Very powerful followers I have :)))
Eliza Madrigal: :)))
Storm Nordwind: haha!
Pema Pera: :-)
Bleu Oleander: :)
Pema Pera: crashing the birthday party?

Are the people here exceptional? Or does the practice make them so? Or both?

Storm Nordwind: Another thing I have learned is that the people who take Play as Being to heart have become some of my closest friends ever - real good people! Does it attract such people, I wonder, or does it change them once they're attracted? Are these 'special' people in some way (and not just to me), or are they a representative slice through the world?
--BELL--
Pema Pera: those who join PaB, Storm, are probably much more open to start out with, willing to experiment, to not jump to conclusions; but I also think they then grow into such kind of attitude more and more -- I've seen that happening with myself as well as many others.
Storm Nordwind nods
Eliza Madrigal: yes, perhaps PaB attracts those who also appreciate that "childlike sense of wonder", which is also a nice quality in friendships :)
Pema Pera: Speaking for myself, the whole two years have been a kind of exercise in wu-wei, in letting go of control, in letting be, yet in keeping my eyes open :-)
Pema Pera: yes
Storm Nordwind: These people are, perhaps, living Epoché
Pema Pera: :)

Everyone is sporting new Play as Being anniversary T shirts, kindly provided by Bleu. They are black with logos and numbers. When Yakuzza arrives, dressed in his usual way, he is already echoing the color scheme!

Eliza Madrigal: Hi Yakuzza :))
Bleu Oleander: hey Yaku
Pema Pera: Hi Yaku!
Yakuzza Lethecus: morning everyone
Yakuzza Lethecus: :)
Storm Nordwind: Good afternoon Yaku
Eden Haiku: hello yaku:))
Pema Pera: Now Yaku looks like our leader, even more black than everyone else!
Eliza Madrigal: have you figured out the jacket yet? :)
Eliza Madrigal: hehhe
Yakuzza Lethecus: lol :)
Bleu Oleander: ha!
Storm Nordwind chuckles
Eden Haiku: Om Guru Om...
Pema Pera: that was more like Bert, in Malta . . .
Pema Pera: we missed you, Eden!
Pema Pera: hope you can soon make a retreat
Yakuzza Lethecus: Om mani padme hum

At Eliza's subtle hint, I provide a floating tray with many glasses charged with 'bubbly'.

Eliza Madrigal wonders if it early for champagne, or if that will make Eden crash...
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Bleu Oleander: fun!!
Eliza Madrigal: love the cork popping sound....
Storm Nordwind: cheers !
Eliza Madrigal: Thankyou Storm!
Pema Pera: cheers!
Eden Haiku: Yes, Pema, I look forward for a retreat. Just not the right time for me. I have to book a ticket for Paris this morning and then when I will be back, I will be gone again :)))
Pema Pera: wow
Eliza Madrigal: oooohhh how long, Eden?
Storm Nordwind: Poetry on the fly?
Pema Pera: we have to compare itineraries then, to seen when/where we will run into each other!
Eden Haiku: Happy birthday!!
Pema Pera: happy birthday!
Eliza Madrigal: :)) Cheers and Happy Birthday! :)
Eden Haiku: For about 2 weeks. Have to be decisive. Time to be! yes, Pema, should do that :)
Pema Pera: sorry to leave early, but I'm on the train, on my way to Princeton . . . .
Eliza Madrigal: :) yes, decisive...
Storm Nordwind apologizes but he must rush out to the dentist now. (He has the log.)
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, but glad that you dropped in Pema :))
Bleu Oleander: Cheers!!
Eden Haiku: Ah, drinking champagne on the train :)) Bye! See you!
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Storm, you too!
Yakuzza Lethecus: ok, bye pema :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: and storm
Eliza Madrigal: hehe Eden
Pema Pera: see you soon -- hehe, yes
Storm Nordwind waves
Bleu Oleander: bye Storm and Pema
Eden Haiku: waving to Storm

Pema and I have had to leave precipitously, and this echos Eden and Eliza's words.

Eliza Madrigal: I've thought a bit about the 'be decisive' session, too, Eden....
Eliza Madrigal: I tend to be someone who hesitates... makes a decision but then maybe lets it play itself out too long....
Eden Haiku: yes...
Eden Haiku: It helped me this session.
Eden Haiku: I realize better make a decision and live with it, fast.
Eliza Madrigal: maybe there are always effects to whatever one does, so might as well make a few leaps...

Yakuzza wants to know alittle more about the 'other' meaning of today's date.

Yakuzza Lethecus: is there a tradition on lieing on the first of april in america ?
Bleu Oleander: April Fools
Yakuzza Lethecus: to send somebody into the april with, yes exactly :)
Eden Haiku: Oh yes there is Yakuzza .
Eden Haiku: Making practical jokes.
Yakuzza Lethecus: didn´t know how if that also exist over there :)
Eden Haiku: I feel I am in a practical joke thsi morning. Having to rush to get to my "get well, have peace of mind' appointment:))
Eliza Madrigal: And yes, funny that PaB's birthday is on April 1... like tricking into Being :)

A necessary settling...

Eliza Madrigal: Hah... get well/peace of mind appointment?!
Eden Haiku: Yes :)
--BELL--
Eliza Madrigal: that's what these sessions are for me...
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Eden Haiku: PaB you mean?
Eliza Madrigal: yes :)
Eden Haiku: They are for me also. But I need EMDR sessions for some serious stuff. Too heavy for here :))
Eliza Madrigal: especially the morning sessions somehow.... setting the day (even though it is 10AM by session time)...
Eliza Madrigal: Ahh, that's important too, Eden....

...but running pell-mell to get there!

Yakuzza Lethecus: rushing for mindfullness ? :)
Eden Haiku: Yes, that is why I felt like an April Fool :) We all do that don't we, rush to our yoga classes and so on... Silly!!!
Eliza Madrigal: hah, like the SL journalist said in the pab article
Eliza Madrigal: There are times to push, too, I guess....
Eliza Madrigal: to make effort toward doing things that let us relax in a deeper way overall
Eliza Madrigal: :) Does that type of therapy help you normally, Eden, or is this the first time?

Eden tells of us of her new adventure to France.

Eden Haiku: And booking this ticket with so many parameters to consider, including who will babysit my cat...sighs...
Eliza Madrigal: (if not too personal)
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, can your cat stay with your dad?
Eden Haiku: I have been doing EMDR for many sessions already. I pace it though. I need breaks and with EMDR you can do that.
Eden Haiku: Yes, but I did not tell my Dad yet I was leaving...I know it will upset him a bit :))
Eliza Madrigal: Ah :)
Eliza Madrigal: I like Paris in the Springtime.... I like Paris in the Fall...
Eden Haiku: I need to be decisive, ou see how I need it :)))
Eliza Madrigal grins, yes I do! :)
Eden Haiku: Yes, Paris. But I will spend most of my time in Normandie, for poetry readings.
Bleu Oleander: how nice Eden
Eliza Madrigal: every moment, taking a pen to paper, is a decisive moment....
Bleu Oleander: how long will you be there?
Eden Haiku: About 2 weeks, in May Bleu.

Eliza reflects around her own adventure.

Eden Haiku: You were talking a bout a big life change Eliza, can you share about it (or is it too personal) ?
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, well some aspects are indeed too personal, but there are leaps I've needed to take for a long time....
Eden Haiku: leaps. That feels nice!
Eliza Madrigal: Yes, and scary
Eliza Madrigal: and I'm learning to love the 'scary'
Eden Haiku: And scary, sure.
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: Yes a teacher of mine was saying that fear is the other side of enthusiasm.
Eliza Madrigal: Its funny, because for years I tried to feel confident... to visualize that I was supported and grounded... that I had all I needed...
Eden Haiku: And vice versa
Eliza Madrigal: and it just wouldn't take... didn't get deep down....
Eden Haiku: Yes?
Eliza Madrigal: I could be things for other people, but for myself, hm... well not decisive at all ...
Eliza Madrigal: then over the last few years, with PaB being a large part of that... I've let go of the idea of ground....
Eliza Madrigal: in a way
Eliza Madrigal: And that feels much safer... comforting even :)
Eliza Madrigal: like a flip
Bleu Oleander: that's wonderful that PaB has had that effect on your life!
Eden Haiku: That is nice Eliza. Exciting to know you are breaking new ground for yourself (no ground new ground...)
Eliza Madrigal: from that place, I feel I can make some choices in the next year that have seemed impossible to now :)

Amazing friends!

Eliza Madrigal: Thank You :) yes, and thank PaB... and all the guardians here who are, as Storm was saying, such dear friends :)
Eliza Madrigal: Timeless Friends :)
Eden Haiku: Timeless Friends :)))
Eliza Madrigal: and Distanceless Friends... all over the world yet right *here* too
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: hm, well there is my PaB reflection for the day I guess :)
Eden Haiku: Being decisive, I rush to my shower now. Will se you all at the PaB party. Thnaks for the beautiful t-shirts Bleu!
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Eden :) See you later
Yakuzza Lethecus: ok, bye for now everyone :)
Eliza Madrigal loves the t-shirts
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Yakuzza too :))
Bleu Oleander: bye Eliza
Bleu Oleander: bye everyone
Bleu Oleander: thanks!
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Bleu, See you later :)) Cheers