2010.06.16 07:00 - The material of humanity

The Guardian for this meeting was Gaya Ethaniel. The comments are by Gaya Ethaniel.

Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Kiki, Lucinda and Yakuzza :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Eliza :)
Lucinda Lavender: Hi Gaya, Yaku, Eliza, Kiki
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Gaya, Kiki, Lucinda, Ya :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'm on my son's laptop in a diner, so may be quite slow....
Gaya Ethaniel: ok :)
Lucinda Lavender: :) That is so nice...
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, well the internet is out. I hope it will kick in by the time I go home :)
Gaya Ethaniel waves at Eliza and co. at the diner :)
Gaya Ethaniel: ah ... ok
Eliza Madrigal: hahah, and my friends here wave back (I actually love this spot.. wonderful people)
Gaya Ethaniel: :D is that where you go read books like TSK?
Lucinda Lavender: you are not on a trip then?
Eliza Madrigal: Yes, either here or Starbucks
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey everyone
Gaya Ethaniel: ah :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'm leaving bright and early in the morning Lucinda.... theme park weekend...
Lucinda Lavender: :)
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Gaya Ethaniel: I haven't been to a theme park ... think it must be a surreal place.
Eliza Madrigal: not at all, gaya?
Gaya Ethaniel: mhm, I've avoided them but maybe I may try out one day :)
Eliza Madrigal: yes... its um... well it can be tedious actually
Eliza Madrigal: that said, it has been years since I've endured one and this one is around Harry Potter, so its my daughter's graduation present :)
Eliza Madrigal will be under a tree with TSK
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Maybe they have improved :)
Gaya Ethaniel: heheheh
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Gaya Ethaniel: Could be an immersive experience ... theme parks.
Eliza Madrigal nods. We'll see. There is actually much about harry potter which is hm.. dharma, if you know what I mean... lots of pictures which say so much...
Eliza Madrigal: unfold
Gaya Ethaniel: Which is about drama?
Eliza Madrigal: oops, brb
Gaya Ethaniel: ok
Gaya Ethaniel: Having magic power, super power ... I do wonder what this reflects. Many feel helpless at times?
Gaya Ethaniel: Or instant gratification? :)
Lucinda Lavender: thinking here...
Gaya Ethaniel: Me too :)
Lucinda Lavender: the young man has adversity, wounding, self to discover
Lucinda Lavender: understanding around consequence of actions
Lucinda Lavender: believing, trusting, loving
Gaya Ethaniel: Coming of age stuff ... or not?
Lucinda Lavender: oh yes
Lucinda Lavender: and ethics

--BELL--

Gaya Ethaniel wonders about ‘adversity’. Is this necessary for maturing?
Gaya Ethaniel: If we take the famous example, ahem, the Buddha, he didn't have such
Lucinda Lavender: he learns about work and focus
Gaya Ethaniel: Well I do wonder if we these days put too much focus on 'adversity'.
Eliza Madrigal: interesting idea (back, btw- having some issues with the computer)...
Gaya Ethaniel: wb :)
Eliza Madrigal: I think in the case of hp she does an excellent job to pointing to a lot of normal things which are hm... kind of magical on their own...
Eliza Madrigal: lots of little ideas
Eliza Madrigal: and lots of kids (grown-ups too) *feel* like harry. The kids have learned a lot, though I wish it hadn't gotten so commercialized
Eliza Madrigal: when I found the book, my oldest was 5 and it was like a discovery....
Eliza Madrigal: a secret :)
Gaya Ethaniel hasn’t read the books yet :)
Gaya Ethaniel: What kind of normal things?
Eliza Madrigal: hm... like 'dementors' which are a symbol of what depression feels like...
Eliza Madrigal: or the penseive which one can put their memories in to empty out one's mind...
Gaya Ethaniel crouches, demons! lol
Eliza Madrigal: lots of little funny things :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Interesting ... didn't know dementors represent depression.
Eliza Madrigal: and its a funny book. Well, yes to deal with the weakness they cause, one eats chocolate!
Gaya Ethaniel: lol
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Gaya Ethaniel: Possession by chocolate ...
Eliza Madrigal: anyway, not to go on and on... but yes that's what I'll be doing for the next few days... drinking butterbeer at a little pub
Gaya Ethaniel: ah :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Hope you find staffs that are keen on TSK at the pub as in the diner.
Lucinda Lavender: surround by children with wands...
Gaya Ethaniel: Sounds fun :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Going back to Lucinda's point, learning about work and focus.
Lucinda Lavender: ...yes
Gaya Ethaniel: Do you think one can pick this up later in life?
Lucinda Lavender: I was thinking when I said that of some one I know who sees children...lots of them.
Gaya Ethaniel: ?
Lucinda Lavender: This person sees that some have to work hard and some do not
Lucinda Lavender: the ones who do not seemmaybe it is about learning to surrender to work
Gaya Ethaniel: wb :)
Eliza Madrigal: ty :)
Lucinda Lavender: maybe their are gifts that come with the surrender is what I was thinking
Gaya Ethaniel: So those who work hard is because they don't want to hence the fighting is appearing as working hard you mean?

--BELL--

Gaya Ethaniel: Not accepting I mean rather than fighting not to work ...
Zaldaan Sirnah: /test
Zaldaan Sirnah Play as Being: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bieup/66/43/104
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Zaldaan :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Zaldaan
Zaldaan Sirnah: Hi. :) Is there a / command which sends something in private instead of for everyone to see?
Lucinda Lavender: I think she notices when bright kids not working hard expect things to come easily ias opposed to those who must apply themselves and learn to expect that effort is involved
Gaya Ethaniel: Open IM box and drop objects etc.
Gaya Ethaniel: Yes I think talents can become obstacles.
Eliza Madrigal: and obstacles can be talents :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Indeed :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Much joy can be found in making efforts rather than 'getting there'.
Eliza Madrigal: its a little like that with harry actually... because he had tragedies early on, he sees things others don't see
Gaya Ethaniel ponders.
Lucinda Lavender: he had to live under the stars..
Lucinda Lavender: stairs
Lucinda Lavender: as an outcast
Eliza Madrigal: yes, and it can be very dark... having seen death, there are creatures he sees that others don't see... others wonder 'why/how is that flying, etc'
Gaya Ethaniel: I'm just thinking ... why we identify with tragic heroes so much ...
Eliza Madrigal: 'the quest'
Gaya Ethaniel: Getting courage about own situations? It's not too bad, anything is possible?
Eliza Madrigal: mmmm, nods
Lucinda Lavender: drama
Eliza Madrigal: gives us different pictures of 'redemption' perhaps
Eliza Madrigal: or in the case of some heroes, that its okay not to be redeemed...
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Visitor :) Welcome to PlayasBeing.
Lucinda Lavender: yes fortunately there are love humorous moments
Eliza Madrigal: or that one is already redeemed and didn't know it... hah, all kinds of things
Gaya Ethaniel: Give us some examples Eliza :)
Eliza Madrigal: hahah... I'm chatterboxing I think
Eliza Madrigal: will miss everyone for just a few days
Gaya Ethaniel: lol
Gaya Ethaniel: Well, you can always join the kids … RP Harry Potter.
Gaya Ethaniel: You should have practised in SL before setting off really.
Eliza Madrigal: hahaha... yes I do think there is a whole world set up here
Gaya Ethaniel: Again lots of drama I heard.
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Gaya Ethaniel: :)
Gaya Ethaniel: A lot of people don't want 'dramas' in SL and ask people to leave them in RL. Don't think that's possible.
Eliza Madrigal: I guess its possible if you don't get to know anyone really
Eliza Madrigal: if you stay in the shallows
Gaya Ethaniel: That's true if one joins the bots.
Eliza Madrigal: which is fine, haha
Gaya Ethaniel: But I think we have had relatively little drama in PaB.
Eliza Madrigal: yes, I think we have that 'intention' going... toward acceptance, toward openness
Gaya Ethaniel nods :)
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Ewan :) Welcome to PlayasBeing.
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Ewan, nice to see you again
Eliza Madrigal: (met Ewan in the village a few days ago)
Gaya Ethaniel: ah :)
Zaldaan Sirnah: This is a fighting ring!
Gaya Ethaniel: RE: drama ... I do want to do away with it often ...
Gaya Ethaniel: lol

--BELL--

Gaya Ethaniel: But everywhere I go, there is drama so maybe I should surrender to it as Lucinda said :P
Eliza Madrigal: yes, well there is drama and then Drama :)
Lucinda Lavender: Buddha...brought up with everything...went out to experience being without?
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Pema :)
Pema Pera: Hi everybody!
Lucinda Lavender: Hi Pema
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Pema :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey pema
Gaya Ethaniel: I think regardless of circumstances, there is that feeling of something missing.
Kiki Walpanheim: Hey pema
Gaya Ethaniel: Hard to be precise about that description ... but perhaps related to Eliza's comments on 'quest'.
Lucinda Lavender: :)
Gaya Ethaniel: :)
Eliza Madrigal: its how we connect with one another too, perhaps....
Gaya Ethaniel: Yes ... likely :)
Eliza Madrigal: material of humanity?
Gaya Ethaniel: hm ... something put into motion I guess ...
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bleu :))
Gaya Ethaniel: Hello Bleu :)
Pema Pera: Hi Bleu!
Zaldaan Sirnah: Bleu :)
Pema Pera: may I ask, what has been the topic?
Gaya Ethaniel scrolls up ...
Gaya Ethaniel: Having adversity in life, growing up etc via Harry Potter story :)
Gaya Ethaniel: That's how we started.
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Pema Pera: and how did you end :-)
Pema Pera: ?
Gaya Ethaniel: No need to go on a quest I guess :P
Eliza Madrigal: and the beginning... the quest. hah
Pema Pera: :-)
Pema Pera: perhaps we have no choice . . . perhaps each moment is some kind of quest . . . .
Gaya Ethaniel: Each moment, one has a choice ... :)
Eliza Madrigal: mmmm
Pema Pera: yes, we can choose between different kinds of quests, maybe, but I don't think we can avoid quests altogether
Lucinda Lavender: yes
Pema Pera: there is the quest of "see what it is like to be lazy and watch tv" :-)
Pema Pera: or "what would happen when I really get angry at this other person" . . .
Gaya Ethaniel: Yes we are creatures of actions.
Lucinda Lavender: I have been thinking alot about anger and choice
Lucinda Lavender: sensation in the body along with a thought
Gaya Ethaniel must run, enjoy your day/night everyone :)
Lucinda Lavender: and then the story we make around that combination
Eliza Madrigal: what have you noticed lucinda?
Bleu Oleander: bye Gaya
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, bye gaya see you soon
Lucinda Lavender: bye Gaya
Eliza Madrigal: (she's so quick) :)
Lucinda Lavender: just that some do not see it as choice
Lucinda Lavender: the feelings...
Eliza Madrigal: mmm, nods... we can be carried away/caught up before we see it?

--BELL--

Ewan Bonham: When i do my daily meditation, i am less likely to get caught up in the noise
Lucinda Lavender: but I guess I do see that the feeling starts and that then gets dealt with in a certain way which is the choice part
Eliza Madrigal: meditation allows one to notice I suppose... not go with it....
Ewan Bonham: Yes..:)
Eliza Madrigal: (oh, sorry bell... have been flipping screen a little to see from the kids if the internet was working at home yet)
Pema Pera: :)
Lucinda Lavender: not get sucked into a shirlpool of feeling
Lucinda Lavender: whilpool
Lucinda Lavender: whirlpool
Eliza Madrigal smiles :)) Love sl typos
Zaldaan Sirnah: ehhe
Pema Pera: yes, we can see the 9-sec breaks as a persistent attempt to remind ourselves that we have choice, every second
Pema Pera: :)
Zaldaan Sirnah: why 9 when it's 90?
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Pema Pera: ah, in RL we do the 9 second breaks, every 15 minutes (1% of 15 minutes)
Pema Pera: here we go in overdrive and do 90 secs :-)
Zaldaan Sirnah: ohh
Pema Pera: someone proposed to introduce that, a year after we started, and we all liked it
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Zaldaan Sirnah: I setup my computer to gong at me every 15 minutes
Bleu Oleander: might be interesting to reverse that sometime
Eliza Madrigal: Nice, both!
Pema Pera: great! How has that been so far, Zaldaan?
Bleu Oleander: sometimes I think I need 90 sec in rl
Pema Pera: yes, Bleu, indeed!
Pema Pera: or 900 sec, :-)
Zaldaan Sirnah: Helpful -- reminds me to stand up, move, do whatever I need to do, more.
Bleu Oleander: :)
Zaldaan Sirnah: Your computer might also have support for doing it. I have one start at 12:00am, every 15 min, and the other at 12:01:30 every 15 min :)
Pema Pera: ah, so you do 90 sec each time?
Ewan Bonham: I have a gong that goes off on the half hour
Zaldaan Sirnah: in your head or in the computer?
Pema Pera: That's great, but it takes a lot of time, 10% !
Ewan Bonham: It is on my computer
Zaldaan Sirnah: Pema, yeah.. you sometimes ignore it, sometimes do it for a little bit, etc.
Zaldaan Sirnah: I used to have an Islamic Azaan call.. that was nice.
Zaldaan Sirnah: Hard to find one with a voice I liked.
Pema Pera: yes, Islam has a somewhat similar system, but less frequent
Zaldaan Sirnah: That was 5 times a day, for the prayers, but we have no schedule (read: none. Not some strange schedule -- but none.)
Pema Pera: would be impressive to live in a city where every 15 minutes some kind of bell would go off . . .
Zaldaan Sirnah: Pema, and the prayers (salaat) are more than 90 seconds in duration :)
Pema Pera: I enjoyed visiting Istanbul for a week, and hearing the prayer sounds five times a day
Zaldaan Sirnah: With the in-depth prayer/meditation, you get dee training/self-conditioning potential.
Zaldaan Sirnah: deep
Pema Pera: yes, definitely
Pema Pera: but like with anything, it can become a new pitfall
Zaldaan Sirnah: And prayer establishes the connections
Pema Pera: and the nice thing of the 9 sec is that the pits are too small to fall in deeply :)
Zaldaan Sirnah: Pitfall?
Zaldaan Sirnah: haha
Ewan Bonham: It can not be forced. Only encouraged
Pema Pera: I mean that I have seen people escaping into meditation
Zaldaan Sirnah: "Zekr is complimentary to Prayer, while praying the performer is not outwardly involved in sin, it does no prevent him from inner evil, for a person may be in prayer but he may be thinking wicked thoughts. " http://www.sufisociety.com/zekr.html
Pema Pera: exchanging a fantasy image of RL for a fantasy image of meditation, while the real point is to drop all fantasies, or better look through them
Eliza Madrigal: yes its easy to do
Pema Pera: personally, I like to combine forms of meditation and the 9-sec practice
Ewan Bonham: Yes, a nice reminder
Pema Pera: meditation balances RL, and the 9-sec then shakes me up from either side of that balance
Pema Pera: any method sooner or later becomes a trap
Zaldaan Sirnah: I think it's just training, that you smooth out over time into your constant state of being.
Pema Pera: yes, but then there is the challenge go beyond "state"
Pema Pera: and "time" -- ultimately
Pema Pera: :-)

--BELL--

Bleu Oleander: :)
Pema Pera: but that's a long conversation, perhaps for another time . . . .
Pema Pera: It's a quarter past midnight where I am now
Pema Pera: great talking with you, Zaldaan, and everyone!
Bleu Oleander: bye Pema :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: bye pema
Lucinda Lavender: bye Pema!
Pema Pera: and looking forward to the Being/Time exhibit, Bleu!
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Eliza Madrigal: bye pema
Eliza Madrigal: ( my battery is going out...almost missed saying by)
Eliza Madrigal: bye
Bleu Oleander: need to go too .... bye all :)
Zaldaan Sirnah: Bye :)
Lucinda Lavender: bye Eliza!
Zaldaan Sirnah: ooh, nice outfit
Lucinda Lavender: By Bleu!
Yakuzza Lethecus: bye everyone who’s leaving
Zaldaan Sirnah: Bleu
Eliza Madrigal: Nice to see you all :) Always a pleasure and see you in a few days :) (( ))
Bleu Oleander: ty Zaldaan!
Bleu Oleander: bye all
Lucinda Lavender: I should go too.
Zaldaan Sirnah: :) Lucinda.. Take care.
Lucinda Lavender: thanks...you too
Lucinda Lavender: and all!

--BELL--

Yakuzza Lethecus: take care zal