2010.07.17 07:00 - The Mountain and “The Cloud”

The Guardian for this meeting was SophiaSharon Larnia. The comments are by SophiaSharon Larnia. I arrived at the pavilion and Yakuzza and Bruce were having their coffees, which they generously shared. Eliza and Sylectra soon followed.
 

Yakuzza Lethecus: always the same suspect :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: hi bruce :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: good morning
Bruce Mowbray: and suspicious as ever! How are you, Yaku?
Yakuzza Lethecus: relativley well, just eate too much
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey ssl
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Yakuzza and Bruce ^^
Bruce Mowbray: Top o' the mornin', Sharon!
SophiaSharon Larnia: hehe
SophiaSharon Larnia: I wish I was on top of a mountain lol, may be a bit cooler up there!

--BELL--

SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Eliza :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hello Sharon, Bruce, Ya :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: there is no popic as of yet, I think, two lines lol
SophiaSharon Larnia: topic*
SophiaSharon Larnia: or popic, if you prefer
Eliza Madrigal: popping open a topic
Bruce Mowbray: How's it going on your mountaintop, Eliza?
Bruce Mowbray: . . . mountaintop-ic.
Eliza Madrigal giggles. My mountain top? From here I can see the past present and future...
SophiaSharon Larnia: oooo
Eliza Madrigal: It is raining in one place and sunning in another...
SophiaSharon Larnia: oh i love that, only happens around mountains
Eliza Madrigal: and birds of various sorts are pruning and singing and diving into deep waters to catch tiny fish...
Bruce Mowbray: I might be mistaken on this, but I think it also happens in the world as a whole.
SophiaSharon Larnia: one time i drove through a thunderstorm, to the sun on the other side
Eliza Madrigal: I love that :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: i think i told anyone in earshot for days
Bruce Mowbray: me too. . . out here in the country we can see storms in one area and bright sun in another -- rainbows...!
Bruce Mowbray: I'll bet you have rainbows there too, Eliza.
Eliza Madrigal: yes indeed :)
Bruce Mowbray: sorry, Sharon -I meant.
Bruce Mowbray: both.
SophiaSharon Larnia: (yes it does Bruce, I meant the storm front line is more drawn because of the ridges and stuff)
Eliza Madrigal: yes there are features that make the distinctions sharp...
Bruce Mowbray vows to sit on hands until fully conscious. . .
Eliza Madrigal: hehehe
SophiaSharon Larnia: noo hehehe
Eliza Madrigal: Oh that will spoil the fun :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes!
Eliza Madrigal: If I waited to come to PaB until I was fully competent I might not make it here...
Bruce Mowbray: ;)
SophiaSharon Larnia: is thinking about the word competent and not finding a meaning in this context
Eliza Madrigal: hm, awake? having all synapses firing correctly?
Bruce Mowbray thinks he might be more 'competent' if he remains semi-conscious. . . takes another sip of coffee.
SophiaSharon Larnia: :) ok then ill never make it here either
Eliza Madrigal: able to tie together complete sentences? :)
Eliza Madrigal: Anyway, if fully awake I might not chatter about the blurry things... like waking up thinking of timelessness this morning... how it seems an end to start from :)
Bruce Mowbray: able to FIND computer...
Bruce Mowbray: able to find room that computer is in.
Bruce Mowbray: able to find HOUSE.
Eliza Madrigal: hehehe
SophiaSharon Larnia: its better for me sometimes if all my synapses aren't firing, in a way like semi-conscious
Eliza Madrigal: yes exactly
Eliza Madrigal: the censor is down a bit... groggy editor
Bruce Mowbray: Speaking of finding. . . can't load wiki today... [bell...soon]
SophiaSharon Larnia: otherwise I want to tear apart meaning from everything and nothing make sense
Eliza Madrigal: yes, some of us have noticed Bruce... Eden just tweeted about that too

--BELL--

SophiaSharon Larnia: I hear/saw the bell/fountain fine from here, hmm
SophiaSharon Larnia: if you start from timelessness, where do you go?
Bruce Mowbray: OK -- thought that might be my ISP or satellite acting up again.
SophiaSharon Larnia: I've read of the problem in the wiki
Bruce Mowbray: yes, I'm interested in the "blurriness" and starting from the end.
Eliza Madrigal: Yes SS... nowhere to 'go'
SophiaSharon Larnia: or if not 'where' then 'when'
SophiaSharon Larnia: or ...scary... 'why?'
Eliza Madrigal smiles

Eliza Madrigal: "Be like the mountain"
Bruce Mowbray: or be the mountain.
Eliza Madrigal: yes :) a mountain sometimes obscured by fog which comes and goes...
SophiaSharon Larnia: the mountain or the fog? :)
Bruce Mowbray is somewhat obscured this morning -- thus being like mountain.
Eliza Madrigal: Ah! yes, maybe a love affair between the mountain and the fog...
Eliza Madrigal: Being fog and mountain
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh. beautiful!
Bruce Mowbray: love it when mountains caress their fogs.
Eliza Madrigal: uh oh.... Sharon is being like a firefly... blinking out momentarily...
Bruce Mowbray: ice cream for breakfast, Yaku?
Eliza Madrigal: and the fog soothes the mountains concerns as it nurtures the life taking place in its scope
Eliza Madrigal: Yaku is starting at the end
Bruce Mowbray: will he reveal the plot, do you think?
Eliza Madrigal: just sitting there, relishing the sweetness... he is a revelation of it in himself :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: yes
Yakuzza Lethecus: but i am just a coffee junkie right now
Eliza Madrigal: :) Me too... keep attempting to switch to tea but there is something about the aroma....
Eliza Madrigal: I love tea, but there is no 'tea aroma' to wake to really
Yakuzza Lethecus: tea users live longer then coffee drinkers still there is also a correlation between smokers and coffee drinkers
Yakuzza Lethecus: more coffee drinkers are smokers
Bruce Mowbray: If either of you would like SL coffee, I can pour a cup for you -- just enough left in my pot for two.
Eliza Madrigal: yes that would be lovely Bruce, thanks
Bruce Mowbray walks into the kitchen to get coffee pot .
Eliza Madrigal is not a smoker but understands the connection...
Eliza Madrigal: we make associations.... newspaper=coffee
Eliza Madrigal: or productiveness=coffee
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, thank you Bruce :) Mmmm
Yakuzza Lethecus: thx
Yakuzza Lethecus: i wonder i must have this
Bruce Mowbray returns with pot and pours coffee for Eliza and Yaku.
Yakuzza Lethecus: i think i had one of those
Yakuzza Lethecus: or are some objects auto deleted
Eliza Madrigal: I wonder how many associations one can unravel in a single pause....
Bruce Mowbray: No, you should already have the mug in your inventory.
Yakuzza Lethecus: wb ssl
Eliza Madrigal: Ya took your spot, Sharon :)
Eliza Madrigal: too much coffee and ice cream... he's a bit jumpy
SophiaSharon Larnia: :) thanks! I completely lost internet access eep!
Bruce Mowbray: wb, Sharon -- just enough coffee in the pot for you, if you'd like some.
SophiaSharon Larnia: yay! thank you!
Eliza Madrigal: Oh My
Bruce Mowbray love it when Yaki horses around.
SophiaSharon Larnia: well, im glad that didnt happen during the recent theme session, I did worry about that
Eliza Madrigal: You need a prince suit
SophiaSharon Larnia: ty for the note Eliza

--BELL--

SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Visitor
Bruce Mowbray: Yo, Visitor.
Eliza Madrigal: Polo
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
Eliza Madrigal grins
Eliza Madrigal: Welcome :)
Yakuzza Lethecus: hey Visitor
Bruce Mowbray: Yo, Sylectra.
SophiaSharon Larnia: HI Sylectra long time no see :))
Yakuzza Lethecus: and sylectra
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Sylectra :))
Sylectra Darwin: Hi Guys!
Eliza Madrigal: Okay, see you then Visitor :)
Sylectra Darwin: Got to balance out this seating arrangement :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Visitor :) anytime
SophiaSharon Larnia: hehe
Eliza Madrigal: What cute hair, Sylectra :)
Sylectra Darwin: Thank you! Always experimenting.
SophiaSharon Larnia: we were discussing earlier 'being the mountain'
SophiaSharon Larnia: maybe even the fog? hmm
Bruce Mowbray: just enough coffee in the pot for you, if you'd care for some, Sylectya.
Sylectra Darwin: oh cool, thanks for updating me.
Sylectra Darwin: Thank you, Yakuzza. It's a very nice mug.
Yakuzza Lethecus: it’s from bruce
Yakuzza Lethecus: but don’t forget to cook new one after you emptied the can!
Yakuzza Lethecus: :)
Bruce Mowbray: It's brewing now.
Bruce Mowbray: Having mental spat with myself about "purposeful" life. . .
Eliza Madrigal: yes, no point in getting irritated with the fog... it will pass... and in the meantime it cools everything off and nurtures the life down to the tiniest movements ...
SophiaSharon Larnia: I find your statement Eliza 'I wonder how many associations one can unravel in a single pause...." interesting, can you say more?
Sylectra Darwin: nods
SophiaSharon Larnia: :D
Bruce Mowbray: please say more, Eliza.
Eliza Madrigal: Ohh... maybe purposeful life and unraveling associations are the same...
Eliza Madrigal: I was thinking that we don't even notice all the ways we think one thing equals or leads to another...
Eliza Madrigal: and often it is simply not true... we just don't see that
Eliza Madrigal: don't question and pull at it... untangle...
Eliza Madrigal: that things are more open than they appear :)
Eliza Madrigal: coffee does not = productivity, for instance
Eliza Madrigal: not exactly anyway :)
Sylectra Darwin: That's a liberating thought if we can just perceive it fully.
Bruce Mowbray thinks: perhaps "purpose" of unraveling (untangling?) is to set aside purposes for a while.
SophiaSharon Larnia: i was thinking when we were talking about the mountain, that i was seeing the mountain sink into rock and rising again, over and over (then i crashed)
Eliza Madrigal: perceiving fully, yes... pausing to perceive :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: seeing each rising of it as another unraveling
Eliza Madrigal: Ahhh... yes, even something so 'solid' as a resilient mountain...
Bruce Mowbray: the mountain "a bit off the ground," as it were.
Eliza Madrigal: I remember times of thinking that I had 'a' purpose in life... and a whole background of associations went with that... each enforcing the other
Eliza Madrigal: easy to do... to tie it all up and oneself in it :)
Bruce Mowbray: [news flash: the wiki is up again]
Eliza Madrigal: Yay :)
Bruce Mowbray: I have always avoided straight and narrow "purposes" in life -- and for that I have been called "child-like" which I regard as refreshing.
Sylectra Darwin: Perhaps the mountain isn't so much a mountain as it is a space between two points of land that has wrinkled, or rather, is in the process of wrinkling.
Bruce Mowbray: (because inside I am far too UNchild-like)
SophiaSharon Larnia: straight and narrow? is that like black and white?
Sylectra Darwin: Bruce, I think that's a good thing.
Eliza Madrigal: indeed :))
SophiaSharon Larnia: interesting Sylectra, space between two points
Bruce Mowbray: yes, straight and narrow is like black and white -- constrained by definite boundaries.
Eliza Madrigal: The most brilliant people I can think of, are very child-like in their wide-eyedness.... their appreciation... spaciousness perhaps :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hiya Zon :)
Bruce Mowbray: Bob Dylan: "I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now."
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Zon
Sylectra Darwin: Spaciousness, very good. Hi Zon!
Eliza Madrigal smiles, yes :))
Bruce Mowbray: Top o' the mornin', Zon.
Sylectra Darwin: Come and sit with us. :)
Eliza Madrigal: Leonard Cohen: "Fifteen years ago I was just a crazy 60 year old kid with a dream."
SophiaSharon Larnia: giggles

--BELL--

Zon Quar: oops, hi
Sylectra Darwin: Continuing our discussion of mountains, that brings another association to my mind - I practice yoga and we spend a lot of time in "mountain" pose, where we focus on standing straight and strong and connecting with the ground.
Sylectra Darwin: My first impression is feeling chained to the ground, and I am aware of a stubborn streak in me that doesn't want to stay there.
Zon Quar: ty Yaku
SophiaSharon Larnia: nods :)
Bruce Mowbray: "connecting with the ground" --
Sylectra Darwin: We work past all those thoughts by focusing on the body's proper alignment and the breath. Before long, it feels like no other body position could be more natural.
Bruce Mowbray: rootedness? earth Dakini?
SophiaSharon Larnia: i can feel this in a way, just imagining being the mountain
Sylectra Darwin: It's a powerful feeling, if you give it some minutes of thought.
Bruce Mowbray: but you ARE the mountain, Sharon. . . (or that's how I saw you -- sorry)
SophiaSharon Larnia: :D
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, yes that's interesting... sometimes we don't even notice our resistance ... tied together mountain = stuck, for instance...
Bruce Mowbray: then, perhaps, it's time to do some other asanas.
Eliza Madrigal: but the mountain and the sky are perhaps not so different
SophiaSharon Larnia: like thinking a mountain is something to be conquered
Bruce Mowbray: sun salutations, maybe.
Bruce Mowbray: "conquering a mountain"? what a joke: The mountain has already BEEN to the top of itself.
Bruce Mowbray: conquering.
SophiaSharon Larnia: ha! interesting :D
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: and indeed, it continues to BE the top.
Bruce Mowbray: and bottom.
Bruce Mowbray: beginning/end.
Eliza Madrigal: and therefore neither/both
Bruce Mowbray: starts at its own end - both directions.
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Bruce Mowbray thinks to self: ENOUGH COFFEE, already!
Eliza Madrigal: we seem to be drawn to circling around today :) connecting all the non-connections
SophiaSharon Larnia: (have heartburn from it this morning actually, I'm trying to 'have no preference' about it tho lol)
Bruce Mowbray: So, does starting at the end require untangling "purposes"?
Eliza Madrigal: heehhe
Eliza Madrigal: Interesting question Bruce
Eliza Madrigal: What do you think?
Bruce Mowbray: Now that I am "retired," (unemployed in old age) I sense a lack of "purpose" - and i LOVE it!
SophiaSharon Larnia: :D
Bruce Mowbray: My days are like clouds.
Sylectra Darwin: Bruce, I am jealous.
Eliza Madrigal: I think it doesn't 'have to'... that would be contradictory to the very idea :)
Bruce Mowbray: so many mountains to caress -- so MUCH time to do so!
SophiaSharon Larnia: im between jobs at the moment, and my days are a bit like clouds too. I don’t like it as much as I thought i would
Bruce Mowbray: life is good!
Eliza Madrigal: the mountain does nothing but leaves nothing undone?
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Visitor2
SophiaSharon Larnia: (oops out of chat range)
Eliza Madrigal looks around... Corvi?
SophiaSharon Larnia: no :)
Eliza Madrigal: Ah. Sigh :)
Bruce Mowbray: I used to let the job "structure" my life - and most of my "meanings" in life.
Bruce Mowbray: no more.
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes
Bruce Mowbray: it took me about a year to get used to "cloud-ness" of no job.
Bruce Mowbray: to enjoy that way of living.
Yakuzza Lethecus: what was ur job before ?
Yakuzza Lethecus: have you been a farmer ?
Bruce Mowbray: most teaching.
Eliza Madrigal: openness can be uncomfortable
Bruce Mowbray: also group home manager for home of psychotic and profoundly retarded males.
Bruce Mowbray: also worked in factory making auto parts for Honda.
Bruce Mowbray: also night desk clerk - motel.
Bruce Mowbray: also drive-thru attendant in fast food restaurant.
Sylectra Darwin: Bruce, you have done many interesting things!
Bruce Mowbray: Perhaps you can see why I'm enjoying cloud-ness so much., now.
Sylectra Darwin: I would think so :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: :D

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: trying not to imagine that clouds are completely at the mercy of the winds that blow them about.
Eliza Madrigal: Have you read Shelley's 'The Cloud' Bruce?
Eliza Madrigal: http://www.web-books.com/Classics/Po...lley/Cloud.htm
Bruce Mowbray: nope. say more, please.
Eliza Madrigal: a favorite poem...
Yakuzza Lethecus: take care everyone
Sylectra Darwin: see you soon I hope
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Sylectra, nice to see you :)
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, Yakuzza :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Sylectra!
Sylectra Darwin: Thanks all for the conversation :)
Eliza Madrigal: And Sylectra. hah :))
Eliza Madrigal: Thank you... I was off-screen copying the very end of the poem, for the log....
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Yakuzza (I step away one sec and lose track lol)
Eliza Madrigal:

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.

SophiaSharon Larnia: lovely
Eliza Madrigal: I find it amazing... and wonderful how it seems to fit this session so
Eliza Madrigal: unbuilding, clouds and mountains... rainbows :)
Bruce Mowbray: I've just printed it all out -- for dessert, later. Thank you!
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes, thank you
Eliza Madrigal: you're most welcome :) I love reading it again too
SophiaSharon Larnia: now I must go, I have a backyard full of camping stuff all thrown about and I need to pack it up :D
Eliza Madrigal: camping?
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes tents and stuff
Bruce Mowbray: not to be overly pedantic here, but its meter is anapestic. . .
Eliza Madrigal: ooohhh that's what we need... a pab camping trip
Bruce Mowbray: a child-like rhythm.
SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles @ Bruce!
SophiaSharon Larnia: hehehe
SophiaSharon Larnia: Eliza
Eliza Madrigal smiles, yes... child-like wonder
Bruce Mowbray: skipping. . . like hop-scotch and jump rope.
Bruce Mowbray: di di DAH di di DAH di di DAH.
Eliza Madrigal: yes... we can hopscotch and jump rope on our pab camping trip...
Eliza Madrigal giggle
SophiaSharon Larnia: do wop do wop do (sslism)
SophiaSharon Larnia: Im just happy i got the tents up without instructions, i lost them
Eliza Madrigal: Eek
Eliza Madrigal: So you camped during the heat wave?
SophiaSharon Larnia: no, i didn’t want to be there, and then not be able to do it
SophiaSharon Larnia: giggles
Eliza Madrigal: hahah, yes... but it might make a good story later :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: not yet, the end of this week, will prob be a heat wave
Eliza Madrigal: how nice though... have wanted to camp in the Cali mountains...
SophiaSharon Larnia: in upstate NY mountains may be cooler there
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, nice!
Eliza Madrigal: yes it should be
Eliza Madrigal: (gives sharon more typo work-sorry) :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: anyway bye for now :D hehe np
Eliza Madrigal: Bye Sharon
Eliza Madrigal: And Bye Bruce and Zon. I have to get moving also...
Eliza Madrigal: Thank you for a very fun morning :)
Bruce Mowbray: have a great time on your mountains, Sharon!
Bruce Mowbray: you too, Eliza. Enjoy!