The Guardian for this meeting was stevenaia Michinaga. The comments are by stevenaia Michinaga.

I arrived and was joined by 2 friends of Druth I had met last week..... their first meeting, then Druth and Arch and Alfred joined us.

stevenaia Michinaga: hello
Elaine Lorefield: hello :)
Simulat Almendros: Hi :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: welcome, so nice of you to remember
stevenaia Michinaga: is this your first time here?
Elaine Lorefield: yes
Simulat Almendros: yes - I've know about you for a while but never got around to coming
Simulat Almendros: But druth clued us in
Elaine Lorefield: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: ok, I must ask you if it's ok to record you as we post these session to the groups' Wiki
Elaine Lorefield: certainly
stevenaia Michinaga: smiles
Simulat Almendros: fine with me
Simulat Almendros: Are you the guardian Stevenaia?
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: grins, I forgot to change my hat
stevenaia Michinaga: I am here to claim the log and post it to the wiki and give gentle direction when necessary
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks, one thing we try to do here in out exploration of the nature of reality is to speak from the first person, there is much to learn from experience of each other, rather than referential information
stevenaia Michinaga: *our
stevenaia Michinaga: *reality
stevenaia Michinaga: opps
stevenaia Michinaga: I can't type if you haven't noticed
stevenaia Michinaga: luckilly our wiki has a spellchecker :)
Elaine Lorefield: is okay.. I do well in translating Typonese
Simulat Almendros: nods - I do that myself - talk about my own ideas and experience way more that refer to others
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks, I appreciate that
Elaine Lorefield: :)
Simulat Almendros: yeha and typos are no problem
stevenaia Michinaga: there will be a bell every 15 minutes here... a moment to meditate for 90 seconds
stevenaia Michinaga: (on the 1/4 hour)
Simulat Almendros: interesting structure
stevenaia Michinaga: take the originator started with 9 second meditations every 15 minutes, much can happen in a brief 9 seconds
stevenaia Michinaga: there are helpful hint on the wiki, if you've had a change to look it over,
stevenaia Michinaga: have you visited the group's Wiki yet before you came?
Elaine Lorefield: I looked at it yes :)
Simulat Almendros: I looked at it too - read a couple of the transcripts
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks, it helps me explain less :)
stevenaia Michinaga: but if you do have any question, I will try to answer
Simulat Almendros: I'm curious about what the basic idea is though - do you think you can just take on ways of being provisionally?
stevenaia Michinaga: the goal here is to Play as Being
Simulat Almendros: what do you mean by that ?
stevenaia Michinaga: thought play or meditation, definitions will arise of your own vision
stevenaia Michinaga: as a child plays
stevenaia Michinaga: during the next 90 seconds close your eyes and try
Elaine Lorefield: :)
--BELL--
stevenaia Michinaga: Being will construct itself
Simulat Almendros: well - I got accused the other day of having lost my sense of fun - but I think its just that fun for me now is different from when I was a kid
Elaine Lorefield: :)
Simulat Almendros: thing is - when I a kid I used to take clams from the lake and lay then in a line across the road for fun
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmmm.... Clams as Being
Simulat Almendros: kids aren't so innocent as we sometimes pretend
stevenaia Michinaga: Being is like many concepts that are difficult to put into words, yet it is graspable without word,
Simulat Almendros: nor is fun and nor is play
Elaine Lorefield: differes for everyone
Simulat Almendros: how do you get at being Stevenaia?
Elaine Lorefield: so what I saw..as i let myself drift..
stevenaia Michinaga: sometimes it;s good to just let go and empty out, this create fertile environment for new thoughts to fill the void, like pulling your finger out of water
Elaine Lorefield: is that what we discuss now/
stevenaia Michinaga: I have my own thought of Being.. like Love... until you find it, all the words of explanation and poetry will never get you to understand
Elaine Lorefield: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: but you know it when you find it
Elaine Lorefield: like being a mother.. you cannot understand till you hold the baby
stevenaia Michinaga: and when sitting in a group for a year or two, the language becomes more of a common thread
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Simulat Almendros: well - I can't be a mother or a grandmother - but I can be what I am - as popeye said "I am what I am"
stevenaia Michinaga: something are understood through, time, experience, understanding or meditation, I suspect it will never be the same for each of us
stevenaia Michinaga: like colors
stevenaia Michinaga: you know blue.. I know blue
stevenaia Michinaga: but we can never know if it the same even if we look at the same color blue
stevenaia Michinaga: my spouse grows roses
Elaine Lorefield: nods
stevenaia Michinaga: se each smell them, yet my favorite is one she cannot smell
stevenaia Michinaga: *we
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Parrot, care to join us?
Simulat Almendros: Hi Parrot
stevenaia Michinaga: or not...poof
stevenaia Michinaga: a good start here is to understand you cannot grasp the ungraspable, but you can experience it for yourself
stevenaia Michinaga: you can hold a rose, but not its smell
Alfred Kelberry: hi :)
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Alfred, good to see you
Simulat Almendros: you can smell its smell and hold its stem
Elaine Lorefield: :)
Alfred Kelberry: good to see you, stev, and your beautiful dress :)
stevenaia Michinaga: smiles, these are Druth's friends
Alfred Kelberry: hi, Elaine, simulat - i don't think we've met
Alfred Kelberry: boxbot at your service :)
stevenaia Michinaga: they are new here
Simulat Almendros: first time here alfred though I've wondered about this place for a while :-)
Alfred Kelberry: welcome :)
stevenaia Michinaga: lol, so have we
Simulat Almendros: hehehe
Alfred Kelberry: :)
--BELL--
stevenaia Michinaga: another bell coming up,
Simulat Almendros: I'm afraid I may be a bit too intellectual
Alfred Kelberry: meep-meep!
Alfred Kelberry: *sees druth and waves*
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Druth
druth Vlodovic: hey all
stevenaia Michinaga: nice of you to join us, Similat was saying..Simulat Almendros: I'm afraid I may be a bit too intellectual
Elaine Lorefield: :)
Simulat Almendros: by being too intellectual I mean what does Being mean - is Being me being too intellectual?
Alfred Kelberry: being you is being yourself :)
druth Vlodovic: intellectual would be a way of approaching the world
stevenaia Michinaga: if there was a sort answer, we would not be sitting here 4 times a day for the 2 1/2 years
stevenaia Michinaga: *short
druth Vlodovic: a limit to your perceptions
Elaine Lorefield: i was a princess floating in the air
Alfred Kelberry: :)
Simulat Almendros: have you been here 4 times a day for 2.5 years ?
Simulat Almendros: or just the discussions have
Simulat Almendros: ?
stevenaia Michinaga: is poetry intellectual?
Simulat Almendros: yes it is
stevenaia Michinaga: the group has, Sim
druth Vlodovic: you should see the saddle sores
Elaine Lorefield: lol druth :)
stevenaia Michinaga: no, these pillows are quite soft
Simulat Almendros: too much information :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: I am not a poet, but can appreciate it
druth Vlodovic: depends on the poetry, it evokes emotion, or can, it can also be understood intellectually
Elaine Lorefield: nods
Elaine Lorefield: sometimes it requires a lot of knowledge to understand the references
stevenaia Michinaga: from the voices I have heard here understanding being relates more to poetry than it an intellectual definition
Elaine Lorefield: nods
Alfred Kelberry: or sometimes it's just a gibberish without any references :)
Elaine Lorefield: i relate to poetry in an emotional manner
stevenaia Michinaga: this helps in out exploration, you Play with being not because you understand what it may be, but the process allows you to create a definition if what it is
Alfred Kelberry: i think we relate to anything in an emotional manner
stevenaia Michinaga: like silly putty, it is what you make it
Alfred Kelberry: any object brings up an emotion
Simulat Almendros: well - poets often express states of mind they don't have and that cannot be - poets love to play on words
Simulat Almendros: so what does playing on words have to do with Being?
Simulat Almendros: is it; I am a Being that loves to play on words?
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s a part of the creative process of understanding
Simulat Almendros: sure, we have to be creative to understand, but not all creations lead to understanding
Simulat Almendros: how do we tell one from the other?
stevenaia Michinaga: what a better way of understanding something than crawling inside "it"
stevenaia Michinaga: let's try that at the next bell
stevenaia Michinaga: You be Being
Simulat Almendros: well - I can't crawl inside you even if you write a poem
druth Vlodovic: depends on the understanding, I hold up a silver pen and think "I can write with this" or "This is beautiful" or even "oh no, more writing!"
druth Vlodovic: each is an understanding of yourself in relation to the pen
stevenaia Michinaga: replace the pen with being and do the same... smiles
--BELL--
stevenaia Michinaga: kicks the bell
druth Vlodovic: wow, I didn't think that would work
stevenaia Michinaga: grrr, ofcourse I was imagining holding a penn for the past 90 seconds, thank you Druth
Elaine Lorefield: giggles
druth Vlodovic: did you crawl inside it?
stevenaia Michinaga: you were saying druth?
Elaine Lorefield: hehehe
Elaine Lorefield: i was thinking about laundry.. a bane..an effort..or having that shirt clean that I want to wear tomorrow
druth Vlodovic: it is difficult sometimes to hear above the noise in your head
Elaine Lorefield: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: sometimes it's hard to leave that
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s nice when it quiets down though, except the flood of things that fill it right back up are always present
stevenaia Michinaga: *except
Simulat Almendros: sometimes its hear your self above the noise from outside
stevenaia Michinaga: but those things are usually new
Alfred Kelberry: that's what we often do. we live either in the past or the future and not present in the moment.
Elaine Lorefield: yes
druth Vlodovic: sometimes I'll stop and say "I am here, doing this." and even though what I'm doing might be onerous it creates a moment of calm
stevenaia Michinaga: waves to Archmage
druth Vlodovic: hi arch
Archmage Atlantis: hey
Alfred Kelberry: *nods to druth* yes, stop and ask yourself: what is my mind doing at the moment?
Alfred Kelberry: hi, archy :)
Archmage Atlantis: Hi, hi, Alfie
Simulat Almendros: Druth - when I'm doing something I can't stop and say I'm doing this - that just screws me up - I have to just do it
Archmage Atlantis: Hi, Stevenaia :)
Simulat Almendros: bike riding is an example - if you consciously try to keep your balance you fall over
druth Vlodovic: I mainly do physical work, and repetitive, so "mind vacations" are more a matter of safety than losing track
stevenaia Michinaga: nice when you do things you don;t have to think about
stevenaia Michinaga: like yoga or tai chi, eventually the body knows and the mind just takes a walk
Archmage Atlantis: oh, oh.....I know that one........I was only ableto go across the tall bridge if I didn't think about it....weird
druth Vlodovic: lol, that was a lesson, you can't ride a bike, and *know* how to ride a bike at the same time, I've never encountered anything quite like it, maybe walking
druth Vlodovic: hmm, when I say "stop" my body keeps going, it is only my mind tht stops
stevenaia Michinaga: can you stop your body and keep your ind going too?
stevenaia Michinaga: *mind
Archmage Atlantis: Oh, the mind does not stop......only the concious mind, well at least
Archmage Atlantis: in my experience
Alfred Kelberry: stev, when you stop paying attention it becomes a habit and you lose awareness of it. this is where meditation helps you see it again (e.g. breath, our body)
druth Vlodovic: I tried to explain meditation to my kid, he goes "If you blanked your mind completely you'd die."
Alfred Kelberry: druth, it may be repetetive, but it's not the same, each iteration is new
Archmage Atlantis: True Alfred i like that you used the word "helps"
Alfred Kelberry: druth :)
Alfred Kelberry: you don't blank it, though. you let it be :)
Alfred Kelberry: be in the moment
Archmage Atlantis: Until about 29 children are different
Alfred Kelberry: 29? :)
Archmage Atlantis: ye[p
stevenaia Michinaga: not stopping the mind, just quieting it
Simulat Almendros: well - druth - there you have absolutism - but maybe you can quiet your thoughts for a bit without preventing your brain from keeping you breathing and your heart beating
--BELL--
Archmage Atlantis: There is a reason my generation said not to trust anyone over 30..........and, welll, we've been there a long time
Archmage Atlantis: My generation that is
druth Vlodovic: you don't rust yourself? :0
Archmage Atlantis: No druth
Simulat Almendros: yeah - I don't trust anyone since I'm now 61 - its put up or shut up
Archmage Atlantis: habit and conforming are strong
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Alfred Kelberry: :)
Elaine Lorefield: shhh
druth Vlodovic: I "let my mind be" and thought nothing would happen, then it popped up an image of me sitting in a coffee shop watching people, something I've hardly ever done
stevenaia Michinaga: I do that every morning, maybe you were seeing that
druth Vlodovic: stop thinking so loud!
Simulat Almendros: eep - I was biting my tongue :-)
stevenaia Michinaga: puts on aluminum helmut
Elaine Lorefield damps down her thoughts
druth Vlodovic: maybe it's what I ought to be doing with my time, have to test that tomorrow :)
Simulat Almendros: doesn't work - what we are will out
Simulat Almendros: that is our being will be
Archmage Atlantis: bittten toungues and damped thoughts do no find a closer path to truth\
Alfred Kelberry: :)
Elaine Lorefield: jsut trying to help druth out
Archmage Atlantis: I know, I'm a bit of a bitch....or the gay equivalent
stevenaia Michinaga: I msut be off, it;s been a long day, please stick around
druth Vlodovic: "by caffeine alone do I set my mind in motion..."
Alfred Kelberry: gitch? :)
Elaine Lorefield: :)
druth Vlodovic: have fun naia
Alfred Kelberry: ah, what a dress!
Elaine Lorefield: I know that feeling druth
Alfred Kelberry: pure awesomeness :)
stevenaia Michinaga: thank you ALfred, I think you would look great in it
Archmage Atlantis: Bye Glenda.....uh steve
stevenaia Michinaga: hehe
Archmage Atlantis: Don't forget Totto
Alfred Kelberry: a good cover :)