2011.01.06 13:00 - active meditation session :)

The Guardian for this meeting was Lia Rikugun. The comments are by Lia Rikugun.

This was an active meditation session :). Happened quite spontaneously. The theme or the exploration was to look inside for a deeper source, something more essential to the "I". We tried for 6 minutes and then reported. Please read for yourself.

[13:01] Lia Rikugun: hihi
[13:02] Eliza Madrigal: hihi
[13:02] Eliza Madrigal: Nice to make your session today... seems like a long while. Is all well?
[13:02] Lia Rikugun: yes nice to see you
[13:02] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:03] Lia Rikugun: wow new orleans is coming
[13:03] Eliza Madrigal: very close!
[13:03] Lia Rikugun: i am looking forward, but need to get back into more mdeitation mood :)
[13:03] Lia Rikugun: maybe we can try this during this session
[13:04] Eliza Madrigal: that's a big trip for you, so seems a good motivator :)
[13:04] Eliza Madrigal: Sure!
[13:04] Eliza Madrigal: I would actually love that
[13:04] Lia Rikugun: hello bruce
[13:04] Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bruce :)
[13:04] Lia Rikugun: what do you think of making this a meditation session
[13:04] Bruce Mowbray: Hello! Are we sitting in the back row today?
[13:04] Eliza Madrigal: I took Lia's lead :)
[13:04] Bruce Mowbray: I'm all FOR making this a meditation session (if you're asking me).
[13:04] Lia Rikugun: ups this just happened
[13:05] Lia Rikugun: without a reason
[13:05] Lia Rikugun: ok what should be our topic
[13:05] Lia Rikugun: or what do we want to meditate about?
[13:06] Eliza Madrigal: hm...

idea for an exploration

[13:06] Lia Rikugun: i like to look for a deeper source inside
[13:06] Lia Rikugun: but anything is fine
[13:06] Eliza Madrigal: Would you say more?
[13:06] Lia Rikugun: this is something i tried during the stuttgart retreat
[13:07] Lia Rikugun: we were talking about the "I"
[13:07] Bruce Mowbray: Are we wanting to have a few periods of practice - then discuss. . . or just discuss our ways of practicing, or what?
[13:07] Eliza Madrigal: Ah, yes
[13:07] Bruce Mowbray: I'm open for anything.
[13:07] Lia Rikugun: and i was struggling witzh this definition and what "I" is, and what the essence of myself is
[13:07] Eliza Madrigal: Looking for "I" seems an interesting way of pausing...
[13:07] Eliza Madrigal: then after we share?
[13:07] oO0Oo Resident: hi all
[13:07] Lia Rikugun: i think first meditate then discuss
[13:07] Eliza Madrigal: Hi oOOOo!
[13:07] Lia Rikugun: hi oO0O0
[13:08] Bruce Mowbray: "Looking for 'I', " then. Hello, Damuo
[13:08] Bruce Mowbray: Samuo... sry.
[13:08] Lia Rikugun: hoq are youOoooO have you been here before?
[13:08] Eliza Madrigal: So start before the bell looking for "I".... then after the bell discuss...
[13:08] Bruce Mowbray: Samuo has been here many times.
[13:08] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:08] oO0Oo Resident: yes Lia ty I'm fine
[13:08] Lia Rikugun: samuo oh ok
[13:09] Lia Rikugun: we want to make this an active meditation session :)
[13:09] oO0Oo Resident: ok
[13:09] Eliza Madrigal: I like that phrasing... sounds vigourous!
[13:09] Lia Rikugun: so the idea is that we look deep inside our selves
[13:10] Lia Rikugun: to look for something more essential
[13:10] oO0Oo Resident: ok sounds fun
[13:10] Lia Rikugun: something which is the essence of me

for 6 minutes we did the experiment until after the 90 seconds bell

[13:10] Lia Rikugun: do you want to do this for 6 minutes or is this too long?
[13:10] Lia Rikugun: we yould start now
[13:10] Lia Rikugun: and discuss after the bell
[13:10] Bruce Mowbray: sounds fine .
[13:11] Lia Rikugun: and i explain to all newcomers
[13:11] Lia Rikugun: hi zon
[13:11] Lia Rikugun: we are doing a little experiment today
[13:11] Lia Rikugun: an active meditation session
[13:11] Eliza Madrigal: yes great, okay.. you may want to make a note with the little practice description then you can participate easily too, Lia?
[13:11] Lia Rikugun: we want to try looking for a deeper source inside ourselves
[13:12] Lia Rikugun: first the meditation then discuss after the first bell
[13:12] Lia Rikugun: well after the 90 seconds
[13:12] Lia Rikugun: a deeper source, something more essential to ourselves
[13:16] Calvino Rabeni: Good evening
[13:16] Lia Rikugun: good evening calvino
[13:16] Eliza Madrigal: Hi Botty and Cal :)
[13:16] Lia Rikugun: we just did a 6 minutes exploration
[13:16] Botty Absent: Hi everybody, I heard the bell and came over
[13:17] oO0Oo Resident: hi Cal, Botty
[13:17] Lia Rikugun: hi botty
[13:17] Eliza Madrigal: the bell tolls...
[13:17] Lia Rikugun: we looked inside for a deeper source
[13:17] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:17] oO0Oo Resident: :) for whom

after the exploration, different thoughts

[13:17] Lia Rikugun: maybe someone wants to share some thoughts :)
[13:18] Botty Absent: will listen
[13:18] oO0Oo Resident: I couldn't find anybody to
[13:18] Bruce Mowbray: shall we go counter-clockwise?
[13:18] Calvino Rabeni: ok
[13:18] Lia Rikugun: yes OOooo starts
[13:18] Eliza Madrigal: :) sure...
[13:18] Lia Rikugun: :)
[13:18] Bruce Mowbray: were you going to begin, Samuo?
[13:19] Lia Rikugun: i can start too
[13:19] oO0Oo Resident: well, to be honest I was confused a little by the terms of the excersise... more essential than what
[13:19] oO0Oo Resident: ?
[13:19] Lia Rikugun: so what did you do samuo?
[13:20] Lia Rikugun: i am curious for differnt explorations :)
[13:20] Eliza Madrigal: confusion seems part of the fun....
[13:20] oO0Oo Resident: I adjusted my view of you all (sheepish grin)
[13:20] Eliza Madrigal: :))
[13:20] Lia Rikugun: :)
[13:21] oO0Oo Resident: pass maybe for me this round
[13:21] Calvino Rabeni: More, Sam ?
[13:21] Lia Rikugun: ok
[13:21] Lia Rikugun: well in the very first moment i felt like i was plunging into a deep relaxation
[13:22] Lia Rikugun: like leaving everything whcih bothers me, every thoughts jumping around just behind
[13:22] Lia Rikugun: but it was difficult for me to stay in this
[13:23] Lia Rikugun: but good to see that it can be so easy and quick to clear the head
[13:23] Lia Rikugun: :)
[13:23] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:23] Lia Rikugun: thats maybe all for now
[13:23] Eliza Madrigal: Nice...
[13:23] Eliza Madrigal: (and sorry for intejecting before)...
[13:24] Eliza Madrigal: I've done this sort of exercise before but this time it was completely different...
[13:24] Eliza Madrigal: maybe because I allowed it to be that
[13:24] Eliza Madrigal: I started to look for "I" by 'thinking' about my self/body... and 'thinking' I would zero in..
[13:24] Eliza Madrigal: sort of... but I couldn't...
[13:25] Eliza Madrigal: coulmd
[13:25] Eliza Madrigal: *couldn't land if that makes sense...
[13:25] Eliza Madrigal: but t was comfortable and felt expansive so... i let that be...
[13:25] Lia Rikugun: how nice
[13:25] Eliza Madrigal: and felt a kind if 'i' of everything... yes... really nice...
[13:26] Eliza Madrigal: thanks :) (done)
[13:26] Lia Rikugun: expnasive this is the right word
[13:26] Bruce Mowbray: I first created a very large "space" -- large enough to be without any 'pressure' whatsoever [within that space].
[13:26] Wol Euler: hello everyone
[13:26] Lia Rikugun: hi wol
[13:26] Bruce Mowbray: "Expansive" seems to be the operative term.
[13:26] Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Wol.
[13:26] Botty Absent: Hi Wol
[13:26] Wol Euler: ty eliza
[13:27] oO0Oo Resident: Hi Wol
[13:27] Bruce Mowbray: But for me, in order to even seek for an "I", I need to created plenty of non-shaming, non-hateful space -- so that it is REALLY OK for an "I" to be there.
[13:28] oO0Oo Resident: :)
[13:28] Bruce Mowbray: In other words, I need to drop my habitual tendency to think of that "I" as inadequate to the exercise itself.

someone came at this point but left very soon, I erased the passage

[13:30] Bruce Mowbray returns to meditation now.
[13:31] Wol Euler meditatively puts down her "expel and ban" button
[13:31] Bruce Mowbray: passes to Botty.
[13:31] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:32] Botty Absent: well, I just got here and did not do the exercise with you
[13:32] Botty Absent: but, seem to have been sort of called
[13:32] Botty Absent: into SL for this exercise on my own
[13:32] Lia Rikugun: :)
[13:33] Botty Absent: yesterday I was sitting in that lovely japanese style house and garden next to here
[13:33] Botty Absent: It was so peaceful and cnnected
[13:33] Botty Absent: and just now in my RL it is not so settled
[13:34] Botty Absent: so I came back to that garden
[13:34] Botty Absent: and the person over my shoulder (meta-person)
[13:34] Botty Absent: and that SL person are "deeper"
[13:34] Botty Absent: wish I was
[13:34] Botty Absent: that's all
[13:35] Calvino Rabeni: thanks
[13:35] Eliza Madrigal: so nice to find those peaceful places
[13:35] Eliza Madrigal listens

we looked for a different meditation idea but decided to stay with this one. Everyone was invited to formulate the meditation in their own words

[13:35] Lia Rikugun: should we try the same thing again later, or should we think of something else?
[13:35] Lia Rikugun: active medtation session today
[13:36] Lia Rikugun: you will have to work!
[13:36] Lia Rikugun: ;)
[13:36] Wol Euler smiles.
[13:36] Lia Rikugun: what do you want to do?
[13:36] Bruce Mowbray will continue meditating. . .
[13:37] Eliza Madrigal: seems fine..to continue, nearly back to the bell now...
[13:37] Lia Rikugun: ok who can please formulate the meditation
[13:37] Lia Rikugun: to have it in someone elses words
[13:37] oO0Oo Resident: we are looking for 'I' ?
[13:38] oO0Oo Resident: or our essence?
[13:38] Eliza Madrigal: yes or what lies beneath the I?
[13:38] Eliza Madrigal: sometimes you look for I and run into the other? hehe
[13:38] Bruce Mowbray: explorers of interior 'space'
[13:38] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:38] Lia Rikugun: ah very good
[13:38] Lia Rikugun: we have several ideas :)
[13:39] Botty Absent: question: looking fo r"I" OR beneath "I" seems 2 different things
[13:39] Eliza Madrigal: yes I suppose I convoluted it for us...
[13:39] Eliza Madrigal: sorry :)
[13:39] Wol Euler: :)
[13:39] Eliza Madrigal: I'm happy to look for "I" still....
[13:40] Wol Euler: hello ari
[13:40] oO0Oo Resident: there are technical terms for this. I bet Cal knows
[13:40] Arisia Vita: Hi all, good to see you
[13:40] Lia Rikugun: hello arisia
[13:40] Botty Absent: Hello Arisia
[13:40] Eliza Madrigal: Hi Ari
[13:40] Calvino Rabeni: Really, if one finds something interesting it would be worthwhile, regardless of whether it is pre-defined
[13:40] oO0Oo Resident: Hi ari
[13:40] Lia Rikugun: we are trying an exploration right now
[13:41] Lia Rikugun: who can formulate it for ari please?
[13:41] Arisia Vita: no problem, I'll just listen
[13:41] Arisia Vita: as usual
[13:41] Lia Rikugun: well we want to really do the meditation
[13:41] Arisia Vita: good, then I'll join in
[13:42] Lia Rikugun: i formulated it as follows: looking inside for a deeper source
[13:42] Lia Rikugun: to see what you can find
[13:42] Bruce Mowbray: from now until after the bell . . .
[13:42] Lia Rikugun: something more essential to the "I"

The 6 minutes seemed to be quite short afterwards :), again reports...

[13:46] Lia Rikugun: wow quite short
[13:47] Lia Rikugun: who wants to start?
[13:47] oO0Oo Resident: I'll have a go
[13:47] Eliza Madrigal: we left off with cal before I think...
[13:47] Bruce Mowbray: May I start?
[13:47] Bruce Mowbray: ok -- on to Cal.
[13:47] Calvino Rabeni: sure Bruce
[13:47] oO0Oo Resident: sure
[13:47] Bruce Mowbray: didn't mean to interrupt.
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: OK.
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: for me is it allowing and allowing and allowing --
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: larger and larger
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: totally non-bullying myself
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: non-parenting.
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: simply allowing and larger allowing
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: until allowing becomes acceptance.
[13:48] Bruce Mowbray: complete, unqualified, unconditional acceptance. . .
[13:49] Bruce Mowbray: and whatever rises is simply there.
[13:49] Bruce Mowbray: [done]
[13:49] Bruce Mowbray: oh one more thing.
[13:49] Botty Absent: wow, I did not get that deep
[13:49] Bruce Mowbray: It slipped into my mind that the WoK group begins at the top of the hour.
[13:49] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:49] Bruce Mowbray: [done]
[13:49] Lia Rikugun: this sounds great bruce
[13:50] Eliza Madrigal: mmm, nods
[13:51] Eliza Madrigal loves "non-bullying myself"
[13:51] Wol Euler nods.
[13:51] Eliza Madrigal: Ooo would you like to have that go?
[13:51] oO0Oo Resident: sure
[13:51] Lia Rikugun: by the way: nobody needs to say anything
[13:51] Lia Rikugun: if they dont feel like it
[13:51] Eliza Madrigal: :)
[13:52] Wol Euler: wb botty
[13:52] Eliza Madrigal: WB Botty!
[13:52] Lia Rikugun: wb botty
[13:52] Botty Absent: thanks
[13:52] oO0Oo Resident: mmm... initially, coming to my body, which relaxes some, awareness of breath, of holding and breathing out, posture naturally straightens
[13:52] Botty Absent: my connection keeps crashing
[13:53] oO0Oo Resident: chest opens
[13:53] oO0Oo Resident: allowing eyes to be less focused
[13:54] oO0Oo Resident: then mind expand s with willingness to not hang on to objects as much
[13:54] oO0Oo Resident: then ask more gently the ? what is more essential here?
[13:54] oO0Oo Resident: and it is just space and trust in the space
[13:55] oO0Oo Resident: then also notice tending to distraction, and come back... be with the question but no real answer to land with
[13:56] oO0Oo Resident: that's all
[13:56] Lia Rikugun: be with the question i like that
[13:56] Wol Euler nods.
[13:56] Eliza Madrigal: listening is meditating itself... thank you
[13:57] Lia Rikugun: (wos next?)
[13:57] Calvino Rabeni: I relate to Bruces and O's statements
[13:58] Wol Euler: I don't have much.
[13:58] Calvino Rabeni: What I try to do is open the field space that can "hold" the other I's and allow them to be what they are
[13:58] Calvino Rabeni: then the collection adds up to a "deeper source"
[13:58] Wol Euler: (sorry, continue cal)
[13:59] Calvino Rabeni: Some of them are highly charged emotionally
[13:59] Calvino Rabeni: I got an IM during that pause, and needed to attend to it
[13:59] Calvino Rabeni: and to not get fully absorbed into the single emotion and perspective of that one interaction
[14:00] Calvino Rabeni: but let it be what it was, informed by the space around it and the contributions of the others
[14:00] Calvino Rabeni: (end)
[14:00] Bruce Mowbray: Thanks, Cal. and thank you Lia, and Eliza, for pursuing this during this session.
[14:01] Calvino Rabeni: Yes I enjoyed that process too, thanks, I'd like to do it more
[14:01] Eliza Madrigal: yes thank you all SO much...
[14:01] Calvino Rabeni notices the ways of knowing group is starting
[14:01] Bruce Mowbray: Thank you all.
[14:01] Eliza Madrigal: time for Wok :) Namaste'
[14:01] oO0Oo Resident: ty
[14:01] Botty Absent: yes thank you all it was nice
[14:01] Wol Euler: goodnight all, thank you
[14:02] Eliza Madrigal: Night Wol :)
[14:02] Wol Euler: namaste
[14:02] Arisia Vita: good seeing you all again...
[14:02] Lia Rikugun: bye everybody who is leaving
[14:02] Botty Absent: where is this ways of knowing
[14:02] Wol Euler: at the kira cafe, west of here
[14:02] Eliza Madrigal: Oh, if you follow me I'll lead there....
[14:02] Botty Absent: ok, thanks
[14:02] Lia Rikugun: wol, you had something you wanted to tell
[14:02] Wol Euler: not really :)
[14:03] Lia Rikugun: not really? or really?
[14:03] Wol Euler: I started to look "under" my self, and visualized a fat and lazy alligator lying in a shallow stream
[14:03] Wol Euler: a rather literal image of the amygdala :)
[14:03] Lia Rikugun: hah!
[14:03] Wol Euler: the reptile brain
[14:03] Wol Euler: my subconscious has a sense of humour
[14:03] Lia Rikugun: very nice! :)
[14:04] Wol Euler: that#s as far as I got, I am still somewhat wobbly and sleepy from jetlag
[14:04] Lia Rikugun: oh you are back in germany?
[14:04] Wol Euler: yes, since monday noon
[14:04] Lia Rikugun: oh and directly work?
[14:04] Wol Euler: mmhmm
[14:05] Lia Rikugun: i hope you had a great stay back in canada
[14:05] Wol Euler: oh yes, it was a great time.
[14:05] Wol Euler: and yourself? gut gefestet?
[14:05] Lia Rikugun: sehr viel gegessen :)
[14:05] Wol Euler: heheheh
[14:05] Lia Rikugun: very nice celebrations
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: with the family with friends
[14:06] Wol Euler: nice
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: but worked also
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: have an important deadline tomorrow
[14:06] Wol Euler: ah!
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: :)
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: but its exciting
[14:06] Wol Euler smiles.
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: so i will probably go to sleep
[14:06] Wol Euler: mmhmm
[14:06] Wol Euler: I should too.
[14:06] Wol Euler: goodnight lia, and good luck tomorrow
[14:06] Lia Rikugun: good night wol!
[14:07] Lia Rikugun: thank you! basically its just writing
[14:07] Lia Rikugun: but the writing needs to be perfected ;)
[14:07] Wol Euler: :)
[14:07] Lia Rikugun: good night byebye
[14:07] Wol Euler: bye, lia