2011.08.04 13:00 - impressions of the retreat

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

Lia Rikugun: hello korel and FcSeeker
Lia Rikugun: how are you?
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Lia
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Peace, everyone!
FcSeeker Resident: having peace inside and in mind :)
Lia Rikugun: hello bruce
FcSeeker Resident: how are you ?
Lia Rikugun: wow thats great FcSeeker
FcSeeker Resident: it is
Lia Rikugun: I am good and happy, just like that
Lia Rikugun: hi santoshima
FcSeeker Resident: very nice to hear that
FcSeeker Resident: Hello san
Santoshima Resident: hi
Bruce Mowbray: Sounds like a happy and healthy group today -- GREAT!
Lia Rikugun: now korel is sitting all alone
Lia Rikugun: hi there
Bruce Mowbray: Hello, Santo.
Santoshima Resident: hello to you all
Bruce Mowbray: Since we're sitting across the fountain from each other, would anyone mind if I lowered the fountain so I can see you better?
Lia Rikugun: Is someone here for the first time and wants to know more about Play as Being?
FcSeeker Resident: that's o.k.
Santoshima Resident: i sit clustered to fit more folk on the screen
Lia Rikugun: i dont mind please
Santoshima Resident: ok to lower the fountain
Bruce Mowbray: We've all been here before, Lia.
Lia Rikugun: I am bad with names :)
Bruce Mowbray: bu thanks for asking.
Santoshima Resident: hi Lia
Lia Rikugun: usually i can remember faces better but in SL its different, well well
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
FcSeeker Resident: have you Lia some idea of the lag of names you have ? (have the same lag very strongly)
Lia Rikugun: can you reformulate the question? I am not sure I understand what you mean
Santoshima Resident: wow
Santoshima Resident: delightful
Lia Rikugun: is this you bruce doing this? :)
FcSeeker Resident: I understood that you meant that you dont easily remember names
Lia Rikugun: yes right
Bruce Mowbray: Yayyyy!
Lia Rikugun: haha
Bruce Mowbray: we are officially "Clustered" now.
FcSeeker Resident: so I meant to ask if you have some idea why such lag is
Lia Rikugun: i dont know, do you know why you have that?
Lia Rikugun: Hi Zon
FcSeeker Resident: Hi Zon
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Zon!
Lia Rikugun: wow you are tall, i never realized that
Zon Kwan: heya
FcSeeker Resident: I have thought a lot of that and you said something that makes me to believe my idea even more stronger
Santoshima Resident: hello zon
FcSeeker Resident: telling how it's different in SL
Lia Rikugun: and?
FcSeeker Resident: you see; I have wondered that how come I remember names in SL so well and quickly
FcSeeker Resident: but when you 'compared' names here to be like faces I understood
Bruce Mowbray: Hmmm. . .
FcSeeker Resident: you see, I also use to remember faces more than easy...so much that I have started (in this old age) even to avoid to look people at their face when meets new groups of people

Bruce starts to talk about his experience of the real life Play as Being retreat

Bruce Mowbray: It was pretty amazing to be with six folks in Real Life (Halifax retreat in July) that I'd only known by their SL names and avi's - -
Lia Rikugun: i didnt comapre it to faces, but in SL the face aspect somehow is not there, I dont look at the faces
Lia Rikugun: oh bruce you have been to the retreat?
Bruce Mowbray: of course, most of us retained our SL names during that retreat -- and some of them I still don't know their RL names! ;-)
Lia Rikugun: wow I am so curious tell us more please
Bruce Mowbray: yeppers -- In halifax. . . or about an hour's drive south of there.
Lia Rikugun: was this your first retreat?
Bruce Mowbray: We will be having a "theme session" about the retreat on Saturday morning --
Bruce Mowbray: at 7 a.m. slt --- right here!
Lia Rikugun: but you can already tell us your expereinces no?
Bruce Mowbray: This was my only retreat, yes.
Lia Rikugun: how was it for you to meet the people in RL
Bruce Mowbray: Too many wondrous experiences to list here -- but if you have a specific question, I'd be happy to try to answer it.
Bruce Mowbray: It was not at all what I expected -- meeting folks in RL.
Lia Rikugun: what was your strongest experience? :)
Bruce Mowbray: I had projected all sort of my own baggage onto folks -- so it was a sort of "clearing" being able to be with the typists behind the avi's.

Bruce's strongest experience happened in the forest

Bruce Mowbray: My strongest experience was not with people -- it was with the forest itself.
Bruce Mowbray: I will try to find a photo that I took of the forest. . . just a sec....
Lia Rikugun: ohh, would you like to tell us more
--BELL--
Bruce Mowbray: http://hermitdog.com/Forest_Threshold.JPG
Bruce Mowbray: There it is.
Santoshima Resident: how does one open a jpg?
Santoshima Resident: nvermind ...
Lia Rikugun: ah wow yes
Santoshima Resident: really wonderful
Bruce Mowbray: Well, Lia - When we ent into the forest - with the gentleman who runs the retreat center - I asked if I could take off my shirt so I could have a more tactile experience with the environment.
Lia Rikugun: so you took some silent walks in the forest?
Bruce Mowbray: and he said, Of course!
Lia Rikugun: haha
Bruce Mowbray: So we wandered independently through the forest -- doing something called "Aimless Wandering"
Bruce Mowbray: and wherever the forest led us, we went.
Lia Rikugun: cool where did you go? what did you find?
Bruce Mowbray: and I was able to embrace and be embraced by the forest in a very tactile sense.
Bruce Mowbray: WONDERFUL!
Bruce Mowbray: So that was my most powerful experience of the week -- although it was also pretty amazing meeting the other 5 retreatants.er
Bruce Mowbray: OH -- TOO MUCH to go into it here, Lia..
Lia Rikugun: a lot of magic I guess
Bruce Mowbray: Do come Saturday morning to the theme session, if you can.
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Liza
Bruce Mowbray: MUCH magic!
Lia Rikugun: I cant unfortunately :(
Lia Rikugun: will read the log
Lia Rikugun: yes I always found this on retreats a lot of magic going on :)
Lia Rikugun: I am so curious bruce
Lia Rikugun: but maybe I asked already a lot of questions
Bruce Mowbray: Have yuou attended RL retreats of PaB, Lia?
Lia Rikugun: yes I did
Bruce Mowbray: Wow! Where did you meet?
Lia Rikugun: I went to 4! thats a lot
Lia Rikugun: Hi wol
Bruce Mowbray: OH MY!
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Wol
Bruce Mowbray: Well, this was my only one.
Wol Euler: evening all
Santoshima Resident: howdy, Wol
Bruce Mowbray: But everyone else had been to previous ones, so there was a sort of "lineage" or "history" among them.
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Wol!
Lia Rikugun: bruce was just telling us a little about the retreat and his exprience in the forest
Bruce Mowbray looks at his hands.
Wol Euler: ah :)
Wol Euler: please continue
Bruce Mowbray: I just showed them a photo of the forest, Wol -- and explained how wondrous that was for me -- doing the aimless wandering.
Bruce Mowbray: http://hermitdog.com/Forest_Threshold.JPG
Bruce Mowbray: being seen by the forest and letting it call me forth.
Santoshima Resident: brb
Alessa Tzal: Evening all
Lia Rikugun: hi alessa
Wol Euler smiles.
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Alessa.
Wol Euler: hello alessa!
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Alessa
Wol Euler: yes, bruce, that was a lovely place
Wol Euler: and a nice experience
Lia Rikugun: have you also been to the retreat wol?
Lia Rikugun: oh the last time right?
Lia Rikugun: in halifax
Wol Euler: yes, both
Lia Rikugun: oh now too?
Wol Euler: mmhmm
Lia Rikugun: wow cool
Wol Euler does not wish to interrupt Bruce's tale
Bruce Mowbray has a secret: Woly looks JUST LIKE THAT in RL!
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: it's true
Bruce Mowbray dies from laughing....
Wol Euler: the antlers were a lifelong difficulty
Lia Rikugun: hi storm
Alessa Tzal: What, spotty?
Wol Euler: until I embraced my inner catelopitude
FcSeeker Resident: Hello Storm
Wol Euler: hello storm
Santoshima Resident: *
Storm Nordwind: Hello
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Storm!
Alessa Tzal: Hello Storm
Lia Rikugun: bruce and wol went to the last PaB retreat and started to talk about their experiences
--BELL--
FcSeeker Resident: wb Storm
Storm Nordwind: Thank you
Wol Euler: wb
Lia Rikugun: we are all anxious to hear more :)
Storm Nordwind nods and listens
Bruce Mowbray: Hmmmm.
Bruce Mowbray: Go for it, catelopitude!

silence for the silent day...

Alessa Tzal: Is this the bit about the silent day?
Storm Nordwind chuckles
Wol Euler smiles and shakes her head. This is your time, Bruce. Speak on
Lia Rikugun: hehe
Bruce Mowbray: No -- actually, I'd rather wait until Saturday morning -- when others at the retreat can speak. . .
Alessa Tzal: Yes, pleace Bruce
Alessa Tzal: Aww
Wol Euler: ah, yes, good point
Wol Euler: satuday 7am SL, here!
Bruce Mowbray: and also, not to side-track whatever folks right here today wish to talk about themselves.
Alessa Tzal: Good thinking
Bruce Mowbray: But if Alessa wanted to ask about the silent day. . . (?)
Alessa Tzal: I did :)
Storm Nordwind: I shall miss the session on Saturday. I guess I may catch up with reading about it later.
Bruce Mowbray: Go for it, Alessa.
Bruce Mowbray listens...
Alessa Tzal: Silence is golden
Bruce Mowbray: and rare.
Alessa Tzal: But my eyes stll see
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Lia Rikugun: Oh this is the summary of the silent day
Alessa Tzal: Sounds like it...
Lia Rikugun: :)
Bruce Mowbray: This is a word-for-word summary of Wednesday, yes.
Lia Rikugun: I always found it very good to listen more to myself somehow
Alessa Tzal: Ah, good
Lia Rikugun: after a day the head calms a little
Wol Euler nods.
Bruce Mowbray: It's so easy to get "stuck" in words-language. . .
Lia Rikugun: yes and somehow I realized it is also easy to communicate without words
Bruce Mowbray: Although even during silence these can be happening. . . monkey mind of inner dialogue.
Lia Rikugun: yes yes sure
Wol Euler smiles.
Lia Rikugun: but you realize it more
Bruce Mowbray: or baboon mind....

a meditation together: be seen by Being - be seen by time-space

Lia Rikugun: do we want to do a meditation together in 3 minutes?
Wol Euler: sure
Alessa Tzal: Yay
Bruce Mowbray: yes, sure.
Lia Rikugun: wol and bruce, maybe you have some examples from the retreat
Lia Rikugun: something we could also do here?
Wol Euler gestures to Bruce to go ahead
Lia Rikugun: we can listen to the monkes mind?
Lia Rikugun: *monkey
Bruce Mowbray: In-breath: Let yourself be seen by Being.
Lia Rikugun: ok very good
Bruce Mowbray: Out-breath: let yourself be seen by time-space.
--BELL--
Lia Rikugun: ah nice thank you
Santoshima Resident: time for class, thank you all for this time together
Lia Rikugun: byebye santoshima
Storm Nordwind waves
FcSeeker Resident: waves to san
Santoshima Resident: bye
Bruce Mowbray: Bye, Santo!
Alessa Tzal: Bye Santo
Wol Euler: bye san, takecare
Lia Rikugun: before the exercise I didnt really know what would be the different between in and out breathing
Bruce Mowbray: Reversing role of seer and that which is seen. . . very instructive.
Lia Rikugun: I just tried it out
Bruce Mowbray lilstens for more from Lia and others.
Lia Rikugun: and somehow the body was more present with time-space

secrets from the retreat :)

Bruce Mowbray: I have a secret to share with Wol....
Wol Euler: O.O
Storm Nordwind: Shall we all leave the room?
Wol Euler: put your fingers in your ears and hum
Lia Rikugun: aha
Bruce Mowbray: I came back to the train station and watched your train depart -- at EXACTLY 12:15.
Alessa Tzal: Maybe your antlers are asymmetrical
Wol Euler: awwwwwwwwww <3
Wol Euler: shhh
FcSeeker Resident: <3
Bruce Mowbray: andas the train went into invisibility, I imagines you going into Being -- and out of my own time-space predicament.
Bruce Mowbray: It was a sort of ?good-bye."
Wol Euler nods.
Bruce Mowbray: good-bye and may you be happy and well, my friend.
Wol Euler: that's a nice thought <3
Bruce Mowbray: It was also good for me, Wol.
Bruce Mowbray: A special memory of the end of an amazing week.
Wol Euler smiles.
FcSeeker Resident: thank you for this secret :)
Lia Rikugun: shhh
Alessa Tzal: Ex-secret
Bruce Mowbray: yw! ;-) -- No longer a secret!
Lia Rikugun: :)
Wol Euler: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Bruce Mowbray remembers that he never was very good with secrets.
Bruce Mowbray: (his own anyway).
Lia Rikugun: hehe
Wol Euler: heheh
FcSeeker Resident: <3

intuition and fantasy

Bruce Mowbray: At the top of the hour, Ways of Knowing will be discussing "Trusting what rises in meditation" and whether we can trust our own intuitions. . .
Bruce Mowbray: At the Kira Cafe.
Lia Rikugun: oh how nice
Wol Euler: right, ty
Alessa Tzal: Ah, didn't know it was back
Bruce Mowbray: http://waysofknowing.kira.org/
Storm Nordwind: Interesting. I always thought of intuition as something I could trust 100%, otherwise it was fantasy not intuition :)
Bruce Mowbray: We meet every Thursday at 2 pm slt at the Cafe.
Alessa Tzal: Could be, Storm
Bruce Mowbray totally agrees with Storm about trusting intuition.
Wol Euler: as long as one can tell the difference ...
Storm Nordwind: Sure Wol. That's what I been training myself in for the last 30 years or so! :)
Wol Euler smiles.
Lia Rikugun: yes wol thats the thing
Lia Rikugun: so what is the recipe storm?
Lia Rikugun: ;)
Storm Nordwind: To tell the difference?
Wol Euler: heheh
Alessa Tzal: !
Bruce Mowbray: Ouch!
Storm Nordwind: My way was controversial so I can't recommend it :)
Lia Rikugun: yes storm
Lia Rikugun: ah ok
Wol Euler: owwww
Lia Rikugun: haha whats that, going on here?
Bruce Mowbray thinks that everything "real" is controversial.
Storm Nordwind: I paid close attention to all these different awarenesses and deliberately went against the advice of what I thought was intuition to see what would happen
Storm Nordwind: After a while I became more and more conscious of what what intuition and what was not
Storm Nordwind: Disclaimer: Do not try this at home!
Wol Euler: :)
Bruce Mowbray: ;-) - - - Recognizes "skillful means" when he sees it (in Storm).
Storm Nordwind: Haha! But I survived and now I know!
FcSeeker Resident: Hello kamu
Lia Rikugun: what would have happened if you had taken everything as intuition?
kamu2011 Resident: Hi
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Kamu!
Lia Rikugun: hello kamu
FcSeeker Resident: Hello archmage
Storm Nordwind: That wasn't possibly Lia, as the impressions had quite different feels to them
kamu2011 Resident: HI Bruce
Lia Rikugun: nice to meet you
Storm Nordwind: *possible
Alessa Tzal: Hiya Kam
--BELL--
Lia Rikugun: hi arch
Alessa Tzal: and hello Arch
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Arch!
Bruce Mowbray: I am off now (to the Cafe).
Storm Nordwind waves
kamu2011 Resident: It´s been long time.
Archmage Atlantis: How was Nova Scotia?
Bruce Mowbray: May all be well and happy -- and descerningly intuitive.
Bruce Mowbray: GOT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT, Arch!
Bruce Mowbray: but off to the cafe now...
Alessa Tzal smiles @Bruce
Archmage Atlantis: Chesster says hello
Alessa Tzal: Hi Ches
FcSeeker Resident: Hi Chesster
Wol Euler: hello again, kamu, and hello arch, and bye everyone
Archmage Atlantis: Sorry, talking in the bell time.....my baad
Lia Rikugun: I think I will leave too, time to go to bed, good night
Storm Nordwind: Good night Lia
kamu2011 Resident: Me too, early wake up tomorrow.
Lia Rikugun: as I understood ways of knowing is just starting fi someone is interested
Alessa Tzal waves
Lia Rikugun: byebye

kamu2011 Resident: Bye
Archmage Atlantis: blessings and namaste, kids
Archmage Atlantis: Storm, I have a question for you........would you mind if I ask it?
Storm Nordwind: please go ahead. I can't promise an effective answer, but I'll try.
Archmage Atlantis: NP
Archmage Atlantis: You built the house of guardians across 2 sims
Storm Nordwind: Yes
Storm Nordwind: The village hall
Archmage Atlantis: Yes, the village hall
Archmage Atlantis: Almost no one sees the part on the other sim
Archmage Atlantis: odd
Archmage Atlantis: Sometimes it does not even photograph
Storm Nordwind: That's odd for those who don't.
Storm Nordwind: SL's intersim handover seems not as good as it used to be.
Archmage Atlantis: That is a comment with more meaning than I can follow
Storm Nordwind: Sometimes this sim seems like an island
Storm Nordwind: When you are close to a sim edge, your viewer is supposed to get information from the neighboring sim
Storm Nordwind: So you can see into it and successfully walk into it
Storm Nordwind: Once upon a time it was as bad as it is now.
Storm Nordwind: Then it improved. Now the bad old days are here again :)
Archmage Atlantis: Ok.......like being a congressman.......one can see, and then walk in
Archmage Atlantis: but native americans, african americans.....
Storm Nordwind: Not sure about the political allusion, but yes these things are supposed to communicate with each other and with you
Archmage Atlantis: ok
Storm Nordwind: Seems worse in newer viewers too - at least to me
Archmage Atlantis: Korel?
Storm Nordwind: It's possible that this sim is very very busy. It never seems to have any spare time anymore.
Korel Laloix: Sorry... mostly AFK today.
Korel Laloix: Missed most of the chat.
Archmage Atlantis: My ancestors came over on a ship in the 1500s,
Archmage Atlantis: B4 that, the walked to Europe
Archmage Atlantis: This not idle chat
Archmage Atlantis: I understand the level of insanity this approachs
Korel Laloix: Insanity that what approaches?
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind does not have his insanometer with him and will have to rely on the measurements of others.
Archmage Atlantis: Nice pass, messr. Northwind
Korel Laloix: What insanity?
Archmage Atlantis: Um, the insanity of talking to each other through cartoon characters?
Korel Laloix: I used to think it funny as well.
Storm Nordwind: Instead of through meat characters?
Korel Laloix: Especially in the sex sims...
Korel Laloix: But now I get it I think.
Archmage Atlantis: Good
Korel Laloix: We all put on masks of one sort or another in RL.
Storm Nordwind: Maybe better than through a lump of plastic squeezed to one's ear.
Korel Laloix: Maybe.
Korel Laloix: I think different types of communication do better on different topics and emotional contents.
Storm Nordwind: QUite so :)
Archmage Atlantis: Through lumps of plastic.....in my ear.....I still hear music
Archmage Atlantis: The music is, if not eternal, at least longer lived than I
Korel Laloix: The boss plays this light jazz stuff that makes me want to goug my ears out.
Storm Nordwind: Music is a pattern I think, yes? Perhaps your pattern is recorded somewhere it may last. :)
Archmage Atlantis: Perhaps
Archmage Atlantis: You wish to hear the drums, Korel?
Archmage Atlantis: I will be here
Korel Laloix: I have no sound on my work computer.
Archmage Atlantis: On Diamond Mountain
Archmage Atlantis: Dream
Archmage Atlantis: On Diamond Mountain
Korel Laloix: Drums freak me out.
Korel Laloix: Drum circles even in SL put me in an almost panic.
Archmage Atlantis: Storm.....your turn
Storm Nordwind: My turn to what? :)
Archmage Atlantis: To connect to all Korel represents
Storm Nordwind: I doubt it is my appointed task! I accept all she presents without trying to make it into something she represents. :)
Archmage Atlantis: There, see.....you did it
Korel Laloix: Interesting thought.
Archmage Atlantis: It is not really fashion forward to wear a Billy Cyruss hairstyle and old wings
Storm Nordwind: Please excuse me gentlefolk. I must water the spouts, bake the bread and other pleasant chores...
Korel Laloix: Sounds lovely
Storm Nordwind: Bye both
Archmage Atlantis: Namaste older bro
Korel Laloix: Ciao
Storm Nordwind: Namaste
--BELL--
Archmage Atlantis: Koya has never sat on that shoulder before
Korel Laloix: Break out?
Archmage Atlantis: Perhaps
Korel Laloix: Being stuck in a rut can be bad.
Archmage Atlantis: Being afraid of a rut can also be bad
Korel Laloix: True.... I do like my predictabiliy.
Korel Laloix: Makes things easy.
Archmage Atlantis: I was not born to have the end game easy......
Korel Laloix: Non of us probably where.
Korel Laloix: Back in a bit maybe... Darn RL.
Archmage Atlantis: None of us who arrive here, true
Archmage Atlantis: np
Archmage Atlantis: I need to observe rl also