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

iwandertoo Resident, Paradise Tennant and later, Lucinda Lavender joined me tonight

stevenaia Michinaga: 10.19.2011
stevenaia Michinaga: hello susan
iwandertoo Resident: hi stevenaia
stevenaia Michinaga: how are you, raining cats and dogs here
iwandertoo Resident: breezy out...beginning to feel like fall
stevenaia Michinaga: are you on your phone?
iwandertoo Resident: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: you keep striking these poses :)
iwandertoo Resident: still at work...waiting for a ride
iwandertoo Resident: hehe
stevenaia Michinaga: getting cooler here but my cat is a portable heater
iwandertoo Resident: cats are
stevenaia Michinaga: Hi Paradise
stevenaia Michinaga: gtsy
iwandertoo Resident: waves
Paradise Tennant: smiles and waves to you two :)
Paradise Tennant: really high winds here .. stormy stormy night dog would not go out :)
stevenaia Michinaga: raining hard here
stevenaia Michinaga: cool with cat warming me
Paradise Tennant: ahh the comfort of pets .. as will rogers once said if dogs do not go to heaven I want to go where they go >>could expand that to kitties too :)
Paradise Tennant: really like quotes ..they are like little tastes of some one .. was reading some good ones last night jane austen charlotte bronte .. they are like a moment in someone else's mind
stevenaia Michinaga: most humans I know wnat to come back as their pets
stevenaia Michinaga: I think I do
Paradise Tennant: hmm but so much waiting around worked late tonight on the way home was thinking how unfair to the dog

--BELL--

Paradise Tennant: smiles what shall we talk of tonight ?
stevenaia Michinaga: smiles....
stevenaia Michinaga: well, I almost got run over by Mikale Gorbachov and his escort today, he is speaking at a local college and must ahve been late for lunch
Paradise Tennant: wow
stevenaia Michinaga: made for an interesting day
stevenaia Michinaga: when the Dali Lama was in town I don;t think I would ahve had such an experience
stevenaia Michinaga: thye would have let me cross the street
Paradise Tennant: smiles
stevenaia Michinaga: bye susan
Paradise Tennant: nite nite susan sweet dreams
stevenaia Michinaga: went to a morning tai chi class and danced with fans
Paradise Tennant: lololol
stevenaia Michinaga: since I will be unable to atend next week
Paradise Tennant: what a day all told
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Paradise Tennant: dancing with fans and then being run over the global change makers
stevenaia Michinaga: these fans had sharp blades and dagger points
Paradise Tennant: yowser sounds scary on all counts
stevenaia Michinaga: the down side of tai chi, you can break people
stevenaia Michinaga: (if the attack you)
stevenaia Michinaga: they
stevenaia Michinaga: not happy with that aspect, but it's hard to think about that too much when you are moving particularly slow
stevenaia Michinaga: like moving therough water
stevenaia Michinaga: distorts time and motion
Paradise Tennant: or rap them with a fan ..all in degrees
Paradise Tennant: hmm love things that distort time
Paradise Tennant: time is just kind of superficial when you think of it
stevenaia Michinaga: strange when you can do something that takes 10 minutes and do it better it takes 20 minutes
Paradise Tennant: almost everything is better slower our thoughts our breath our ideas our movement
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, I remember in Princeton when a 90 second meditation was too long and a 20 minute meditation was not long enough
Paradise Tennant: smiles that was such a nice weekend came across my acorn the other day
stevenaia Michinaga: a nice fall day
Paradise Tennant: long drive for me particularly with the double loop at the start
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, great jurney
stevenaia Michinaga: journey
stevenaia Michinaga: you were determined
Paradise Tennant: first trip my gps ..she was brillant
stevenaia Michinaga: now if you can only get her to remember your packing list... and pack it

--BELL--

Paradise Tennant: lol yes ... instead of recalculating . passport alert you need it now for us crossings :)
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, a bit of overkill
Paradise Tennant: so a late arrival but really enjoyed it once I got there
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Paradise Tennant: you did some nice standing meditation I recall
Paradise Tennant: and I remember the wonderful ambiance of the faculty like being in a place where big ideas of brewed
stevenaia Michinaga: still do now :) today, everyday now for the 99 days
Paradise Tennant: one sec need to plug in my laptop
stevenaia Michinaga: nice to open up and see what you find inside
Paradise Tennant: smiles what do you find inside :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I ordered a new battery this week, mine is almost 3 yrs ols and not holding a charge
stevenaia Michinaga: always amazed what fill the void when I offer it to myself
Paradise Tennant: like that phrase offering oneself to the void :)))
stevenaia Michinaga: smiles, srrver yourself up a plate of nothing
stevenaia Michinaga: ...to go
Paradise Tennant: lol sometimes think that what separates nothing from something ... is kind of like a funhouse mirror
Paradise Tennant: reality stretches
stevenaia Michinaga: takes a special moment to be quiet enought to for that, we do it often in before Tai chi in meditation
Paradise Tennant: I am eating lindt passion chocolat -orange & pistache :) bought in france and it is yummy which is the most dramatic understatement I have made today :))))
stevenaia Michinaga: teacher uses parallel words similar to PaB
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Paradise Tennant: tai chi teacher
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
stevenaia Michinaga: spouse has a cabinet shelf full of chocolate for cooking
stevenaia Michinaga: she appreciates it
stevenaia Michinaga: keeps filling it, neer empties
stevenaia Michinaga: never
Paradise Tennant: sigh was bereft it was all gone ..... but have moused around and found another bar :))))
Paradise Tennant: chocolate ! all you need to say !
stevenaia Michinaga: chocolate bar?
Paradise Tennant: when you empty out in your standing meditations
Paradise Tennant: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: yes?
Paradise Tennant: a chocolate bar have not seen that flavour here :))
stevenaia Michinaga: there are choclate cafes in NYC
Paradise Tennant: when you empty out your standing meditations what is the sensation
Paradise Tennant: hmm here too only chocolate on the meun :)
stevenaia Michinaga: since I know no other meditation "style" I;ll just assume it's the same, a... at first a deepening breath that slowly opens up to full the room

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: then the breath dissappears and the mind clears, the breathing is deep and top to bottom of your lungs, the you emty out in reverse.. your body expands and contracts fully , then so does your mind empty with the breath
stevenaia Michinaga: you focus on a point below you navel and expand to the space around .. and the mnd follwos
stevenaia Michinaga: *mind follows
stevenaia Michinaga: emptying into the surronding space
stevenaia Michinaga: teachers says (chinese medicine says) it quiets your nervious system
stevenaia Michinaga: the place you want to grow accustom too
stevenaia Michinaga: quiet, open and empty
Paradise Tennant: so chi moves through you unobstructed :)))))
stevenaia Michinaga: when I do it long enough, it;s easier to do the tai chi as you remember better
Paradise Tennant: HEY LUCINDA ..SO NICE TO SEE YOU !!!
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, moves chi
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Lucui
Lucinda Lavender: HI Paradise...yes! and Steve
Paradise Tennant: yes because you are in flow and tai chi is all about flow
Paradise Tennant: stev is telling me how standing mediation make him feel :)
stevenaia Michinaga: some of the warm us you "play with chi"
stevenaia Michinaga: warm ups
Paradise Tennant: how do you play with chi ?
stevenaia Michinaga: between your hands, hold it like a ball top and bottom
stevenaia Michinaga: like a field between your hands
stevenaia Michinaga: roll it between then
stevenaia Michinaga: over your shoulder
Paradise Tennant: sounds like silly putty
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm cat is dreaming..smiles
stevenaia Michinaga: making cat noises in his sleep
Lucinda Lavender: :)))
Paradise Tennant: smiles how have you been lucinda ..how was your retreat and I have a dream for you :)
stevenaia Michinaga: ...listens
Lucinda Lavender: great retreat... and doing pretty well.
Lucinda Lavender: concert last weekend and kind of tired but ok
Lucinda Lavender: I love having a better viewer...
Lucinda Lavender: now I can function in the world
Lucinda Lavender: this world
Paradise Tennant: smiles
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Lucinda Lavender: your trip...was good?
Paradise Tennant: yes fun visiting old friends I have not seen in a long time .. we were all happy
Lucinda Lavender: ah!!1

A DREAM FROM PARIS

Paradise Tennant: had a spooky kind of strange dream in paris
Lucinda Lavender: love to hear
Lucinda Lavender: curious...

Paradise Tennant: was staying in montmartre near an old church ..lots of crows in paris they must have been making noise outside my window ..

Paradise Tennant: dreamt I could hear what they were really saying ..
Lucinda Lavender: !!!
Paradise Tennant: and could feel what it was like to be a crow
Paradise Tennant: the sensation of feathers
Lucinda Lavender: most interesting
Paradise Tennant: the thrill of flight
Paradise Tennant: was like being a crow
Paradise Tennant: the touch of feathers ..
stevenaia Michinaga: sounds..like my dress
Paradise Tennant: they had a lot to say
Paradise Tennant: all kinds of things
Lucinda Lavender: dreaming in to their world...
Paradise Tennant: and remembered in completely when I woke up
Lucinda Lavender: can you remember nowwhat they said?
Paradise Tennant: and everywhere I went on the trip there were crows some singly some crowds everywhere
Paradise Tennant: they are mad at us
Paradise Tennant: really outright annoyed
Lucinda Lavender: so interesting...

--BELL--

Paradise Tennant: okies so nice to see you :)
Paradise Tennant: hope you have a nice night :)
stevenaia Michinaga: that;s what the crows were saying?
Paradise Tennant: yes they think we are :too much !
Paradise Tennant: would be the short version
Paradise Tennant: too much all round
stevenaia Michinaga: bye luci
Paradise Tennant: the sensation of flying was .. lovely
stevenaia Michinaga: that was a quick appearance
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Paradise Tennant: and having feathers is really really really nice
Paradise Tennant: they are great ..
stevenaia Michinaga: usually that;s scary in dreams, but that;s falling not flying
Paradise Tennant: smiles well busy rls
Paradise Tennant: nice to see people even for a few moments
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, even in passing
Paradise Tennant: yes and we are in passing :)
Paradise Tennant: smiles
stevenaia Michinaga: time to go for me
Paradise Tennant: well it is stormy out .. but think I will brave the elements to ensure the dog has adequate relief :) and tumble into bed . perchance to dream of chocolate, playdough chi :))
Paradise Tennant: me too :)
stevenaia Michinaga: enjoy your chcolate dreams
stevenaia Michinaga: night
Paradise Tennant: thank you stev .. :)
Paradise Tennant: nite nite namaste :))