2012.08.13 19:00 - Theme Session: Pirate Walk With Me

The Guardian for this meeting, the last of an 8 session mini-series, was Pema Pera. 

Eliza Madrigal: Hi Maxine!
Maxine Walden: hi, Eliza!

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: wonderful to see you
Maxine Walden: very good to be able to be here!
Eliza Madrigal: :) all well?
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Eos :))
Maxine Walden: yes, thanks, busy times, but all is well. for you?
Maxine Walden: hi, Eos
Eos Amaterasu: Hi Maxine, Eliza
Eliza Madrigal: well and okay, thank you :)
Maxine Walden: good.
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Pema :)
Pema Pera: hey, Maxine, so nice to see you again!
Maxine Walden: Hi, Pema
Eos Amaterasu: Hi Pema
Pema Pera: And good seeing you too, Eliza and Eos!
Maxine Walden: yes, it has been awhile...so much going on; glad I could come
Eos Amaterasu: Good to see you, Maxine
Pema Pera: glad to have you here
Maxine Walden: so glad to see you all; feels too long...
Eliza Madrigal: it does
Pema Pera: how have you been?
Maxine Walden: I've been well. Hard to know what to say...much going on, but the bottom line is 'all is good'.
Maxine Walden: hope as well for each of you?
Pema Pera: sure :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Pema Pera: yes, it's harder to say what happened last month than yesterday :)
Maxine Walden: :) yes...
Pema Pera: did you get some chance to write more, if I may ask?
Pema Pera: given that we had those interesting RR sessions earlier
Maxine Walden: yes, in fact, Pema, I am actually expanding the book...writing and reading. will be happy to try to speak about it when there is time or opportunity
Pema Pera: looking forward to that, Maxine!
Maxine Walden: :)
Eliza Madrigal: would love to hear, too

Pema Pera: today is the last session of our series of 8
Pema Pera: about `quality'
Maxine Walden: yes, I have been trying to follow the log a bit...
Pema Pera: would anybody like to comment about the experience so far?
Eliza Madrigal: I've enjoyed the emphasis... have found it a gentle exploration
Eliza Madrigal: easy to remember and incorporate, going from surface to quality in moments
Pema Pera nods
Pema Pera: it's amazing how available quality is, when we know where to look
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Paradise :)
Eos Amaterasu: a good in-between place, with fruitful ambiguity
Eos Amaterasu: Hi Para
Maxine Walden: hi, Paradise
Pema Pera: hi Paradise
Eos Amaterasu: white cats in the blazing sun
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Eos Amaterasu: (vs black cats in dark rooms)
Eliza Madrigal: that don't exist?
Pema Pera: yes, ambiguity in darkness :)

Maxine Walden: another kind of quality, Eos?
Paradise Tennant: smiles hiya maxine ..pema eos eliza :)) nice to see everyone :)
Eos Amaterasu: yes, the experience of quality as being both out there and in here at once

Pema Pera: And oh, I can echo here what I wrote the the PaB email group:
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Pema Pera: -- it was wonderful to have so many serious and spirited conversations, and simply to stay focused so well, for an hour at a time, and for seven, soon eight, such hours within four weeks. Thank you all, who participated in-world, or with comments on the log pages, or through email here in this group.
Pema Pera: -- it was great to collect a number of reports of different individuals sharing their experiences of `quality moments' in their life, whether `on the spot' after a 90-sec break, or as reports covering the previous few days, or as memories from years ago.
Pema Pera: -- it was also interesting to begin to reflect on what we could do with such quality moments, and what we can learn from them. We did not talk much about that yet, given that we were still firmly in the data collection stage, so to speak.

Pema Pera: Hi Paradise, we're looking back at our 8-session miniseries, of which this is the last one, on `quality'
Paradise Tennant: smiles and listens :)
Pema Pera: yes, Eos, that was one of the main discoveries, so to speak, that quality transcends inner/outer, in a very natural, almost obvious way
Pema Pera: oh no, Paradise, we'd be happy to have you speak and have us listen :-)
Eos Amaterasu listens
Eos Amaterasu: :-)
Maxine Walden: Pema, is a brief definition of 'quality' re current context possible?

--BELL--

Pema Pera: I'd be happy to try, Maxine, but I'd like to hear also what Paradise has felt/enjoyed/learned about the current series of theme sessions, half of which she generously hosted
Maxine Walden: oh, yes, sorry
Paradise Tennant: oh no worries I will pipe up when I have collected my thoughts :)))
Maxine Walden: :)
Pema Pera imagine Paradise collecting pebbles at the sea shore, mischievously putting them in her pipe to shoot with
Paradise Tennant: lol
Maxine Walden: :)
Paradise Tennant: alittle mischief never hurts :))
Pema Pera: as for quality, anything in our experience that is not strictly connected with content, information -- how is that as a first stab at a discription?
Maxine Walden: ah, OK, I get the idea!
Maxine Walden: sort of like qualia
Eliza Madrigal nods
Pema Pera: yes, Bleu noticed that, while I hadn't even made the connection :)
Maxine Walden: :)

Pema Pera: Christians might talk about grace
Pema Pera: Buddhists about suchness
Pema Pera: Taoists about the Tao

Maxine Walden: that matrix of experience...sort of
Pema Pera: hi Alfred!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Alfred :)
Paradise Tennant: hiya alfred :)
Pema Pera: Thanks for dropping by at an odd hour for you!
Maxine Walden: hi, alf
Alfred Kelberry: hi :)
Eos Amaterasu: ¿ ah, there's Alf, hi!
Alfred Kelberry: ah, mr pema is here :)

Pema Pera: we were just wrapping up and rapping about wrapping up our 8-session miniseries on quality, Alfred
Pema Pera: and of course the question is what to do next
Pema Pera: do you have a suggestion?
Pema Pera: your timing is impeccable!
Alfred Kelberry: no, not at the moment. just a casual check in :)
Eos Amaterasu: √
Alfred Kelberry: i'll be off soon
Alfred Kelberry: i would, however, like to hear about real estate valuation techniques from para :)
Paradise Tennant: smiles :))

Eos Amaterasu: Alf, we could continue the series, or do another round,
Eos Amaterasu: how to construct a laboratory of awareness
Alfred Kelberry: ok
Pema Pera is all ears
Maxine Walden: me too
Eos Amaterasu: We could include Tuesday 19:00 sessions (Pema will be able to make that a week from tomorrow)
Pema Pera: yes

Eos Amaterasu: does that work for you, Alf?
Alfred Kelberry: you go ahead, i'll be fine
Eos Amaterasu: walk the plank with me, mighty pirate!

Pema Pera: hey, Hana!
Eliza Madrigal grins
Pema Pera: and hahaha, Eos!
Eos Amaterasu: Hana!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Hana :)
Alfred Kelberry: hi, hana :)
Alfred Kelberry: well landed in eos lap :)
Pema Pera: Alfred is a pirate-in-hiding for much of the time of discussions . . . . .
Hana Furlough: Hi all!

--BELL--

Paradise Tennant: hiya hana .. :)))
Alfred Kelberry: pema, i'm out of the scope of discussions :)
Maxine Walden: can see it now: the puppy with a pegleg and a patched eye...sword in paw...
Pema Pera: how so, Alfred?
Alfred Kelberry: cause i'm not present at the meeting obviously :)
Pema Pera pondering cause and effect . . . . . .
Maxine Walden: :)
Pema Pera: somehow Alfred was miraculously prevented to attend a meeting . . . and couldn't discuss . . . :-)
Alfred Kelberry: max, my inspiration was actually guybrush threepwood from the monkey island series :)
Maxine Walden: ah, sorry to get it wrong....don't know that series, I'm afraid...

Pema Pera: Eos, how long would you like to make the next series?
Pema Pera: (not the next monkey island series)
Eos Amaterasu: How about 4 meetings?
Pema Pera: fine!
Pema Pera: once or twice a week?
Eos Amaterasu: well, I guess we have Monday, Tuesday and Thursday avaialble?
Pema Pera: sure
Alfred Kelberry: pema, no miracle here. first, it's bad timing for me, as i stated before. second, you know i'm not into spiritual experiments :)
Pema Pera: I'm not trying to be spiritual here, Alfred, you can call it phenomenological, or scientific, or whatever you like :-)
Pema Pera: and in addition, if you don't like the experiments I have proposed, I'd love to see your suggestions for other experiments
Pema Pera: I'm interested in any kind of new approach
Pema Pera: the experiments so far have been mostly an attempt at finding new degrees of freedom, beyond what is normally considered -- a typical move in science at widening a field of research
Pema Pera: made every few tens of years in physics for the last 400 years

Alfred Kelberry: i have tried to convey a suggested approach, but i'm afraid it's not compatible with pab format
Pema Pera: o^O
Pema Pera trying to raise eye brows in Wol way
Pema Pera: how so?
Maxine Walden: hahaha!
Alfred Kelberry: my likes or not are not of importance here. i come here to talk to nice people and have fun. that works for me :)
Eliza Madrigal: well Alfred many liked the angles you brought up, so that seems compatible with PaB... just asking for help to try to meet the various angles
Alfred Kelberry: it's nice to hear, eliza. thank you.
Eliza Madrigal: :)

Paradise Tennant: maybe we can explore curiousity :))
Pema Pera: so Eos, what days would you like to pick?
Pema Pera: great, Paradise!
Paradise Tennant: what drives us to explore :)
Pema Pera: curiously curiouser
Pema Pera: Tue and Thu perhaps?
Paradise Tennant: and become intimate with the previously unknown :)
Eos Amaterasu: yes, I'd like to include Monday, but having a gap in between is probaby good

Pema Pera: stroking the black cat . . . .
Maxine Walden: curiosity can bloom when the dread of the unknown and the need to 'know' can be tamed...
Paradise Tennant: sounds good to me
Eos Amaterasu: curiosity & cats....
Pema Pera: we could go all out with Mon/Tue/Thu for one week, and wrap up the Monday after that
Eos Amaterasu: okay
Pema Pera: starting 8/20
Eliza Madrigal: nice :)
Pema Pera: then 8/21, 8/23, 8/27
Eos Amaterasu: (shades of 4/20....)
Pema Pera: ?
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eos Amaterasu: (in San Francisco, that day in the park...?)
Pema Pera: !
Eos Amaterasu: so yes, okay,.....
Eos Amaterasu: like a rock band tour - need t-shirts!\
Pema Pera: hehehe
Hana Furlough: lol!

--BELL--

Pema Pera: Okay with you too, Paradise? It will land on my session, that of Eos, that of you, and then mine again.
Pema Pera: And Eos, will you announce the theme on the email group?
Pema Pera: (you can stealthily borrow some of the treasures that our pirat has already accumulated in a previous email :-)
Eos Amaterasu: Sure (hmm, what exactly is the theme)..... yes, loot the buried treasure
Pema Pera: Hi San!
Eos Amaterasu: Hi San
Pema Pera: great theme!
Santoshima Resident: hi Pema :) and everyone
Eliza Madrigal: Hi San
Maxine Walden: 'gleaned trasures' ?
Eos Amaterasu: not further, but closer
Pema Pera: loot & hoot
Paradise Tennant: hiya san :))
Maxine Walden: hi, san
Hana Furlough: Hi San!

Alfred Kelberry: pema, er... what treasure is that? :)
Eos Amaterasu: what each of us have gleaned in our laboratory of attending to ourselves attending....
Pema Pera: oh, your email with rather specific suggestions for explorations
Pema Pera: to which Eos responded, and I as well
Pema Pera: which contained a number of interesting and useful ideas that we can try out
Alfred Kelberry: yes, but no action was followed
Eos Amaterasu: (will have to look that up again)
Paradise Tennant: smiles love interesting useful ideas :)
Pema Pera: on the contrary, Alfred, Eos and I immediately suggested we could do that next, immediately after the current series
Pema Pera: and today is the end of the current series
Pema Pera: so here we are :)

Pema Pera: hi Korel!
Maxine Walden: hi, Korel
Paradise Tennant: smiles hiya korel :))
Hana Furlough: Hi Korel!
Eos Amaterasu: HI Korel
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Kori
Eliza Madrigal: Well, for me as I sign off I am ruminating "grace, suchness, tao"

Alfred Kelberry: pema, omg! this thread has 64 messages :)
Eliza Madrigal: sorry to pop out a bit early
Maxine Walden: bye, Eliza
Alfred Kelberry: eos, if you start anything, i suggest to do it in a new thread :)
Paradise Tennant: smiles at eliza :) sweet dreams :)
Eos Amaterasu: bye Emerald lady
Hana Furlough: nice, Eliza! see you later!
Paradise Tennant: sigh going to say thank you and good night too .. was an early morning :)
Pema Pera: bye Eliza!
Alfred Kelberry: green beautiful girl
Santoshima Resident: bye Eliza
Eos Amaterasu: bye Para
Korel Laloix: Heya all...
Pema Pera: bye Paradise
Korel Laloix: Ciao
Hana Furlough: Bye Paradise!
Paradise Tennant: namaste my friends :)))
Eliza Madrigal: Bye everyone, nice to see you all - Thank you
Maxine Walden: bye Paradise
Pema Pera looking at clock -- lunch coming up here, so I'll sign out as well
Pema Pera: bye everybody!
Maxine Walden: yes, nice to see everyone! Me too
Alfred Kelberry: pema: ok, found it. i asked 4 questions in follow up to your "bigger vision" and got no answer.
Hana Furlough: Bye Pema!
Hana Furlough: Bye Max!
Maxine Walden: bye for now!
Eos Amaterasu: bye all
Korel Laloix: Take care
Hana Furlough: and back to work for me as well!
Alfred Kelberry: anyhow, be well everyone
Eos Amaterasu: also departing.... night, tired, sleep
Hana Furlough: see you soon!

Pema Pera: Alfred, both Eos and I wrote to you that they were great questions and that they were ideal as topics to explore further
Santoshima Resident: g'night to those leaving
Alfred Kelberry: they were not topics to explore. i asked specific question to you.
Pema Pera scratches head . . . . well, we can take this up later, I'm totally puzzled but have to run now. I can send an email later
Pema Pera: bfn
Korel Laloix: Odd.. I can't see boxy at all..
Santoshima Resident: same ... he is invisible
Santoshima Resident: this is very laggy tonight
Santoshima Resident: like mud
Alfred Kelberry: it's cause i'm on my wait out :)
Korel Laloix: Not sure what is going on.
Alfred Kelberry: be good, kori girl :)
Korel Laloix: OK.
Korel Laloix: Always... smiles
Santoshima Resident: i'm tyoing but there is a delay
Santoshima Resident: typing
Santoshima Resident: bye MP
Korel Laloix: I am really good at ending a meeting.... smiles
Santoshima Resident: me too, just arrived

Santoshima Resident: did you understand mr. pirate's last comment?
Korel Laloix: lol.... what is the word?.. periha... or something like that.
Santoshima Resident: periha?
Korel Laloix: I think he meant being on the way out.
Santoshima Resident: non, his comment to Pema ...
Santoshima Resident: that one
Santoshima Resident: make sense to you?
Korel Laloix: OH.. let me look.
Santoshima Resident: ye gads it's a sea of lag
Korel Laloix: SOunds like to me that he sent them some questions in response to Pema's.
Korel Laloix: But they are misunderstanding each others' intent on how to answer.

--BELL--

Korel Laloix: Would not mind finding out what hte questions are though.
Santoshima Resident: i believe he meant the ones from his emails (sent to the PaB group)
Korel Laloix: Oh... have not been in that today.
Korel Laloix: Will have a look.
Santoshima Resident: at the beginning of this series of discussions
Santoshima Resident: you've got a real asana practice there, kori
Santoshima Resident: virtual, at least
Korel Laloix: I have been so busy with that darn RL that I have not been doing well with PaB.
Korel Laloix: I don't know.. I just like these.... smiles
Santoshima Resident: i never do well with PaB
Santoshima Resident: comment given never resaponded to
Santoshima Resident: or ignored
Santoshima Resident: comments given
Santoshima Resident: it's a drag
Korel Laloix: It is an odd dynamic here sometimes.
Santoshima Resident: yeah
Korel Laloix: But on teh whole.. I gain from it.
Korel Laloix: But yes... it is frustrating on occation.
Santoshima Resident: the jury is out on that one
Korel Laloix: Some dominent personalities in conflict.
Santoshima Resident: seems so
Santoshima Resident: or covertly in conflict
Korel Laloix: And sometimes comments seem to be ignored or dropped.
Santoshima Resident: or covertly shunning
Korel Laloix: But every social group has its issues.
Santoshima Resident: true
Santoshima Resident: run today?
Korel Laloix: I sort of have a gift for social interaction... and have never been accused of being passive or shy.. so it probably does not effect me as much as others.
Korel Laloix: Yes.. ran this morning before class...
Santoshima Resident: a blessing ... the social gift and the running
Korel Laloix: I am thankful in so many ways.
Korel Laloix: But there are definitely things in my personality that I don't like either.
Santoshima Resident: balance is all ..
Korel Laloix: I try to find balance in everthing...
Santoshima Resident: good approach
Korel Laloix: But when you can't see the whole picture, it is sometimes hard to get there.
Santoshima Resident: then it's a matter of patience
Korel Laloix: It is funny though.
Korel Laloix: THere are things I have all the patience in the world for.
Korel Laloix: But others.. like standing in line for coffee.. not patience at all.
Santoshima Resident: what? you rush the line?
Korel Laloix: A point of self reflection.
Santoshima Resident: break through to the front?
Korel Laloix: No... I just get irritated.
Korel Laloix: lol
Santoshima Resident: oh, that
Santoshima Resident: lol
Korel Laloix: I am pushy and bossy.
Korel Laloix: But I value manners.
Korel Laloix: Looking in the mirror is such an odd thing.
Korel Laloix: Hard to understand me sometimes.
Korel Laloix: Most of the time really.
Santoshima Resident: ditto
Korel Laloix: But I think things are getting better.
Santoshima Resident: what do you see?
Korel Laloix: The thing I have noticed recently...
Korel Laloix: With some help from some peopel here.
Korel Laloix: And with the help of my shrink.
Korel Laloix: I am really starting to look objectively on my past.
Santoshima Resident: hmm
Korel Laloix: Challenge my opinions of people.... and examinine why I had such high opinions of people that did me so much damage.
Santoshima Resident: right
Santoshima Resident: a wider view
Korel Laloix: Or maybe a different.. wider may be later.

--BELL--

Korel Laloix: I think maybe PaB has had such an effect on me becasue of my age.
Korel Laloix: Still young enough to relfect and alter a bit.
Santoshima Resident: Coming here has been very helpful to me ...
Santoshima Resident: but i do question, sometimes, the dynamics
Santoshima Resident: ... hoping learning will continue throughout this life
Korel Laloix: I know what you meen.
Korel Laloix: I htink it does... but in my context... it helps me with some of the things my shrink wants to do with me.
Korel Laloix: Particularly from a chat I had with Raffi a few weeks back.
Korel Laloix: My shrink was able to take soem things and really move me on some issues.
Santoshima Resident: hmm
Korel Laloix: So the personal relationships in here are as good as the social and the meetings.
Santoshima Resident: yes
Santoshima Resident: some very skilled individuals
Santoshima Resident: kind and generous
Korel Laloix: But again.. I have found some hostility here before.
Korel Laloix: And i Have started to get seom strange emails on the account I do PaB on.
Santoshima Resident: what kind of emails?
Korel Laloix: Just some overly intrusive or sometimes nasty comments about things I said in the meetings.
Korel Laloix: Not from anyone in the grup though...
Korel Laloix: Or not from any of the addresses.
Santoshima Resident: what?
Santoshima Resident: from whom?
Korel Laloix: I don't know yet... sort of figureing that out.
Korel Laloix: I think maybbe from somoen who just found the wiki.
Santoshima Resident: that is weird
Santoshima Resident: that is not right
Korel Laloix: It is and mildly disturbing... but not worries.
Korel Laloix: Just someone has issues with some of my life choices..... seems to be a topic.
Santoshima Resident: no, but still, it's not right
Santoshima Resident: whatt?
Santoshima Resident: homophobic emails?
Korel Laloix: I don't want to get into those details...
Santoshima Resident: ok
Korel Laloix: But evidently, my world views are not nice to someone... lol
Korel Laloix: I guess I have the power to annoy even through the wiki.... smiles

--BELL--

Santoshima Resident: how is the wiki used?
Korel Laloix: I am refusing to right back.
Santoshima Resident: is it processed in
Santoshima Resident: what way?
Santoshima Resident: (not meaning by your correspondant)
Korel Laloix: The logs are just posted, but sometimes edited.
Santoshima Resident: how is the years of data
Santoshima Resident: utilized
Santoshima Resident: examined
Korel Laloix: Just posted.
Korel Laloix: Not sure how welse.
Korel Laloix: It is searchable. though.
Santoshima Resident: hmm
Santoshima Resident: yes,
Santoshima Resident: how is it searched, in this "experiement"
Santoshima Resident: {typing has not improved over time here}
Korel Laloix: Not sure.
Santoshima Resident: ok, i will leave with the mildly disturbing thought that you are being harrassed by somebody, who after reading the wiki, doesn't like your world views, and is taking it upon themself to contact you directly
Santoshima Resident: this is not a good thing
Santoshima Resident: le me know if there is anything I or the group can do to help
Korel Laloix: I dont like it either.. but it comes accross more as pathetic to me rather than hateful.
Santoshima Resident: sure
Korel Laloix: I will let you know...
Santoshima Resident: maybe the pserson needs to be invited to come here to talk
Santoshima Resident: ...
Santoshima Resident: needing to go
Santoshima Resident: bye korel
Korel Laloix: Ciao bella.