2016.03.05 19:00 - The first 90 Seconds

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

A "NewPerson" joined me today and some preliminaries were discussed.  :)

stevenaia Michinaga: hello

NewPerson: hi

stevenaia Michinaga: welcome, have a seat, have you been here before?

NewPerson: first time

stevenaia Michinaga: we do record our sessions and post hem on the group's wiki, is that ok with you?

stevenaia Michinaga: there is a notecard on the sign over there I can give you if you didn't get one.

NewPerson: as long as my name isn't on it

stevenaia Michinaga: I can make you anonymous

stevenaia Michinaga: :)

NewPerson: thank you

stevenaia Michinaga: are you here randomly or did you see the post on the SL community board?

NewPerson: i saw it on the events search

stevenaia Michinaga: Great, this is just the second week we posted on iy after 8 years of meeting here

NewPerson: wow. no wonder i haven't heard of it

stevenaia Michinaga: se do show up if you look for specific discussion groups, but you won;t know when we meet until you arrive

stevenaia Michinaga: *we

stevenaia Michinaga: Our group Play as Being has a wiki where we post the group accumulated knowledge and experiences

stevenaia Michinaga: if you have a moment it goes into a bit of detail about what we do but I am happy to fill you in. Do you ahve any questions?

NewPerson: i am reading through the page

NewPerson: this is the 4th meeting of the day?

stevenaia Michinaga: we orifinally had 4 meeting a day... now we have them based on who is available, we post the schedule on the sign boards below

stevenaia Michinaga: *originally

stevenaia Michinaga: we started that way to accommodate all times zones across the world as we ahve a few Europeans participating

NewPerson: do you have your watch set to beep every 15 minutes to do the 9 second routine?

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: no, there is a bell, shortly

NewPerson: oh we do it here

stevenaia Michinaga: :)

stevenaia Michinaga: here to start, but you can do it anywhere you have 90 seconds to take a break and observe

stevenaia Michinaga: we use it as an observational moment, sometimes themed sometimes just to drop out for a moment and see

stevenaia Michinaga: come back here and describe what you "see"

stevenaia Michinaga: that is the start of our exploration

stevenaia Michinaga: over the years we have gotten together in RL for retreats around the world to continue this

stevenaia Michinaga: some in Europw, some across the states and Canada

stevenaia Michinaga: but not so much recently

NewPerson: people must really value it

stevenaia Michinaga: We are coming up on our 8th anniversary April 3rd 12-2 SLT f you want to meet others

stevenaia Michinaga: you can make it and the group a nice part of you if you choose.

stevenaia Michinaga: so many different backgrounds, I think we have come to understand that it isn't a convergence of what is reality but a great unfolding of perspectives

NewPerson: so the time between the meditations is spent talking about what was experienced during those meditations?

stevenaia Michinaga: when we can structure it so , that was the original intent

stevenaia Michinaga: take a deep breath at the "gong" and watch what emerges

stevenaia Michinaga: sometimes it's a stream of thoughts to watch, other times if can be one thing

stevenaia Michinaga: do you meditate?

NewPerson: i usually have fewer thoughts or no thoughts when i do give mindfulness a shot

NewPerson: which is nice

stevenaia Michinaga: sounds like a perfect place to observe

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: it can be relaxing or energizing

stevenaia Michinaga: although we have scheduled meetings when we record the conversations, the bell rings all the time so feel free to come here anytime

NewPerson: what days are the most popular days?

stevenaia Michinaga: I had a friend who is recovering from a recent heart attack, during the 90 seconds the sound of my own heart beating presented itself to me... by no means was that what I expected

stevenaia Michinaga: you can look thought the most recent logs and see what has been posted and who attends

stevenaia Michinaga: it varies quite a bit

stevenaia Michinaga: there is no "required attendance"

NewPerson: is that what you experienced during the most recent meditation?

stevenaia Michinaga: the group as a whole meets every two weeks to organize events and discuss group related issues

stevenaia Michinaga: I actually don't meditate with expectations....

C....: i dont meditate

C....: i pray

stevenaia Michinaga: it;s usually something new and different each time

NewPerson: the story about your heart....was that just now?

stevenaia Michinaga: yes

stevenaia Michinaga: I don't see C...

NewPerson: neither do i

NewPerson: there you are

C....: yello

stevenaia Michinaga: aww there you are, hello and welcome, ahev you been ehre before?

stevenaia Michinaga: *have

C....: not that i recall, no

stevenaia Michinaga: just so you know, we record these discussions and post them on the group's Wiki, can we include you comments?

C....: nah

C....: ill go

stevenaia Michinaga: you can stay and listen if you wnat

stevenaia Michinaga: poof

stevenaia Michinaga: ok

stevenaia Michinaga: some stay longer than others

stevenaia Michinaga: did you see anything of interest during you last 90 seconds?

stevenaia Michinaga: sometimes they are 90 seconds too short and other times they seem to last forever

NewPerson: the cricket sounds put me back to the age of 5 at my grandparents' ranch at night

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: smiles, memories have much to do with our reality

NewPerson: a kind of magical time

NewPerson: yeah this one felt much shorter

stevenaia Michinaga: so different than a daydream

stevenaia Michinaga: or a night dream

NewPerson: it's like a focused non-participatory dream

stevenaia Michinaga: it;s a nice break to give yourself from time to time

stevenaia Michinaga: currently we are having a sort of book-club on thursdays at 1:00 PM and Monday's at 1:00 PM. from time to time we have these theme sessions.

stevenaia Michinaga: we are reading Time Space Knowledge, http://www.amazon.com/Time-Space-Knowledge-Reality-Psychology/dp/0913546089

NewPerson: interesting

stevenaia Michinaga: we will be meeting for several months as it is a book of excercises and explorations

stevenaia Michinaga: (homework)

stevenaia Michinaga: the founder of the group, who is no longer an active participant ,found the book invaluable when he conceived what this group was about

stevenaia Michinaga: so it;s interesting after 8 years to be discussing it

NewPerson: it was nice visiting this place. thanks for telling me about the group

NewPerson: i just joined

NewPerson: bye for now

stevenaia Michinaga: stop by anytime or when the discussions are hosted

NewPerson: i'll keep my eyes out for them

stevenaia Michinaga: thanks and good meeting you