2016.10.29 19:00 - Focusing on not focusing

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

Dragon Niu: 's current display-name is "ρερρεɾ".

stevenaia Michinaga: ``hello
Dragon Niu: Hello!
Dragon Niu: How are you?
stevenaia Michinaga: good, thank you you here for the meeting or just passing though?
Dragon Niu: I saw the meeting online, it looked interesting...thought I'd drop by :)
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: come, join me
Dragon Niu: ok!
stevenaia Michinaga: have you been to the group's wiki?
stevenaia Michinaga: wiki
Dragon Niu: No, I have not. First time.
stevenaia Michinaga: we record our sessions, it is ok to include you comments
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Druth
Dragon Niu: Ah, I see the link.
druth Vlodovic: hi naia
druth Vlodovic: hi pepper
Dragon Niu: Hello, druth
stevenaia Michinaga: can we record you comments here?
stevenaia Michinaga: your
Dragon Niu: yes, that's fine :)
stevenaia Michinaga: thank you
stevenaia Michinaga: the log will appear on the wiki soon after we are done, as we have done the past 5 or so years
Dragon Niu: Oh, quite a long study!
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, we are an ongoing experiment of thoughts, exploring the nature of reality though our own observations
Dragon Niu: I'm intrigued.
druth Vlodovic: it's a big subject :P
stevenaia Michinaga: every 15 minutes we stop for 90 seconds and observe, see what we see and report back the other 13 1/2 minutes
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, we take it a bit at a time, sometimes touching on... just about anything and everything, good to seach our wiki to see what we discussed
Dragon Niu: Yes, I will certainly take a look. I am perusing the site now, in fact.
stevenaia Michinaga: the bell will ring on the quarter hours
stevenaia Michinaga: I usually talk a deep breath and just watch the passing thoughts
stevenaia Michinaga: always amazed where it takes me
stevenaia Michinaga: as you can see behind you there is a thursday afternoon group doing an ongoing discussion on the Heart Sutra, something I know nothing about
Dragon Niu: Wow, yeah, pretty deep.

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: yes, Our discussions go interesting places from time to time
stevenaia Michinaga: thank you, consider the pause something you can do anytime and anywhere, on the most basic level it helps clear the mind :)
Dragon Niu: :)
druth Vlodovic: I have done the three second one a few times, it does things to your perceptions
stevenaia Michinaga: three or 30 seconds?
druth Vlodovic: I did three breaths, so a bit more than three seconds
stevenaia Michinaga: aww, nice... and somewhat more convenient in public
druth Vlodovic: though it is more effective the less attention you spend on counting it
stevenaia Michinaga: I think meditation for any time is a good thing
druth Vlodovic: my perceptions of what meditation is have changed quite a bit, anyway
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, letting the bell space the time is sometimes easier
stevenaia Michinaga: so pepper, do you know you are monochromatic?
Dragon Niu: I am?
Dragon Niu: oh, grey?
stevenaia Michinaga: a deep green

stevenaia Michinaga: what do you see Druth
Dragon Niu: or that.
druth Vlodovic: ah, right click her and pick "render fully" if you are using the SL viewer
druth Vlodovic: it is an avatar imposter they use instead of the luminous cloud
stevenaia Michinaga: I am on Firestorm
druth Vlodovic: not sure then
Dragon Niu: That's interesting.
stevenaia Michinaga: hmm, may be me

druth Vlodovic: not sure why they changed it,I never met anyone who didn't love the cloud
stevenaia Michinaga: you are begining to re-render now
druth Vlodovic: help! I'm fadingggggg
druth Vlodovic: do you have any meditative practices pepper?
stevenaia Michinaga: awww thre you are fully rendered and then you dissappeared and now you are green again
Dragon Niu: Ah weird
stevenaia Michinaga: no matter
Dragon Niu: I need to change outfits, it seems.
druth Vlodovic: I am black and blue top to bottom, for reference,though with orange thrown in
Dragon Niu: I like to meditate on occasion, yes. I don't have any ritual or schedule though.
druth Vlodovic: took me a bit to realize that there wasn't any real purpose to meditation
druth Vlodovic: though I suppose that is debatable
Dragon Niu: no, i just reflect is all
stevenaia Michinaga: It took me a while to understand that I was meditating and didn;t even know it
druth Vlodovic: I suspect it to be a somewhat dangerous catch-all phrase
stevenaia Michinaga: I draw most of the day... which is like its own meditation
druth Vlodovic: sort of like how a hundred years ago we had few diseases but everyone died of "the flu"
stevenaia Michinaga: or the plague
druth Vlodovic: never tried active meditation, usually I just sit there, except the pauses

--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: I feel if more people did meditate, there would be less time do damage, I don't thing there has been a murder while meditating, that have heard of
druth Vlodovic: I suppose murder would be an altered state of consciousness
Dragon Niu: That goes by so fast.
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm, been having trouble focusing on not focusing tonight
druth Vlodovic: though less one to see and experience the world than to impose one's inner self on to the world
druth Vlodovic: lol, unfocussed unfocus
stevenaia Michinaga: ironical, I suppose
druth Vlodovic: well, if you truly let go of expectations etc then you are left with no wrong way of doing it
druth Vlodovic: is something bothering you,or just not in the grove?
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, and every result will exceed you expectation or lack thereof (a very satisfying state)
stevenaia Michinaga: who druth?
druth Vlodovic: you
druth Vlodovic: "groove" though being in a grove would be nice too
stevenaia Michinaga: no, not at all, possibly a slow typist
stevenaia Michinaga: fewer typos tonight :)
druth Vlodovic: what's the fun in that?
stevenaia Michinaga: less editing of the log later
druth Vlodovic: oh,the heart sutra is what is on the billboard behind pepper
Dragon Niu: it's pretty intense
druth Vlodovic: to me it looks hevaily edited by many hands
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, wothing of a group discussion, appearently. If is a poem, a prayer?
druth Vlodovic: though it is one of many translations
druth Vlodovic: sort of a prayer
stevenaia Michinaga: a state of mind?
druth Vlodovic: and a history lesson
druth Vlodovic: we got into a discussion of what is emptiness last session
stevenaia Michinaga: much of it feels daoist to me, but to a daoist, everything does
druth Vlodovic: :P
druth Vlodovic: a pizza with everything
stevenaia Michinaga: I will have to read the log
druth Vlodovic: the way they tend to state things unequivocally used to get my hackles up
druth Vlodovic: but then I realized I had no duty to agree with anything, and the feeling went away
stevenaia Michinaga: https://wiki.playasbeing.org/Chat_Logs/2016/10/2016.10.27_13%3a00_-_Heart_Sutra%3a_Basilisks_in_Deep_Drop
stevenaia Michinaga: what an unusually pretty sunset during the session

--BELL--

Dragon Niu: I just see the night.
stevenaia Michinaga: I was looking at the photo on the link
stevenaia Michinaga: to thursday's Heart Sutra session that was posted
druth Vlodovic: I tend to get caught up in words, and miss a few graphics
stevenaia Michinaga: Pepper, the schedule of times we host our meetings is on the wiki, the schedule board, below and we post some meetings on the SL community board, so feel free to drip by anytime
stevenaia Michinaga: I'm happy you saw it there
Dragon Niu: Yay!
druth Vlodovic: :)
Dragon Niu: Thanks for having me :)
druth Vlodovic: you can use the notice board to tour the sim as well
stevenaia Michinaga: if you have any questions, let me know
Dragon Niu: will do, thanks
stevenaia Michinaga: we have member from all over, but mostly North America and Europe
stevenaia Michinaga: for a time we were having RL retreats as well, they are posted on the wiki as well
Dragon Niu: neat, yes. I was reading some of the wiki, but there is much to review!
stevenaia Michinaga: it;s a fun group if you don't mind disccsions without arguing
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: hard to find much of that these days
druth Vlodovic: and the occasional onigokko
Dragon Niu: yes, much hate in the world these days it seems
stevenaia Michinaga: yes we play too, and at time do community themed art projects
druth Vlodovic: I'm going to head to sorrentina and see if I can get info on the manage thing
druth Vlodovic: have fun guys :)
stevenaia Michinaga: ok thanks for joing us Druth
Dragon Niu: I must go, but thank you so much for having me :)
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks for stopping by how to see you again sometime
Dragon Niu: yes, see you again!