25-27 Corvi's picks

 

2009.10.27 19:00 - Inviting a dream

wherin Stevie's feet are on fire, and Fox's have wings.

Eos Amaterasu: "this world is an ever burning flame" - Heraclitus

Eos Amaterasu: Cultivator, listener and guardian

stevenaia Michinaga: I do like "host"

Fox Monacular: yes, me too

Eos Amaterasu: the host offers space

stevenaia Michinaga: interesting collection, gardener, hearing and ... what do you guard

Eos Amaterasu: how can you guard space?

stevenaia Michinaga: what else can you guard... things?, ideas thoughts

Eos Amaterasu: but you can hold space, and thereby offer it, make it more available

stevenaia Michinaga: hold space?

Eos Amaterasu: guard authenticity?

stevenaia Michinaga: space can only be defined

Eos Amaterasu: like an environment, spot, building, container holds space

stevenaia Michinaga: by other things

Eos Amaterasu: that's the paradox:

stevenaia Michinaga: a nice one, like time can only be defined by its passage

stevenaia Michinaga: it is a paradox or the nature of its existance

Eos Amaterasu: this pavilion contains space

stevenaia Michinaga: definition

stevenaia Michinaga: nods

Eos Amaterasu: and this fountain offers it

Eos Amaterasu: and the pool reflects it

Eos Amaterasu: and is it

stevenaia Michinaga: it anchors it

Fox Monacular: :)

Eos Amaterasu: our very own Delphi!

2009.10.27 13:00 - That Age'd Old Problem Again

wherein the problems of relationships, age, gender and politics were discussed. I invite you to read the log itself, but the questions I came away with were "what is immutable about age differences, differences in gender? What do we choose as individuals? If we give ourselves space to see these things as instances rather than categories are we more limber?" My assessment was that categories like "age" and "gender" can point to the questions we should ask ourselves in relationship, but if we get too bogged down in them, we're gonna be in trouble, anyway.

2009.10.27 07:00 - Same ol little paths

wherin Riddle describes a symphony.

Riddle Sideways: I can't say it correctly, but was taken with the "same-ness" of "change", the layers.

Corvuscorva Nightfire: nods..I think I understand. like the same old task is a symphony piece..repeating and repeating with little changes that make it new?

2009.10.27 01:00 - Quiet

Wherin there were only birds and Wester

2009.10.26 13:00 - Where Do You Start From?

wherin many guardians give apologies of their spiritual roots.

Pema Pera: One theme that I have seen coming back in many discussions lately is the question of where do you start from. So often it happens that we start from a number of tacit assumptions, and from that position we try to find something that is already excluded by those very assumptions

Scathach Rhiadra: well, it all depends where you are when you start:)

Pema Pera: or where you think you are; how you view yourself, yes

Pema Pera: when you identify yourself with a limited body and mind, and are really convinced that that is what you really are, and then you go off trying to find some kind of enlightenment, or you try to help others in some way, you're likely to get stuck

Pema Pera: and when you really believe that we are living in a linear past-present-future time, and that that is all there is, you get stuck too

2009.10.26 07:00 - Theme Session: Advaita Vedanta

Wherin Bolonath Crystal speaks on a spiritual practice

Pema Pera: Bolonath, perhaps you can begin with a brief description of Advaita Vedanta, just in a few sentences, yes please
Bolonath Crystal: sure :)
Bolonath Crystal: strictly speaking advaita vedanta is not a religion but a philosophy. but indian philosophy is always religious as well
Bolonath Crystal: india is very rich in philosophy, so i like to give you a short orientation
Bolonath Crystal: there are two main streams, called 'astika' and 'nastika'
Bolonath Crystal: in sanskrit asti means 'it is', nasti 'it is not'. this refers to the vedas, which are authoritative for astika, but not for nastika
Bolonath Crystal: typical nastika philosophies are e.g. jainism or buddhist philosophies like yogacara ('all is mind') and nagarjuna's madhyamaka ('all is emptyness')
Bolonath Crystal: in astika there are 6 major philosophies; one of them is vedanta
Bolonath Crystal: vedanta itself has two main streams: the older dvaita and the younger advaita vedanta
Bolonath Crystal: dvaita means 'split' or 'divided', a-dvaita 'not divided'
Bolonath Crystal: that refers to our role as beings in relation to god
Bolonath Crystal: in dvaita vedanta there is a clear separation between the 'true self' (atman) and god.
Bolonath Crystal: for a dvaita vedantin (that is a follower of dvaita vedanta) the highest aim is to reach the realm of god. that's pretty similar to e.g. christianity. christians can go to heaven, but never become god
Bolonath Crystal: so god and 'true self' are always and irrevocably parted
Bolonath Crystal: in advaita vedanta this separation doesn't exist. an advaita vedantib can become entirely one with god - an incredible blasphemy in the eyes of a dvaita vedantin
--BELL--
Bolonath Crystal: even more: in advaita vedanta the 'real self' already IS one with god and always was and will be. as unenlightened beings we simply just don't know it :)
Bolonath Crystal: an advaita vedantin doesn't have to become anything. he merely has to find out what he already is
Bolonath Crystal: the world - i.e. what we experience as reality - is only an illusion, a dream caused by karma (act or deed)
Bolonath Crystal: to become enlightened means to free oneself from karma, to wake up from the dream and to realise our true, godlike nature (brahman)
Bolonath Crystal: so advaita vedabnta can be summarized in three short sentences:
Bolonath Crystal: i am atman. atman is brahman. so i am brahman
Bolonath Crystal: any questions on that?

2009.10.26 01:00 - Quiet

Wherin there is naught but Gaya.

2009.10.25 19:00 - Passing

wherin is discussed the signifigance of death, and a use of 9seconds in a group

stevenaia Michinaga: so ahve you given any additioanl thought about merging PaB practice with your brain trust to resolve the globle warming crisis... if I understand what you were thinking the other night?

doug Sosa: well, i started with the issue; lying vs, realism. that is the point of contact. i think i might try the 90 sec every fifteen minutes though.

doug Sosa: what i wanted was to explore the experience of being caught between perception and being helpful.

stevenaia Michinaga: for you or as a group excercise?

doug Sosa: for myself first.

stevenaia Michinaga: I had considered what your intensions were... was to creat an environment for the cretive flow of new ideas to be applied to the problem by offering percetual changes in reality through PaB

stevenaia Michinaga: as a tool of sorts

Paradise Tennant: in fact a lifefull really :)

doug Sosa: you know, that lagugae doesn't get me. It stats with the issue of being caught. what really is that xperience, how does it look in 9 sec? and from thee to slowly model, not explicitly perhaps, the fifteen minute reflections.

doug Sosa: It will have to emerge not be imposed.

doug Sosa: Piet's original impulse was to loosen up scientists in their thinking, less concepts, more experience.

doug Sosa: So thinking about the interpaly between science and public policy for climate change seems like a anatural.

doug Sosa: but maybe the issue is broader. what to do when domins of thought overlap? Right now it is the way finance, politcs, tech innovation, and climate effects merge.

doug Sosa: For me persoanally the 9 sec has been a big help in not panicking.

2009.10.25 13:00 - How to hold a concern

Wherin an ethical/political question is proposed and discussed, examined as though Playing with Being were the focus.

Pila Mulligan: I have had a thought occupying my mind rescently

Pila Mulligan: maybe off-PAB

Eos Amaterasu listens

Maxine Walden: just wondering that very question, Eos...oh, Pila

Maxine Walden: ?

Pila Mulligan: an ethical question for this and subsequent centuries relates to genetic modification and bio-engineering, especially how far will humans go in determining human evolution by using technological tools

Eos Amaterasu: At the guardian meeting doug suggested that PaB can enter such questions

Pila Mulligan: seems a biggy to me

Eos suggests a way to approach Pila's question from a PaB outlook

Eos Amaterasu: I think by just asking how the question/framing is with PaB outlook

Eos Amaterasu: I think one way is that we are asking a question aboiut modifying ourselves

Eos Amaterasu: and that is exactly the space PaB plays with

Pila Mulligan: proponents and opponents already use widely varied perspectives

Eos Amaterasu: we are observing and also being and becoming ourselves

Pila Mulligan: the issue has been in the Hawaii legislature several times in recent years regarding inidigenous plants

Pila Mulligan: GMO taro andpapaya

Pila Mulligan: for example

Pila Mulligan: next level is human ourselves

Maxine Walden: thoughtless, perhaps, modifications of ourselves as vs thoughtful (PaB) modifications?

Eos Amaterasu: Also cutting through this notion of forever advancement

--BELL--

Maxine Walden: or bringing aspects of Being into the picture, what would the thoughtul mind consider?

Pila Mulligan: there could already be a post-homo sapiens evolution taking place in laboratories simply by creating the tools -- based on the adage that people will do things simply because they can

Eos Amaterasu: we are living unexamined lives with way too powerful tools

Eos Amaterasu: we can't be such "children" any more

Maxine Walden: greed or curiosity-driven activities?

Pila Mulligan: it is a genuine ethics question

Pila Mulligan: GMO plants are defintieyl monsanto driven

Eos Amaterasu: a lot of it greed and ambition driven

Pila Mulligan: patenting crops

Eos Amaterasu: nurtured with active ignoring

Pila Mulligan: and public indifferemnce

2009.10.25 08:00 - Third Guardian Meeting

See (a seperate scribe entry)

2009.10.25 07:00 - All Shook Up

Wherin Adams shares a little of his personal exploration and vision of trees

Eliza Madrigal: Some have very definite rules/ideas of how explorations should be conducted. What when the explorations come to us and we follow and then hear there should have been rules?

Eos Amaterasu: To be really personal the explorations have to be our own

Eos Amaterasu: if they don't have an "unprecedented" quality then they can't shake us up

2009.10.25 01:00 - Gornisht

Wherin nothing occured