2009.03.19 19:00 - PaB retreat ideas

The Guardian for this meeting was Sylectra Darwin. The comments are by Sylectra Darwin.

    stevenaia Michinaga: evening Pila
    Pila Mulligan: hi Steve
    stevenaia Michinaga: where is sylectra?
    Pila Mulligan: howzit?
    Pila Mulligan: unknown :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: buzy for a change
    Pila Mulligan: me too, taking a work break here
    Pila Mulligan: Pema wants to form a small committee to explore te idea of building a retreat
    Pila Mulligan: I urged that you be included (hopefully not to your consternation) and he agreed
    stevenaia Michinaga: small, only if it involves a site visit
    Pila Mulligan: :) of course
    Pila Mulligan: would you mind ?
    stevenaia Michinaga: not at all,, hell, you've done all the hard work
    stevenaia Michinaga: like moving next door
    Pila Mulligan: like opening the jungle :)
    Pila Mulligan: I could not believe how dense this is
    Pila Mulligan: the pristine forest is a beautiful one in terms of tree spacing
    stevenaia Michinaga: can you bring the ocean in?
    Pila Mulligan: the invasive stuff fills every nook and cranny
    Pila Mulligan: it is 2300' above sea level
    stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm
    Pila Mulligan: so i hope not :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: hello sylectra
    Pila Mulligan: hi Sylectra
    stevenaia Michinaga: have you been out in the sun to long?
    Sylectra Darwin: Sorry I'm late!
    Sylectra Darwin: why?
    stevenaia Michinaga: your skin looks silvery
    Pila Mulligan: tatoos maybe :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: all pver your lrgs and arms?
    stevenaia Michinaga: over
    Sylectra Darwin: hmmm, trying to remember what skin I was playing with a while ago
    Sylectra Darwin: it's an outfit!
    Sylectra Darwin: I've been playing with fashion.
    stevenaia Michinaga: so Plia, what were the ideas for this Camp Being?
    Sylectra Darwin: do tell...
    Pila Mulligan: before you guys arrived I was sitting here wondering what it wold take to replicate a place like this SL pavillion in RL :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: you looking for a cloistered monastic sort of thing
    Pila Mulligan: there are some very nice retreat centers around the area
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, I saw some on the web
    Pila Mulligan: Wood Valley is a Buddhist temple that has been visited *twice* by the Dalai Lama
    Pila Mulligan: but that is a big undertaking in terms of time and cost
    stevenaia Michinaga: until we have splinter groups of PaB, we should be fine being non-religious
    Pila Mulligan: yes indeed :)
    Pila Mulligan: no religion wihtout conflict :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: nods
    Pila Mulligan: I think the first step is to consider what we want to do with a rl place
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, an "architectural program" as we call it in the field
    stevenaia Michinaga: and how to sustain it on the back end
    Pila Mulligan: ... and realisticaly, it needs not to be pre-determined that Hawaii is the pre-determined place for it
    Pila Mulligan: redundant, but you ge thte idea
    stevenaia Michinaga: whatever is decided, yes a place needs to fixed somewhere
    stevenaia Michinaga: but the contents can be looked at early one w/o a location
    stevenaia Michinaga: on
    Pila Mulligan: that's why i would start with how it would be used -- what types of meetings, how often, etc
    stevenaia Michinaga: there are many contemplative places in the world, perhaps purchasing an existing one to start
    Pila Mulligan: see, there's an option
    Pila Mulligan: not only how and how often, but how many too
    stevenaia Michinaga: something with room to have it become our own
    Pila Mulligan: in terms of meetings, how many would attend, what would be the expectations for duration and ldging
    Sylectra Darwin: LEt's definitely go to Hawaii, and our dear friend Pila can play host. :)
    Pila Mulligan: I'm happy to do so Sylectra
    Pila Mulligan: but would it impact the ability of people to attend?
    stevenaia Michinaga: the diverity of the group will make that a dificult one
    Pila Mulligan: yes it is -- and geograpchi diversity not the least
    Sylectra Darwin: The diversity of the group is both a great strength and a great hindrance
    Pila Mulligan: Iceland may be the most central location :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: and financial diverity
    Pila Mulligan: yes, $ alos
    Pila Mulligan: so then there is the grants quesation
    stevenaia Michinaga: or the noth pole, it could be sunny and warm there soon
    Sylectra Darwin: We need grants!
    Pila Mulligan: :) I hope not
    Pila Mulligan: yes, if we have a plan that attracts funding it affects all the ideas
    stevenaia Michinaga: grants, like how do you move 50 people from around the worls to one spot for some time
    Pila Mulligan: yes, in aprt
    Pila Mulligan: there has been talk of one or several people reisding there, as well
    Pila Mulligan: so we have that aspect of a monastic idea as well
    Pila Mulligan: or non-monastic, depending
    stevenaia Michinaga: grins
    Pila Mulligan: but I'm hoping we can let the idea float around for a few months in small discussions and by August have some firmthoughts
    stevenaia Michinaga: Santa cruz may be quite the hit, I;ve been there and love the area
    Sylectra Darwin: brb...need to relog
    stevenaia Michinaga: and work on tat skin
    Pila Mulligan: yep, and as you will recognize Steve, part of the context is the zoning and pemritting regieme of the place
    Pila Mulligan: Hawaii is not the best there, by far
    Pila Mulligan: wb Sylectra
    stevenaia Michinaga: there is texas, no zoning there :)
    Pila Mulligan: really?
    stevenaia Michinaga: houston, for instance, I belive, but that may ahve changed, used to be like that
    Pila Mulligan: well, there's a world full of options ot consider :)
    Pila Mulligan: Malta maybe :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, preference of the group may lead to a starting place
    Pila Mulligan: but, at the risk of sounding pedantic, geeting a feel for the expected use is the first step, I'm sure
    stevenaia Michinaga: or, if need be, a small group should travel the world looking
    Pila Mulligan: :)
    Pila Mulligan: it may not be a Field of Dreams 'build it and theywill come' tiuatin
    Pila Mulligan: situation*
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes
    Pila Mulligan: welcoem back -- the new fashion has many pixels?
    stevenaia Michinaga: perhap a wiki or google group location to amass the thoughts of the group an to distill them
    stevenaia Michinaga: take 9 seconds and visualize that it should be, write it down and send it to PaB group
    Pila Mulligan: :) nice idea
    stevenaia Michinaga: in a few monts we shold ahve plenty to consider
    Pila Mulligan: yes, I was just thinking about the term amass
    stevenaia Michinaga: a repository of the groups thughts
    Pila Mulligan: and also, as we are doing, have some small chats about the ideas
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, organize them in to distince and overlaping aagories
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes
    Pila Mulligan: we need a consensus :)
    Pila Mulligan: excuse me please -- phone call
    stevenaia Michinaga: actually doug sosa is invilves in organizing this type of information
    stevenaia Michinaga: involved
    stevenaia Michinaga: kk
    stevenaia Michinaga: he has a group in Stanford that is involved in commumications, I had a web site
    stevenaia Michinaga: I'll pass it on when I find it
    stevenaia Michinaga: software tools
    Pila Mulligan: back
    stevenaia Michinaga: wb
    Pila Mulligan: thanks
    Pila Mulligan: a cleint called :)
    Pila Mulligan: i write stuff for lawyers, Sylectra
    stevenaia Michinaga: lucky you, tell them to emet you here next time
    Pila Mulligan: :)
    Pila Mulligan: i did suggest it to this guy, in particular
    Pila Mulligan: he went to diviinity shcool befor elaw schooo
    stevenaia Michinaga: that's an interesting transition
    Pila Mulligan: yep
    Pila Mulligan: I've worked with a couple of lawyers from that path
    Pila Mulligan: much more conscious than your average schmo
    Pila Mulligan: this particular lawyer had actually epxressed an interest i buying the vacant lot
    Pila Mulligan: what type of wrok do you do Sylectra?
    Pila Mulligan: cool, for a law firm, or generally?
    Pila Mulligan: aha
    stevenaia Michinaga: lucking you 20 lawyer clients
    Pila Mulligan: oh yes, of course
    Pila Mulligan: lexisis well known
    Pila Mulligan: I use Westlaw hoewver :)
    Pila Mulligan: they each have their strengths
    stevenaia Michinaga: let me email doug and see what thought he might have on our accumulated knowlegde and how to structure it and access it by the group, a good starting point
    Pila Mulligan: yep, sounds like it Steve
    stevenaia Michinaga: at least related to this aspect
    Pila Mulligan: I wonder how accurately we can refine the projected use ideas -- like how many people would actually come to retreats
    stevenaia Michinaga: perahps by asting lots a preferred location will emerge
    stevenaia Michinaga: casting
    Pila Mulligan: I think the location will folow the use plans
    stevenaia Michinaga: or... we can work on astral projection, cut down on travel costs
    Pila Mulligan: yes, it would be cheaper :)
    Pila Mulligan: for example, suppose the idea ws to have on-going informal sessions, and one or two grouop retreats a year
    Pila Mulligan: and a place for people to visit whenever
    Pila Mulligan: the number of poeple wanting to do each of those uses would tell us what is needed
    stevenaia Michinaga: it would be interesting to see how manu could travel how far and how often
    Pila Mulligan: exactly :)
    Pila Mulligan: and also possible residetns
    Pila Mulligan: yes
    Pila Mulligan: like SL almost
    Pila Mulligan: with airfare :)
    Pila Mulligan: or astral porjection
    stevenaia Michinaga: lol
    Pila Mulligan: now i am making that here anyway
    Pila Mulligan: making cmapsites that is
    Pila Mulligan: so it is close to being real as a Hawaii location
    Pila Mulligan: but Pema was interested in aving more than just campsites, and I agree
    Pila Mulligan: he calls them huts, for osme reason :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, especially in a rain forest
    Pila Mulligan: especially
    stevenaia Michinaga: covered walkways
    Pila Mulligan: yep
    Pila Mulligan: close pavaillion top :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: the details will build over time
    Pila Mulligan: yep
    Pila Mulligan: well, maybe I should get back to rl stuff now
    stevenaia Michinaga: yes, the hour has passed
    stevenaia Michinaga: I need to get back to work too
    Pila Mulligan: its funny how the costs of travel changes, Sylectra -- I saw there are roundtrip fares ot Hawaii now for under $500
    Pila Mulligan: but the time factor stays pretty constant :)
    Pila Mulligan: well, up up and away :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: bye Pila
    Pila Mulligan: aloha Steve and Sylectra
    stevenaia Michinaga: time to claim you log sylectra
    stevenaia Michinaga: :)
    stevenaia Michinaga: let me know when you post it, I;ll send doug hen link
    stevenaia Michinaga: nighters