2012.08.12 07:00 - Feedback

The Guardian for this meeting was Eliza Madrigal. The comments are by Eliza Madrigal.

 

Eliza Madrigal: Morning, Bruce (((( ))))) Sorry to read about your brother, yesterday. How is he doing?
Bruce Mowbray: Thank you, Eliza.
Bruce Mowbray: I spoke with his wife last night.
Bruce Mowbray: She says nothing much has changed...
Bruce Mowbray: He's heavily sedated right now.
Eliza Madrigal nods... glad everyone is communicating with one another
Bruce Mowbray: Oh yes.
Bruce Mowbray: Diane (his wife) and I have always had an excellent relationship.
Bruce Mowbray: We sometimes talk for hours on the phone.
Eliza Madrigal: oh, that's great ... the solid importance of these things come to the fore in times of difficulty I guess
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I was thinking just that last night.
Eliza Madrigal: and also serve the daily "quality"

Eliza Madrigal: :) Hi Aphrodite
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Aph!!
Aphrodite Macbain: Good morning
Bruce Mowbray: I just posted the Minutes from this week's Working Group meeting.
Eliza Madrigal: oh, thanks
Aphrodite Macbain: Yes, I saw.
Aphrodite Macbain: Thanks so much Bruce.
Eliza Madrigal: like your new mandala image t-shirt :)
Bruce Mowbray: I sort of left it up to Bleu to define the parameters of the Art of Being Project -- as you saw.
Aphrodite Macbain: I guess Bleu will send out an announcement about the Art as Being project
Bruce Mowbray: Thanks, Eliza!
Bruce Mowbray: I made about 6 new ones -- all mandalas.

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: :))
Eliza Madrigal: mandala chameleon
Aphrodite Macbain: I like the orange one
Bruce Mowbray: It matches my underwear.
Eliza Madrigal: hah mandalaroos
Bruce Mowbray: ;-)
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Bruce Mowbray loves Eliza's pixelish hat.
Aphrodite Macbain: sounds like the name of a candy
Eliza Madrigal: it is from an exhibit at LEA, Bleu suggested... quite fun

Aphrodite Macbain: Are you both goig to the Arena Chapel talk at 11AM today?
Eliza Madrigal grins seeing Bleu sign on
Eliza Madrigal: I'd like to Aph, and also will need Wol's help....
Eliza Madrigal: I have firestorm but was unable to get the portal right somehow
Bruce Mowbray: I will not be able to -- will be in Quaker Meeting.
Aphrodite Macbain: It wasn't too much trouble. The instructions are pretty clear
Eliza Madrigal: yes, one would think... not sure why I had trouble

Aphrodite Macbain: It's the changing of the grid which can be tricky
Eliza Madrigal: :) boundary issues
Aphrodite Macbain: always are a problem
Eliza Madrigal: inner outer, heaven earth, mind body
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Eliza Madrigal: self others, here there
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: darn boundaries

Bruce Mowbray: That reminds me of the biofeedback device I bought this week.
Aphrodite Macbain: I'm really interested because I'm going to visit the Chapel on my Italy trip
Bruce Mowbray: I have been using different meditative methods to achieve the "coherence scores" I want.
Eliza Madrigal: oh wow, please say more
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, the chapel --- in Venice?
Bruce Mowbray: Well, the device is called "emWave2"
Bruce Mowbray: You can find it on the Internet.
Bruce Mowbray: It's the best biofeedback device I've found for the cost -- under $200.
Bruce Mowbray: I use it several times every day.
Bruce Mowbray: employing different meditative methods - - one of which is blending "boundaries"
Eliza Madrigal: what is your intention? objective measurement of awareness?

Aphrodite Macbain: no, in Padua which is just north west of Venice
Bruce Mowbray: feeling the "connection" of everything to everything else -- at a heart level, and breathing through the heart.
Bruce Mowbray: amazing how accurately the device picks up my changing thoughts . . .
Bruce Mowbray: It knows precisely when my mind wanders.
Bruce Mowbray: Padua!
Aphrodite Macbain: lol
Bruce Mowbray: heh heh
Aphrodite Macbain: that's where my mind is wandering these days
Bruce Mowbray: I'll bet -- So happy for you, Aph.
Bruce Mowbray: Will Woly be meeting you in Padua too, or just in Venice?
Aphrodite Macbain: Does this machine help you focus and calm your thoughts Brue?
Bruce Mowbray: Indeed, it does.
Eliza Madrigal always hears a song from Kiss Me Kate when she hears the word Padua
Bruce Mowbray: That's why I bought it.
Aphrodite Macbain: no Woly will be in Venice, along with Yaku and his g.f.
Bleu Oleander: hiya all :)
Bruce Mowbray: Hey, Bleu!
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, great... so meet-up a bit larger, nice

Aphrodite Macbain: Hi fuzzy purple Bleu
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bleu :)
Bruce Mowbray runs to find purple shirt to match Bleu's dress.
Bleu Oleander: ha!
Bleu Oleander: nice Bruce!
Bruce Mowbray: lol!
Eliza Madrigal: Bruce would you say more about how the device can show your wandering thoughts?
Bleu Oleander: I like your "team" spirit
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: Bleu, thanks again for synthesizing all our suggestions for the Art as being.

--BELL--

Bruce Mowbray: sure....
Bruce Mowbray: The device picks up your pulse rate and your breathing rate.
Bruce Mowbray: It then computes a "coherence" score....
Bruce Mowbray: and portrays that on the computer monitor.
Bruce Mowbray: so you can watch it change.
Bruce Mowbray: I aim to be in "high coherence" for 80% of the time I am meditating.
Bruce Mowbray: The instant feedback helps me to do this.
Bruce Mowbray: Does that explain it all right?
Eliza Madrigal: yes, thanks Bruce - clearer now... how interesting
Aphrodite Macbain: sounds like the old biofeedback machines, where you learn to control your heart rate and anxiety
Bruce Mowbray: http://www.heartmathstore.com/category/emWave2/
Eliza Madrigal nods ... though I imagine for some, trying to control it might increase anxiety
Bleu Oleander: :)

Bruce Mowbray: Part of how I am learning to "control" my score is by letting go of "control."
Aphrodite Macbain: or take their mind off what's bothering them
Eliza Madrigal nods
Bruce Mowbray: "Dropping" all preferences -- including the preference for a higher coherence score.
Eliza Madrigal: so seeing the charting as 'reflection' rather than the point
Bruce Mowbray: Sounds paradoxical, but it works.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, a good way to say it Eliza.
Aphrodite Macbain: My weekly 3 hour drawing classes are little pools of tranquility. Focusing on one thing intently for 3 hrs han give new energy!
Aphrodite Macbain: *can
Eliza Madrigal: benefits of submersion
Bruce Mowbray: If anyone is interested in getting one, I know a place that sells it for $180 -- and can have it in your home in only two days (if you live in the US).
Bleu Oleander: yes ... flow
Bruce Mowbray: I envy you for being able to have those classes, Aph.
Aphrodite Macbain: Bruce- did you get my email - that I have received the CD? The first one..
Bruce Mowbray: Yes! How did you like it?
Aphrodite Macbain: Wonderful!
Bruce Mowbray: good memories, huh?
Aphrodite Macbain: There were some wonderful photographs in it.
Bruce Mowbray: I turned my graphics quality down to "Low" -- otherwise they'd have been better.
Aphrodite Macbain: I found it really interesting that in some of the shots I was wearing a skirt and in others I wasn't... how could that be?
Bruce Mowbray: but still, they will help you remember that FINE event.
Bruce Mowbray: Don't know about the skirts.
Eliza Madrigal: skirts disappear from some angles Aph, when avies are moving around
Eliza Madrigal: have noticed this before
Aphrodite Macbain: This was a series of photographs of me
Bruce Mowbray: At the performance -- I noticed that Eliza's skirt had a difficult time fitting into the chair.
Aphrodite Macbain: Actually it was my "slip" or underskirt that was showing.
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh!
Eliza Madrigal: :) tendency to overspill boundaries
Bleu Oleander: :)
Aphrodite Macbain: but it was knee length so It looked like I was dressed for a 1950s cocktail party rather than an 18th century play

Bruce Mowbray: will we be talking about the Art of Being project at the upcoming Guardians Meeting in 6 minutes?
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Bruce Mowbray: oh goodie.
Aphrodite Macbain: Yes, I hope so.
Bleu Oleander: just sent the email
Bruce Mowbray: Cool. TY, Bleu!
Eliza Madrigal: great, can be first 'agenda' item :)
Aphrodite Macbain: I am trying to think who to invite onto my team
Eliza Madrigal: ty Bleu
Bruce Mowbray: EXCELLENT, Bleu! You do SUCH a great job with this.
Bleu Oleander: perhaps we'll have lots of volunteers for our teams!
Bleu Oleander: ty Bruce :)
Bleu Oleander: should be fun working in teams
Bleu Oleander: the space is quite a bit larger than usual too
Aphrodite Macbain: we are lucky to have you heading this up BLeu.

Bleu Oleander: I put a template on my plot that peeps can take a copy of to work with
Aphrodite Macbain: You are both a fine diplomat and an intelligent synthesizer of ideas
Aphrodite Macbain: Bleu.
Eliza Madrigal: hear hear
Bruce Mowbray: [`·.] APPLAUSE!! [.·´]
Bleu Oleander: we all contributed to this one ... good job all!
Aphrodite Macbain: I wonder how you manage to do all this as well as your full time job
Bleu Oleander: hahaha
Bruce Mowbray: Think I'll be heading to Village Hall now.

Eliza Madrigal: bit more serious of a note but ... I just finished a wonderful but difficult book titled "The Survivor"... and was startled to read how similar language at the basic 'survivor' level of life, mirrors the language used in meditative traditions to describe awareness ... words like "bare existence" and and there being no past or future not because it heps improve anything in some way but because the needs of the moment are, all
Eliza Madrigal: the book also brought light to basic human need/tendency to organize - organisms coming before humans after all
Aphrodite Macbain: Interesting Eliza
Bruce Mowbray: Is this non-fiction, Eliza?
Eliza Madrigal: yes
Eliza Madrigal: very much so
Aphrodite Macbain: sounds very non fiction
Bruce Mowbray makes note of the book's title.
Bleu Oleander: sounds like great topics for future session?
Aphrodite Macbain: yes
Aphrodite Macbain: basics
Aphrodite Macbain: bare existence...
Bruce Mowbray: sounds like good methods for my biofeedback lab.
Aphrodite Macbain: survival?

Eliza Madrigal: well I'm not sure how to approach it - heartwrenching but important book dealing with the most serious recounts of life stripped down
Bruce Mowbray: "bare existence...."
Aphrodite Macbain: what we need rather than what we desire
Bruce Mowbray: the minimals.
Bruce Mowbray: the primes.
Aphrodite Macbain: nods
Eliza Madrigal: but yes Bruce's charting body reflection brought it to mind, and also our 'teams' thinking :)
Aphrodite Macbain: sounds like a rock group
Bruce Mowbray: See you all at the Meeting.
Bleu Oleander: kk

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: :) see you all there