2009.04.29 19:00 - Slowing Down Time

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

buddha Nirvana: hi steven:)

stevenaia Michinaga: hi Buddha and gina

stevenaia Michinaga: gina, are you coming from a dance?

stevenaia Michinaga: we could watch gina dance all night

stevenaia Michinaga: hello gina

stevenaia Michinaga: hi Pema

Pema Pera: Hi Gina and Steve and Buddha!

gina Broono: good evening all wise people

Pema Pera looking around for wise people

stevenaia Michinaga: :)

Pila Mulligan: greetings

gina Broono: Pean, do not look farther than yourself

Peer Infinity: hi :)

Pila Mulligan: hi Peer

stevenaia Michinaga: hello Peer

Pema Pera: Hi Pila and Peer!

stevenaia Michinaga: hello Pila

Pila Mulligan: hi Steve

Pema Pera: Well, Gina, we try to help each other to wisen up, I guess :-)

stevenaia Michinaga: I was late for this this afternoon's PaB RL discussion, were you there earlier Pila?

buddha Nirvana: sry... hi everyone

gina Broono: hello

Pila Mulligan: hi buddha

Pila Mulligan: yes Steve -- I had to leave early

stevenaia Michinaga: I'll check the log when it;s posted, my week is just moving by quickly

Pema Pera: boy, do I know the feeling! :)

Pila Mulligan: :) -- mine is also, and that's unusual situation here

stevenaia Michinaga: how long will you in japan Pema?

buddha Nirvana: unusual how pila?

Pema Pera: until the end of May, Steve

Pila Mulligan: the pace of life for me is usually quite sloe buddha

Pila Mulligan: slow*

buddha Nirvana: though you meant 'here' as in SL

Pila Mulligan: nope

buddha Nirvana: thought

buddha Nirvana: ah , ok:)

Pema Pera: :)

buddha Nirvana: well we are thursday here in the UK, and yesterday did seem to be be sunday

Pila Mulligan: :)

stevenaia Michinaga: that is quite a time shortcut

buddha Nirvana: :)

gina Broono: buddha u r i nUK?

Pila Mulligan: maybe we're going through a slick spot on the space time continuum

gina Broono: new moon

Pila Mulligan: :)

gina Broono: time of renewal

gina Broono: and spring time

buddha Nirvana: gin sorry, yes i am

gina Broono: very interesting buddha

buddha Nirvana: yes?

gina Broono: being in UK

gina Broono: us all being scattered around the globe and meeting here

Pila Mulligan: Pema, some day I'd love to observe a science discussion of the state of the art theories on the expansion of space and time (if the premise is not wrongly assumed)

Pila Mulligan: would Kira be a venue for such a session?

Pema Pera: sure, we've had various talks on those topics

Pema Pera: at MICA

Pila Mulligan: cool

Pila Mulligan: is there a schedule?

Pema Pera: http://www.mica-vw.org/

Pila Mulligan: thanks

Pema Pera: some activities are joint MICA/Kira

buddha Nirvana: i saw a very interesting doc on a guy who uses grand sculputers to manipulate light

Pema Pera: sculputers?

Pila Mulligan: grand sculputers?

buddha Nirvana: i really cant remember his name, but he was US based

buddha Nirvana: yes, huge crators, buildings, sculptures

stevenaia Michinaga: I never checked for comments on my half baked understanding on that topic Pila

Pila Mulligan: ahh, Steve gave me a primer during this sesssion a week or so ago

buddha Nirvana: i;ll try and fish his name out for another session

gina Broono: sculputers not sculptures would be an interesting concept: a mix between computers and sculpture

buddha Nirvana: eek typo:)

Pema Pera: :(

Pema Pera: skulputers . . . .

gina Broono: it was a lovely typo

Pema Pera: before computes

Pema Pera: *rs

buddha Nirvana: lol:)

buddha Nirvana: no doubt such things have already been carved

stevenaia Michinaga: Gina, have you seen Adam's exhibition on RL and SL Sacred architecture?

gina Broono: a creative typ-o

gina Broono: no, i'd love to

stevenaia Michinaga: anyone have a link handy (Pema)

stevenaia Michinaga: I think there is one at the Kira Cafe

gina Broono: i cannot get into it yet

buddha Nirvana: )or computers made from skulls)

stevenaia Michinaga: get into what?

gina Broono: Kira

gina Broono: i just added it to my groups that may help

stevenaia Michinaga: the Architecture exhibit is at the Hall of Appearances

gina Broono: I'll check it out after here

gina Broono: thank you generous people

stevenaia Michinaga: I'll post the locations in the log as well

stevenaia Michinaga: the web links take you to an SL location if SL is running

stevenaia Michinaga: the marvels of computers and SL

gina Broono: I can hardly wait to visit, I expect something like Zaha Hadid's work

stevenaia Michinaga: no, these are recreations of RL works, temples of various religions

gina Broono: oh I see

gina Broono: there are many brilliant minds that created all this SL world

gina Broono: I cannot get enough - every day I discover another wonderland

stevenaia Michinaga: speaking of Space and Time, Pila, I am noticing a change of sense of both as I do more Tai Chi

Pila Mulligan: :) cool

buddha Nirvana: how so steven?

Pila Mulligan: things go quite sloe sometimes, grasshopper :)

Pila Mulligan: slow*

stevenaia Michinaga: an interesting sense of change of pace

stevenaia Michinaga: while walking slow in NYC, the relative sense of movement and time sense change (everyone moves fast in NYC)

buddha Nirvana: are all the senses effected ?

Pila Mulligan: in more than 30 years of tai chi practice I only had one occasion to use it at need in a real life situation, and it was just like in the movies -- time got *very* slow, appearing one frame at a time, kind of like a preview of what was happening

Pila Mulligan: oops, sorry

Pila Mulligan: bad timing

stevenaia Michinaga: many time puns tonight

Pema Pera: :)

stevenaia Michinaga: it;s nice to be able to just... change your sense of the perception of time, Sunday was a "World Tai Chi Day" event, there was a large group of us moving through time slower

stevenaia Michinaga: you used Tai Chi to defend yourself Pila?

Pila Mulligan: once

Pila Mulligan: once upon a time ... :)

stevenaia Michinaga: I was learning it more as exercise since I stopped doing yoga, not realizing it was also for defense

Pila Mulligan: it is more exercise than martial art, usually

stevenaia Michinaga: yoga is hardly defensive

Pila Mulligan: in a sense it can be though -- energy wise

Pila Mulligan: yoga

Pila Mulligan: strengthening your prana :)

stevenaia Michinaga: my what?

Pila Mulligan: your chi

stevenaia Michinaga: nods

Pila Mulligan: "Prana is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis. "

Pila Mulligan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prana

stevenaia Michinaga: nothing is simple

gina Broono: everything is simple

gina Broono: it's how you look at it

Pila Mulligan: nothing is everything

stevenaia Michinaga: usually from the begining end it;s not, but like any process, things usually become more simple with time

gina Broono: and the more acceptable and bearabe

gina Broono: bearable*

stevenaia Michinaga: not sure I would go that far

stevenaia Michinaga: in general

stevenaia Michinaga: was thinking more in terms of learning, digesting concepts, and then comes understanding

Pema Pera: Steve, can you tell us a bit more about your experiences walking in NYC in a more tai chi way?

stevenaia Michinaga: I was just using the NYC walking as an analogy

stevenaia Michinaga: I have a NYC walking gate that generally keeps pace with most when I am getting places in Manhattan

gina Broono: walking gate?

stevenaia Michinaga: step

gina Broono: oh, gait

Pema Pera: jumping gates perhaps ? :-)

stevenaia Michinaga: speed that I walk

Pema Pera: that's what many do at the subway

gina Broono: NY state of mind

stevenaia Michinaga: yes

gina Broono: i do it often as I live here

gina Broono: brisk

gina Broono: with a purpose

stevenaia Michinaga: Tai Chi is like walking slowly amongst the speedi walkers

gina Broono: purposeful walking and being

gina Broono: dear people, I have to go for now

gina Broono: see you tomorrow night

gina Broono: keep smiling

stevenaia Michinaga: bye gina

Pema Pera: bye Gina!

gina Broono: and spread the happiness and joy to all fellow earth residents

gina Broono: as you do here

gina Broono: : )

stevenaia Michinaga: it;s like meditation, but I suppose that to literal as isn;t tai chi called walking meditation?

gina Broono: Pema, ty

Pema Pera: yw :)

stevenaia Michinaga: perhaps I'm just moving into that "place" of understanding

Pila Mulligan: [interested but has rl phone call]

stevenaia Michinaga: tai Chi may just be another tool like the 9 second or 90 second meditations

stevenaia Michinaga: anything done with consistence open you up to changes in perceptions

stevenaia Michinaga: *opens

Pema Pera: viewing the world in a different way is a great form of active meditation

Pema Pera: if you do that in the midsts of daily activities, it has more chance to let you integrate it with daily life, compared to sitting on a cushion

Pema Pera: there are many variations: walking while viewing the world as a dream

Pema Pera: or as a kind of heavenly realm, if that fits with your background and other practice

stevenaia Michinaga: meditation as a "heavenly realm"?

Pema Pera: no, seeing the world around you as a kind of heavenly realm

Pema Pera: the sacredness in and as everyone and everything

stevenaia Michinaga: well ofcourse

Pema Pera: of course?

stevenaia Michinaga: everything as sacredness

Pema Pera: well, it requires you to remember, first of all, to do that, and then to stick with really putting yourself into that frame of mind for a while

stevenaia Michinaga: it is.. and then there is perceiving it as such

Pema Pera: It's easy to talk or think about it as an idea, but actually doing it initially takes some effort, but can have very powerful consequences, quite quickly, if you really do it.

Pema Pera: and it changes everything: your way of breathing, your posture, your whole presence

Pema Pera: like with tai chi, but starting with a thought rather than a physical posture

Pema Pera: complementary

stevenaia Michinaga: interesting how little of that has begin in the west, most of it borrowed from the east

stevenaia Michinaga: but yes, it is very complementary

Pema Pera: Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen master, had a very interesting one-liner about this, something like:

Pema Pera: we are amazed by the idea of astronauts walking in space, or someone walking on water, but in fact, each time we walk on the grass or on the sand, it is equally miraculous

stevenaia Michinaga: nods, I must go, RL calls

Pila Mulligan: bye Steve

stevenaia Michinaga: thank you Pema, Peer and Pils

Pila Mulligan: thank you

Pila Mulligan: happy walking :)

stevenaia Michinaga: :)

Pema Pera: bye Steve

Pema Pera: time for me too

Pema Pera: good seeing you all again!

Pila Mulligan: bye Pema

Pema Pera: bfn

Pila Mulligan: Peer, have you and Pema talked more about the wiki ideas?

Peer Infinity: no, we haven't

Pila Mulligan: he seems kind of busy

Peer Infinity: yes

Pila Mulligan: well, I need to deal with another rl phone call -- see yuo next time, Peer

Pila Mulligan: bye