E. Month of November

We moved into the new pavilion in Bieup in Novmber 3, 2008. Storm had created this lovely structure earlier but it was decided to postpone our arrival until the autologging was ready. There was some discussion about what to name this structure and some call it "Playgoda" which seems to have stuck for many. Storm also created a scenic balloon ride to take one from the old pavilion to the new. In addition we created visitor cards for visitors and Stormn set up three places where visitors could pick them up themselves.

The Sunday morning guardian meeting was replaced with four guardian meetings on Saturday 19:00, Sunday 13:00, Monday 07:00 and Tuesday 01:00. The first of these took place on Staurday, November 3.

Moon continued to improve the new PaB Library.

PaB Library Reading Room 

Science programs begin to take place at the Kira Cafe including an "Ask the Astronomer" session.

Thanks to Storm, Storm, Pema and I begin discussions toward creating an Art Exhibition for the Hall of Appearance in Rieul.

In  mid November Pema began working on a Book project on the wiki on the basic points about Play as Being.

First Dialogue: Pema and Stim held the first of a series of dialogues on November 4 (U.S.Election Day) at 13:00. The first was on the "three notions of Being". To set the stage, Pema challenged us in an email with the following:

1) when we start with our usual understanding of who we are and what the world is we find ourselves in, we can look at something wider, more open, more basic, and call that Being.  One way to get more in touch with that form of Being is to drop what you have to see what you are, in order to discover more of Being.  There are many expressions that are used traditionally, such as "higher self" or "unconscious."  As an example of a possible use of this notion of Being, you can try to step out of the way, in a not-doing (wu-wei) fashion, letting Being speak/act, rather than you.

2) when we continue to explore, we may get a sense of a much more ultimate/radical form of Being, beyond all distinctions, beyond all dualities and dichotomies.  Stepping back from the you who you think you are, to the Being above as a kind of higher self to an even more refined notion of a person to notions that go beyond the personal-impersonal, etc, opposites, we ultimately arrive at something beyond words, for which we can use the word Being, but in a far more radical way that in 1).

3) finally, after we get more familiar with both 1) and 2), we may begin to see how Being is neither the next big breakthrough, around the corner, nor the ultimate goal of a very long journey, but rather what IS, already, in and as everything that presents itself, here and now.  Being IS, and all and everything is presented as/by/in Being.  And like in 1) and 2), this Being is a precious resource -- but this time it does not function as inspiration and aspiration, but much more directly as we already ARE, more intimately and more close than anything we normally consider intimate and close.

To put it in a picture, as a line: if we find ourself at a point X, then 1) and 2) can be put down as follows on this line:

X -> 1) -> . . . -> 2)

So 1) is the next big step; 2) is the endpoint of infinitely many steps, and 3) is the white space on which this picture of the line is written.

As your Chronicler, I do not yet have the capacity to summarize either the email or the dialogue. I can only provide some tantalizing tidbits. Here is Stim's initial response:

Stim Morane: That's a tricky question. Basically, I think it's important to remember that this little scheme of three types of Being was motivated by the perception that in a group, where people are talking about Being, they may be referring to different things and does create some confusion in the chat
Stim Morane: *thus create
Stim Morane: so the scheme helps sort out what might otherwise be confusing
Stim Morane: Another way the scheme could be used, is as a summary of the way a contemplative exploration plays out over fairly long periods of time.
Stim Morane: A third way, is that it actually gives people a blueprint for proceeding.
Stim Morane: If we interpret it in this third way, then it probably needs much more discussion in order to be optimized for Play as Being.

Later the discussion got on to fourth or "zeroth" time:

Stim Morane: This notion of "fourth time" comes from a comment made by my first teacher to me in a casual conversation. It doesn't have any traditional status.
Pema Pera: Ah!
Pema Pera: for me it has become a tradition by now :-)
Pema Pera: (over time :)
Stim Morane: In the traditions they would just distinguish between the standard three times and "something else"
Pema Pera: (I like zeroth time)
Stim Morane: No, it needn't be instututionalized.
Stim Morane: Most teachers would not think the notion is important. But timeless time can certainly be a core point.
-----
Stim Morane: contemplative explorations can go on without ever uncovering anythingn important. But if well directed, they provide an opportunity for a higher or more direct way of knowing to emerge. This can indeed do what we're discussing.

Solobill's Presentations:

Pema asked Solobill for more of his experiences with "no time" during the nine seconds. Solobill responded with 11 Presentations

Wol Playing Pema; Pema Playing Wol:

On November 8 07:00, Pema and Wol switched roles

Voices of November:

There seemed to be another slow down in intensity in mind November (or is just me?). There still were a number of comments about the new surroundings. Also there seemed to be a number of new avatars arriving, getting briefed and then moving on. But there were also were intersting side discussions like the on on trust on the 18th and 19th of November over a few sessions. Maxine and Pema had a dialogue about "Appearance" on November 20 07:00. Pema and Stim then had a second dialogue of November 25th 13:00 called "Here We Are, Now What?"

Finding Words with which to Speak (November 3 07:00):

Solobill Laville needs to take a course in speaking about the unspeakable
Adams Dubrovna: :)
Pema Pera: yes, we have to develop a vocabulary together, let's do so!
Gaya Ethaniel asks Solo to sign her up as well
Solobill Laville: Well, we've done a fairly good job so far

Back to Basics (November 12 01:00:

Lia Rikugun: well I am curious
Lia Rikugun: how easy is it for you to take time every 15 minutes
Fael Illyar: well, for me the idea is roughly that pretty much nothing should be so important that you can't take a 9 second break from it :)

Same session as above...a bit of poetical imagery from Wol:

Wol Euler: I really noticed that the sun doesn't "rise" in the far north, it rolls _around_ you like an egg on the edge of a plate
Wol Euler: staying low in the sky

At one of Tarmel's first PaB meetings, she describes what attracted her to PaB (November 18 19:00):

Adelene Dawner wonders if there was anything on the website that caught Tarmel's eye in particular?
Tarmel Udimo: yes
Tarmel Udimo: the 9sec take time out to BE
Tarmel Udimo: I haven't done it very much but found it
Tarmel Udimo: a useful tool to remember to be aware/awake
Threedee Shepherd: Yes, I have found that it becomes an awareness habit

Stating the basics on November 21 13:00:

Tarmel Udimo: yes so that relates back to your question about buddhism and evolution
Tarmel Udimo: by being able to create an avatar and in essense become a new being gives room to breathe but also
Tarmel Udimo: embed in the physche a deeper understanding of what reality and non reality is as well as what it means to be human
Pema Pera: yes, the transition from RL to SL may help us to make the other shift: to wake up

Tarmel Udimo: yes it is seeing the mind manfesting right in front of us
Pema Pera: yes!
Becka Finesmith: When will we know we have acheived that pema?

Pema Pera: oh, there are many shades, Becka
Pema Pera: initial glimpses, more glimpses, at first random
Pema Pera: then we learn to be more consciously open for them, and so on . . . .

Perspectives on seeing (November 22 13:00)

Becka Finesmith: I was in Canada once (only once ;0 ) and there was this sound at night that sounded like crickets
Becka Finesmith: It turned out to be flies frying on the overhead power cables :(
Storm Nordwind: Oh dear
Becka Finesmith: the odd thing was before I knew that- It was peace
Becka Finesmith: then when I found that out, I couldn't bear to be out there at night
Becka Finesmith: the sound was the same
Becka Finesmith: my perception had changed
Storm Nordwind: We impute onto experiences what our minds tells us to
Becka Finesmith: which is interesting I think
Storm Nordwind: Yes indeed
Storm Nordwind: perhaps things are only objective because we agree they are
Becka Finesmith: But no one discussed the cricket sound
Becka Finesmith: I just associated it with something else
Storm Nordwind nods
Becka Finesmith: when I listened after I knew, it didn't sound like that at all
Becka Finesmith: How could I have fooled myself so completely
Storm Nordwind: I suspect we all fool ourselves on a daily basis

November 26 07:00 - Being :

Caledonia Heron: remember the part where we were talking about we humans being hand puppets and the actual hand is being?
Corvuscorva Nightfire nods.
Caledonia Heron: what did you think about that?
Corvuscorva Nightfire: I am not ready to speculate on being yet....not really..I do as an intellectual experiment..but.
Corvuscorva Nightfire: I liked Wol's idea....
Corvuscorva Nightfire: of body parts sticking out of a bathtub...just as much as that one.
Caledonia Heron: the analogy is that the bathwater is being? and the parts sticking out are the relative experience?
Corvuscorva Nightfire: or us as cells....popping up and sloughing off.
Caledonia Heron: hmmm, lots of imagery available :)
Corvuscorva Nightfire: I think the whole body is being..the part outside the water being in "reality" and us being little bits of being sticking out into "reality"
Corvuscorva Nightfire: that's my reading of the image, anyway.
Caledonia Heron: :) got it

The Big Now (November 29th 19:00):

Solobill Laville: IN my limited experience I have been so overwhelmed by eveything, that time wasn't so much "on my mind"
Solobill Laville: The "all-one-ness" was just so miraculous
Solobill Laville: But the time thing, was just part of "it", as everything else
Solobill Laville: It seems to be something that just takes care of itself, like karma, which seems ok to me :)
Solobill Laville: Does that make any sense?
Pema Pera: was it more a space experience, if I may ask?
Solobill Laville: hmmm
Solobill Laville: I dunno, big NOW
Solobill Laville: but I would say yes...hesistantly
Pema Pera: ah! most likely I would call that zeroth time :-)
Pema Pera: but of course all those come in very many gradations and shades . . . .
Solobill Laville: yes
Solobill Laville: I could say spatial in that it was like a droplet into the ocean
Solobill Laville: which is of course more "space"-like, I'd guess
Solobill Laville: But definately Big NOW
Solobill Laville: So, yes, sounds like zeroth-time from what you have described
Solobill Laville: yes
Solobill Laville: I could say spatial in that it was like a droplet into the ocean
Solobill Laville: which is of course more "space"-like, I'd guess
Solobill Laville: But definately Big NOW
Adelene Dawner hmms...

New Guardians:

Becka Finesmith became a guardian. The total number of guardians was 38 at the end of November.