The Guardian for this meeting was Lucinda Lavender. The comments are by Lucinda Lavender. Attending were Calvino,Paradise, Sophia Sharon,Hana,Rhiannon,stevenaia, and Kirin Writer.

This session started with discussion of cats and this was before the claiming...my little black kitty is black with a white square on her chest. The sister cat is looking for a name too...

We spoke and paused mostly about gratitude 

Calvino Rabeni: I suggested the name Pixel
Lucinda Lavender: sisters 9 months
Paradise Tennant: great name
Lucinda Lavender: I like pixel and yet want a name of girl...
Paradise Tennant: smiles
Paradise Tennant: something feminine
Lucinda Lavender: yes
Paradise Tennant: what are their personalities like
Lucinda Lavender: keep calling her silvery
Lucinda Lavender: oh...silver one is explorer
Lucinda Lavender: black is rounder,smaller and affectionate not adventurer
Paradise Tennant: sable for the silver one :) kind of feminie :)
Lucinda Lavender: I like sable
Paradise Tennant: Sage for the other one who is a home body :)
Lucinda Lavender: ah yes
Paradise Tennant: mind you will likely take some time
Paradise Tennant: would let them name themselves :)
Lucinda Lavender: yes
Paradise Tennant: love the feeling to friday night
Lucinda Lavender: I am listening to them abit for ideas..
Lucinda Lavender: is it because it is the weekend pause?
Paradise Tennant: worked late .. walked the dog and now eating a sort little bit of everything dinner .. relishing the concept of having two whole days :)
Calvino Rabeni: TGIF - it's a well known time
Lucinda Lavender: transitional time
Lucinda Lavender: slowing down perhaps
Paradise Tennant: yes :)
--BELL--

Lucinda Lavender: anyone have an adea for the next pause?
Calvino Rabeni: I was at a holiday dinner yesterday - and just casually let slip the word "bardo" .. then OMG (as they say) the rest of the evening kept orbiting around that word ...
Paradise Tennant: thankfulness :)
Paradise Tennant: big word
Paradise Tennant: bardo :)
Calvino Rabeni: and even to the extent that some new people came in after dinner, and sat down, and said "bardo" :)
Lucinda Lavender: I would imagine that bardo was sort of a word for a pause as well...
Calvino Rabeni: which caused a big reaction from the others
Calvino Rabeni: as in - funny you should mention that -- we were just *talking* about Bardo
Lucinda Lavender: an uh oh reaction?
Calvino Rabeni: no a "Snap" thing
Lucinda Lavender: fear of some sort?
Lucinda Lavender: ah
Paradise Tennant: and the reaction to the concept ....
Paradise Tennant: or more a discussion of what it might represent
SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi everybody :)
Calvino Rabeni: And then - as things happen, we had to explore the slightly weird side of things like ....someone's cat died and got rigor mortis ...its just that some people like thinking in very concrete terms
Paradise Tennant: hiya sophia nice to see you :)
Calvino Rabeni: HI SSL :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: nice to see you too !
Lucinda Lavender: Hi Sophia Sharon:)
Lucinda Lavender: during the next pause lets see what we are thankful for..
Lucinda Lavender: or something else if you want
Calvino Rabeni: I'm thankful for the suggestion, Cinda
SophiaSharon Larnia: sounds great to me :))
Paradise Tennant: going to make a mental list in no particular order :)
Lucinda Lavender: I was thinking of the fountain as an altar of sorts that we could see reflections in...
Paradise Tennant: ran across a gratitude journal I use to keep
Paradise Tennant: was nice reading about all those little moments of gratitude
Lucinda Lavender: wow nice Paradise
Calvino Rabeni makes a note in his journal
SophiaSharon Larnia: from how long ago Paradise?
Paradise Tennant: hmm about 4 years ago :)
Lucinda Lavender: yes can you say more about it?
SophiaSharon Larnia: not long
Paradise Tennant: hmm
Paradise Tennant: just daily notes
Paradise Tennant: tried to find 7 things always found more
Paradise Tennant: somehow never repeating
Lucinda Lavender: in thinking at this moment...I I think of this place...each one of us,
SophiaSharon Larnia: I could pick 7 things from today
Lucinda Lavender: nodding
Paradise Tennant: yes would be an easy thing to do
Lucinda Lavender: ideas are popping up for me...
SophiaSharon Larnia: why so easy to do and easy to forget
Lucinda Lavender: related to the day
Calvino Rabeni: I second that question,SSL
SophiaSharon Larnia: a little bit of me-ness and whoosh
--BELL--

Paradise Tennant: find it puts you in a more open frame of mind more like you are standing balanced :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: sense of perspective :)
Calvino Rabeni: Yes! More balanced, more true to how things really are
Calvino Rabeni: I know a guy - old - body is kind of broken down, chronic pain ... every day he does a body meditation, noticing and thanking each part of his body that is NOT in pain
SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles
Lucinda Lavender: seeing from a bigger picture that includes us as part of a bigger whole
Calvino Rabeni: and out of doing that, getting a sense of the whole
Calvino Rabeni: that is balanced and working annd healthy
Calvino Rabeni: rather than a feeling "I'm broken"
Calvino Rabeni: its the same reality, different overall feeling and experience of it
Lucinda Lavender: the spleen does that I think in the body
Calvino Rabeni: and doing so is part of the healing and health maintenance
Calvino Rabeni: SO I tried that same meditation during the pause
Paradise Tennant: really think there is a great deal of power in our thoughts they are the paintbrush which with which we paint our world
Lucinda Lavender: listening...
Calvino Rabeni: the whole came more into awareness and focus
SophiaSharon Larnia: nods
Calvino Rabeni: thought I think, includeing "attention"
SophiaSharon Larnia: so is something that feels broken not seeing reality?
Calvino Rabeni: feeling the sensation of something - bringing it to awareness - is a "thought" also
Calvino Rabeni: that's one of the powers of awareness
Calvino Rabeni: seeing the whole and its powers, not just the flaws
Calvino Rabeni: Yes I would agree with that SSL
Calvino Rabeni: the "trance" to be woken up from ... is often over-focusing on specific things
Calvino Rabeni: problems and such
Calvino Rabeni: a good meditation often changes things by enlarging the whole, not by manipulating those things that were the focus
Calvino Rabeni: feeling of open space for instance
Lucinda Lavender: perhaps so...and seeing that pain is one thing and gratitude is something to continually connect to.
Calvino Rabeni: where freedoms and resources lie in other areas than the problem areas
Calvino Rabeni: Yes
Lucinda Lavender: With pain there can be such a thing about deserving it...
Lucinda Lavender: say with chronic pain the question might pose itself
Calvino Rabeni: SO seeing that something seems broken, where its just a little part of reality, might be true in its way but isn't an accurate seeing because its partial
Calvino Rabeni: the pain often gets hooked into shame
Lucinda Lavender: right....
Calvino Rabeni: and unhooking it can help the healing
Calvino Rabeni: or maybe the thing can't be "fixed", but the whole can improve
Paradise Tennant: meditaiion helps alot with pain
Paradise Tennant: pain is perceptual not just physical
Calvino Rabeni: after a good therapy session - psychological or physical - it often seems - well that thing that was botherimg me - its still there, but it just doesn't seem to dominate any more - not such an overpowering thing
Paradise Tennant: yes
Calvino Rabeni: and what happened was the perceptionof the whole opened up
Lucinda Lavender: many perceptions to experience...
--BELL--

Lucinda Lavender: HI Hana...
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Hana :)
Lucinda Lavender: We are talking and meditating about gratitude
Hana Furlough: Hi Lucinda, a, Para, SophiaS
Hana Furlough: and Cal!
Paradise Tennant: hiya hana :)
Hana Furlough: ooo good topic
Calvino Rabeni: <3 Hana
Lucinda Lavender: and I was thinking about percieving the whole during the pause...
Lucinda Lavender: the possibility of sentience
Calvino Rabeni: nice word and possibility
Lucinda Lavender: as a complex aggregate of sentience
Hana Furlough: :)
Calvino Rabeni: sentience - a word designed to mean "feeling presence"
Paradise Tennant: smiles our focal point really
Lucinda Lavender: so many cells
Calvino Rabeni: cells , . makes me remember, the basis of it all is life process, movement
Lucinda Lavender: feeling and being present as a whole
Lucinda Lavender: HI stve, Rhiannon:)
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi Rhiannon, hi Stevenaia
Paradise Tennant: hiya rhia :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: hi lucinda, sophia
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Luci, Paradise, Cal
Paradise Tennant: hiya stevenaia
Lucinda Lavender: we are meditating and talking about gratitude...
stevenaia Michinaga: hi Hana, didn;t see you rezz
Rhiannon Dragoone: um, could someone tp me back, i'm sliding through the sim
stevenaia Michinaga: mmm, thanks
Calvino Rabeni: I think thats just lag Rhi ... it may naturally stop
Rhiannon Dragoone: I've been thinking a lot of gratitude; it being thanksgiving
Paradise Tennant: I was thankful for seeing the first snowflake of the winter this morning while walking the dog ..somohow much easier to be thankful for snow when it is in singular flakes :)))
Lucinda Lavender: :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes it is :) it was warm here this morning
Calvino Rabeni: I enjoyed the thick powder snow, how loose and dry it was to remove from the car and other places
Calvino Rabeni: how easily it fell off, dropping, without clinging
Calvino Rabeni: responding to gravity and a nudge
Paradise Tennant: smies group snow movement ..maybe it is leaping voluntarily :)
Lucinda Lavender: I enjoyed how it made me have a week off of work
Paradise Tennant: wow
SophiaSharon Larnia: wow Luci
Paradise Tennant: snowing that much !
Lucinda Lavender: two days extra
SophiaSharon Larnia: eep
Lucinda Lavender: lots of sleep and eating home cooked food
SophiaSharon Larnia: sounds wonderful ^^
Lucinda Lavender: and time with kitties
Hana Furlough: :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: speaking of sleep, my eyes are very heavy
SophiaSharon Larnia: night all :)
--BELL--
Lucinda Lavender: :) sweet dreams:)
Paradise Tennant: sweet dreams sophia ..
SophiaSharon Larnia: thanks
stevenaia Michinaga: night sophia
Hana Furlough: good night, sophia
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, did i miss it?
Rhiannon Dragoone: good nite, sophia
Paradise Tennant: wb rhia :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: ty paradise
Rhiannon Dragoone: sl is being naughty to me
Hana Furlough: hello rhiannon
stevenaia Michinaga: careful with those heels
Lucinda Lavender: we had the pause:) and SophiaSharon left...:)
Lucinda Lavender: wb
Rhiannon Dragoone: hi Hana
Rhiannon Dragoone: i think i'm standing on steve
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Rhiannon Dragoone: Steve, you know there are men who would pay a lot for this?
Lucinda Lavender: we were exploring the sense of gratitude coming from having a sense of the whole
stevenaia Michinaga: then I am greatful
Rhiannon Dragoone: Well, i've been praticing gratitude the last 48 hours
Rhiannon Dragoone: Woke up without water on Thanksgiving
Rhiannon Dragoone: Was thankful when i heated the pipes and got it back
Hana Furlough: oh no... that's tough
Rhiannon Dragoone: I was grateful for my firewood
Paradise Tennant: ouch
Lucinda Lavender: yes!
Rhiannon Dragoone: For the friend who was with me for Thanksgiving
Rhiannon Dragoone: I think gratitude is a powerful force to direct our minds to the good things
Paradise Tennant: always great to have friends :)
Hana Furlough: yes definitely
Hana Furlough: :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: And we attract what we focus on. 

stevenaia Michinaga: been thinking about this during the pause.... can you be greatful for something less then a snow flake ot purring kitty, greatful for bad things

More to ponder here...(greatful for bad things)

stevenaia Michinaga: lessons learned perhaps
Hana Furlough: absolutely
stevenaia Michinaga: today;s quote :You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.
stevenaia Michinaga: -Sam Levenson
Rhiannon Dragoone: Sorry i'm sitting on your head, Steve
Hana Furlough: haha, nice, steve
stevenaia Michinaga: not at the moment Rhi
Rhiannon Dragoone: hi elessart
Rhiannon Dragoone: Well, ur head is in an unfortunate spot on my viewer
Calvino Rabeni: There was Yogi Berra who said something like "I just hope I'm making the *right* mistakes"
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Paradise Tennant: smiles at cal i like that one .. mistakes are so much a part of sentience :)
Calvino Rabeni: yes, every instant is a micro-mistake :)
Paradise Tennant: can we be thankful for our mistakes
stevenaia Michinaga: something to learn from
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, the right mistakes are so important
Paradise Tennant: some of them come with baggage
Lucinda Lavender: :) and that is how I think I learn some things
Lucinda Lavender: I like to make the mistakes in singing because then my body knows how to avoid them better in future
Lucinda Lavender: doing this and not that
Calvino Rabeni: good example Cinda
Hana Furlough: a great discussion, but i fear i must get back to work
Hana Furlough: good night, all!
Calvino Rabeni: yes making the mistakes awarely can be really useful
Lucinda Lavender: night Hana
Paradise Tennant: nite hana :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: nite hana
Lucinda Lavender: what if we are sitting with something that we have said that we know we are uncomfortable with...
Rhiannon Dragoone: Lucinda, well, we can learn from that
Lucinda Lavender: that is one I have come up alot
Calvino Rabeni: we might feel the specific way it is uncomfortable
Rhiannon Dragoone: Some of the best blessings look like curses at the time
Calvino Rabeni: and flip that coin around
Paradise Tennant: smiles at lucinda ..singing is such a whole body whole heart thing ;)
Calvino Rabeni: Turn the medallion
Lucinda Lavender: ah yes
stevenaia Michinaga: I once told my son that he will learn more for the teachers he does not like, the more usualy relates to how he deals with people he may not like
Paradise Tennant: yes
Lucinda Lavender: difficult and true:)
Paradise Tennant: we really paint the people we don't like :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: steve, always find a negative from a positive
Calvino Rabeni: yeah
Calvino Rabeni: or vice versa
stevenaia Michinaga: don;t you mean always fond a positive from a negative
Calvino Rabeni: turning the medallion
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Rhiannon Dragoone: When i ran away from home, my life sucked, but it led me to being found by a woman who got me into cdollege
Calvino Rabeni: I mean it both ways
Rhiannon Dragoone: yeah, a dyslexic moment
--BELL--
Rhiannon Dragoone: positive from a negative
Rhiannon Dragoone: both ways shows the duality at the core of things
Calvino Rabeni: and the unity at the core of the duality perhaps
Calvino Rabeni: or maybe just the flexibility to adjust, vibrate, oscillate, move
Paradise Tennant: bend like grass in a samsara wind
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
Calvino Rabeni: after all, just standing still is composed of continually falling, first this way and then that, a continuous flow of micromovements
Lucinda Lavender: things can be very difficult and then there are these new possibilities popping up...and if listened to they take new direction
Calvino Rabeni: those possibilities are very ambiguous in general
Rhiannon Dragoone: which equates in my mind to freedom, Cal, and that is the one thing i'm *most* grateful for
Calvino Rabeni: they could go right or wrong, or we think, we can't know ahead of time
Paradise Tennant: smiles standing as continuous falling ;)))))) it is
Calvino Rabeni: I think I get you, Rhi, about that
Lucinda Lavender: :)
Calvino Rabeni: we have no choice about falling
Calvino Rabeni: we're not free to not fall
Calvino Rabeni: at least if theres any gravitational masses nearby
Calvino Rabeni: but we turn that into freedom
Rhiannon Dragoone: Cal, yes, we always have freedom of choice, even in a concentration camp, we can make life beautiful; Frankel proved that
Calvino Rabeni: freedom through cooperation or even submission
Calvino Rabeni: the classic paradox
Paradise Tennant: was reading a story about a man who was in a coal mine concentration camp in russia during ww 2 . he focused on being in los angelos in his mind .. every moment he could he would walk the streets of la which he had only seen in pictures :)
Lucinda Lavender: I may need to leave soon...and thought of saying something about intuition as part of this part of the conversation...it is one thing I am greatful for.
Rhiannon Dragoone: transcended by our ability to go beyond "impossiblities"
Rhiannon Dragoone: We superposition realities all the time
Paradise Tennant: eventually he escaped .. one day the guard miscounted and he walked away .. lived in the woods rode a coal train to poland made it to la :)
Calvino Rabeni: intuition - the ability to perceive superimposed possible realities
Calvino Rabeni: so he was already ready, for life in LA :)
Lucinda Lavender: it is the thing that taught me a bigger sentience
Rhiannon Dragoone: cal, lmao
Calvino Rabeni: having already practiced it
Rhiannon Dragoone: but yes, it's the intutive part of our brain; the frontal temporal lobe, for instance
Paradise Tennant: yes
Paradise Tennant: lucinda ..intuition ?
Lucinda Lavender: just the awareness that threads through dreams for me...(wanted to express that in dreams connectedness comes forth...)
Kirin Writer: hi
Calvino Rabeni: I'm intuitive, not so sure about my gray matter
Paradise Tennant: welcome kirin
Rhiannon Dragoone: hi kirin!
Calvino Rabeni: Hi Kirin
Lucinda Lavender: Hi Kirin
Lucinda Lavender: have you been here before?
Lucinda Lavender: Do you mind being recorded as these conversations are...
Lucinda Lavender: I can give you a notecard about this place:)
Calvino Rabeni: I'm away, however, it has become dinner time - thankful for the sit and meditation and participation of you all ... good evening ;))
stevenaia Michinaga: night cal
Kirin Writer: I have visited a time or two, please let me just listen , for now
Lucinda Lavender: night cal...good dinner to you...
Kirin Writer: recording is fine
Lucinda Lavender: :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, eat well, Cal
--BELL--
stevenaia Michinaga: I didn't believe in intuition.... (in me) until I was shown that it had always existied , just didn't know it
stevenaia Michinaga: oops
Paradise Tennant: take care cal
Lucinda Lavender: ah..
Lucinda Lavender: always existed?
Lucinda Lavender: how did you see that?
Rhiannon Dragoone: i'm going to try logging back on; everything is really laggy and i'm still sitting on steve's head
stevenaia Michinaga: smiles
stevenaia Michinaga: thrrough a series of excercises at a weekend retreat/seminar
Lucinda Lavender: ah...
Lucinda Lavender: I would like to hear more about that...
stevenaia Michinaga: where we all got to a point where we could see things in other people that we could not have possibly known
stevenaia Michinaga: *point
Lucinda Lavender: oh!
Lucinda Lavender: so then trusting intuition was easier...?
stevenaia Michinaga: I just assumed it must have been there (intuition) just went unnoticed in me
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
stevenaia Michinaga: and understanding it
Lucinda Lavender: ah
Lucinda Lavender: this is the time I should go...
stevenaia Michinaga: the seminar didnt; create it, it was just unrecognized
Lucinda Lavender: I will post the log:)
Paradise Tennant: smiles good nite luci :)
stevenaia Michinaga: night Luci, thanks
Paradise Tennant: enjoy thanksgiving :)
Lucinda Lavender: I look forward to hearing more...
Lucinda Lavender: yes to you all too
stevenaia Michinaga: wb Rhi
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, everytime i log, someone leaves
Rhiannon Dragoone: nite luci
Rhiannon Dragoone: thanks Steve
Lucinda Lavender: and we come back too:)
Kirin Writer: nice meeting you Lucinda
Lucinda Lavender: nice meeting you Kirin...I would stay longer but need to make a little dinner:)
Rhiannon Dragoone: well, i'm no longer on steve's head; and for that i'm very grateful
Kirin Writer: enjoy
stevenaia Michinaga: as am I
Lucinda Lavender: thanks
Rhiannon Dragoone giggles with steve
stevenaia Michinaga: I work with a highly intuitive person, so seeing it power now is always interesting
stevenaia Michinaga: I am greatful to have touched it from time to time
Rhiannon Dragoone: But tying two threads together; i would say the positive energy from gratitude allows us to respond to falling and gives us the choice; and our ability to choose brings about gratitude
Paradise Tennant: smiles .. eyes are getting heavy here .. think I will thank you all and say good nite :)
Paradise Tennant: namaste my friends :)
Rhiannon Dragoone: yeah, intuition is just the direct perception of the mind
Rhiannon Dragoone: namaste, paradise
stevenaia Michinaga: night Paradise
Kirin Writer: Take care Paraduse
Rhiannon Dragoone: do you mind, steve; kirin, if i stand? If i click on sit, i may go into the time warp of lag again
stevenaia Michinaga: can you sit, Rhi?
stevenaia Michinaga: oh, oops, never mind
Rhiannon Dragoone: will i will try
stevenaia Michinaga: sure stand
Kirin Writer chuckles
Rhiannon Dragoone: yeah, earlier i would sit, but its only you and kirin; and kirin has seen me stand many times; she's used to it by now
stevenaia Michinaga: aww, a friend?
Kirin Writer: Stevemaia, your were saying you were not aware of intuition , until you attened an event?
stevenaia Michinaga: not aware of my own ability
Kirin Writer: oh , I see
Rhiannon Dragoone: well, which event? I've gone to events where the atmostphere is literally charged with intuition
Kirin Writer: I am surprised, even as a child I sometime got a feeling that things were not good in some places
stevenaia Michinaga: I suspect it uses a special art of your brain to tap into something not usually connected to
Rhiannon Dragoone: Well, the mind is non-local and because of that can perceive non-local reality
stevenaia Michinaga: the event was what I woudl call one of those self reinforcing weekend seminar
Rhiannon Dragoone: And you can remote view
Kirin Writer: I see
stevenaia Michinaga: I was sent thereby my office to become what my boss thought would be someone who he could better relate to, instead I came back with more of the things he disliked about me... grins
Kirin Writer: lol
Rhiannon Dragoone: steve, talk about making a positive out of a negative lol
--BELL--

stevenaia Michinaga: hehe, true
stevenaia Michinaga: all those who went to the seminar no longer work there
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, that's funny
Kirin Writer: I have always had such intuition, but never examined it
Rhiannon Dragoone: kirin, it has to be practiced and trained; then it's always there for you
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, like meditation and creativity
Kirin Writer: it has been useful, I avoided a riot once, due to it
Kirin Writer: To me the trick is listening
Rhiannon Dragoone: listening to your inner voice, you mean, kirin?
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, to much more than your ears hear
Kirin Writer: Yes, to what your intuition is saying
Rhiannon Dragoone: well, its listening with your mind
Rhiannon Dragoone: seeing or feeling with your mind
Rhiannon Dragoone: i took some training in remote viewing; couldn't see anything, but when i was asked to describe how i felt about the person being viewed, i had 89% accuracy
Rhiannon Dragoone: And i was the retard in the group
stevenaia Michinaga: that was similar to my experience with intuition, reading a person you never met, describing something of theirs you never saw.accuratly, like their best friend :)
Rhiannon Dragoone nods
Rhiannon Dragoone: its a craft and an art
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, and a gift
stevenaia Michinaga: one you can give yourself
Rhiannon Dragoone: yes, but i believe it is in most of us; that it's natural
Rhiannon Dragoone: oh, ok; yeah, that's what i meant, steve
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, with practice
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Rhiannon Dragoone: yes, and when you don't practice, it goes down
Kirin Writer: You think? I am tempted to view it as a survival ,mechanism
Rhiannon Dragoone: well, most of our survival mechanisms are trained, imo; and if we don't practice them, our surviviability goes down
Rhiannon Dragoone: Like ignoring that creepy feeling when ur walking home at night
stevenaia Michinaga: or not ignoring it
Kirin Writer: that what we were saying about 'listening" wasn't it? An experiance
stevenaia Michinaga: I;m fading quickly, bed time for me
Kirin Writer: Good Night Stevenaia. I wish you pleasent dreams
stevenaia Michinaga: nice to ahve met you Kirin, nigh Rhi
stevenaia Michinaga: thx
Kirin Writer: Be well
Rhiannon Dragoone: nite steve!

Rhiannon Dragoone: safe journeys