2009.03.27 01:00 - Types of meditation & Hypocrisy

The Guardian for this meeting was Lia Rikugun. The comments are by Lia Rikugun.

Pema and Corvi must be tired, it is in the middle of the night for them. We talk about Pema's idea to go to every PaB session for one week until 1rst of April, the 1rst year anniversary of PaB in Second Life.

Corvuscorva Nightfire: Hi, Lia!
Lia Rikugun: hello good morning
Lia Rikugun: hello pema
Pema Pera: hi Corvi and Lia!
Lia Rikugun: so pema you must be sleepy..
Pema Pera: oh, not too much
Lia Rikugun: :)
Pema Pera: I'm pretty used to jet lag
Corvuscorva Nightfire: ook..must go.
Pema Pera: I just woke up twenty minutes ago, and I will go back to sleep again after this session right away
Lia Rikugun: byebye see younext time
Pema Pera: sleep well, Corvi!
Lia Rikugun: good night
Pema Pera: und dann gab es zwei
Pema Pera: oder . .. drei!
Lia Rikugun: hehe
Pema Pera: hi Sophia!
Lia Rikugun: hello sophia
Pema Pera: Sophia, have you met Lia already?
Lia Rikugun: maybe we didnt meet yet
SophiaSharon Larnia: No I haven't :)
Lia Rikugun: hello nice to meet you ;)
SophiaSharon Larnia: you too!
Pema Pera humming "mehr als zwei ist eine Gruppe -- Reinhard May"
Pema Pera: Lia lives in Germany, Sophia
SophiaSharon Larnia: I see :))
Lia Rikugun: you do too sophia?
SophiaSharon Larnia: oh no I am in Pa, USA
Lia Rikugun: also in the middle of the night for you
SophiaSharon Larnia: in fact just woke up and saw what time it is
SophiaSharon Larnia: came here on a bit of impulse, i really have nothing to say right now
SophiaSharon Larnia: lol
Lia Rikugun: hehe me neither
SophiaSharon Larnia: but really, I feel like things came to a head yesterday and wrote myself of
SophiaSharon Larnia: out*
SophiaSharon Larnia: but sometimes that is what is needed
Lia Rikugun: \me has to read the chat log
Pema Pera: Hi Fael
Lia Rikugun: hi fael
SophiaSharon Larnia: Fael! Hi
Fael Illyar: Hi Sophia, Lia, Pema :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: how are you today?
Fael Illyar: I'm good :) You?
SophiaSharon Larnia: good too :))
SophiaSharon Larnia: so Pema, you are going to every meeting for a week, is it?
Pema Pera: yes, that's the idea :).
Pema Pera: I have never done that before, so it's a new experience
Pema Pera: this is number five so far
Pema Pera: of the twenty eight
SophiaSharon Larnia: and what is the benefit to you, I am curious, I hope it is okay to ask

I visited an interesting exhibition when I was in New York: "The Third Mind" in the Guggenheim Museum. There was an installation of documentary photographs "One Year Performance" where the artist Tehching Hsieh took a picture of himself every 4hours for one year.

Lia Rikugun: this reminds me of an art exhibition i saw in new york in the guggenheim museum
Lia Rikugun: where an asian artist took a photograph of himself every 4 hours
Lia Rikugun: for one year
Lia Rikugun: :)
Pema Pera: no particular benefit, but I liked the idea of going to all sessions, to meet all the people who come to different sessions
Pema Pera: and the guardians of each session
SophiaSharon Larnia: wow Lia sounds rigorous
Pema Pera: often there are people I rarely see, because they come to sessions that are less convenient for me
Lia Rikugun: the idea behind that was that he wanted to give a different impression of time
Lia Rikugun: one year in 4 mins and 35 secs
SophiaSharon Larnia: by slide show if the pictures, interesting idea
SophiaSharon Larnia: of*
Lia Rikugun trying to remember the name of the artist
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
Pema Pera: yes, interesting idea indeed
SophiaSharon Larnia: that could done for other things as well, I take pictures on occasion

improvements for the missing chat logs. They directly appear on the PaB website.

Fael Illyar: Pema, the improvement isn't just that it gets the list of missing logs automatically. It's also that the page can now be copied as is. Only the title of the page needs changing. It read the title and the title of he parent page to make up the month it will look for :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: When is the next group on phenomenology? I was reading about it this evening
Pema Pera: ah, so that is all fully automated?
Fael Illyar: Yes, I figured since I can make it automated, I will :)
Pema Pera: it will be today, Sophia, at 2 pm SLT, 5 pm for you
Pema Pera: great idea Fael
SophiaSharon Larnia: I work all of this weekend and can't make that one :(
SophiaSharon Larnia: bt it is an extremely interesting field, one I didnt know of before, exactly
Pema Pera: in general you can get the information from the kira web site http://www.kira.org/
Pema Pera: and then you can click on the word "calendar" there
SophiaSharon Larnia: thanks you
Fael Illyar: (would be a shame to lose the tracking just because the person making the new page has no idea how to set up the script)
Pema Pera: yes, indeed, Fael
Pema Pera: so how does the script work -- does a log get listed as missing after a certain time has gone by?
Fael Illyar: yes, it won't list future logs :)
Pema Pera: what is the time interval, after which it springs into action?
Fael Illyar: well, basically, it makes up a list of dates and times, extracts the dates and times of the logs that are there, then goes through the lists, printing out everything that isn't found in the list of posted logs.
Pema Pera: ah, so immediately after a session, that session is listed as missing until someone puts it there?
Fael Illyar: the time interval is tunable but I believe it already lists this meeting now.
Pema Pera: ah, yes, that makes sense
Pema Pera: that way you can see which sessions have already happened (or are happening)
Fael Illyar: yes :)
Pema Pera: and yes, the current one is listed.
Pema Pera: Thanks, Fael !!
Pema Pera wondering what part of his life he can automatize . . .
Fael Illyar smiles.
SophiaSharon Larnia: lol

We talk about different kinds of meditation and that we tried some out in highschool. In one meditation you lay down and feel the warmth rising up. Another one tries to expand the circle around you to become larger.

Pema Pera: Sophia, you have tried some forms of meditation before, didn't say something about that recently?
SophiaSharon Larnia: I have tried off and on through out the years, using several modalities
Pema Pera: do you mind me asking what kinds of meditation?
SophiaSharon Larnia: im not good at remembering names, contemplative practice
SophiaSharon Larnia: i eventually give up
Pema Pera: there are many kinds
Fael Illyar got instructions doing just one kind of meditation at one point in high school. Has been occasionally doing the meditation since that.
Fael Illyar: The meditation I was taught involves laying down and feeling warmth rising up your legs to eventually reach your head too and then being like that for a while :)
Pema Pera: from someone in high school, Fael, or during the time you were in high school?
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes i have done that also
Fael Illyar: actual class
Pema Pera: you must have gone to a very interesting high school !
Fael Illyar: but just a one shot
Fael Illyar: the only one available where I lived :)
Fael Illyar: small town :)
Pema Pera: :-)
Lia Rikugun: in high school we had a religion teacher who tried some mdeitation with all of us
SophiaSharon Larnia: when I do now it is maining to expand the cirle around me to become larger, i like to see how big the circle can be, sometimes i trace a circle around myself, visualizing the line each step of the way
Fael Illyar: I have no idea what was the name of the meditation though :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: a religion teacher Lia?
Lia Rikugun: we have religion classes yes
SophiaSharon Larnia: no i meant that a religion teacher toaght it
Lia Rikugun: oh yes
SophiaSharon Larnia: taught
Lia Rikugun: but not really taught
Pema Pera feels he went to a very boring high school in comparison :(
Lia Rikugun: more something to try out
Pema Pera: what kind of meditation, Lia?
Lia Rikugun: from a relaxation CD
Lia Rikugun: :)
Lia Rikugun: where you have a nice voice telling you what to do
Pema Pera: it's a good idea to start simple
Lia Rikugun: where you are
Lia Rikugun: for example in the nature
Lia Rikugun: the birds singing
Lia Rikugun: (like here in the pavillion)
Pema Pera: :)
Lia Rikugun: i remmeber doing another meditation/relaxation
Lia Rikugun: where you imagine your body becoming very heavy

SophiaSharon describes her experience with listening to mantras.

SophiaSharon Larnia: I tried mantras but the ended up stimulating me and made me nervous, I began to hear the sound in my environment contantly, and had to stop
Lia Rikugun: how do you do matras?
Lia Rikugun: mantras
SophiaSharon Larnia: i would listen to them on cd
Lia Rikugun: oh i thought these where images
Lia Rikugun: hm..
SophiaSharon Larnia: it became where even the sound of my car motor sounded like it and permeated everything
SophiaSharon Larnia: like my skin vibrated, it was a touch disturbing
SophiaSharon Larnia: changes the brain waves or something
SophiaSharon Larnia: maybe i used the wrong word??
Pema Pera: no, mantra is correct
Pema Pera: for sound
Lia Rikugun: nono, i looked it up ;) my fault
Pema Pera: but often people combine it with a kind of visualization
Pema Pera: that is probably what Lia had in ind
Pema Pera: *min
Pema Pera: *mind
Pema Pera: :)
Lia Rikugun: :)

Pema leaves us to get some sleep.

Pema Pera: well, I think I'll try get some sleep again
Lia Rikugun: ok good night pema
Pema Pera: good seeing you here!
Lia Rikugun: you too
SophiaSharon Larnia: goo night Pema :))
Pema Pera: see you all soon(ish)
SophiaSharon Larnia: good**
Pema Pera: good night, Sophia, and good day, Lia and Fael!
Lia Rikugun: thank you

You can find the importance of meditation everywhere.

Lia Rikugun: sophia this must have been very confusing
Fael Illyar: oh, was looking at the wiki to intensively :
SophiaSharon Larnia: no, not the conversation directed to everyone, it didn't understand the blog stuff lol
Fael Illyar: ah :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: it is ok I am floaty today I am contect to sit here
SophiaSharon Larnia: content
Fael Illyar: to put it simply, I just made a small improvement in the wiki that will help people see which logs are still in need of posting.
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes i got that :)))
Fael Illyar: Ah, ok :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: everywhere i turn, always leads me the the importance of meditation
SophiaSharon Larnia: one way or another
Lia Rikugun: can you explain
Fael Illyar: It's a way of increasing self-awareness, of course :)
Lia Rikugun: ah :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: every group I have engaged my self in to explore certain ideas always involve a meditative practice
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes Fael

We talk about hypocrisy and if you don't accept certain things how thee things are related to you

Fael Illyar: I've come to the conclusion that the things about ourselves, which we are not aware of, tend to be things we'd react to in a wrong way and we instinctively know this and therefore don't know them.
SophiaSharon Larnia: and by meditating, the barriers to knowing are eased
Fael Illyar: Yes, although that's not a good thing in all cases.
SophiaSharon Larnia: so you are saying that those barriers may be there for a reason?
Fael Illyar: Well, yes, to shield yourself from yoursef :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: i agree
Fael Illyar: you know the common thing many people have. Hypocrisy. That's a model example of that.
Fael Illyar has kept finding more of that in herself, although in more and more subtle ways.
SophiaSharon Larnia: my instinct is to disagree, but there is more here
SophiaSharon Larnia: first instinct I meant
Fael Illyar: Yes, when there is something you don't accept in yourself and would engage in heavy mental self-flagellation if you noticed, it tend to cause hypocritical behauviour.
Fael Illyar: the non-acceptance often makes you unable to accept the behauviour in others neither.
Lia Rikugun: :) thats true
Lia Rikugun: you project what you dont like about yourself of others somehow
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes
Lia Rikugun: *on
Fael Illyar: so, when you see it in others, you react aggressively. More aggressively than necessary since you're also doing your best to distract yourself from seeing that you're doing the same thing.
Fael Illyar: although, this does vary a bit, the exact reaction
Lia Rikugun: you are ding the same thing or you would like to do the same thing
Fael Illyar: yes
Fael Illyar: once the root is found, the person usually stops critizing people about it aggressively. Often completely.
SophiaSharon Larnia: i understand
Lia Rikugun: ok i will have to go now
SophiaSharon Larnia: so if meditation lowers the barries to uderstanding certain aversions to a behavior or idea, then could it bring it to the front.... I'm not sure if I am saying this right
Fael Illyar: See you later Lia :)
Fael Illyar: Yes, you could discover things about yourself you really don't like.
SophiaSharon Larnia: Bye Lia :))
Lia Rikugun: (i just have to check if the chat log will be send via email)
Fael Illyar: if you claimed it and you get offline IMs from SL to your email, it will come by email.
Lia Rikugun: yes i just checked
Fael Illyar: (if you're offline)
Lia Rikugun: ok wonderful
SophiaSharon Larnia: I'm not sire if this is my difficuly but I sure will give this a lot of thought.
Lia Rikugun: so take care
Fael Illyar: Ok, see you later :)
Lia Rikugun: see you all soon
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: i 'knew' this, but forgot to apply it my self
Fael Illyar: I have not yet met a person I've known for long enough to be able to be impressed they're not hypocritical of anything. :)
Fael Illyar: Not myself, no, least of all myself :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: i gottcha, we all have something
Fael Illyar: but then, I've seen all the things about myself, not all of the things from others :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: ture, that :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: true*
SophiaSharon Larnia: I must go too, Fael it was so nice to talk to you, I will see you next week, I hope
Fael Illyar: Sure, see you later :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: have agreat day :))
Fael Illyar: You too, well, a great sleep :)