2009.03.28 01:00 - PaB Marathon, 90 Seconds & Sleeping Tigers

The Guardian for this meeting was Scathach Rhiadra. The comments are by Scathach Rhiadra.

I arrived at the pavilion and was joined by Pema, who is attending all 28 PaB sessions in the run up to the first birthday celebration on April 1st.  We discussed how the 'marathon' was going  

Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Pema
Pema Pera: Hi Scathach!
Pema Pera: quite morning here . . .
Pema Pera: quiet
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, usually is!
Pema Pera: are you often alone here?
Scathach Rhiadra: no, usually one person turns up, maybe even two:)
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: during the first half year of PaB, I read all the logs, also for sessions were I was not present myself
Pema Pera: which was really interesting, to follow the flow of events and conversations that way
Pema Pera: but then at some point in the middle of the fall I just got too busy to do so systematically
Pema Pera: and now I read them whenever I can, and skip doing so when I don't have time
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, there are so many!
Pema Pera: I look forward to see my life settling a bit more, so that I can once again read all of the logs . . . .
Scathach Rhiadra: and you are doing your PaB marathon now?
Pema Pera: yes, this is session number nine for me :-)
Pema Pera: hereafter nineteen more to go
Scathach Rhiadra: is it settling into a routine?
Pema Pera: more or less, yes, it is a bit like driving across the U.S. . . . .
Pema Pera: . . . you know it is a big country, but when you drive across it, you really see and feel its vastness
Pema Pera: that is spatially
Pema Pera: here it is temporal
Pema Pera: I know there are really many PaB sessions each week
Pema Pera: but knowing and actually seeing/feeling/experiencing is something quite different
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Pema Pera: I now get a real gut feeling for how very many sessions we have in PaB each week :-)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)

I couldn't resist asking Pema the standard Goc question; 'any topic you want to discuss?', and in response he told me how Tarmel's suggestion of bringing our RL practice of 9-second micro-meditations into the SL sessions was being implemented.  We were also joined by Korii - a beautiful Snow Leopard av today - who settled down across Pema's knees and promptly fell asleep......

Scathach Rhiadra: so is there any topic you want to discuss? (just had to ask you that:))
Pema Pera: hahaha
Pema Pera: yes, I have one!
Pema Pera: you remember Tarmel's email, a few days ago
Scathach Rhiadra: yes
Pema Pera: in which she suggested that we actually stop for a while every fifteen minutes, also here in SL
Pema Pera: hi Korii!
Scathach Rhiadra: Helllo Korii:)
Pema Pera: well, yesterday afternoon we did that, we stopped for 90 seconds, instead of 9 seconds, at every quarter
Korii Tiger: i'd forget to stop
Pema Pera pets Korii, hoping the Tiger will remain as friendly as always :)
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, and how was taht, it sounds like a good idea:)
Scathach Rhiadra: that*
Pema Pera: was great!
Pema Pera: helped to ground the conversation regularly
Korii Tiger thinks she can manage if he doesn't stop petting.
Pema Pera: shall we do that today too?
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, lets do that:)
Pema Pera keeps petting at regular intervals
Scathach Rhiadra: it could become a regular part of PaB sessions!
Pema Pera: and Storm made this extended message appear -- yes, that's the idea, Scathach
Pema Pera: turbo PaB :-)
Pema Pera: so if you have the sound off, as some of us do, you get in green the notice on the screen.
Pema Pera: Okay, 90 sec stopping, dropping, seeing!
Pema Pera: and that was 90 seconds :)
Scathach Rhiadra: :))
Pema Pera: feels quite long, doesn't it?
Korii Tiger: i missed it
Pema Pera: it will come by again, in 12 minutes, Korii :-)
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, not really, though in coamparison to the 9 secs, I suppose so:)
Korii Tiger: i'm sure i'll miss it again too .
Scathach Rhiadra: really optimistic, eh Korii:))
Korii Tiger: give me 2 minuts and i'll forget all about it.
Pema Pera: time is so relative, yes, the 9 sec often feels like a huge stretch too, with so much happening already in the first half second
Scathach Rhiadra: :))
Pema Pera: :)
Pema Pera: I have asked Storm to add a second message in green, to indicate the end of the 90 seconds
Scathach Rhiadra: yes that would be good
Scathach Rhiadra: though I have to admit, when I stop for 9 secs, it is usually more , maybe 20 secs or so
Pema Pera: for me it also varies
Pema Pera: both the length of the interval, between ten and twenty minutes or more, and the duration of the stopping, sometimes just one or two seconds, sometimes quite a bit longer
Pema Pera: but 90 seconds begins to feel more like a real meditation session
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Pema Pera: with things settling down and a kind of silence setting in
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, falling into mindfulness:)
Pema Pera: :)
Korii Tiger: i always end up disasosiating...
Pema Pera watching the Z's slowly drifting from Korii's tigerly sleep . . . .
Pema Pera: stopping associations in itself is great, Korii . . . :-)
Korii Tiger: oh. :)
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, part of the dropping
Korii Tiger stretches.

Wol arrives as Pema asks about meeting with Zenon; a cognative scientist and Kira Board member new to SL, whom many people from PaB and Kira had chaperoned during the week......

Pema Pera: how was it yesterday, talking with Zenon, Scathach?
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, very good,
Scathach Rhiadra: he is most interesting and very interested in what other people have experienced in SL:)
Pema Pera: (Korii, Zenon is a cognitive scientist, and Scathach and quite a number of others helped him get used to SL; he is also on the board of Kira)
Pema Pera: yes, much of his research has been about vision, and he is also interested in space
Pema Pera: and how a sense of space influences vision
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Wol:)
Pema Pera: Hi Wol!
Wol Euler rubs the sleep from her eyes and mumbles "morning"
Korii Tiger: whats the diference between a cognitive scientist and a regular scientist?
Pema Pera: We were just talking about Zenon, how did your meeting with him go?
Wol Euler smiles. Ah, marvellous.
Wol Euler: he was really great, I enjoyed it - and I think he did too.
Scathach Rhiadra: he said he is writing a book at the moment , with a chaper about VWs, about apperance and how we use it I think
Pema Pera: cognitive science is a term for an interdisciplinary field, encompassing psychology and neuroscience and various other areas that have to do with how we use our mind
Korii Tiger: oh ok
Pema Pera: Wol, we are experimenting with stopping for 90 seconds, after the bell, so from now on :-)
Korii Tiger: is that what that bell is for?
Wol Euler stops
Pema Pera: yes, Korrii -- and this was about 90 seconds :)
Korii Tiger: again?
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: Wol, Storm will add a second green line to the script, indicating the end of the 90 seconds
Wol Euler nods
Pema Pera: in response to Tarmel's email
Pema Pera: suggesting we extend the 15 minutes habit to SL as well, to see how it will influence our conversations here
Pema Pera: we started yesterday afternoon

Fael arrives, hugs Pema from behind, which wakes the sleeping tiger (Korii), who growls and vanishes......

Wol Euler: morning fael
Scathach Rhiadra: Hello Fael:0
Pema Pera: for me it certainly does make a difference
Fael Illyar: Hi Wol, Scath, Korii, Pema :)
Pema Pera: Hi Fael!
Korii Tiger: hi
Fael Illyar: Pema-huddle! :)
Scathach Rhiadra: I can certainly see how it will ground the conversation!
Fael Illyar: oh, I didn't mean to drive you away, Korii.
Pema Pera: it may be even more interesting to hug a tiger, Fael :-)
Pema Pera: if you dare, that is :)
Scathach Rhiadra: more dangerouus though, but interesting:))
Fael Illyar: ok, I'll try that :)
Fael Illyar: this tiger is running away from me :)
Pema Pera: we woke up the tiger!
Pema Pera: now anything can happen . . .
Fael Illyar ponders ... 'Did I really scare Korii away?'
Wol Euler: vanished ...
Pema Pera: up to the disappearnce of the tiger
Wol Euler: must have been a cheshire tiger
Pema Pera: may have, Fael
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, and maybe a dragon will appear?
Pema Pera: quite possible!
Pema Pera: well, I think that I may disappear as well
Pema Pera: and get some more sleep
Pema Pera: it has been an interesting few days
Wol Euler nods. A good idea
Scathach Rhiadra: yes, you will need to get what you can when you can this week!
Pema Pera: feeling the rhythm of PaB in such a gutteral way :-)
Pema Pera: yeah, having two sleeping shifts is not so bad
Pema Pera: twice about four hours in bed
Fael Illyar: :)
Pema Pera: and sleeping about three hours each time, it's quite okay
Wol Euler: how does that work? are you well rested?
Pema Pera: oh sure
Pema Pera: just feels like jetlag
Wol Euler raises an eyebrow.
Pema Pera: my good old friend whom I meet many times a year
Wol Euler: heh
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Pema Pera: nice seeing you all !
Scathach Rhiadra: bye:)
Pema Pera: till next time :)
Fael Illyar: See you later Pema :)

Pema leaves, Fael worries that she has scared Korii away, and another 90-second practice passes......

Fael Illyar ponders if she's emanating something scary today.
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, how so?
Wol Euler grins. It isn't affecting me at least.
Fael Illyar: Well, Both Pema and Korii seemingly fled from me.
Wol Euler shakes her head. Naah, just the luck of the draw.
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, I think Korii went back to sleep
Fael Illyar: Well, Pema usually leaves 1AM at this time so it's not so unusual but ...
Fael Illyar: Korii leaving without a word kind of worries me.
Wol Euler: IM her and ask, perhaps?
Fael Illyar: I IMd, no response.
Wol Euler: ah.
Fael Illyar: at least not yet.
Fael Illyar: Anyhow, I'm wearing my new wings I intend to have as a group/picks gift :)
Wol Euler looks.
Wol Euler: ah, the logo
Fael Illyar: yes :)
Fael Illyar: Corvi though my logo could be wings too so, I made one :)
Wol Euler grins and nods. She was right.
Scathach Rhiadra: I think 90 secs are up, hard to tell:)
Wol Euler: having a second timer on the bell will help
Fael Illyar: hmmh, second timer ... well, could help :)
Wol Euler: the idea being to have the bell speak again after the 90 seconds, telling us to go again :)
Scathach Rhiadra nods
Wol Euler: like enforcing a timeout on too-active children :)
Scathach Rhiadra: ha:)
Wol Euler: getting us back to Being after too much Play
Fael Illyar: I see, this is something I haven't heard of I guess :)
Wol Euler: [1:32] Pema Pera: Wol, Storm will add a second green line to the script, indicating the end of the 90 seconds [1:32] Wol Euler nods [1:32] Pema Pera: in response to Tarmel's email [1:33] Pema Pera: suggesting we extend the 15 minutes habit to SL as well, to see how it will influence our conversations here [1:33] Pema Pera: we started yesterday afternoon
Wol Euler: the 90 seconds appears to have started as a joke. Somebody (Zen?) suggested how much good it might do, to stop for 10x9 seconds...
Wol Euler: but pema picked up on it
Fael Illyar: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: :)
Scathach Rhiadra: mmm, everyone very quiet this morning:)
Wol Euler smiles. I'm not really in gear yet. Woken by the postman.
Scathach Rhiadra: ah, I just managed to wake up in time, will be glad the clocks change tonight!
Wol Euler: oh yes.
Fael Illyar: Yes, quiet :)
Wol Euler makes an effort to refrain from grumpy thoughts about the time change.
Fael Illyar: getting lots of IMs this morning
Scathach Rhiadra: heehee
Wol Euler bestirs herself. I will fall asleep again if I sit at the computer much longer. Bye for now, see you all at 7am
Scathach Rhiadra: ok, bye, see you then:)
Scathach Rhiadra: have a good morning
Fael Illyar: See you later Wol :)
Wol Euler: bye, take care
Scathach Rhiadra thinks of getting some breakfast
Fael Illyar: Well, I guess I'll leave as well. Have a nice breakfast, Scath :)
Scathach Rhiadra: and you have a nice day Fael, see you later:)
Fael Illyar: See you later :)