Winnipeg Meet-up on Dec 29 (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Winnipeg Meet-up on Dec 29

[richardxthripp]

I would go if it wasn't thousands of miles away! Pretty neat that you can leverage your network to just put out a net and meet people... just be careful of stalkers man.

[Mounds]

I've been keeping watch for this post Can't wait to drop by and meet some people!

[Mounds]

So I had the pleasure of hanging with Steve, Rachelle, and some other readers today in Winnipeg. Very awesome time which I would like to talk about.
But first... story time. Before I went for the meet up, I decided to check out this Bodies Exhibit. It's basically dissected human bodies, preserved for our educational benefit. I actually went at this alone, which was surprisingly therapeutic. Once you realize the illusion of transparency (no one can see into your mind), you also realize that no one knows you are there alone.
Anyway, I leave the exhibit and head for my truck. Boxed in. I can still back out but I can't get the angle right to pull all the way out without hitting the car behind me or scratching the ones to my sides. I thought, "Holy ♥♥♥♥♥. Steve Pavlina is in the city and I'm stuck in a parking lot." I was ready to abandon the truck for a few hours and bus it to the meet up location. I step out of my truck just to see if I'm missing anything and a bum walks up and starts begging for change. I was going to tell him to buzz off but then I got a wave of inspiration...

"Got any change?"
"No"
"Oh... ok"
"Hey! Help me back out of here and I'll give you whatever is in my truck!"
"OK!"

A minute later, I was out. Tossed the guy a few dollars and thanked him heartily. He asked for a cigarette (I don't smoke).
Off I went to meet the forumers. I got there an hour early and picked up a John Saul paperback. I swear this guy has to be ancient at this point. I've read John Saul books that were published in the 70's and he's still churning them out.
Suddenly... Steve and Rachelle walked past. First thoughts were:

"Wow, she's short!" and "Geez, he's tall!"

After a minute, I got the kajooney's and went around the corner to where Steve and Rachelle had just walked to.
On this forum, I probably come off as a chatterbox who can't stop making wisecracks. That's partially true IRL but only if I've known you for a while. Generally, I'm kinda quiet and ease into conversation. That was kinda my perception of how Steve would be. Kinda quiet, ease into it...
Nah. This guy's energy is unreal. You wouldn't believe it unless you've met him. You feel instantly comfortable and conversation is easy. He's got some traits that I haven't encountered often. He leads and there is no aire of superiority. It's as if he wants to have the best time possible and take everyone around him with him. That's what I want to strive for in my 2011 focus, to make connections like that.
Oh and by the way... we tried hustling him for his new project. Wouldn't budge. We even carried him to the top of the Forks tower and hung him by his ankles, threatening to drop him. When he still didn't give it up, we let him go. He floated like a feather on the breeze, landing safely several stories down. When we got back to the Human Bean, there he was... sipping his vegan latte... cool as a cucumber. It's simply not fair.
Anyhow, don't pass up an oppurtunity to meet these two. It's well worthwhile.

-Tim

[richardxthripp]

Sounds awesome! I've seen some videos of Steve and I like that he is a fast talker and doesn't dumb things down.

[Savage]

Was great meeting you at the Forks today, Tim.

For those who weren't there, we had about 10 people show up, not counting Rachelle and me, although 2 left very early. We chatted about Winnipeg, other parts of Canada, and travel in the beginning. The Jamaican veggie roti I ate there for lunch was really good.

People gradually drifted away until only Rachelle and Katrina and I were left. Under questioning, Katrina finally confessed to being a dream character, and we talked at length about dreams, subjective reality, Star Trek, and more.

We left around 5pm, so we were there a little over 3 hours.

Later this evening we had a poker game with Rachelle's friends. Rachelle and her Dad cleaned everyone out. I suspect collusion.

[richardxthripp]

What I'm wondering is would 100 people have shown up if you said "I can’t predict how many people will show up, but I’m guessing it will be less than 100" instead of "I can’t predict how many people will show up, but I’m guessing it will be less than 10"?

[BillyTheAdult]

Originally Posted by Mounds

So I had the pleasure of hanging with Steve, Rachelle, and some other readers today in Winnipeg. Very awesome time which I would like to talk about.
But first... story time. Before I went for the meet up, I decided to check out this Bodies Exhibit. It's basically dissected human bodies, preserved for our educational benefit. I actually went at this alone, which was surprisingly therapeutic. Once you realize the illusion of transparency (no one can see into your mind), you also realize that no one knows you are there alone.


-Tim

I just went to this exhibit very recently too, it's currently on display in my city. I thought it was pretty great. I particularly liked how many packs of cigarettes were in the clear trashcan next to the lungs. I was also surprised that the part of the exhibit I expected to be the most gross and disturbing was actually the least, the fetuses along different stages of development. Over all, parts of it were gross but mostly I found it pretty relaxing. It really made me realize something I already knew but on a much deeper level, how stupid it is that any one group of people, or individual acts superior to another because there is not much to a human body. It can basically be killed at any second, Don't be afraid to take risks people, you're taking one anyway every second you're alive, it's just whether or not you realize it.

[Katrina]

Originally Posted by Mounds

After a minute, I got the kajooney's and went around the corner to where Steve and Rachelle had just walked to.
On this forum, I probably come off as a chatterbox who can't stop making wisecracks. That's partially true IRL but only if I've known you for a while. Generally, I'm kinda quiet and ease into conversation. That was kinda my perception of how Steve would be. Kinda quiet, ease into it...
Nah. This guy's energy is unreal. You wouldn't believe it unless you've met him. You feel instantly comfortable and conversation is easy. He's got some traits that I haven't encountered often. He leads and there is no aire of superiority. It's as if he wants to have the best time possible and take everyone around him with him. That's what I want to strive for in my 2011 focus, to make connections like that.
Oh and by the way... we tried hustling him for his new project. Wouldn't budge. We even carried him to the top of the Forks tower and hung him by his ankles, threatening to drop him. When he still didn't give it up, we let him go. He floated like a feather on the breeze, landing safely several stories down. When we got back to the Human Bean, there he was... sipping his vegan latte... cool as a cucumber. It's simply not fair.
Anyhow, don't pass up an oppurtunity to meet these two. It's well worthwhile.

-Tim

This is interesting. My experience was kind of different.

I'd been having quite a few sleepless nights leading up to the meet-up, mostly involving developing an intimate connection with someone. We had been out together until very early in the morning & didn't sleep until hours after that because we had our first challenging conversation, triggered by situations that happened while we were out. It's been a very long time since I've had an ongoing emotional connection with someone I was physically intimate with, so I was experiencing a lot of new things. I was feeling very drained of personal/emotional energy that day.

She dropped me off at the Forks so I came out of that situation and directly into this one. I was very excited that Steve came to Winnipeg, because I've been reading his blog for years and parts of his work, especially on purpose and courage inspired me to challenge myself to push my limits. The last two years have brought about huge changes in my life and I feel like in a way I'm still adjusting to this new person and life. It's interesting that someone can inspire so much change, without ever having directly spoken to you or even be aware of it. I went to the meet up wondering about that kind of situation - reconciling the effect the work has had on me while not really knowing the person that shared it.

The conversation was light at first, which was really good for me. The late night & new, challenging intimate situation of the night before left me feeling kind of strange - a little spaced. I'd also been having very vivid dreams for a few nights, that were being recalled by lots of ordinary things while I was awake (picking up something and my mind flashing to the same action in a dream, remembering something partially true and partially from a dream, deja vu) so I was in a pretty surreal head space. The light conversation helped me relax and wind down a bit from the morning. Yerba mate latte helped too. Warmth = soothing.

I did notice that Steve's energy did not put me at ease at first, like Tim's experience. Presence can be perceived differently based on who is perceiving it and where they're at. I responded to it by feeling a little tense, like there was something nagging at my senses, or a noise in the background. This might be because how I perceive the world contains a strong belief in/awareness of energy and a sensitivity to it which is aggravated when I'm tired. When I meet someone with strong presence, there also seems to be a bit of feeling them out that happens as I adjust to them. I kept reminding myself to open up my body language because even though I was tired, I felt like what was happening over these strange days was important.

I met some very nice people at the meet-up & eventually was the only one left with Steve & Rachelle. Talking about dreaming, reality, & Star Trek seemed perfect & relevant because of the space I've been in recently. I also had the opportunity to put some thoughts I'd been having about the world into words, which was helpful. I noticed I did relax more when we were talking one-on-one, probably because there was less people/energies to be aware of and less going on.

While I do admit to being a dream character, I would definitely say that I think Steve is in the same boat. His timing of appearance in my dream and comments on quality of experience during our conversation line up just a little too nicely in my current life situations for him to be wholly independent.

And yes, she is short & adorable and he is tall & adorable.

[zen]

That week I was not in Winnipeg. Of course it would have been quite difficult to explain at work why I was leaving at 2 pm but my bosses were not around either, so a simple ‘I have an appointment' would have sufficed.

What an opportunity I missed !

I could have met the living legend Steve Pavlina and he would have talked to me and I would have asked a few questions too and it would have been a not forgettable experience.

P.S. Could not sleep after 12:30 am so I read Steve's last posts and now it is 2:15 am and I am posting !!!

However, I subscribed by e-mail now so I would not read stuff a few days after.