My virtual meditation space
Just Leap In is an interactive 3D space that’s similar to Second Life but works in your browser (Firefox or Internet Explorer) while SL requires a dedicated program. I tried Second Life a year or two back and have to confess that even clothing an avatar the way I liked it was beyond me. I never got round to actually creating anything there. I presume my character is still hanging around on some park bench somewhere!
Just Leap In is still in beta but it’s much easier to use. It took very little time to create a virtual meditation center. I’ve decorated it with pictures of Buddha statues, thangkas, and scriptures that I uploaded, as well as with some of the pre-made furnishings that are available in the space. I’ve even uploaded an audio-visual guided meditation (that’s what the TV screen to the right of the image is).
I don’t have any meditation cushions at present, or any Buddha statues. Perhaps at some point Just Leap In will provide the ability for us to create those ourselves. At the moment you can choose an avatar but you can’t customize it. Apparently that function will come later. The site is in beta at present, but I think it’s worth checking out and playing around with.
You can visit my space here. It does take a while to load, so go make yourself a cup of coffee while the cardboard boxes unpack themselves.
4 Responses to “My virtual meditation space”
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You’re currently reading “My virtual meditation space,” an entry on Bodhipaksa's blog, bodhi tree swaying
Published: Dec 31 2008
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Category: Meditation & practice
While 2L required a dedicated program, Just Leap In does require a download which is unavailable for anything else than Windows and Macintosh. No plugins are available for e.g. Linux.
It’s true, there’s not much difference between a plugin and a dedicated program, but I’d imagine the fact that it’s a browser plugin will make it easier for them to bring out versions for other platforms.
The main advantage for me is that I can actually do things in JLI while I simply staggered around like a badly-dressed zombie in 2L. But then it’s much, much more limited than 2L at the same time. (Sigh) Given that millions of people have mastered 2L the experience left me feeling rather inadequate!
Hey Bodhi-
Just thought I’d drop a note about the most recent JLI update. I think you’ll be pleased; there’s now full avatar networking and collaborative editing and solid chat. You can make multiple spaces, and you can play games like chess with friends in real time. But you will need to relink your space (in the story above), because we changed how they’re addressed.
Hi Infirmo,
It’s very kind of you to comment. I’ve enjoyed playing with the updated version and I really like the portal previews in particular. One thing that would be really handy is to see a list of places that a space links to and to be able to edit that list for your own space. Apparently my space is linked to two others, but one of the links is a mystery to me because I can’t figure out what the portal is! Maybe something got scrambled, and that’s why there’s no portal associated with the link.
Thanks also for the tip about fixing the share link. I’ll get on that right now.