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Today we’re shining a spotlight on Maya Takeda, a mentor and voice-guided meditation leader in Second Life. Her work at the Mindful Cove offers a haven for relaxation and community connection.
How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it?
I joined Second Life in 2011. I've immersed myself in the vibrant world of Second Life, a journey that began when a fellow user in another 3D chat platform introduced me to its wonders. Intrigued, I delved deeper into what Second Life had to offer, marveling at its advanced features and the freedom to create personalized content like skins and clothing. What truly captivated me was the ability to communicate via voice chat, a groundbreaking aspect of virtual interaction.In the same year, while pursuing a foundation course in clinical hypnosis with the London College of Clinical Hypnosis (LCCH) Asia in the real world, I discovered an opportunity to merge my passion for relaxation techniques with the immersive environment of Second Life. As I honed my skills, focusing particularly on relaxation methods and steering clear of trauma-related sessions, I realized the potential of Second Life as a platform for offering guided meditation and hypnotherapy in real-time voice sessions.
However, my journey also led me to explore the adult side of Second Life hypnosis, driven by curiosity and suggestions from acquaintances. Though briefly intrigued by this unconventional approach, I soon realized it wasn't aligned with my intentions of sharing genuine experiences, knowledge, and skills with the community. It's essential to dispel misconceptions about hypnosis, emphasizing its role in mental and emotional well-being rather than mere adult entertainment in Second Life. Through my work, I aim to provide meaningful support to Second Life residents, highlighting the therapeutic benefits of hypnotherapy and meditation beyond the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media.
How do you think a virtual environment enhances the meditation experience compared to traditional, physical settings? Do you feel it affects the sense of community and connection among participants differently?
There are a lot of advantages to having a session in a virtual environment. Participants are nestled in their own cozy havens, whether it's their serene bedroom or a favorite spot, enveloped in familiar comfort. There's no dress code – they can simply wear what feels right in the moment. Many seek anonymity, finding solace in using avatars to represent themselves. With no forms to complete or IDs to verify, joining a session is effortless. All it takes is logging into Second Life with a reliable headset and computer, connecting with participants from all corners of the globe in a shared journey of relaxation.My experience during the challenges of COVID-19, Second Life became a sanctuary, uniting residents in group sessions without worry. I was requested to do a lot of voice-meditation sessions tailored to various communities in Second Life, offering a calming respite to their members during uncertain times. Yet, as with any endeavor, there are occasional setbacks. Weather, tech glitches, or real-life obligations sometimes disrupt planned sessions. It's disheartening when I can't fulfill commitments, and I'm grateful for the understanding of the Mindful Cove Committee, particularly my dear friend EllaPavlona, who occasionally had to step in to cancel sessions at the last minute. Though frustrating, it's a reminder to embrace flexibility and compassion on our collective journey toward peace and relaxation.
You are a mentor at Mindful Cove, the Welcome Hub, as well as the Belli Hub, so you play a significant role in supporting new Residents. What do you find most rewarding about mentoring, and could you share a memorable experience where you felt you made a difference in someone's Second Life experience?
In my experience as a mentor, I've had the privilege of serving in three distinct roles: Mindful Cove mentor, Second Life mentor, and Bellihub Mentor. Each position comes with its own set of responsibilities.As a Mindful Cove mentor, my primary duty is to lead voice-guided meditation sessions for members of Mindful Cove and all residents of Second Life.
As a Second Life mentor stationed at the Welcome Hub, my focus is on helping new residents navigate the Second Life viewer, understand their avatars, and get started in this virtual world.
Finally, as a Bellihub Mentor, I assist residents with questions related to Linden Homes.
Despite the differences in these roles, they often intersect and complement each other. For instance, I've formed friendships with new residents at the Welcome Hub who have also attended my meditation sessions in Mindful Cove. Engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and geographic locations has provided me with valuable insights into effective resident management. Being a mentor goes beyond just being sociable; it requires patience and kindness.
One memorable experience stands out: I encountered a new resident who was struggling with her avatar and on the verge of giving up. Through a private voice chat, I guided her through avatar customization and familiarized her with the viewer interface. Witnessing her joy and gratitude upon achieving success was incredibly rewarding and reaffirmed the importance of mentorship. I believe my fellow mentors share this sentiment, finding fulfillment in assisting residents on their journey in Second Life.
Could you give us a deeper look into the variety of experiences and resources available at Mindful Cove for Residents seeking mental well-being and support? How does Mindful Cove facilitate a supportive community for individuals exploring mindfulness and meditation?
Mindful Cove is a serene oasis within Second Life, dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being as outlined in its land covenant. Open to all residents, this Community Gateway offers a range of facilities to nurture the mind and spirit. From cozy cafes to inviting lounges, residents can engage in text or voice chats, fostering connections and support. Central to Mindful Cove's offerings is its library, stocked with resources on relationships, mindfulness, meditation, grief, and loss, including audio clips for easy access.My signature Chill Session With Maya Takeda invites participants to unwind and find inner peace through guided meditation. But the offerings don't stop there. Mindful Cove hosts live performances by talented musicians like Rulie Cisse and lively music sessions with DJ Kain. Personally, I find the art galleries and exhibitions held here particularly captivating, adding a touch of creativity and inspiration to the tranquil setting.
Speaking of which, the region itself is a masterpiece of calming tranquility, thanks to the meticulous landscaping by EllaPavlona. It's a place where you can easily lose track of time, immersing yourself in the soothing ambiance. For those curious to learn more about Mindful Cove, Coughran Mayo and EllaPavlona are the go-to contacts for further information.
You also manage two different YouTube channels, could you share the inspiration behind each channel and the type of content viewers can expect? Additionally, how do you integrate your Second Life experiences into your video content, and what do you hope your viewers gain from your channels?
Initially, my YouTube channel called Maya Takeda SL was a space where I shared random adventures in Second Life, but gradually, I began to focus on showcasing Asian heritage and cultures. You'll find me delving into traditional attire, often crafting my own mesh clothing to capture that authentic essence. As the channel evolved, I started creating my own sounds, humming, lullabies, and voice-overs to steer clear of copyright issues.Then came my second YouTube venture, Peaceful Mind, where I curated a collection of voice-guided meditation and hypnotherapy sessions from my experiences in Second Life. Notable highlights include my workshops on Hypnotherapy in Second Life at SLB19 and leading voice-guided meditation sessions at SLB20. While these videos serve as personal keepsakes for my memory bank, I also hope they offer viewers a glimpse into my Asian heritage on Maya Takeda's channel and provide some much-needed relaxation through the Peaceful Mind channel.
Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL who inspire you and whose work you admire.
One of the Second Life residents who truly inspires me is my dear friend, Karthikeyan Engineer, the brilliant mind behind MADRAS. His sheer creativity and intelligence in crafting mesh products never fail to astound me. What truly sets him apart is his selflessness; he's always willing to share his tips and expertise with budding creators in the Second Life community. Karthikeyan's generosity and willingness to assist newcomers not only enrich the creative landscape of Second Life but also foster a sense of camaraderie and support among creators. His actions exemplify the spirit of giving back, ultimately contributing to a more vibrant and inclusive virtual world.
Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts.
To join my voice-guided meditation, you can join the Mindful Cove`s Group using these links:
Meditation And Hypnotherapy - secondlife:///app/group/3e511271-a6a6-4752-ed5b-70f6240e854e/about
Mindful Cove - secondlife:///app/group/344bb28d-2739-2987-c8e7-dddaa5c28d14/aboutCheck out my YouTube channels:
Maya Takeda SL: https://www.youtube.com/@mayatakeda
Peaceful Dream: https://www.youtube.com/@peacefulsdream
Watch this beautiful video produced and submitted by Maya for this Spotlight interviewThank you, Maya, for your invaluable contributions to mindfulness, mentorship, and cultural enrichment in Second Life, making it a more connected and serene community for all.
Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
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Happy Wednesday!
We’re writing to remind everyone that we’ll be holding our monthly Web User Group meeting today at 14:00 SLT in our usual meeting place, where we’ll be discussing our status with ongoing projects and our near future plans for our web properties. As always, we’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A from the community. This meeting is conducted using voice. We're happy for you to contribute in voice or in text, but you'll need to have your voice settings activated. We look forward to seeing you there.
Keep up to date with all of our user group meetings on our wiki and public calendar.
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🌱🌼🌷
Residents featured in this image:
Top Row (from left to right):
Middle Row (from left to right):
Bottom Row (from left to right):
Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with us! 🌸
For a chance to have your image featured in our social campaigns, submit your work to the Official Second Life Flickr Group.
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Second Life is getting some new, exciting features that will make the world look even better.
Mirrors are arriving soon! While we love the realistic reflections PBR materials enable, mirrors take reflections to a whole new level.
You can create a mirror using a method similar to reflection probes, but with a twist -- when a reflection probe is set to use the “Mirror” option, all surfaces near the probe will exhibit a real-time mirror reflection, including PBR and legacy materials.
We chose this method to enable maximum flexibility. For example, you can create a big wall of mirrors and have minimal performance impact regardless of how many mirrors are on that wall. As long as they’re aligned with the mirror reflection probe, they can all show a mirror reflection.
To conserve performance, mirrors are subject to some limitations. The Viewer will show the effect of only one mirror reflection probe at a time -- the one closest to your camera. Mirrors are planar, so they won’t work very well on the body of a car, for example. Like so many good things in life, mirrors are best enjoyed in moderation.
Applying PBR materials to terrain will be possible in the upcoming featurettes release. You will soon be able to apply most GLTF materials to terrain. Initially, PBR terrain will support normal maps and metallic-roughness maps. Emissive textures will not be visible on some machines and transparent materials are not fully supported. We expect PBR materials on terrain to vastly improve the beauty of SL -- because there’s a lot of terrain out there!
PBR terrain uses triplanar mapping, a texture-mapping technique which is new to Second Life. On steep slopes you will notice far less texture-stretching. To conserve performance, triplanar mapping will be enabled only when the graphics quality setting is set to “High” or greater.
With the advances in GLTF PBR Materials and upcoming Terrain materials, we know it is time to increase the texture size limit to 2K (2048x2048 pixels). We are approaching this change carefully, and are still weighing pricing options for images larger than the current max size. 2K textures will allow artists to add significantly more detail to their creations and do things like efficiently consolidate more UV surface area onto a single asset.
Mirrors and PBR Terrain will be available on the Beta Grid (Aditi) to start with, on the following regions:
- Rumpus Room 2048
- Rumpus Room 2049
- Rumpus Room 2050
- Rumpus Room 2051
Interested in trying out these new features? You can download the Viewer here. Never accessed the Beta Grid before? Here’s information on how to access the Second Life Beta Grid: https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000156725-accessing-aditi
We can’t wait to see what fun and exciting new things residents create with these featurettes!
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The Concierge and Land User Group meeting is a monthly, public meeting for discussion and education on Second Life, useful to both Mainland Residents and Estate owners.
Topics include any issues relating to Customer Relations/Support or concerning Land in general (mainland, islands, Linden Homes, estates, auctions, etc.).
Join Wendi, Vix, and members of the Land team, on Wednesday at 12pm PT at Linden Estate Services. All are welcome.
Keep up to date with all of our user group meetings on our wiki and public calendar.
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Hi Everybody!
I would like to introduce a new member of the Linden Support team, Boxy 5000.
Boxy 5000 is a virtual assistant/support bot trainee.
But wait, wasn’t there already a chatbot who answered questions for premium users? Indeed there was! Boxy 3000 was the earlier model of the trainee chatbot.
We are learning from some design flaws and moving forward with a more advanced bot. Boxy 3000 has been re-invented and given an extra 2000!
But wait a second time! Won’t this bring about the machine apocalypse? Not just yet–Boxy 5000 is more advanced and learns as they go but Skynet is still a few upgrades away.
The upgraded bot will be a 24/7 support option for both premium and non-premium residents! (Previously only available for premium customers.)
Boxy will have the ability to answer commonly asked questions, keep you up to date on current issues, help with ticket submission and in some cases handle a support request.
Boxy has uses for all residents, from early adopters to fresh new faces.
For new and more casual residents Boxy is available to help them find the support they need.
For our seasoned veterans Boxy can offer support options for some specific requests. Specifically, Boxy will be able to submit an abuse report on your behalf and in some cases help with the restart of a region!
Boxy will continue to learn as we go. Boxy might not have all the answers currently, but we will continue to review questions posed and help the bot to better answer your support queries.
We realize that a chat bot is not a substitute for a customer support representative, and this bot is not meant to be. It is however meant to help when we are unavailable or may be experiencing higher call volumes.For premium residents Boxy will only be the first point of contact before being passed to a support representative during office hours. Utilize Boxy to help better explain your issue once you are transferred to a support representative. Outside of office hours Boxy can help or create a ticket for when we are back in the office.
The ability to get an answer to your question or to get your issue resolved without having to wait until our Support Lindens are available is Boxy’s primary directive.
Anyone interested in saying hello to Boxy can access it by logging into our support portal. The Boxy 5000 chat widget should appear in the bottom right hand corner of your screen.
Boxy 5000, it’s advanced…
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