Naga Saphira

Naga Saphira is a very beautiful place in the virtual computer generated environment of Second Life where people can come and experiment with their avatar shapes and skins, where they can seek solace, meditation and relaxation.

"Naga Saphira" refers to the name of the last Japanese dragon. "Naga" means "dragon, or serpent" and "Saphira" is the dragon's name. Saphira, as legend has it, was the most beautiful dragon of all. Interestingly, "naga" also refers to the alignment of energy chakras in the body, so there is this dimension to the name as well. I chose "Naga Saphira" because the dragon is mythical and yet embedded in our psyches enough to be almost real and is thus a perfect name for the reality of virtual space.

Second life, like other immersive environments, is not just about representation and role playing, but a metaverse of embodied selves occupying non-physical bodies. It is a psychological interface of the not-quite real and the not-quite magical. We bring aspects of ourselves to whatever form we create and it is in doing this that therapeutic possibilities open up to us.

I am primarily interested in therapeutic experimentation, and this is why I have created this blog and designed my Second Life space of Naga Saphira. I'm interested in sharing my experiments with shapes and skins in Second Life and would love to hear of readers' explorations as well. I'm curious about the reactions of other people on interacting with your avatar, I'm curious about how "wearing" different skins affects the user, I want to know what it is like for myself and others to encounter anxiety situations (that in first life we would tend to avoid) and how we overcome our anxiety (eg fear of falling or social anxiety), and so on.

I am interested, too, in the medium of computed generated virtual environments in the making, negotiation and stretching of meaning; of symbology; of story making; of explorations of consciousness and philosophic ideas of consciousness; of creativity and a whole lot more. Ideas of "the body" are interesting and how what a virtual body affects actual bodies.... Much to explore.

Second Life is increasingly being used therapeutically to counter such conditions as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, to train people with Asperger's Syndrome in social scripts, introduce in a safe way fear elements to people with phobias, and so on. It's also been found to aid neurological recovery in some cases of paraplegia. Very interesting stuff and a wonderful research area.