A campfire chat with the moderators :)

[Mike]

gracy-may, good questions

it's the small things that change. things like the "thanks" button,for example

although you can learn a few things thru that function, some folks do regard it as an unnecessary tea reading discipline lol.

for example, many times i've had a member write me to ask why i "thanked" a whole bunch of posts and not theirs. usually i've just accidentally missed it. or, often, i'll just start with the last post in a thread and read backwards, thanking a few of the posts as i go...and then stop, not because i don't like the next post but because there's only so much time in a day and i can't read all of them.

the mods try to stay impartial on hot button issues. but sometimes the temptation will beat me, and I'll thank a post or 2..but then perhaps get neurotic about not thanking more, because maybe a friend of mine was on the other side of the argument, or maybe because i'm worried that it appears i'm indulging favoritism...or something like that.

it's really silly in a way! as a mod you find yourself in all these seemingly trivial situations that seem to mean so much in the moment.

more than once i've thought about faking my own death and returning as someone who thanks nobody

[Nenuphar]

I love the opening post of this thread. The imagery of a warm, crackling campfire in the company of friends, new and old, is so cozy and inviting.

In an attempt to be succinct, I think I might have come across as dry or cold. That was not my intent! There is a lot of information to comb through on this forum on any given day, so I try to do my part to keep the 'signal to noise ratio" in check.

Let me rephrase my questions (or, at least, one of them)...

Everyone has different interests. Which topics on the forum would you love to see more participation and interest in because you, yourself, share those interests, or because you think those topics are important but overlooked?

Are there topics that you feel have been flogged to death or that garner a level of interest that leaves you surprised/boggled?

(I'll leave the second question as-is. It might not be a particularly refined way of asking it, but I am genuinely interested in your answers.)

[Billy]

Posted by Rosemarie (here)
Ok. Let’s get started ! I expect this will be a long campfire chat. Thank you all ! They say your choice of books says a lot about a person. I would love to know your favorite books to read and why would you recommend them ?

At this moment in time I am reading a book that I bought at a UFO/ paranormal conference when myself and three other Avalon members attended last month here in Scotland.
The book is titled "Finding Merlin" by Adam Ardrey. We were all very impressed with Adams presentation, research and findings.


In my teens to late thirties I read so many books mostly on ancient scriptures. Ancient civilizations,
Spirituality, early Christianity - pre Roman.
One of my favourite books was titled the Sun and Cross. By Jacob Streit. Development from megalithic culture to early Christianity in Ireland.

The book of Enoch I have read many times.

KA by Roberto Calasso. Description: the best book about Hindu mythology that anyone has ever written.

Jesus lived in India, by Holger Kersten.

In the 90s i used to attend many lectures by author Gordon Strachan at Edinburgh university. We became very good friend and would visit each others houses and chat for hours. Sadly he passed away many years ago. I have most of his books. "Jesus the master builder" being one of them. Gordon was way before his time when thinking outside the box.

I do not read nearly as much as I used to pre the internet.

[Constance]

Posted by Rosemarie (here)
Ok. Let’s get started ! I expect this will be a long campfire chat. Thank you all ! They say your choice of books says a lot about a person. I would love to know your favorite books to read and why would you recommend them ?

Thanks Rosemarie

What I'm reading at the moment - Getting things done by David Allen.

Some of the books/poetry/short stories that have captivated me over the years ->

I am that Nissagardatta Maharaj

Napkin Notes: On the Art of Living by G. Michael Durst


Walden or life in the woods - Henry David Thoreau


Wisdom of the Elders - David suzuki


The one straw revolution - Masanobu Fukoka

The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story - Richard Bach


Spike Milligan - The Essential Spike Milligan

The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World John Robbins

The secret life of walter mitty - James Thurber

Friedensreich Hundertwasser - Taschen.com

The brains way of healing: Norman Doidge

You can heal your life - Louise Hay

E. E. Cummings: Complete Poems 1904-1962

You are the placebo - Make your mind matter - Joe dispenza

The Holographic Universe - Michael Talbot

The tibetan book of the living and the dying- Sogyal Rinpoche

Magic and mystery in Tibet - Alexandra David Neel

When we were very young - A.A Milne

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change - Stephen Covey

Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution - Robert E Svoboda

To Kill a mockingbird - Harper Lee

The Snows of Kilimanjaro - Earnest Hemingway

Teach your dog to read: Bonnie Bergin

Hand reflexology - Mildred Carter

The Prophet - Kahilil Gibran

And last of all but not least, Diary of a wombat by Jackie French. I bought this book for my son when he was small. He and I never tired of reading it to each other because of the belly laughs that would ensue whenever we did. My son has a keen sense for the absurd and a great sense of humour and today, I was reminded of this in spades.

[Gracy]

Posted by Mike (here)
it's really silly in a way! as a mod you find yourself in all these seemingly trivial situations that seem to mean so much in the moment.

Thank you Mike, i get you there. in my 4 years here now i see that's usually how it is, and was also when i lurked before finally signing up, but sometimes something big comes along that demands big decisions.


My question is more about temperament, how y'all look at the power you now have, how and when it should be exercised, to what degree, or if at all. Or if you enter a lil scrum with mod hat off just as you would have back as a regular member to try and tamp things down, or carrying that stick with mod hat on. Or maybe a little of both.

Does it change the way you perceive yourself in relation to the other now just regular members? and this gets to the crux of why i'm not suddenly all that especially intrested in what you read as an example, because, if i was,i would have already asked each and every one of you when you were still regular members. Do you see what i'm getting at, like when one puts that hat on its pretty much automatic that they are hoisted up onto a bit of a pedestal whether it's wanted or not.

I'll try to wind this up with an analogy. The most important this to me with any given cop is how do you choose to deal with people on a day by day basis.I know from first hand experience growing up with and knowing a few guys who wound up being cops along the way. All five of them were pretty cool before hand, three of them are to this day are wonderful, warm hearted officer friendly types, very good influences on society and especially with young people, but 2 of them wound up letting the power get to their heads and youre better off not encountering them on duty on the street.


But heres the thing with even the tree that are good cops, they'll never, ever, ever, break that thin blue line by trying to do something about the others who tend to not be so much officer friendly, even if it happens smack dab in front of them.

Ok i don't want to make this into a book. Given that lovely open invitation i just wanted to ask a probing question sitting around this warm crackling camp fire amongst friends. I luv you guys and for the record i have no complaints, every now and then a decision will be made that i dont agree with but, every now and then i have little disagreements with all sorts of different things. Including maybe every a decision i myself made yesterday for instance lol!

Overall i think y'all do a great job and thanks for listening to this ole country gal carryin on.

[Constance]

Posted by samildamach (here)
Describe a perfect day you have not yet had?

Wow.

That is a really good question Samildamach. Thank you for that.

I usually have zero expectations around what each day will bring.

I think I just had my perfect day.

Today, my adolescent son and his friend decided to visit Mt. Donna Buang. It was an extremely cold day here today and we knew it would be snowing up on the mountain.

The two were having a great time in the back seats of the car as we drove along in the pouring rain. However, as I was driving along, I had this sense of foreboding about heading up to the mountain.

I just wasn't happy about going at all (which is really unlike me, I just love Mt. Donna Buang) and I expressed this to the two boys. My son instantly dismissed my forebodings as me just being "dramatic" but I couldn't shake the feeling.

I drove up the mountainside like a snail. I could almost feel the impatience of the other drivers behind me but I paid no heed. The cars coming down had this very peculiar energy about them. They were laiden with snow and were also driving very slowly but it felt like something had happened.

The two boys were still having a great time in the back seat. Despite my constant entreaties for them to concentrate and to pay attention, "Something is happening!!" and to "Shoosh", the two continued to ignore me.

I felt the strangest sensations as we drove past parked cars on that mountainside. I was driving so slowly now that I could see the expressions on peoples faces.

Something wasn't right. People were too solemn. People were huddled in groups.

We eventually got to the first mountain carpark and the car park was completely full.

By this stage, I was now absolutely certain that something had gone horribly wrong.

I stopped my car, rolled down the window and asked a young man, "Has something happened? Are the roads closed to the top part of the mountain?"

The young man I was speaking to looked ashen. He said to me, "Twelve cars have had accidents, two have gone off the edge (of the mountain) and I just saw a head-on collision."

By this stage, I had the attention of the two boys. They were horror-struck.

I knew there was a learning within what had just happened for all of us. It was expressed by the two youngsters that they needed to pay attention to what was going on around them fully, to be present in each and every moment in order to do so.

There was a sense of perfection in that moment that I could never have anticipated and especially with the conversation that ensued.

As it turns out, my son has been reconsidering his own spirituality and today he had to acknowledge for perhaps the first time ever, that intuitions are real.

[Forest Denizen]

Posted by Gracy May (here)
...My idea of get to know/ask the mods differs from the current trend. Rather then ask about a favorite book, what your sign is or who was your favorite teacher in school kind of question, i would like to go a little more meat and potatoes.

I see being a freshly branded mod similar to how i see a young person getting a badge, and a gun, stepping up to be an officer of the peace in that role society needs. Its a lot of responsibility to take on and, it probably also tweaks the way general society/membership is looked at from said person, especially as time goes on and that thin blue line outlook is forged.

How do you mods, both new and seasoned, see this forum differently than when you were a regular member, and, how do you weigh your responsibility of when to use force to keep the peace, and when to use deescalation skills to keep the peace?

New mods how much have you thought about this when you were a member putting your self in a mods shoes, vs. how it looks now sporting that badge and a gun? Does the landscape look different now?

And older mods, how was the same with you from the regular member perspective, to being modded, and then becoming seasoned in this much needed authoritative roll?

Thanx so much i love this lil fireside chat!

Gracy May, again, interesting questions! Well, first and foremost, as time passes, I have been feeling a greater desire to HELP others, both humans and non-humans alike. To spread as much good will and love and positive vibes as I can. That is above all, what I view as my primary purpose as a mod. Yeah, corny I know, but.. so what?

To be honest, it’s more often than not, all the other beings living on this planet that I feel most driven to help! I feel they are less able to help themselves and have been subject to unrelenting abuse by the human race in general. But I digress..

Anyway, I guess this sort of role is not entirely new for me in that I have taught university level classes (some with as many as 150+ students), served as team leader for good sized crews of scientists on research projects, and Project Manager for similar efforts. In other words, I have experience herding cats!!

Through all this work, interacting with so many different types of people, so many different minds, my sense of humility has become ever more pronounced. The knowledge that I may know a good many things but there is always VASTLY more to learn. In other words, the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know ****!!

Before becoming a mod, I had thought a little about the responsibilities involved, but not that much really. When you actually do become a mod, it is, I realized, a more delicate business than I imagined. It also involves a good bit of time and effort. But I think the forum becomes somewhat deeper.

Some of this may have something to do with the work we do behind the scenes and there are, in truth, more ways to interact with the forum on a technical level. That, along with wanting to be more aware of the “mood” of the forum and individual members all combines to make for an even richer experience if you get what I mean.

I don’t really view members much differently. I've gotten a pretty good feel over time for the various personalities and their tendencies, style of posting, their style of dialogue. I do, however, feel a much greater sense of responsibility for the well-being of the forum and its members.

I have rarely ever had to use force in my life. Instead, I’d rather rely on communication and dialogue. It’s my preferred method when it comes to keeping the peace and, usually, far more productive in the long run.. I think. Hope I managed to address your questions, Gracy May, if not, let me know!

[Matthew]

No way can this thread win my heart more than the other campfire thread. But I always like a campfire.

So I'd like to ask some hard hitting, guard destroying, controversial and sensitive questions: who of the mods. would be playing the guitar round the fire right now?, and why don't you pass it on already? And which mod. would you pass it on to next? Also, I'd like to ask... while I love the song, please could everyone not play stairway to heaven? (my little joke, someone always ruins plays it)

Quite a lot of questions, but I like to be thorough when it's an important subject

[Pam]

Here's my question as we roast marshmallows. After I saw this post on the Censorship thread I began to wonder;;;;;

Just to clarify, the decision to move the threads was unanimous between all the exciting (<<< should say existing ) moderators. Not just Bill.

To date the moderators, admin and Bill have absolutely no regrets about the decision

posted by Billy

Who are the moderators ? I know Mike and Constance are because I see them moderating and doing a dang good job, then out of the blue I'll hear someone like Joe of the Carolinas is a moderator? (Admittedly that was a bit ago) and I'll reflect I haven't even seen him on the forum for eons. When you had your moderator flair up I didn't even know those folks were moderators and they hardly ever posted, and certainly didn't indicate they were involved in this forum other than making decisions. I would like to have a list of moderators who are making these decisions. Who is currently on the moderating team?

[Hervé]

Posted by peterpam (here)
[...]
... Who is currently on the moderating team?

Go to the main forum4 page, then to the second tab line:

• New Posts
• Gallery
• Private Messages
• FAQ
• Calendar
• Community
• Forum Actions
• Quick Links

There, pull down the Quick Links menu and click on "View Forum moderators"

[Billy]

Posted by peterpam (here)
Here's my question as we roast marshmallows. After I saw this post on the Censorship thread I began to wonder;;;;;

Just to clarify, the decision to move the threads was unanimous between all the exciting (<<<should say existing ) moderators. Not just Bill.

To date the moderators, admin and Bill have absolutely no regrets about the decision

posted by Billy

Who are the moderators ? I know Mike and Constance are because I see them moderating and doing a dang good job, then out of the blue I'll hear someone like Joe of the Carolinas is a moderator? (Admittedly that was a bit ago) and I'll reflect I haven't even seen him on the forum for eons. When you had your moderator flair up I didn't even know those folks were moderators and they hardly ever posted, and certainly didn't indicate they were involved in this forum other than making decisions. I would like to have a list of moderators who are making these decisions. Who is currently on the moderating team?

Have a look
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...lon-Forum-team

[Gracy]

Hi Ken, first off thanks for being a trooper its much appreciated!

So you have cat herding experience, and that, should come in handy with your new duties.

Posted by Ken (here)
Through all this work, interacting with so many different types of people, so many different minds, my sense of humility has become ever more pronounced. The knowledge that I may know a good many things but there is always VASTLY more to learn. In other words, the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know ****!!

Music to my ears! A person in power with both humility, and the maturity to know how much they dont know. I think just from that right there i'd be inclined to trust you with a badge and a gun in my town.

Posted by Ken (here)
Before becoming a mod, I had thought a little about the responsibilities involved, but not that much really. When you actually do become a mod, it is, I realized, a more delicate business than I imagined. It also involves a good bit of time and effort. But I think the forum becomes somewhat deeper.

Some of this may have something to do with the work we do behind the scenes and there are, in truth, more ways to interact with the forum on a technical level. That, along with wanting to be more aware of the “mood” of the forum and individual members all combines to make for an even richer experience if you get what I mean.

How is it "a more delicate business" than you had imagined? You mean the politics of it?

I can understand how it might take up more of your time, then again it's now also a deeper and even richer experience huh? Well now thats interesting and i'm glad to hear it! I can also understand how this would be, needing to up your game a bit by being part sociologist part bartender so to speak. I i have that right.


What ways do y'all interact with the forum in a more technical way? I know like sometimes youll fix a video link, move a post or a thread, what other kinds of tecchie type stuff that we might never even think about?

Posted by Ken (here)
I don’t really view members much differently. I've gotten a pretty good feel over time for the various personalities and their tendencies, style of posting, their style of dialogue. I do, however, feel a much greater sense of responsibility for the well-being of the forum and its members.

So youve been paying attention all along in that way. That's good, and again, i can see where this would be a handy tool in both early spotting a disturbance in the force, and/or knowing when any given behavior might just be normal operation procedur for one person, but not for another in scanning for possible trouble. Just like the reason for the old fashion beat cop. You know your neighborhood.

Posted by Ken (here)
I have rarely ever had to use force in my life. Instead, I’d rather rely on communication and dialogue. It’s my preferred method when it comes to keeping the peace and, usually, far more productive in the long run..

Perfect, always looking to communication and deescalation before breaking out the big stick as last resort. I love it, and thanks again so much Ken, i think my own forum experience just got a bit richer itself with that lil peak into you as both a member and now a moderator!

Of course now i have just one more burning question. Whats you're favorite color?

Just kidding!

[Gracy]

Posted by peterpam (here)
Here's my question as we roast marshmallows. After I saw this post on the Censorship thread I began to wonder;;;;;

Just to clarify, the decision to move the threads was unanimous between all the exciting (<<<should read existing ) moderators. Not just Bill.

To date the moderators, admin and Bill have absolutely no regrets about the decision

posted by Billy

Who are the moderators ? I know Mike and Constance are because I see them moderating and doing a dang good job, then out of the blue I'll hear someone like Joe of the Carolinas is a moderator? (Admittedly that was a bit ago) and I'll reflect I haven't even seen him on the forum for eons. When you had your moderator flair up I didn't even know those folks were moderators and they hardly ever posted, and certainly didn't indicate they were involved in this forum other than making decisions. I would like to have a list of moderators who are making these decisions. Who is currently on the moderating team?

I think there might need to be an important distinction here, as i saw responses guiding you to list of moderators, and page 1 of the new moderators thread.

If i get your drift right, are you more interested in which ones are actually current active members on a pretty much daily basis? And part of current and very recent decision making?

[Constance]

Posted by YoYoYo (here)
No way can this thread win my heart more than the other campfire thread. But I always like a campfire.

So I'd like to ask some hard hitting, guard destroying, controversial and sensitive questions: who of the mods. would be playing the guitar round the fire right now?, and why don't you pass it on already? And which mod. would you pass it on to next? Also, I'd like to ask... while I love the song, please could everyone not play stairway to heaven? (my little joke, someone always ruins plays it)

Quite a lot of questions, but I like to be thorough when it's an important subject

Errr... I would be the shaking the maracas?

Edited to add: I was thinking something more along the lines of a campfire ditty like this

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1LsabQV0Yjk

[Constance]

Posted by Strat (here)

Posted by Ken (here)

Posted by Intranuclear (here)
I would love chatting with many in this forum, but every time I visit Chat I am the only person. I do see others having come and gone, but how is it that our Chat is so dead?
I completely understand the shortcomings of chat and understand that lack of time is the enemy of a good and well composed discourse.

Should our chat be eliminated or perhaps be used to post hangouts links for those who want to host and invite others?

Hey Intranuclear!

I think maybe it's just a matter of momentum, or lack thereof, as Mike suggested. Maybe it would help if whoever wanted to chat started a thread with a proposed time and date? Just see who shows up?

Very good idea.

Oh, questions, right: What is yall's favorite meal and what is yall's favorite movie? You can only choose 1. Cruel I know, I'm sorry, but it's the rules.

Favourite meal: Mangosteens Strat! Give me a big bowl of Mangosteens and I'm in seventh heaven. A friend of mine has christened me, "Mangosteen Queen" (you know who you are )

Favourite movie: I don't really have one but if something was to come close to being a favourite it would have to be "Somewhere in Time."

[Tintin]

Posted by samildamach (here)
Describe a perfect day you have not yet had?

[Disclaimer: I haven't yet read others' in the team responses yet, certainly not since Rosemaries's book question, and, their answers to those, so, it'll be interesting to see what they've answered. I'm only going to look at members' questions first and then back-track.)

Hello samildamach - a great question.

Depending upon your view of 'time' I would suggest that the first day in my next incarnation may be pretty perfect, although I'm still very much enjoying this one.

[Tintin]

Posted by Strat (here)

Oh, questions, right: What is yall's favorite meal and what is yall's favorite movie? You can only choose 1. Cruel I know, I'm sorry, but it's the rules.

Hello Strat Guess you may be a musician (guitarist, right?) - I used to use a Stratocaster but have been using a Telecaster for some years now.

Okay, I digress. Um, these are good too. Perhaps my favourite meal I've ever had was a cerviche of monkfish tail in a lime, chilli and coriander marinade ever so many meals and moons ago.

I'm a little bit of a film buff so the question about movies is a real humdinger, and both easy and really difficult to answer at the same time.

Léon [1994] - dir. Luc Besson (< also, one of my favourite directors) or:
Mulholland Drive [2001] - dir. David Lynch (< another favourite)

I've bent the rules a little here Strat, I know, but the best excuse I'll use ( ) is that, really, they're kinda both in first place and sharing the podium

It's a terrifically good question of course and similar in some ways to asking somebody what their favourite ever song is (practically impossible to answer!), but, I hope you'll be kind and give me some leeway here.

sop here, that I'll hope gets me out of jail

[Forest Denizen]

Posted by samildamach (here)
Describe a perfect day you have not yet had?

samildamach!

Finally, back to your question! I really had to think about this one and I think my answer might differ depending upon moon phase, the weather, my mood, what socks I might be wearing - if any, etc!

I think, though, as much as I enjoy my solo time, my perfect day usually involves spending quality time with those I love. Preferably in a beautiful locale! The beach, the forest, camping maybe, or on a boat

Just relaxing with delicious food, good drink (alcoholic or otherwise), sparkling conversation, and lots of love all around

These are my thought today. Might be totally different tomorrow!

EDIT - I cheated because I've experienced these days.. I'll see if I can come up with a day that I have not yet experienced

[Tintin]

Thanks Gracy Really thought provoking (and I do love your profile picture too).

Gracy May asked here:

1. How do you mods, both new and seasoned, see this forum differently than when you were a regular member, and, how do you weigh your responsibility of when to use force to keep the peace, and when to use deescalation skills to keep the peace?

and

2. New mods how much have you thought about this when you were a member putting your self in a mods shoes, vs. how it looks now sporting that badge and a gun? Does the landscape look different now?

- - - - - - - - -

Having spent many years, before becoming a member, lurking, and reading, and consequently absorbing the individual nuances of a great many of you here, I began to build, and sense, a picture of the overall community, and each member (but not all of course - there are nearly 12, 000 of you!). Although each of you are uniquely "you" there was, and still remains, a familial sense.

Marry that vibe to my what seems now like a lifelong interest in the extraordinary wealth of fascinating and inspiring subject matter here, I took the membership 'plunge' - something I honestly never ever do. But I did, and I am very glad I did.

In many ways, I don't really see it differently at all.

Only that my place here in the community carries with it added responsibility now.

You really have to genuinely like (love, even) and understand people really quite well, and have a real desire to serve and help, support, and encourage. Skills that can be taught of course but are only ever properly learned over a life, and then applied and practised.

One of two siblings, and the eldest, from a single-parent household, matures you at a young age. For me it was putting myself in my mum's shoes (when I was aged 5/6) while she was going through a very painful and at times lonely separation. That awareness of, if you like, hierarchical responsibility and the enormity of it was incumbent in me then, and remains so to this day. (I learned through many years spent working in professional membership organisations how to be more responsibility aware too.)

Along with being decisive, and occasionally dressed like an armadillo, to do this modjob with any acumen at all certainly requires empathy - you've really got to like people and put yourself in their shoes. And if you've a sufficiently high EQ, however that is measured, it makes appreciating and understanding folk and what they need not exactly 'a walk in the park', but infinitely easier to determine, and makes their nuances more understandable.

And also, if applied to moderators as well as members, puts their responsibility/role/decision in sharper perspective.

- - - - - - - - -

An anecdote from my [very] younger years:

I was about two years old and was fascinated with plug sockets, to the extent that I would try and put my fingers in them. You can imagine my mum's horror, and concern. A short-sharp slap on the back of the hand was enough to stop me repeating that.

- - - - - - - - -

[Perhaps]Simply put, when dealing with another, you extrapolate to 'you': how would you deal with you in that situation? What would the outcome be that would help you the most? How did that make you feel?

And you apply it as fairly as you can based on likely positive outcomes that you yourself have experienced, and benefited from. Even if it's involved a ticking off of some sort. It's how that's administered and it's appropriateness to the situation that counts too.

That doesn't mean to say it's always easy mind.

[Constance]

Hey Nenuphar

Thank you for your excellent questions!

I want to respond to this question first:

Which topics on the forum would you love to see more participation and interest in because you, yourself, share those interests, or because you think those topics are important but overlooked

What I would dearly love to see are more threads devoted to the unique journeys of individuals. Threads that are devoted to those who are naturally gifted, talented or skilled (or who have cultivated gifts, talents and skills) and also to those individuals who have faced enormous adversity and challenges and who have heroically overcome them.

I am aware that we do have many wonderful existing threads and posts that everyone has lovingly contributed to but I always look forward to seeing more of what uplifts us because it is inspiration for the soul.

I would also like to see more threads devoted to each and every aspect of the natural world and each and every aspect of natural living. You see, I think of nature as being our best teacher.

As I was driving back from Mt. Donna Buang the other day, the sun was shining through a light rain shower. The wet leaves on the trees shimmered like gold. The branches were gently swaying with the soft rain. It was spectacular! It was all the "what", "who" and "how" being shared with me in that moment. I was completely awe-struck and humbled by how nature continuously shows us things.

I also experience a lot of joy whenever people share from their own direct personal experiences. I love to hear peoples personal stories and I love it (absolutely love it!) whenever people share from the heart.

I'm greatly interested in the human condition but my greatest interest lays within the human potential and how we can all best fulfill it on both a collective and individual basis. I would be really heartened to see more threads and posts devoted to how we can fulfil our highest potential in ways that are practical, accessible, attainable, replicable, unconditional, all-inclusive and for the highest good of all.

In response to your question here Nenuphar:

Are there topics that you feel have been flogged to death or that garner a level of interest that leaves you surprised/boggled?

I don't know how else to answer this except to say that I don't really ever focus on the forum in this way?

Posted by Nenuphar (here)
I love the opening post of this thread. The imagery of a warm, crackling campfire in the company of friends, new and old, is so cozy and inviting.

In an attempt to be succinct, I think I might have come across as dry or cold. That was not my intent! There is a lot of information to comb through on this forum on any given day, so I try to do my part to keep the 'signal to noise ratio" in check.

Let me rephrase my questions (or, at least, one of them)...

Everyone has different interests. Which topics on the forum would you love to see more participation and interest in because you, yourself, share those interests, or because you think those topics are important but overlooked?

Are there topics that you feel have been flogged to death or that garner a level of interest that leaves you surprised/boggled?

(I'll leave the second question as-is. It might not be a particularly refined way of asking it, but I am genuinely interested in your answers.)