The EnlightenMeFree (EMF) Online Debate Forum

Just wanted to say:


WOO HOO !!!!!!!!


Yay for the new forum and a huge THANK YOU to the awesome moderators and all those who work behind the scenes, in and out of the spotlight, to keep the dream alive: you ROCK !!!


Also...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMF !!!!!


One year is a major milestone. Here's to many more happy returns :) .

This new forum is so empty, I thought it would be fun to have a celebratory thread where we can just gab... Anything relating to EMF's birthday or the new forum, tell us how your new year has been so far, any resolutions you're particularly proud of, your favorite pet's name, how you spent the endless hours staring at your computer screen while the forum was in transition...

All I ask is that we keep it clean and pointless.

So........


PARTY ON !!!!!!

Ok, I'll go first.

I think it's quite apropos that getting this new forum coincides with EMF's 1 year anniversary. Stuff that in your pipe and smoke it, JZ and all your RSE mouthpieces! They keep hoping we'll go away, well I hope we don't!! Sure, we'll all spend various amounts of time posting here or spreading the word otherwise, but cyberspace rules, man! For posterity!

Again, I am truly grateful that there are people who have dedicated their time and energy to providing this forum and the info contained on the site. No mean feat, you know.

As far as the new year, so far so good. It's funny, for a while I even boycotted new year's resolutions because it reminded me too much of 'creating my year'. Now I guess I'm just not quite as uptight about it. More for fun.

This is great, Littlewiseone. Celebrate - in it's truest form. Happiness is yours for the taking.

Wish I could join in - don't want to poop the party. Too serious right now, too many issues.
New Years resolutions for Lost in Space-
Get a second job. Take no psychoactive meds - especially not Prozac!. Drink no more than one glass of red wine at a sitting. Seek grief counselling. Under no circumstances seek therapy. Only partly joking.

In spite of all that - HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMF!!!!

Little Wise One,

You are too cool. Love your attitude. Who the heck cares about Creating Your Year ala RSE ? LOL
Ramtha didn't create New Year resolutions, anyway. I'm not crediting "him" for that. Go ahead and make as many as you want ! If you want. You can do whatever you want !! Woohoo !

This year...two FUN things I have resolved to complete are scrapbooking my children's pictures into albums for each of them. Then, have a "family" book, too. I'm also working on two wall quilts that are just gorgeous, and some smaller quilting projects. I don't have a lot of time for these things, but I've MADE time in my schedule to get them done. I have some of my scrapbooking things sitting all over my office floor right now, sorting and organizing for the job ahead. FUN, fun, fun !

This spring, we're going to be planting a huge garden; flowers, fruits, vegetables. I can't wait ! Because we built a new house and moved, over the last two years, we didn't have our usual garden. Hubby and I....well, the kids, too, all miss it. Planning that out in my head, where I want it to go. Don't have to draw it on a card, put it on a fence, and create it by C&E. Just buy the seeds, plants and prepare the ground. LOL !!!

I came across a bunch of photos from a family trip to Yelm (and the area), years ago, when some of my children were younger. I won't elaborate. Long story short, I enjoyed ripping up most of those photos. I kept a very few family shots, taken at Mt. Rainier. The rest were too close to RSE memories so they are no more.

With the RSE stuff, that gets dealt with one day at a time, on an as needed basis. I want to enjoy every second of my life, especially after the amount of time I spent at RSE, that I can't get back. It seems I've become acutely aware of "time" in that regard. For me, it's a matter of putting RSE in a certain perspective. There was some "good" to it, and a lot of "bad". The good doesn't justify the bad, IMO. But, I have the option of putting it "in a box", and putting a label on it, like I would do with my photos. It was what it was, and I can't change what it was, contrary to "Ramtha" saying we can go back in time and alter it. But I CAN affect my future with the choices I make now.

When something painful bubbles up, I let it pass. Remind myself that it is one of any number of painful memories (like losing a parent or other loved one), and it's OKAY to feel the sadness, etc. It's not okay to let it rule one's life.

LIS, you might want to read this short article about grief
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advic ... /grief.htm
and check online for some other resources. They may be helpful. It seemed to me that I was pushed out the door at RSE, and I had grief. It was intense (as I've posted before) for about 4 months. Then the next two months it lessened more and more and I started to see things very differently. Back then, I didn't think I'd see the day where I truly felt JOY again in my life. But it did come. One day at a time.

Thank you Whatchamacallit, for being you. :)

Yea Baby..

PARTY AT littlewiseone's place...

Whats your address littlewiseone?


chuckle

David

Aw, I've really grown attached to you guys. I was the one staring aimlessly at the computer during the rather smooth transition period. It's refreshing having the chance to chat with you guys . Sometimes deep and meaningful and sometimes more recreational.

Lost in Space-you're still welcome, we'll take the somber with the silly.
I'm reading a fantastic book at the moment, a compilation of essays by writers about caring for family and loved ones during illness and death. It's called 'An uncertain inheritance'. Very thoughtful, honest, heartwrenching and yet at times funny accounts by some very gripping writers. LIS, you may feel too raw to read this or you may find it a comfort. It seems somewhat therapeutic to me in a vicarious way. Even if you don't feel up to reading it now, I highly recommend checking it out at a later time.

Another book recommendation from me: 'The bitch in the house' my dad gave me this one for Xmas and I think there isn't a woman alive that has ever been in a relationship who could not identify with these stories. This one is also a bunch of essays written by a wide age range of women about their lives as mothers, wives, feminists and how they cope with the accompanying anger that often goes along with it all. Brilliantly written and 100% from the heart. Apparently there is the male version as well, titled 'The bastard on the couch'. I have that one coming from the library.

I have really rediscovered reading lately. It helps to keep me off the Internet. One of my new years resolutions is to spend less time online (come to think of it, that one is a carry over from last year's resolutions...). I can easily spend hours in front of the computer but in the end I always find it terribly unsatisfying. At least there's something relaxing about kicking back with a good book.

Oh, another resolution: to read some of cult education related books. Anyone have any recommendations? Something not so dry preferably, nothing like a difficult book to rob me of my passion for reading...

Cyberland, the Cult!

Yes, the Internet can become an addiction. Have to be online at work a lot, so can't give it up entirely. And, I live a alone, so at home it helps me stay connected to the outside world. Also, it's a great tool for research, and a form of entertainment of a sort. I keep in touch with friends out of town mostly by e-mail. However, sometimes the cyberworld can become more real and compelling than real life. When my daughter comes to stay with me, every couple of weeks, she gets miffed if I spend much time on the computer, even though she zones out in front of the tube, because at her Dad's there is no cable. When my old computer crashed, I got so much more accomplished around here. If you are working up to a long enough attention span after having not had much of one, you can read a lot of short fiction online, though.

Thank you for the book recommendations, Littlewiseone. I'll check them out. I have one for ya. "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten". Light hearted yet phylosophical. Gentle. Another: "Love and Will" by Rollo May. Or "The Quest for God" by I forget his first name Herbert, son of Frank Herbert, the author of the Dune books - I know, it sounds heavy, but it's actually wry social satire, set in the future, and lampoons many faiths - our hero is the leader of a Chicken cult, worshipping the cosmic egg, and goes around carrying his bad tempered pet chicken on his shoulder (but even in the book, he's just doing it for a lark).

Just part of the conversation at the party. Party on.

LWO,

I read that book, The Bitch In The House. Enjoyed how each chapter was by a different author, and as you said, the women were really speaking from the heart. Haven't read the Bastard On The Couch, though. Didn't know about it. LOL...sounds interesting ! I'll be looking for that book.

I think a real, offline party would be awesome. After too many years traveling west, it would be a delight for ya'll to come east. Maybe you'll be up for a vacation Lots of toys to share amongst the kids, too, LOL.