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 What happened to Brightmoon.org?

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Stan Giko
Mia
aylwin
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Ikuko
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Lise
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PostSubject: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty2/22/2012, 3:43 pm

Does anyone know why their threads disappeared all at once? It looks like the entire site is down for maintenance possibly, but before that I notice all the threads went away. There were some good comments in there, too. It's a shame to lose them.

I found the site interesting (the part that's visible to non-members anyway); hope they haven't pulled the plug for good.
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Kozan
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty2/22/2012, 4:12 pm

The Bright Moon Admins have been in the process of fine-tuning the Category and Forum subject-names. The Forum threads that have been in place, and in use, up to this point were considered strictly temporary, until a more comprehensive structure could be established. The new design was close to completion a week ago. It looks like Ayse is implementing it now.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/18/2012, 8:29 pm

Bright Moon is now back up and fully operational, with a new and completed Forum structure. It is (unfortunately perhaps) no longer visible to non-members. Anyone who considers themselves to be practicing within the OBC tradition may apply. OBC membership or affiliation is not required.

As a matter of interest and information, the following quote is part of the information posted under the forum heading: The Purpose of Bright Moon:

The Relationship between Bright Moon and the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC)

The relationship with the monastic Order is that of friendly and supportive cooperation based on shared goals and interests within mutual practice. Bright Moon is an independent website, it does not fall under the administration of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, and the OBC is not responsible for its contents. The views expressed are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent those of the Order as a whole or those of the Bright Moon Team.

The Relationship between Bright Moon and the Lay Communication Working Group (LCWG)

The LCWG as a working group of the OBC Interim Board helped in the development of Bright Moon. The objectives of the website and the LCWG are related but different. The LCWG is not responsible for Bright Moon. The Bright Moon Team works in collaboration with but independed from the LCWG.
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Henry

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 7:02 am

Kozan

You said:

Anyone who considers themselves to be practicing within the OBC tradition may apply. OBC membership or affiliation is not required.

The relationship with the monastic Order is that of friendly and supportive cooperation based on shared goals and interests within mutual practice.

I wonder how "friendly and supportive cooperation" is defined. I feel friendly and supportive and don't view those qualities mutually exclusive with constructive criticism. I do "just sitting" formally and throughout the day. Is that practicing withing the "OBC tradition," or are all the idiosyncracies of the OBC interpretations also required?



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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 11:16 am

Henry wrote:
I wonder how "friendly and supportive cooperation" is defined. I feel friendly and supportive and don't view those qualities mutually exclusive with constructive criticism. I do "just sitting" formally and throughout the day. Is that practicing withing the "OBC tradition," or are all the idiosyncrasies of the OBC interpretations also required?

I'm curious about this too. If you attempt to join Brightmoon I'll be interested to hear how it goes.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 1:30 pm

Interesting test Henry. A Shasta practise is defined by it's own wall . Don't mean to be a kill joy but I am sure you also read those entry requirements as " only wall maintenance personnel permitted ".

Allowing a wall questioning Henry into any Shasta enclosure would be a major sign that some radical shift in Shasta is taking place.

Best of luck Henry.
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PostSubject: brightmoondarkmoon   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 5:23 pm

I tried signing up to bright moon using an alias,as I do for obc connect.I don't have anything to hide but I have to be careful.The discretion of an alias is an important protection for me.
When I got half way through the process I found the intrusive requirement to give date of jukai and name of monk or group as authentication.
I wonder no I don't wonder I know nobody has thought about confidentiality or boundaries
This is laughable!
I have met more weirdos,and felt less secure from them,atThrossel,thananywhere else ,and I have dealt with some interesting characters in my professional life...

So the administrators at bright moon want assurance that participants do the right kind of zazen....with the right group...and the right irresponsible organisation....

Needless to say I won't be signing up...

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 7:45 pm

In fairness to the brightmoonies, all they are meaning is,

Entry is conditional to saying YES to all things OBC."

These are the site rules of their faith based practise.

It only gets messy when trying to make it compatible with zen meditation.
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Kozan
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 9:02 pm

Henry wrote:

I wonder how "friendly and supportive cooperation" is defined. I feel friendly and supportive and don't view those qualities mutually exclusive with constructive criticism. I do "just sitting" formally and throughout the day. Is that practicing withing the "OBC tradition," or are all the idiosyncracies of the OBC interpretations also required?

Henry, I fully agree. I think that to be truly supportive requires constructive, and sometimes critical, feedback.

I too meditate daily, both formally, and as an inseparable aspect of the work I do. As you know, I have serious concerns about what appears to be the continued impact of RM Jiyu's unrecognized, unhealed shadow-dynamic within the culture of the OBC. And, while I am not formally associated with the OBC, I consider myself, by virtue of my history within the Order, to be a member of the larger informal OBC Sangha (in much the same way that I will always be a member of my extended family). I think that the sangha in this larger sense fully transcends organization, beliefs, practices, and RM Jiyu's personal teaching, beliefs, and behavior. I have come to feel that membership in the larger sangha is not the result of organizational affilitation or belief, but of meditation practice itself.

In consequence, while there are a number of beliefs and practices that seem to be associated with the OBC that I do not support, I very much consider myself to be practicing within the larger OBC (and Buddhist) tradition. In a yet wider sense, I identify with the community of all mystics and contemplatives.

To put it another way, I don't practice OBC, I practice meditation. And, I don't practice RM Jiyu's meditation, I practice my own. So, the OBC, as an organization, is several steps removed from my practice, and I would say, from the larger OBC Sangha as well. And, while I have serious concerns, my position is one of non-adversarial support for beneficial change, combined with great fondness for the members I know.

So, Henry, I would say that if you consider yourself to be part of the larger OBC Sangha, then you are. In fact, I would say that whether we consider ourselves to be or not, all of us who have trained within the OBC are unavoidably linked within the larger sangha.

It is from this perspective that I joined Bright Moon. (I realize now that I had not specifically mentioned this in my earlier posts).

Ikuko, I had some initial reactions that were similar to your own when I first saw the application questions! It was actually confidentiality concerns that eventually led to the decision to make Bright Moon accessible only to members. The concern, I think, was that an open forum would be open to the entire internet.

When I applied, I was quite specific about who I am (Steve Kozan Beck), my history as a monk within the Order, and the fact that I am not currently affiliated with any monastery, priory, or meditation group. I did mention a number of monks who could confirm my current relationship to the OBC. My membership application was accepted.

Howard, Shasta is not actively involved with Bright Moon, and the Administrator is from the Netherlands; so I think (based on my observation) that she is several steps removed from the "wall" you mention, which we knew so well!

Isan, I too eagerly await Henry's report! ;-)
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 9:04 pm

Maybe the brightmoonies are frightened that someone will steal their secrets, or violate their purity. What ever happened to selling water by the river? The only real reason I can see for barriers of this kind is to create a sense of exclusivity, false superiority and unfounded righteousness. Confidentiality is an argument often put forward but anything more than a cursory glance shows that it doesn't hold water.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/20/2012, 11:29 pm

Mark, I am certain that there is a great deal of truth in what you are saying.

At the same time, part of the concern that I think Ikuko may be expressing, is that on an open forum, everything that everyone posts is accessible to anyone on the internet. My understanding is that this is not the case with member-only forums.

This issue is (clearly) not a personal concern of mine. But I can sympathize with those for whom it is.

Addendum: I should also add that the site Administrator consistently held out for an open forum, except for specific discussion threads that would be open to members only. (These were never established. Those of you who had previously visited the site as "non-members" had access to everything.) This is the same format that we have here--except that we don't seem to have any active private discussion threads at the moment. Therefore, I don't think that a member-only format was her choice, but the result of concerns expressed by others. As previously stated (and I don't, yet, have any reason to doubt this), Bright Moon is not under administrative control by the OBC or the Interim Board. (As always, I could be wrong!)


Last edited by Kozan on 4/21/2012, 12:11 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : addendum)
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Howard

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/21/2012, 3:56 am

Hey Kozan
Howard, Shasta is not actively involved with Bright Moon, and the Administrator is from the Netherlands; so I think (based on my observation) that she is several steps removed from the "wall" you mention, which we knew so well!

I know not, or considered not, the site administrator and so I am not understanding why she's relevant here but perhaps I'm missing something.
It is commendable that someone (the site administrator) wished for a more open site concept even if it couldn't be sustained....so why was it not sustained even if a few people did mention concerns?

The wall that I spoke of is so much more than a chain link property marker.. It is the language of separation & polarities. That which presents the concept of a them & us. The corner stone of adversarial theory's.
The fear of doubt upheld by Shasta and Bright Moon is a shared language and wall. The question of who is, or is not actively involved with the other, seems a moot point while each so consummately imitates the other.

Cheers
H
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/21/2012, 12:00 pm

Ikuko wrote:
I tried signing up to bright moon using an alias,as I do for obc connect.I don't have anything to hide but I have to be careful.The discretion of an alias is an important protection for me.

When I got half way through the process I found the intrusive requirement to give date of jukai and name of monk or group as authentication.
I wonder, no I don't wonder I know nobody has thought about confidentiality or boundaries.

So the administrators at bright moon want assurance that participants do the right kind of zazen....with the right group...and the right irresponsible organisation....

Perhaps the option to use an alias can be raised with the site admins? Obviously they are protecting their members, and themselves, from the public, but it may not have occurred to them that members need the option to protect themselves in relation to each other. Since Kozan has joined perhaps he can confirm whether or not using an alias is possible? There is still the need to identify oneself to the site admins - I don't see any way around that.

Many forum sites have "terms of service" and "privacy" statement links on their home pages. Brightmoon doesn't have them, and neither does OBCC. Since people can join OBCC without identifying themselves to anyone privacy is a non-issue, but Brightmoon should have a statement about how they handle personal information.

Perhaps Kozan can also say something about the robustness of the conversation there?
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/21/2012, 2:51 pm

This is a rather weak link in the robust chain of OBC discourse I feel,but I would like to try to clarify things for myself.

Howard: Yes Howard,point taken, meditation practice itself can't belong to anybody or any tradition.

Isan: I see your point about privacy.However,on OBC connect I could join in the conversation anonymously.On the Bright Moon website I would be obliged to provide "sangha" credentials,which would involve using my actual identity.I believe there is a nice distinction here.The missing link I didn't mention is that my motivation for trying to join the bright moonies(good phrase Mark),is very weak anyway.

However,I appreciate your comments about the robustness of this conversation.This is perhaps a non-issue,into which I am venting anger that rightly belongs somewhere else,and this is compromising.BUT....

OBC Connect seems to have sorted itself out as a fairly healthy group of fairly like-minded people.The dialogues from which I have benefitted here have been robust and rigorous NOT because credentials of being known to a monk or group were required,but because the sheer quality of contributions demonstrated to me the life experience, wisdom and intelligence of the participants.No number of superficial credentials can substitute for such qualities.

Finally,because I don't have much to say really,my point about lack of trust in the "sangha" as a whole.The bright moonies are trying to create a closed group in a public space -a contradiction in terms,an impossibility,a weird hall of mirrors-ain't that the crux?
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/22/2012, 8:23 pm

@Ikuko - I fearI must own up; I didn't coin 'brightmoonies', I think it was Howard.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/23/2012, 2:37 pm

Ikuko wrote:
The bright moonies are trying to create a closed group in a public space

I originally assumed Brightmoon would just be an extension of the OBC, created so the OBC would have a closed forum where they could control the conversation, but I've been conversing with Kozan who knows more about what's happening there. Based on his information it appears they will be largely autonomous. I know Kozan plans to say more about it soon so I'll leave it at that for now and let him take the lead.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/23/2012, 7:32 pm

Isan, in response to your earlier questions, and Ikuko's related thoughts, you wrote (now in blue (and my responses in black)):

"Perhaps the option to use an alias can be raised with the site admins? Obviously they are protecting their members, and themselves, from the public, but it may not have occurred to them that members need the option to protect themselves in relation to each other. Since Kozan has joined perhaps he can confirm whether or not using an alias is possible? There is still the need to identify oneself to the site admins - I don't see any way around that."

Good question. A number of current members use only their first name, or a combination of first name and location, as their on-forum name. Clearly, they applied using their full name. Most of the current Bright Moon members seem to be from the UK and Europe. I know that at least some of the first-name-only members are already well known by most other Bright Moon members (including me, from my time in the OBC Facebook group). One of the Bright Moon Forum Guidlines states: "Please don't pretend to be anyone other than yourself." A primary purpose of Bright Moon is to foster a wider sense of community amongst lay sangha members who are often now restricted to a single OBC group, or who are not connected with any group. I think that a sense of community connection is probably difficult to achieve if one is anonymous, or interacting with someone else who is.

"Many forum sites have "terms of service" and "privacy" statement links on their home pages. Brightmoon doesn't have them, and neither does OBCC. Since people can join OBCC without identifying themselves to anyone privacy is a non-issue, but Brightmoon should have a statement about how they handle personal information."

Bright Moon has both Terms of Use, and Forum Guidelines, but they are not currently visible on the Home page to non-members. The Terms of Use indicate that the personal information disclosed in the application will only be seen by Bright Moon admins and moderators, and will not be disclosed to any other third party.

"Perhaps Kozan can also say something about the robustness of the conversation there?"

Bright Moon has only just been completed as a fully functional website. While there were a number of discussions on the site, over the months during which it was still under construction, extended discussion was not encouraged because of the challenges inherent in trying to move discussion threads into a completely different forum structure. Nevertheless, from topics of discussion on Bright Moon, in the OBC FB group, and by Aylwin today on another thread, I expect conversation to be uninhibited and largely convivial.


Last edited by Kozan on 4/24/2012, 2:41 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/23/2012, 9:20 pm

Isan wrote:
Ikuko wrote:
The bright moonies are trying to create a closed group in a public space

I originally assumed Brightmoon would just be an extension of the OBC, created so the OBC would have a closed forum where they could control the conversation, but I've been conversing with Kozan who knows more about what's happening there. Based on his information it appears they will be largely autonomous. I know Kozan plans to say more about it soon so I'll leave it at that for now and let him take the lead.

Issue 1: Is Bright Moon a mouthpiece for the OBC?

In my opinion, based on my interaction with Bright Moon, and on the paragraphs from the Bright Moon Statement of Purpose posted in an earlier comment on this thread, Bright Moon is not a mouthpiece for the OBC.

(Therefore, it also does not provide a direct means of communication with the OBC, as an organization, for the purpose of airing grievances. OBC related grievances should be submitted directly to the Interim Board or RM Haryo.)

The concept of a website established by lay people, for the purpose of facilitating communication between lay people, grew out of the Lay Initiative, which, along with the Interim Board, resulted from the 2010 Conclave.

The Interim Board arose, as we know, in response to the consequences resulting from Eko Little's actions, and the nature of some aspects of the organizational culture thereby revealed. Its purpose, in part, is to: "...address newly identified needs for greater communication, transparency and ongoing life of the Order."

The Lay Initiative was developed in part to: "...address the issues and concerns particular to the Lay Sangha". This included a proposal to consider the possibility of forming a lay wing of the Order. However, pursuing this mandate and possibility would require the creation of a means by which lay sangha members--dispersed globally--could actually communicate with one another! Hence, the concept of a website established by lay people, for lay people emerged.

A lay-sangha wide means of communication also becomes, in my opinion, an important means of protecting against, and responding to, the kinds of abuse that have occured in the past and have been reported on this Forum. By the same token, this also benefits the OBC as an organization.

The Lay Communication Working Group was then established, "to support the growth and functioning of the Lay Initiative...". As my earlier quote from Bright Moon's Statement of Purpose indicates, the development of Bright Moon was supported by the LCWG, but is independent from it.

Issue 2: Why is Bright Moon a closed Forum, viewable only by members?

Part of the purpose of Bright Moon is to offer a means of communication by which lay people can take refuge in the greater lay sangha. I think that this is an essential form of empowerment. Buddhism, as a largely monastic-centered institution can, as many of us know, create dependency on teachers and monks to the detriment of spiritual practice itself. An empowered lay sangha is, in my opinion, a means of helping to safeguard against this.

But what does this actually mean? Part of what this means, I think, is having the opportunity to seek advice and insight from peers and colleagues, about challenges encountered in one's own practice--and to be able to offer the same in return. Bill Ryan, in particular, has written elsewhere on this Forum about the importance and value of this kind of relationship.

I think that this process of lay sangha empowerment is already well underway in the OBC Facebook group, and is being established on Bright Moon (since many of the same people are on both).

One example of this is an ongoing discussion of the challenges of the experience of depression, and how to respond to it therapeutically, within meditation practice. The discussion has been open, frank, and personal, involving some people new to the experience, some with years of experience and success, and a number of therapists with professional experience. (All discussion participants are members of OBC Fb). This kind of discussion, and the support provided, could never occur on a Forum open to the entire planet!

As a result of the discussion on depression, a weekend retreat was held early this year, in England, focused specifically on depression and spiritual practice. It was held at a non-OBC retreat center. It was co-led by a monk from Throssel, and a therapist. One of the intended outcomes was to establish a lay support group.

I think that Bright Moon has the potential to do for the Lay OBC sangha, what OBC Connect has done for the ex-OBC community. I continue to believe that open communication, across the wider sangha, can be a powerful means of facilitating beneficial change.


Last edited by Kozan on 4/24/2012, 2:30 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : a little fine tuning...)
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/24/2012, 3:38 am

Howard wrote:
Hey Kozan
Howard, Shasta is not actively involved with Bright Moon, and the Administrator is from the Netherlands; so I think (based on my observation) that she is several steps removed from the "wall" you mention, which we knew so well!

I know not, or considered not, the site administrator and so I am not understanding why she's relevant here but perhaps I'm missing something.
It is commendable that someone (the site administrator) wished for a more open site concept even if it couldn't be sustained....so why was it not sustained even if a few people did mention concerns?

The wall that I spoke of is so much more than a chain link property marker.. It is the language of separation & polarities. That which presents the concept of a them & us. The corner stone of adversarial theory's.
The fear of doubt upheld by Shasta and Bright Moon is a shared language and wall. The question of who is, or is not actively involved with the other, seems a moot point while each so consummately imitates the other.

Cheers
H

Howard, apologies for not responding to your comments earlier! It's been a busy day.

I mentioned the site administrator's country because a number of people on this Forum have noted that the OBC shadow-dynamic tends to become less intrusive, for historical reasons, as distance from Shasta Abbey increases. I tend to agree.

The issues that you've identified--the often subconscious "wall", the "them and us", certainly seem to remain in place. And yet, they have no real substance. They begin to dissolve, I believe, when we give up our belief that they are real. I think that Bright Moon, in simple, tangible ways, may be a good example of what can result when people move beyond the wall of them-and-us thinking (see my thoughts in the comment posted above).

Of course, we have yet to see future outcomes. My enthusiasm may prove unwarrented--and you may be right. But I'm holding out nonetheless ;-).
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/24/2012, 7:08 am

Hi Kozan

Thank you for your attempts to explain the bright moon website.

I know Ayse and have met one of the other admins.I am on close terms with some of the interim board members having known them for many years.

I have been co-organising the lay sangha gatherings for the last four years.we introduced the retreat centre used for the retreat about depression you described.However I didn' t recognise that retreat from your description.It was mooted to our local group.two of us attended.I believe out of all 15 plus attendees,only 2 of us had taken jukai.I knew one or two other people,and knew them as"fellow travellers",not devotees of OBC.As far as I could tell,nobody else there had much connection with OBC as such.
This ,in my experience of forty plus years of involvement in OBC lay sangha,is the norm.
In the affiliated group.most local to.Throssel,the organisers have not taken jukai.and some regular attendees and commited members have mxed attitudes to the liturgy and monastic forms chara teristic historically of OBC.Many folk who.attend the OBC affiliated group in Newcastle upon Tyne do not go to Throhssel or any other OBC temple.This is healthy ,it reflects,in my view,the pluralism of our world,and the wholesome non conformism of British social psychology.

I could give the admins several.references with regard to OBC monks,date of jukai, and explain that I met the founder in1972.So what?They would only find out if I was kind by knowing my kindness.The three pure precepts have to.be lived,and for my credentials on them,ask the people I.live with!

So.what about grievances.Well I don't have any.

My grave concerns about OBC are mirrored in my grave concerns about climate change and the rise of fascism in western europe.
Nothings perfect-darn it!
And as I'm in a multi national frame of mind,Ghandhi I believe said (i paraphrase)"Anything you do will be insignificant .Do.it anyway".

So I will carry on my mission of less anger more joy,alongside all the other unaccredited unauthenticated sangha....

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/24/2012, 12:04 pm

Ikuko wrote:
I believe out of all 15 plus attendees only 2 of us had taken jukai.

It would be worth bringing to Brightmoon's attention that the Jukai requirement excludes currently active members. It may be they just haven't thought it through.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 3:10 am

Hey Kozan
The issues that you've identified--the often subconscious "wall", the "them and us", certainly seem to remain in place. And yet, they have no real substance. They begin to dissolve, I believe, when we give up our belief that they are real. I think that Bright Moon, in simple, tangible ways, may be a good example of what can result when people move beyond the wall of them-and-us thinking


Bright Moon seems like folks on one side of a wall talking among themselves. I get how comfortable and secure and nurturing and safe and social that might feel but don't hear your evidence of "people moving beyond the wall of a them-and-us thinking". While I do think that Bright Moon is entitled to set up their site anyway they want, restricted admission coupled with limited discussion, sounds like the same old wall.

A softening wall belief would look like
Open admissions for those with dissenting views,
acting as if their faith can stand on equal ground with doubt
or a willingness to face sacred cows in any other position than prone.

While a guided concentration practise can be selective enough to support a "them & us wall mentality", I just don't see how a meditation practise can.

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 9:06 am

Hello, I am one of those ‘Brightmoonies’ I am not on the team, but have been part of a crew trying to set up a Lay website for a long while now.

We have had a lot of talks with the monastics and it was decided that it would be better if the lay website was independent of the OBC and the monks are welcome to join in if they wish.

I am an ex monk myself and when I left I did not wants to become one of the ‘disappeared ‘! So I have taken the route of coming back as an active lay member , I must say that for me this was not an easy route and I see why so many may have felt uncomfortable being back in the sangha , but I am now a totally integrated householder with some monastic conditioning.

In the last 3 years or so I have taken an active interest in exploring the nature and conditioning of our Sangha, particular the monastic /lay relationship. Here I sensed a glass ceiling to lay practice (self imposed or otherwise) and wondered how best to help develop lay practice. Since the events around Eko, I been exploring the nature of our Master/Disciple relationship, which has lead me to inquire into the possibilities of a lay Transmission and the Dharma Seal also being passed onto the Laity. This may not happen in my life time but there are monks open to talking about it. I had long chats with John Crook last year ,on ways to develop the laity .John was himself an Dharma heir, in theory allowed to also transmit monks! Interesting.

Now I have longed for a place to have in depth ‘ gloves off ‘debate with the sangha , free perceptual speech and the forum belonging to the community that use it.

We are hoping for a breath of fresh air, a lot of us have been looking long and hard at OBC conditioning and there is vigorous debate privately in the sangha and we realise that the lay sangha has to organise itself, what that will be ,who knows? This is just providing a forum for people to network and speak at ease.

This forum has just started and people in our sangha are not used to this medium yet, you guys are an established group here, so before wading in with your burning topics please give folks time to find their feet.

Also there are a lot of new Buddhist members and the primary purpose of the forum is to support practice, we could easily swamp the site with long held never heard in public points of view, maybe we should set up a ‘Soap box corner’, I will be the first to go ..and another thing !!...

We have never had a voice before and a lot of stuff will need airing, so there will be swings of the pendulum and I am aware of the concerns of some monastic’s, and a lot of monastic are very supportive.

As pointed out before there is quite a different in sangha culture in Europe.

A lot of folks will not know what you are talking about since its now almost a few generations ago and things have moved on.

Lastly I want to thank OBC Connect you have proved to be a bit of a catalyst in getting things moving. I do regard you as part of this mandala sangha, for the ex monastic’s you do hold a unique perspective and have so much to offer and share by your dual conditioning , maybe its not so much Lay Transmission as the continuing renouncing of this world wherever we train. ‘ I have changed my form but kept my wish..’It does not say that you have to be a monk.

This forum ( OBCC)servers as an valuable place for healing and coming to terms with what someone called ‘War wounds ‘and will continue to do so.

I have read many of the treads and have been moved by your experiences, I know some of your histories but not from your perspective. Some of us are not afraid of doubt or to question the nature of a thing. There are different ways of questioning.

I hope to see some of you on Bright Moon; I think that the team are dropping the Jukai bit.

With bows Aylwin
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 10:13 am

aylwin wrote:
Some of us are not afraid of doubt or to question the nature of a thing. There are different ways of questioning.
Thank you for speaking my heart.

It is my wish too to see many of the members here on Bright Moon. There's so much experience here and as a relatively new Sangha member I could learn so much from you.

(You are also always welcome on facebook of course, I'm just hoping that the meatier topics will now be held at Bright Moon because the forum format is more sustainable.)

Henry, personally I would welcome constructive criticism. I'm not a member of the independent Bright Moon team but have had no indication that they believe otherwise.

Ikuko wrote:
I found the intrusive requirement to give date of jukai and name of monk or group as authentication
Ikuko I've been raising concerns about this as well, the BM team told me that it was an optional question not a requirement, and that the jukai question has now been removed altogether.

Ikuko wrote:
I know nobody has thought about confidentiality or boundaries
Do you.

Re. privacy and identification, I was one of the people who asked for the site not to be open to the public. To me it was the difference between speaking about my personal problems on an open stage in a busy public square, v. speaking with a group of Sangha in a room. Many others also said that they did not want their personal sharing to be Google-able.

If anyone reading this considers themselves to be Sangha, then so far as I'm concerned you are, and I'm not alone - my experience is as limited as anyone's of course but in my many conversations with monastic and lay Sangha I haven't heard anyone say that we should keep OBCC members, or anyone else for that matter, out of BM. Any focus as regards OBCC was more on the question of how we can facilitate open and constructive dialogue.


Last edited by Mia on 4/25/2012, 10:14 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : typo)
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 10:28 am

hi mia

thank you for your post .i was sending one at the same time.

i have abandoned that post in response to what you have written.

thank you for new information about bright moon registration.that makes sense.

reconfidentiality.

the possibility of using an alias makes a lot of difference to me.
if i can register on bright moon on that basis,i will.

that was my main point and i expressed it clumsily.

we are all working towards a similar aim i feel.
gratitude to you for all you have done to set up bright moon

best wishes and gassho

Ikuko
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 10:41 am

Thanks for clarifying Ikuko, that makes more sense. Gassho right back atcha Smile

Re. alias (is that the plural??), I have the opposite reaction - I'm more comfortable when everyone goes by their personal name, I feel that it makes them more real and kind in some way, because they're being held more personally accountable for what they say. To take a silly example, I would be more likely to be talking [banned term] right now if my name here was Donald Duck... the visual equivalent to me of someone having an alias is that they're wearing big dark glasses indoors. I think there's something I'm not getting, would you mind clarifying why an alias is important to you? (If it's private obviously feel free to message.)
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/25/2012, 12:00 pm

Hey Aylwin

Your post is the most hopeful presentation of real change that I've heard yet! Kozan's support and enthusiasm is now understandable. Bright Moon seems well named.

Gassho

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/26/2012, 10:46 pm

About aliases - I think they can serve a good purpose sometimes. If we don't know who is speaking, our perception is not diverted by personal knowledge/assumptions about the speaker; we have only the message to consider, rather than our notions about the person delivering it. I may say to myself, "of course Gene would put forward something like that, he's a complete banned term and ignorant to boot"; but if I didn't know it was Gene, I might spend another three seconds trying to train in open-mindedness and non-judgment. No guarantees, but it could very possibly happen.


Last edited by Lise on 4/27/2012, 4:58 pm; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : typo, more typo)
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 3:34 am

Hey Lise
Yeah, I lose it every time I see a post from that sunny faced guy under a palm tree because I know he's really mocking our Vancouver weather? Or there's a foot fetish avatar making me wonder if I should be covering my feet while perusing his posts.
Allowing an image of an author to limit the meaning of a post is a reader's loss.
I do have sympathy with those who are too vulnerable to post their real identity. The mind spins trying to relate to having to hide behind a mask to speak of a practise that is supposedly all about removing our masks.
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Mia




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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 8:23 am

I agree Lise. Sometimes I've wanted to just go off, change my name, and start afresh, and I have done (it was great!) And I wouldn't want to deny anyone the opportunity to do so too.

However on a forum, unless it's a huge public forum, don't we all know who each other are anyway, after the first few posts? I wouldn't mind if someone changed their name completely in their life and then used this new name on a forum (for the above reasons), without telling us their history - as long as they're not [banned term]-stirrers, their history is their business. But if they use one name in their physical lives and another in their virtual lives, I feel a bit uneasy about if they are going to be honest with me. My experience is that people are much kinder the more accountable they are for the direct consequences, i.e. dialogue is more reliable when you're standing right in front of someone, slightly less reliable if you're conversing on email, and even less so if you're conversing without knowing each other's real names... I should disclose that I've had my fingers burned, someone took on a "Dharma" name, called himself a "great monk" and proceeded to bully me online, trying to find out everything about my identity but never once saying who he really was. It was cowardly, and by taking on an alias he was trying to eliminate his own vulnerability while trying to take advantage of mine.

A long time ago I posted under an alias for a long time, on a social forum where we all had aliases and hadn't known each other previously. It was refreshing. But on some subtle level, after some years it felt like I was creating an identity on top of an identity, and didn't hold myself 100% accountable for what the superficial identity said and did, because it wasn't 100% me... sounds like a split personality! But for this reason, these days I feel uncomfortable using an alias, unless I've come out and said what my real name is too.

Having said all that, if someone has a difficult history with the OBC and don't wish to be judged by it, and they still want to take part in dialogue, then I can understand! Unfortunately it would be likely that people would be speculating about who they are, which would also detract from dialogue, so there isn't a perfect solution. There'd also be the question of, when and how would they let us know who they once were, if at all? And would they have to cause some small harm by denying who they are? In their place I'd consider taking the bull by the horns and using my name, and holding anyone accountable for pre-judging me if they do. There are people in the OBC who would be willing to give anyone a a second chance, and I hope that there are enough of us to uphold that value in a forum. Using their real name could be a better solution than using an alias, though it's a brave one.

I don't know for a fact but currently it looks to me like people are asked for their real names when registering, but this info is only confidential for the admins?, and members then post under an optional username. I'm not sure about this at all though, would have to confirm with the admins.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 10:41 am

Many good thoughts regarding the issue of using an alias. I would add that while OBC Connect does not require that members reveal their identities it has happened naturally that most people do. The minority that have preferred to use an alias don't seem to have detracted from the conversation. There have been rare instances of people using an alias to launch attacks against others. Those users were quickly banned. When I first registered here I initially used an alias and later had my user name changed. I had my reasons and am glad that this was an option.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 11:42 am

I'm tempted to use an alias which makes it sound like I'm an old monk ;-) You may or may not be surprised that my comments have often not been taken seriously because I'm a relatively inexperienced layperson (and sometimes because on top of all that I'm female). But I suppose it's true for everyone that it takes years of application to be listened to.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:00 pm

Mia,

I'm listening. And I want to assure you that a person brand new to meditation or Buddhism brings their own wisdom and a veteran meditator of decades more often than not brings their own ossified buffalo dooody. Our wisdom and lack of it is only revealed or not in each moment and then there is only a new moment to show or not show wisdom, irrespective of anything else. This is absolutely not some cute, polite little thing to say to make someone comfortable and feel better about themselves. It is the absolute unvarnished truth. A truth that during my time at Shasta was too often woefully lost under heaps of holiness.

PS I have applied to Brightmoon and am awaiting approval. I assured them that I am not affiliated in any way with Howard.


Last edited by Henry on 4/27/2012, 1:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:09 pm

Thanks Henry :-) _/\_

People who listen and who don't listen have appeared in the most unlikely places. I've found both types among drunks, monks, strangers, family and friends (not always simultaneously). Half of it is up to the listener, but it's an art as well to say things in a way which are listenable.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:18 pm

Howard wrote:
I do have sympathy with those who are too vulnerable to post their real identity. The mind spins trying to relate to having to hide behind a mask to speak of a practise that is supposedly all about removing our masks.

Is it about removing masks, hmmm - have to think about that one.

Some who use aliases here don't ever talk about their practise really, in fact some don't talk at all on the forum and never will, I think because of their fear of what the Mt. Shasta sangha or SA monks would think of them. I feel sorry for that sometimes and impatient with it at other times.

Mia - I agree that posting under an alias does give people room to kind of be somebody else and maybe act out in ways they wouldn't like to claim under their real names. That's the ignoble part, but then there's the liberating aspect of setting down (at least for awhile), the "official public persona" that so many people feel compelled to prop up, protect, keep shined and polished. So much work goes into the packaging of a public persona, you can imagine people being afraid of tarnishing that - which is sad, yet understandable.

Which then leads me to think about how an approved persona might actually be less authentic than the alias. I think of this in the context of Sunday tea behaviour at a religious center; everybody's there in person, under their own names, with some folks not being even close to who they really are (based on my observations of them outside of the church setting). Nodding and smiling (my friend calls this "glazed and dazed"), not really expressing or communicating.

Yes, gender bias and age bias, aren't they fun to contend with What happened to Brightmoon.org? 683495 We should just march along anyway and comment as we see fit.

Edited to say: Henry's response nails it -
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:26 pm

Lise wrote:
an approved persona might actually be less authentic than the alias.
Of course, I hadn't thought of that. It leads me to think that people who don't want to allow aliases and some people who want aliases are in the same boat - to defend against others' inauthenticity. Jeez I wish we could just all let our guards down. It's Friday night - I'll count to 3.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:46 pm

Wish it was Friday night here What happened to Brightmoon.org? 538897 Have a cold one for me, until I can get to my own What happened to Brightmoon.org? 538897
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Stan Giko

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 1:50 pm

Hi Mia,

What makes you think that your comments have often not been taken
seriously ?
So what if you`re a relatively inexperienced layperson....they`re the best kind.
Experiences are a dime a dozen....we have them all day long. As for being a
woman ?.........you`re testing us men out...right ?

I reckon if it takes years of application to get listened to, give up on it !
I think that, if nothing else, we at least all get listened to on this forum. I for
one have always found your comments considered, respectful and straight from
the heart. Sorry to be complimentary in public but, I always read your posts
with interest !

I wasn`t sure at first why I wanted to write this but, knowing it`s `Mia` does
seem to make a difference when reading peoples personal opinions.
The `alias` option for me, takes away a certain closeness and a little trust that
comes with an identity.


Perhaps a middle ground for `aliases` could be found under a " Moderator
vetted Exception" rule ?

Anyway, best wishes from one who reads everybody`s posts.

Stan.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 4:41 pm

I had to use an alias. My true identity Would cause too much of a disruption around here.

Yes, I am the ghost of Peggy Kennet....



I think using anonymity allows people to speak completely openly about what they really think with no concerns about accountability. It is my preference to hear exactly what people really think.

Look at Reddit: a self regulated community of quite a few million people, most of whom are anonymous, and yet with the power to affect politics, save lives and get pizzas to hungry people who are out of change.

I spent some time on Reddit:Suicide Watch, befriending people who were about to kill themselves and trying to stop them becoming victims of what they were going through. I was in absolute awe of some of the incredibly empathic (and anonymous) people who were spending alot of their time helping people there. The anonymity definitely was not a hindrance.

However, I can see why Brightmoon opted out of anonymity. If some of its purpose is to provide a place where a sangha can develop then I think it's good to know each other. It would be a bit embarrassing turning up at the inevitable Brightmoon party if no one knew who you were. Too much like a blind date. Sangha always seemed a bit wishy washy in the lay OBC (compared to the close friendships people developed in other traditions). It is nice that people are connecting.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 6:19 pm

Glory said

I had to use an alias. My true identity Would cause too much of a disruption around here.

That is too provocative a statement to go unchallenged. Are you Rev. Kennett come back to keep an eye on what's going on? Are you actually Eko? Meian perhaps in a secret identity? Pat Robertson? An OBCC administrator doing some extra curricular spying?
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 7:26 pm

I had to use an alias. My true identity Would cause too much of a disruption around here.

Yup, Glorfindel, I always thought to myself, there goes a poster who walks with dainty steps in fear of causing some kind of ruckass.

All of the last posts possibilities could float on through the OBCC without a ripple as long as they steered clear of potty talk, bad grammar or litigious allegations.

My moneys is still on Henry's fainting spells coinciding with Glorfindel's postings.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 9:11 pm

Quote :
However, I can see why Brightmoon opted out of anonymity. If some of its purpose is to provide a place where a sangha can develop then I think it's good to know each other.

But surely that is the purpose of having a name in religion; to allow you to leave behind an old persona and don a clean new one. Personally I think that there are many reasons that people post using aliases; some good, some bad. In the end it doesn't really matter. If they are using it to hide behind so that they can post maliciously it soon becomes obvious and people will ignore what they say or they will overstep the mark and get banned. If they post truthfully who cares what their name is. It's nice to have some kind of tag that you can see so that you can follow the continuity in someone's posts. After that if you don't actually know the person what does it matter, an assumed tag and avatar may give some clue as to how the person is trying to represent themselves but little else.

@Mia - Shock horror your a relative beginner.. and a woman! I definitely will be skipping your posts from now on! But seriously 'Zen mind, beginners mind'. When you 'know' the truth you have already taken a large step away from it and are about to fall into the pit of fundamentalism. Someone else said 'out of the mouths of babes and sucklings'; so post what you feel, your truth is as valid as any of ours.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 9:59 pm

Howard must be testing Lise to see whether she really did have a few cold ones to let that one slide through:).

Anyhow, all such good posts re whether aliases or not. I used the first two letters of my three given names just so that in case any acquaintances that happened to stumble upon this forum wouldn't immediately know who I was, yet after a few posts, as Isan already said above, reveals the identity of who is posting, at least to those that know and trained alongside you. I also often signed with my real name, so no secret there.

In regard to the great variance of experience spoken of here, I have to say it has been a real help to me to hear about all of it. In retrospect it has at least confirmed what my real problem had been all about and that was of not speaking up at the correct moment and standing my ground and insisting on clarity even when doubting I would get it and then acting when it would have been appropriate to do so. Some of us learn quickly and some "must wind from slower ledge to ledge with many a place of rest".
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/27/2012, 10:27 pm

breljo wrote:
Howard must be testing Lise to see whether she really did have a few cold ones to let that one slide through:).
What happened to Brightmoon.org? 538897 yeah, too bad my hands were busy with lifting a pint, else I'd have let H have it with both barrels (in kindness and compassion). I like it when people acknowledge the rules here because it serves to bump the rules in a low-key fashion and I totally want people to be aware of rules. However, we are considering, annually on Howard's birthday, allowing everybody to post awful cuss words and vulgarities for a whole hour. 60 minutes, that's it, then back to business as usual.

breljo wrote:
In retrospect it has at least confirmed what my real problem
had been all about and that was of not speaking up at the correct moment and standing
my ground and insisting on clarity even when doubting I would get it and then
acting when it would have been appropriate to do so.
B, that was me too, I did that; countless others too.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty4/28/2012, 4:32 am

Well, I just joined Bright Moon. I used my Buddhist name because I've joined for the same reason I joined this site - to get in touch with old friends, if there are any there. So I want to be recognised. I don't even know why I want to do that...nostalgia in my old age, perhaps? I haven't had time to look round the site yet...but I will...
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty5/6/2012, 3:13 pm

I joined Bright Moon, but I have to admit that the conversations were not very interesting. It seems that the most interesting conversations are cut and pasted from the OBC Facebook group. Bright Moon is hoping that some of the conversations will switch from Facebood to their site, but that sort of shift is difficult to make. It would be a shame if conversations continue to be tepid as it is a beautifully constructed site that obviously had a lot of work put into it.

I'm curious to know how one goes about joining the Facebook group. I actually joined Facebook myself yesterday, somewhat reluctantly, as I am somewhat suspicious of social media sites, considering their apalling record at privacy. So far I have nothing on my profile but my name.
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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty5/6/2012, 5:08 pm

Henry wrote:
I'm curious to know how one goes about joining the Facebook group. I actually joined Facebook myself yesterday, somewhat reluctantly, as I am somewhat suspicious of social media sites, considering their appalling record at privacy. So far I have nothing on my profile but my name.

I joined it, but I'm not remembering exactly how. Have you visited the group? There should be an option to put in a request to join somewhere. You could also PM Mia here - she would be able to give you clear instructions.

Regarding Facebook, when you have a chance check your profile privacy settings and lock them down - most of it is pretty obvious.
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Mia




Posts : 91
Join date : 2010-08-31

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty5/8/2012, 5:09 am

Henry wrote:
It would be a shame if conversations continue to be tepid as it is a beautifully constructed site
That's why we need you Henry. We're not used to talking in this contemplative tradition...

Henry wrote:
I'm curious to know how one goes about joining the Facebook group.
There are two ways,
1) If you have a facebook friend who's a member, he/she can use the 'add' window on the top right of their group window.
2) You can click 'join' on www.facebook.com/contemplatives, and the admin (me) will ok it as soon as I see it.
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mstrathern
Admin
mstrathern


Posts : 609
Join date : 2010-11-14
Age : 80
Location : Bedfordshire, UK

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty5/8/2012, 2:42 pm

I had a lugubrious polish friend who often when asked how he was wouldn't reply' 'fine' but 'middling' instead. If you enquired further what he meant by middling he would reply, 'worse than yesterday, ..but better than tomorrow'.

Honesty doesn't always work!
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Ikuko




Posts : 70
Join date : 2012-02-08

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PostSubject: Re: What happened to Brightmoon.org?   What happened to Brightmoon.org? Empty5/8/2012, 4:04 pm

A message for Mark Strathern

Thank you for buying Throssel Hole.

I just spent a weekend there and had such a refreshing time.You made that possible through your generosity.

Thank you Mark.

Ikuko
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