What a wonderful place this is.

First I want to side track by saying that the meta thinking I've witnessed in the Pandora's thread is exactly the kind of approach that I share with my friends, and so far we've been extremely successful (you know, in being close, happy friends). Any problem that has ever come up within the group is just analysed and discussed until the core issues are isolated, reduced and finally eliminated. I love this meta approach to life and to socializing, I wish it was only more common out there in the "real" world! I suppose it makes this forum that much more special. I honestly am still trying to get over the fact that you are all real, and not, as I suspect, the creation of my lonely, marginally desperate mind!

Yeah, as I've probably said a hundred times already (in my twenty five posts), I've used a -lot- of forums (roughly at least sixty, five or six of which for over two years) in my time and this is the only one where I feel like I can literally contribute to the growth and shape of it! And look at how long I've been here!

Seriously, if I could send everybody in that thread a hug I totally would.

Anyway, the reason I'm here; I'm really keen on making art for this place when I get back home (on vacation atm) and I was wondering why the ball seems to have stopped rolling in the CEL? It's a really (haha, refrain from foulness!) good idea and I was disappointed to realise that many of these stickies were started over a year ago but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of an art gallery or what not? Forgive my ignorance though, as I have gathered that there has been a lot of change and expansion here, such as the website itself (it's incredible home page, honestly, blew my mind hole the first time I saw it, continues to do so), members, and probably heaps more that I am totally oblivious to, anyway; I'd really like to see a draft written up about proposed law changes, or bills, or whatever the fu.. err.. the people in power require in order to take our request seriously. Entheogenic Liberation! I really want to see this happen. I'm not even in America (though I might as well be, what with Australia in the president's pocket) but any kind of success over there will be felt throughout the whole world. We of the Nexus are in a pretty good place to spear head the movement, I honestly believe.

What about a pr campaign? Does anyone remember that movie / video where a heap of celebrities talk about truth and wisdom in front of a white screen? It would be awesome if there were a similar thing except with writers / scientists / professors / other people that society generally takes seriously giving like a minute or two of support to the cause. Basically every argument and counter counter argument could be covered by these people. Pretty much anyone currently involved in the psychonatic movement (Is it still alive? All info and books I've found are from the nineties) and even just the fringe creatives of society, steam punk writers, punk musicians, I'm sure a -lot- of important / marginally famous people would be happy to support the movement if they were told all they had to do was speak in front of the camera. Nick Palihnuik? (Now I'm just dreaming because I love the guy and would do anything to meet him). Even if we could just contribute to getting the research laws changed, or the public opinion about the research laws changed.

Hell that's just one idea, what else are we doing? (as in, I'm inviting you to please fill ignorance hole)

What about a few users here on the Nexus make youtube accounts and stick spoken poetry / essays online every now and then? Talk about freedom of consciousness amongst a whole host of other things like the bad rap that spirituality has, I'm sure there are tonnes of things. I'm planning to (I have plenty of experience with acting and public speaking etc) once I get a camera and it would be cool if we had our own network of youtubers who could connect and discuss online about things like drug laws, freedom or anything related to the cause (I'm sure there are many many more topics!). If the posts on these pages are any indication of the general level of intelligence possessed by the DMT-Nexus I think we could get some pretty entertaining intellectual material bouncing around the digital world, you know, online. Hell, even reviews of books would be cool, The Essential Psychedelic Reading List, a weekly thing about one important psychonatic book or something like that, we could have a whole bunch of people add their reply videos and just basically have some of the discussions we have here, except on a much more public access base (obviosly non incriminating discussions, just thoughts and opinions about important issues and interesting topics). What do you think guys?

Please, where you can; add; correct; inform!

Help me make this soup taste a little better than it currently does, lol.

I like your idea about the youtube channel. I wouldn't be disinclined to post vids/audios in general, though I have to admit I would need some serious brainstorming to get a coherent program set up. And as I#ve said elsewhere, I think a significant amount of thought needs to go into these things in order to convey the right kind of message. The last thing we want is it to backfire and look like a bunch of hippie drug users are posting some nonsense... but yeah, in general I'd be in. I'll let the idea sink in a bit and see if I can come up with some more discrete ideas for potential educational and open-discussion-promoting youtube output.

I'd definitely post discussion vids (assuming ye olde webcam works o.O)

Every time I ingest an entheogen I wonder at the injustice of their usual illegality, and would love to see more of a revival of the CEL... it needs more continuing input, and for better or for worse needs some financial input. I'd love to see it coalesce into a full organization. Even though there is a website (http://www.cel-hub.com/) it hasn't been updated in a looong time.

Ideally, we should be able to do a lot of this in an environment where our real-life identities need not remain a secret. I would love to start a newsletter of some sort, really start to bring things together as far as establishing a more concrete membership.

Perhaps some part of this discussion could continue on exoticearthexchange.com? It's a Nexus-inspired ethnobotanical trading site where one need not remain anonymous.