Hello fellow travelers,

I have been a member (restricted) of the nexus for some time. I have gratefully taken advice, guidelines, and useful info from those more experienced than myself. I haven't introduced myself partly due to procrastination, and partly because I wasn't sure I had anything to offer.

For the past few months I have gained a considerable amount of experience, in several departments. I have a lot to learn of course, as we all do and always will. That being said, I now feel as though I would be a valuable member with helpful advice, guidelines, and info of my own to share.

I've been a psychonaut, enthusiast, and student of psychedelics for years. In my adolescence and early adulthood I struggled with alcoholism and depression, it nearly killed me several times. I am now happy, healthy, and growing every day. I have a successful career as a massage therapist, a practice that grows with me. I credit my change in direction, or recovery, to many different things. However, I cannot think of anything that played a larger part than my first experiences with psychedelics, particularly DMT. The elves have taught me more than I could've ever imagined. They have healed me more than I thought possible. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to them in a shamanic setting, so I have a great deal of respect for the plant, the molecule, the set, and the setting. I am passionate about passing on what was given to me, and hopefully keeping curious people from having bad or diluted experiences because they did not understand the process, the set and the setting.

Anyways, that was much longer than I expected it to be. Sorry! I look forward to meeting you all and contributing to the community.

Sincerely,

-Loops.

Welcome! That was not a long post- You should see the novels some folks write here. A lot of it pretty interesting, too.

Keep on posting, and you'll get your full membership pretty quickly. You sound like you do have a lot to contribute. In the meantime, keep in mind that Open Discussion is the busiest forum here, and a great place to discuss almost any topic. If you want to join a discussion that's in a restricted area, just start a new thread in Open on the subject, and include a link to the thread in question. Please don't be put off by this process; it's how we keep the discussion here at the highest quality possible.

So I have to ask, based on your username: have you read Douglas Hofstatder's "I Am A Strange Loop"?

Hey there - I posted a reply a couple hours ago but it doesn't seem to be showing up...is that just me? can you see it?

Unfortunately I can only see your second reply, not the detailed response... Try again?

Ah well, it was something like this:

Thanks! I'm really not put off by the process at all. I think it's part what separates the nexus from other forums. It protects it from the inevitable spiral of BS and bickering that plagues forums and keeps people who have no idea what they are talking about from obnoxiously expressing their egotistical opinions all over the place. How long does it usually take to get a full membership?

Hofstater: YES! Love when people get the reference I first read about 'strange loops' in Robert Anton Wilson's books, which led me to the joy that is hofstater's work.