Moderating Shakti Sadhana: A Critique -Nora & DB

[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SIVAYA

 

I send positive vibes and thanks to both of you. I have benefited

greatly from both of your words and wisdoms here, and while i have not always

agreed with everything you have written but i can appreciate your perspective

and authenticity.

 

And DB, while you may view things as a zero sum game you really have no way of

knowing. You may never hear from the people you benefited. as they themselves

may not even know they have benefited from a seed that was planted in their

Consciousness. A seed that may have in some small way changed their

perspective. A small change that will have exponentially greater effects going

forward, like a snowball rolling downhill.

 

I think in reality to spend energy trying to evaluate or judge the results of

your interactions here is to contemplate the fruits of your actions, which are

the Grace of The Mother and out of our control. We should only contemplate our

intentions. All we can do is act out of Pure Intention the rest is up to Her. So

in a sense it's not, " all we can do is do " but rather all we can do is Be, cause

rest is She.

 

So on behalf of all the Shakti travelers you may never hear from, thanks.

 

JAI MA

 

, " Devi Bhakta " <devi_bhakta

wrote:

>

> Hi Nora:

>

> Thanks for your message. Looks like, in a departure from the usual

> tag-team approach to moderation we've used over the years, both of

> us are leaving the ring at the same time.

>

> *** I have said many times, I am not as eloquent as DB. He can

> express himselves very beautifully but not me. ***

>

> Thank you for the compliment, but even if it is true it means

> nothing. You need not go back very far through the archives to find

> definitive proof that " eloquence " will get you absolutely nowhere.

>

> *** I express myself through my action. Its very difficult to

> express your actions. ***

>

> Action is all there is, at the end of the day. What you actually are

> and what you actually do. Not what others see or compliment you

> upon. Just what you do, between you and yourself. Attempts to

> express action seem too often to degenerate into the usual " lingam

> polishing " we joke about. All one can do is do. ;-)

>

> *** If you want to see me I am here. I am not a hypocrite,

> pretending to be nice infront of you but in private calling you

> names. I do not go around sending hate mails just because you all

> say all these stuff to me. I am reading them all and I thank you for

> your comment, but this is who I am. ***

>

> That is our greatest strength in this group, I think, and perhaps

> our greatest weakness too, which is fine: None of us are

> particularly mysterious or inapproachable people. We've all chatted

> with other members on the phone, and met them in person. Over the

> years, we've gotten each other thru births, deaths, marriages,

> professional crises, spiritual crises, you name it. We know one

> anothers' kids, parents, lives.

>

> We do not pretend -- as I've said on many occasions -- to be gurus,

> saints or even " experts " on this topic. We are, through this group,

> facilitators -- no more, no less. Maybe we are not good. Maybe we

> are bad. Maybe we are total f***-ups, as some have suggested --

> sure, it's a distinct possibility. But our hearts are in the right

> place.

>

> *** If you feel that I am not fit to be a moderator of this group or

> in shakti sadhana, then send a petition and get me removed. Its okay

> with me. Gosh! DO that! Otherwise as long as I am here { DEVI's

> wishes], I shall speak when I have the urge to and feel the need. ***

>

> Well said. Ditto.

>

> *** Its either you accept me as I am just as I have accept all of

> you as you are. I never make any demands on any one of you. ***

>

> Also true.

>

> *** Devi Bhakta send me an off line message laughing. I was puzzle

> why he laugh. Am I not correct DB? Why didnt you tell them so? ***

>

> I did. See my reply to Max.

>

> *** [member COMMENT:] " The Group also does not seem to be very

> focused. The moderators and the members could agree on a common

> agenda and all other unnecessary mails could be kept out. " <== I see

> a lot likes to give comment but no solution. You comment [on] focus,

> then for goodness' sake take action. Do something about it. Be more

> active instead of remain silent. You just know how to take and take

> but dont know how to return back. Somebody chatted me on the IM

> saying our group is not focus. NO serious discussion taking place. I

> said okay, why dont you start it then and others will join in. No he

> didnt and went into silence. ***

>

> That's the bottom line. The other side of it is when people want a

> platform for their manifestos and pronouncements, and take offense

> or resort to low blows when there is any debate. People also mistake

> diplomacy and attempts at civility as a show of weakness or wooly-

> mindedness. It is not. It is the way we keep a dialogue moving

> forward.

>

> *** Im pissed off that is all. And now I go in silence mode and

> concentrate on the group homepage. ***

>

> Yes, indeed. The people have chosen.

>

> I spent a lot of time on SS matters last week for the first time in

> a long time, and it was a zero-sum game. The same old hostile

> newbies, the same old boring nuts on the back channels until I

> blocked them for the twentieth ID at least. It felt like a waste --

> like getting sucked way into a video game -- at the end of it all

> you have nothing to show for it but lost hours.

>

> So you've got to look at priorities. I have a family. I have a job.

> I have a stack of pending freelance projects and a major manuscript

> to finish for Guruji. So, other than occasional brief responses and

> news posts, I too will spend my energy on more productive and useful

> matters for now.

>

> I am proud of you, Nora. We have accomplished a lot. We spent many

> years building this place and now -- seven years on! -- it is

> ancient by Web standards. It has huge content that has helped and

> will continue to help many people. So let new people take it forward

> for a while; you and I have, for now at least, fallen out of step

> with what people want. It would be selfish to cling to all of this

> out of egotism. And the doors remain open: We will always come back

> when and as needed. We are in this for the long haul. ;-)

>

> DB

>