I would like to say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who read this post and joined up over at bdsm_lovers2. We had a huge influx of members from my f-list after that post, and it made my heart feel good. :) And if you haven't picked up dailyrumi yet (and you probably haven't), you seriously don't know what you're missing. A daily dose of Rumi can seriously change your world paradigm.

I have several new communities that I'm digging on lately, so I thought I'd spread the word.

Please take a look at mystic_cafe. It's maintained by one of my new friends, manifest_now, who turned out to be even cooler than her username suggested. mystic_cafe is a great place to discuss a myriad of metaphysical topics. Recent topics explore the afterlife, reincarnation, dreams, tarot, forgiveness, light/energy work... Good stuff. Bathe in it.

Also take a look at my favorite icon maker, little_shinies. little_shinies rocks the house. S/he is responsible for the icon I'm using in this post, which is my current favorite. little_shinies recently did a religious icon series and created several lovely Jesus and Dalai Lama icons that I requested. So many different gods and goddesses were represented - I even learned some new ones. Other recent goodies include gryphons, mermaids, faeries, dragons, angels, pulp fiction, food porn...(food_porn is yet another great place). If you join up at little_shinies, tell him/her who sent you. I'm secretly hoping to generate enough noise to be friended in return. (Shameless, I know)

god_and_sex is a really new community, and I'd love to see more members there. As you'd expect, this is a discussion group about religion and sexuality. god_and_sex popped up at an auspicious time in my life, as I was contemplating (and even discussing with a friend) how I would love to integrate my spirituality into my, er, private worship with my Beloved. This community has only a few members so far (4), but it seems to come from a predominantly Christian background. I would so love to see a more diverse mix - I want to hear what the Pagans and Quakers have to say! And Buddhists - Be Heard Now! What do the Sufis think? I know what Rumi would say:

Lovers share a sacred decree –
to seek the Beloved.
They roll head over heels,
rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.
* One Whisper of the Beloved

And one last newbie is viewsfromthetop. This is another BDSM group whose name pretty much speaks for itself. It seems to be a real open and respectful place, well moderated, and I'd love to see this one take off a little more, too.

Thanks for listening! I'm always glad to hear of more good groups, too, so let me know if you have a special gem that I've missed.