As part of the conference we went out and met congress people, again an interesting experiment in trying to enact participatory democracy. Well, we were able to get in, and we were politely listened too. Whether we had any effect? Only time will tell.

The conference was inspiring, however itwasn't as dynamic as the first one - the first one had the feeling of something brand new.  Andrew Harvey was dynamic and outrageous, as always. He agreed to do an interview, and said to me, "Velcrow, please don't make Fierce Lite. Promise me this Velcrow - keep it edgy. Keep it edgy!"

I saw Carter, my "What Is Enlightenment?" Friend. He warned me that his speech was going to be controversial, and I said, "well go for it - always good to shake things up." And then he surprised me by standing up and saying that non-violence was an unrealistic position. If we were truly non-violent, then the police force wouldn't work, and there'd be chaos, for example. Made me think a lot about the questions of violence versus non-violence.

There were break-away groups, and I joined the one on ‘spiritual but not religious.' Members of my group felt marginalized and underrepresented and a small revolution was formed. The NSP does, in general, lean towards religion much more than spirituality, which is a limitation, in my own spiritual but not religious point of view.