Overview

The Platform chat community is a group of people with a shared interest in the principles and practices of Eros as they relate to our lives and relationships. The central practice of Eros is Orgasmic Meditation (OM). You can find out more about OM at the Institute of OM website. You do not need to be an OM practitioner to participate in this community, but because the philosophy of Eros is rooted in the practice of OM it is instructive. You can find out more about the Principles of Eros on our About page. These principles underpin this platform, from the classes, to content and to all posts, comments and discussion groups (the “chatboard” or “chatboards”), so take some time to familiarize yourself with them. OM is a co-created experience. Similarly, the movement or community around OM has always been co-created. This chatboard is intended to facilitate co-creation. And to provide a framework for contribution and creation. Similar chatboards and shared spaces for communication have been essential to the growth of the practice since its inception, and taking advantage of the internet, and many have learned so much from the experience of their peers. OM itself is a feedback loop, and this chatboard is a digital extension of the feedback loop that occurs in OM. The principles below are there to ensure that there is opt in to shared principles. If you find you are not on board with these, there are other spaces for discussion. We can’t wait to create with you.

What you should know of our operating principles before you decide to join (and when you decide to continue):

The chatboard will be conducted in accordance with the following principles. If you are not acting in accordance with these principles, you may be removed from the chatboard (see the ‘Implementation’ section below).

Intent

• We are here to cultivate our personal and shared experiential understanding of what Eros is in such a way that it will create a ripple of change outward into the culture and societies in which we live. By joining this forum you are agreeing to do what is necessary to generously support each other in that effort.

Personal responsibility

• In this community anyone who wants to participate must first agree to act and be treated like an adult. This means, you take responsibility for yourself, you feel comfortable saying yes and saying no, and you can disagree with others respectfully.

Individual Responsibility for our Collective Experience

• The animating idea was and is for the whole, the collective, the sangha, to create a world together on shared aims. Each person has an impact. Everyone can shape this community for the better or for the worse. There is a tendency in all systems to put the responsibility on a few, since it is easy to judge from the sidelines. If you say “I want community” you cannot then blame those who are willing to carry the weight of it. In this community you will have to hold your share of the responsibility if you want to benefit from being in an adult environment. If you have suggestions, wonderful! How do you want to implement them? Hard questions are welcomed, as long as they are of yourself.
• Speak of your own experience in specifics and not those of others in generalities
• This chatboard is a venue for exploring your personal experiences. When sharing something, be specific to yourself - no generalities. We can all grow and adjust when there is something specific to respond to.
• When referring to a situation, do not refer to people or entities as fixed or unchanging. For example, don’t say “people got hurt.” Instead ask yourself, what did you do, or not do, that led to the outcome that you are seeking to share or discuss.
• Examples: “I had this experience,” “This is where I am responsible and what I could have done differently,” “This is what I request,” and “This is a potential solution”.

Agreements

• We know from experience, it is one thing to say you agree, and another thing to live by that agreement. The Platform will regularly prompt you to reflect on whether you still feel willing and able to take responsibility for your own experience. Feel free to leave at any time if this sounds like too much to you.

Rules

Rule 1

You are responsible for your experience, your problems, your upset, your solutions. No one else is.

Rule 2

We are here to support each other in our shared endeavor. There is no “them”.

Rule 3

Speak in specifics regarding your personal experiences. Do not share other people’s complaints, do not use epithets of any kind.

Rule 4

Real names and real contributors only.

Rule 5

Respect the privacy of community members. All information shared in the forum is confidential by default. Seek permission from the author before sharing their contributions across chats or outside of the forum.

Implementation

If you are not following these Platform rules, a chatboard moderator may:

• Remove your posts or content.
• Ask you politely to abide by the community guidelines and rules.
• Asking you less politely.
• Temporarily or permanently suspend your access to the chatboard.

Ownership

You retain ownership of the intellectual property rights in any such content that you create and share on the chatboard. Nothing in these Rules takes away the rights you have to your own content. You are free to share what you write with anyone else, wherever you want.

To provide this chatboard we need you to give us some legal permissions (known as a "License") to use this content. This is just so we can provide the chatboard.

Specifically, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, and create derivative works of your content. This means, for example, that if you write something, you give us permission to store, copy and share it with others on the chatboard.