Conference moira::naturism

    SJP:
    
    You don't give yourself enough credit!  What you can spot in others
    is most definately inside of you as well.  You know that old expression
    "it takes one to know one"???  Well, I think it applies to you.
    
    - K
    

	.0 finally inspired me.  I, too, have really enjoyed this 
discussions in this conference.  Originally, it was suggested I look 
here for a beach (not even a C/O beach) recommendation prior to my 
vacation.  What I found was some beautiful people with some very healthy 
and refreshing thought patterns, but without all the hangups I am
familiar with. 

	No, I am not a naturalist, although I have visited every beach 
on St. Maarten, including a walk through Club Orient.  It didn't seem 
unusual to me one way or the other to be there.  I guess my mother 
raised me right or, at least, without certain hangups.  My wife, 
however, was horrified when she faced a mass exodus from the club to the
snack bar by the parking lot.  Obviously, her mother did a good job
passing on lots of hangups.  Personally, participating among people I
did not know would probably not be an unnatural feeling.  Honestly
though, I don't think I would be up to being with people I do know and
see regularly.  Hence, I found your pointers on "getting started" very
understanding and appropriate. 

	My baseline for hangups comes from several years among church 
people who believe that it is terribly sinful for a woman to have a 
hemline above the ankles.  I've even been "talked to" about inviting 
close friends to swim in my pool, because the men would see each other's 
wives in one-piece, full-length bathing suits.  Yes, such people do 
exist and, worse yet, believe their thinking is the only acceptable 
thinking.  Tragic!  It's a shame that such baggage, bondage and hangups 
are actively promoted.  Fortunately, I have since found a more normal 
set of people to associate with, not to mention a pastor who spent years 
doing beach evangelism on the French beaches.

	What I found in this conference is a set of people with a wide 
range of healthy thought patterns and that is most refreshing.  Some of 
you can totally separate nudity from sexuality and that is commendable.
Some of you have beautifully integrated your sexuality with your
personhood in a most healthy manner.  Most of all, you have a set of
values that are every bit as good as those that the hungup people have
or think they have. Your sensitivity to and understanding of human
nature, your discussions of what's proper and what isn't, your help in
"getting started" and now your support of Judy are clear examples of
this.  (My wife was recently spared that fate, after many months of
intense concern.  She was very surprised to hear that the topic of
breast cancer and surgery could be openly and unashamedly discussed.
She was more surprised when I articulated my admiration for the DEC 
naturalists and the possibility of entering this reply.) 

	I know I won't see any of you at Moonstone or the Ledges, but I
do know I have been observing (figuratively) some beautiful people in
this conference.  Most of all, I've been observing some people who are
incredibly honest with themselves. 

Regards, doug

    just a nit...
    
    A "naturalist" is not the same thing as a "naturist", though both
    terms could be used to describe the same person.
    
    :-)
    
    B.
    

    Re: .0
    
    You may be closer to trying it than you think.  The air of
    self-confidence that you see is not, in general, from first time
    naturists.  Many of us, myself included, were quite nervous about the
    frist (and second...) trip to a C/O beach or nudist club.  It feels
    good to undress and enjoy the sun, etc. but, at least for me, it didn't
    feel "natural" for several visits.  After a while you get less self
    concious, and eventually, you will find yourself in a situation where
    you have to wear a bathing suit and you will honestly feel strange
    about it.
    
    ANyway, keep reading, take your time, and when you think you want to
    give it a try, go for it.  It won't be the end of the world, people
    won't stare, and you will probably end up enjoying yourself.  I've been
    at it now for 4 or 5 years, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
    
    					Fran
    

    I think Nietzsche would say that as a group, Naturists are free of
    morality. While I don't agree with everything Nietzsche had to say
    ( nor am I prone to agree with everything anyone has to say ), this
    strikes a particular consonent chord. He saw two moralities, master and
    slave morality. In the first, man despises that which is perceived as
    inferior, in the second, what is perceived as superior. In the end,
    morality is unnecessary because we are our own worst critics. We can
    accept others because we accept ourselves. Whatever you decide you want
    to do, let it come from you.
    
    						John.

Most people I have talked to about becoming a naturist found it easiest to go
to a well populated naturist beach, either alone or with a friend.  That way
they preserved their anonymity,  but they felt more comfortable once they
conformed to the naturist way.  They also found it easier at the start of the
summer, before they had aquired a partial tan. 

Once there they realised that there were other people fatter, thinner, taller,
shorter, bigger, smaller, browner, whiter, more bold, more shy, more...., 
less..., etc. etc..  The realisation that no one else was making those kind of
comparisons, and that it didn't matter any way, came later. 

To go on a journey it is necessary to take the first step.

    re .7:
    
    Yes, naturists tend to be very understanding, much more so of the
    situation than the friends you might bring along. Getting started
    without having a bad trip is important, and it is probably easier with
    either people you know very well or people you don't know at all.
    
    							John.