Well, their first purpose is to allow spontaneity to arise and enjoy it through simple unplanned conversation.  The most usual response from people that have participated in one is that it is very enjoyable, informative and lots of fun. Also, I share the YouTube recordings of them with the world; it is a way to introduce people by showing them how Prosperos people act when in conversation.

But we’re still in the development stages, learning to relax into them, learning to be familiar and comfortable with the Zoom technology, and learning to set ourselves up so that we can feel comfortable having our video camera on.

New people especially enjoy them because they get to really see who we are and how we behave when we’re in spontaneous conversation with each other, before explicitly explaining who we are through text, Sunday meetings, special events, and classes.

In the resulting YouTube recordings of the conversations, those who view it, new or old, really enjoy seeing each person present in the live video.  The problem with keeping your camera off is that viewers will hear your voice but not see you when you speak, thereby giving the impression that your voice is coming from a disembodied spirit in another dimension.

As far as feeling comfortable having your camera on during the meeting, where everyone else in the meeting can see you, some like to do so and some prefer not to be seen.  But the key here is simply to prepare yourself to go public.

In order for me to feel comfortable having my camera on, I have to wash up and dress up and be presentable for the camera. Also in my case, I have to clean up the part of my apartment that will be shown as behind me. Another important thing is the lighting, which is very important for video. The main light cannot be behind you or it makes your face look dark. The light needs to come from in front of you, or from each side, or both. Also, you don’t want extreme light on you, like sunshine, because in that case, the strong light makes most of your face look flat white with no features. You can test this out by simply starting your own Zoom meeting with video on and see how it looks, and modify your lighting until it looks good.

Why pay attention to all this?  Because, the resultant videos will be going out to the full distribution list, posted on the Bathtub Bulletin, posted to 19,878 people on Facebook, and next time it will also be posted on The Prosperos’ website. Also, everyone is encouraged to share them with friends and on your own Facebook timeline or other social media.

They’re always on Saturday, once a month, the third or fourth Saturday of the month (depending on what else may be going on on those dates), and always at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.

The next one will be on April 27th through the Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/184330520

I usually send out three or more reminders before each event.

Please consider attending one of them.

Much Love,

Ben