For the last year or so, my trancing has been largely limited to my own files. Some rather strange and intense things have happened as a result of this trancing. I've found out some useful stuff and had some fairly dramatic moments, both good and bad. Stuff that is worth a journal entry, in my opinion. However, I haven't really written about what I've done because I was aware that I would be commenting on my own work. I don't bullshit and, by my own standards, I don't do half measures and in a world which increasingly has more bullshit than anything else I'd like to think that I stand out. So if I said that my own files worked better than I had hoped and proceed to go on about it, I would run a serious risk of looking like another Nth rate bullshit artist. Better just to let the files speak for themselves.

Perhaps I was right. Perhaps that's vanity. That's not really what this journal entry is about as such. But it struck me some weeks back how is easy it is for us to get touchy and competitive over this stuff and how stupid that is. Like most people, I like to hear that people have enjoyed my work. Like most people, I find it hard to take criticism. But both praise and criticism are necessary if we are to learn. I have occasionally wondered what actually makes a "good" file, considering that we all have different priorities, tastes and desires. The closest I got was: A good file is one that is (and does) exactly what it says in the description. But if that is the case, it's not really a question of "good" or "bad" at all is it?

To put it another way, for now, the year 2009 and onwards...

We didn't invent this stuff, any more than artists invented sight. We didn't even discover it, that was long ago. All we can do now is appreciate it and learn about it. Hell, this is one pretty fine gift we've got! It seems a shame to nit-pick about how we learn, how we appreciate.

So hard work and achievement should be respected? Agreed - lets all raise a glass of something to EMG, who has done as much for this awesome little corner of the web (and DIY hypnofetishism) as the rest of us put together. Cheers! Then lets forget the "nickle and dime" crap and get on with appreciating and learning. Suppose we were to do away with the number rating system, and let the comments speak for themselves. Respond to words with words. Say what we can appreciate, what we can learn from. What would happen then?

Just an idea. For myself, I have no complaint. The feedback I have had has for the most part been 5/5 - excellent quality feedback. A big thankyou to those who have contacted me. As for my own experiences, if I ever do post anything it will be the truth - as accurately as I can remember it. That's just for the record...