I slightly disagree – as somebody who is bedbound, I treat this place as a scrapbook. I read everything I like – but I don’t want to be thinking of sharing it all the time, and having to use other platforms to share on. I use it to escape from a physical world that is difficult and the photos and poetry I share help me to daydream. I think there are different ways to use it, and yours is admirable.
I think you might have misunderstood my intent. My statement is that we CAN, and I may have said we should, however, it is always an individual choice. My “lives” are “auto-magically” pushed out to other platforms whichI like. Now that you have said what you have to say, I can amplify that signal out to the world and, if anyone picks up what we are laying down, we will be less alone.
While I appreciate the last sentence, I don’t think I’m after admiration but I’ll gratefully accept it for what it’s worth. What I really hope is that those who like what I have to say will do what you have done, comment on it…share your perspectives, and from that, we all become a little more aware of how things are.
Sorry I was referring to the fact that some people don’t share/use it as social media. I think that’s true for many, but others just try and escape the noise. But yes, I see your point and agree.
Much appreciated. I’m doing what I can to be a good ancestor as I am acutely aware my aneurysm could end me any minute! Helping each other be heard before and after we’re gone is a big part of the Harrowings mission.
It's interesting for me that you consider yourself a Theosophist, Hal. Many people have never even heard of that spiritual path. I belonged to a group of young Theosophists throughout my formative years (a blessing while growing up in a state-church dominated Lutheran Sweden, where religious freedom was an unknown idea.) Theosophy offered a wide-enough framework for understanding Life and Reality to save me from "suffocating" spiritually. I left the state-church at age 15, when I had started to practice yoga, which I did for many years. After that came a long and winding spiritual path – TM, Tibetan Buddhism, channeling, ACIM and more. ---
I guess I'm one of those who treats Substack as a social media. Well, I don't frequent or use any other social media. I am a tech chimp, not by choice really, but by necessitude. Posting here my poetry and my essays twice a week, without any extra like photos, AI-generated pictures or videos, is just about what I am able to. I am 88 and most people my age stay away from computers completely. ---
Being married to a computer- and technical specialist for 41 years allowed me to stay away from things technical. My hubby died 3 years ago, I was his caregiver for 8 years. When he got dementia I had to totally rethink my stance. As my hubby often messed up computer things royally over the years I had to learn a staggering number of new things and slowly take over. ---
I wrote my first email ever about 6 years ago. The learning curve was steep, hard and scary. I have dealt with complex trauma for my whole life (apart from the last 2 years), so every mistake I did while learning sent a shock reaction through my being (emotional flashbacks). It was exhausting and added to the exhaustion that usually follows a primary caregiver. ---
And it was not only learning how to use the computer itself properly that was new, there were printer, scanner, backup disks to learn about. There was also learning how to navigate the internet, how to do things online (and in my second language). It was like learning a new language (and I am already bi-lingual) ---
But when you are in your 80s, even if your mind is sharp, the capacity you have to take in new things and remember them is NOT the same as it was in your younger days. I am still learning new things daily, although I resist some new things which I could do for example on Substack. I recently learned how to DM, at least how to answer. ---
Next thing could be how to Restack. I guess I just press that Restack button, but I have no idea what happens then (I could ask Substack support, but I'm too darn tech-tired to understand their explanations). What's the point of restacking? How does it improve the reach of an article? ---
You have often invited your readers to respond, react and comment. I hope that this harangue was not more than you bargained for :). With love, Maria
All your questions are easily answered! Just catching the comment so apologies for the lateness of the reply:
I’m honored you shared your story, and I’m so glad Theosophy was that wide, freeing framework for you growing up. Your journey is inspiring, especially the courage it took to learn the computer and internet in your 80s after everything you’d been through. You’re a warrior. ❤️
About Restacking (the little circle-arrow icon you see on posts):
It’s basically Substack’s friendly version of “sharing” or “retweeting.” When you (or anyone) restack one of my posts (or anyone’s):
• It appears in the Notes feed (Substack’s social-style home feed) for your subscribers and followers.
• They see the post (or a highlighted quote from it) with your name attached, and if you add a short comment of your own, they see that too.
• It’s not sent as an email — it just shows up in the social part of Substack where people browse and discover new writers.
How it improves reach:
• It lets your audience introduce my writing to their audience with your personal endorsement. One thoughtful restack from the right person can bring brand-new readers (and sometimes new subscribers) who never would have seen the post otherwise.
• The more restacks a piece gets, the more Substack’s algorithm notices it and shows it to even more people.
• It also creates a little “Restacks” tab under the original post (next to Comments), so anyone reading can see the conversation happening in Notes.
In short: Restacking is the easiest, most powerful way readers help writers reach further — without you having to do any extra work. You don’t have to add a long comment; even just pressing the button and restacking “as is” helps.
If you ever feel like trying it on one of my posts (or anyone’s), just click the circle-arrow icon and choose “Restack as is” or “Restack with a note.” No pressure at all — I’m grateful you’re here either way.
I slightly disagree – as somebody who is bedbound, I treat this place as a scrapbook. I read everything I like – but I don’t want to be thinking of sharing it all the time, and having to use other platforms to share on. I use it to escape from a physical world that is difficult and the photos and poetry I share help me to daydream. I think there are different ways to use it, and yours is admirable.
I think you might have misunderstood my intent. My statement is that we CAN, and I may have said we should, however, it is always an individual choice. My “lives” are “auto-magically” pushed out to other platforms whichI like. Now that you have said what you have to say, I can amplify that signal out to the world and, if anyone picks up what we are laying down, we will be less alone.
While I appreciate the last sentence, I don’t think I’m after admiration but I’ll gratefully accept it for what it’s worth. What I really hope is that those who like what I have to say will do what you have done, comment on it…share your perspectives, and from that, we all become a little more aware of how things are.
Sorry I was referring to the fact that some people don’t share/use it as social media. I think that’s true for many, but others just try and escape the noise. But yes, I see your point and agree.
Much appreciated. I’m doing what I can to be a good ancestor as I am acutely aware my aneurysm could end me any minute! Helping each other be heard before and after we’re gone is a big part of the Harrowings mission.
It's interesting for me that you consider yourself a Theosophist, Hal. Many people have never even heard of that spiritual path. I belonged to a group of young Theosophists throughout my formative years (a blessing while growing up in a state-church dominated Lutheran Sweden, where religious freedom was an unknown idea.) Theosophy offered a wide-enough framework for understanding Life and Reality to save me from "suffocating" spiritually. I left the state-church at age 15, when I had started to practice yoga, which I did for many years. After that came a long and winding spiritual path – TM, Tibetan Buddhism, channeling, ACIM and more. ---
I guess I'm one of those who treats Substack as a social media. Well, I don't frequent or use any other social media. I am a tech chimp, not by choice really, but by necessitude. Posting here my poetry and my essays twice a week, without any extra like photos, AI-generated pictures or videos, is just about what I am able to. I am 88 and most people my age stay away from computers completely. ---
Being married to a computer- and technical specialist for 41 years allowed me to stay away from things technical. My hubby died 3 years ago, I was his caregiver for 8 years. When he got dementia I had to totally rethink my stance. As my hubby often messed up computer things royally over the years I had to learn a staggering number of new things and slowly take over. ---
I wrote my first email ever about 6 years ago. The learning curve was steep, hard and scary. I have dealt with complex trauma for my whole life (apart from the last 2 years), so every mistake I did while learning sent a shock reaction through my being (emotional flashbacks). It was exhausting and added to the exhaustion that usually follows a primary caregiver. ---
And it was not only learning how to use the computer itself properly that was new, there were printer, scanner, backup disks to learn about. There was also learning how to navigate the internet, how to do things online (and in my second language). It was like learning a new language (and I am already bi-lingual) ---
But when you are in your 80s, even if your mind is sharp, the capacity you have to take in new things and remember them is NOT the same as it was in your younger days. I am still learning new things daily, although I resist some new things which I could do for example on Substack. I recently learned how to DM, at least how to answer. ---
Next thing could be how to Restack. I guess I just press that Restack button, but I have no idea what happens then (I could ask Substack support, but I'm too darn tech-tired to understand their explanations). What's the point of restacking? How does it improve the reach of an article? ---
You have often invited your readers to respond, react and comment. I hope that this harangue was not more than you bargained for :). With love, Maria
All your questions are easily answered! Just catching the comment so apologies for the lateness of the reply:
I’m honored you shared your story, and I’m so glad Theosophy was that wide, freeing framework for you growing up. Your journey is inspiring, especially the courage it took to learn the computer and internet in your 80s after everything you’d been through. You’re a warrior. ❤️
About Restacking (the little circle-arrow icon you see on posts):
It’s basically Substack’s friendly version of “sharing” or “retweeting.” When you (or anyone) restack one of my posts (or anyone’s):
• It appears in the Notes feed (Substack’s social-style home feed) for your subscribers and followers.
• They see the post (or a highlighted quote from it) with your name attached, and if you add a short comment of your own, they see that too.
• It’s not sent as an email — it just shows up in the social part of Substack where people browse and discover new writers.
How it improves reach:
• It lets your audience introduce my writing to their audience with your personal endorsement. One thoughtful restack from the right person can bring brand-new readers (and sometimes new subscribers) who never would have seen the post otherwise.
• The more restacks a piece gets, the more Substack’s algorithm notices it and shows it to even more people.
• It also creates a little “Restacks” tab under the original post (next to Comments), so anyone reading can see the conversation happening in Notes.
In short: Restacking is the easiest, most powerful way readers help writers reach further — without you having to do any extra work. You don’t have to add a long comment; even just pressing the button and restacking “as is” helps.
If you ever feel like trying it on one of my posts (or anyone’s), just click the circle-arrow icon and choose “Restack as is” or “Restack with a note.” No pressure at all — I’m grateful you’re here either way.
With love and gratitude right back,
Hal
Thank you so much for answering my questions. I have copied and made a printout of your reply. I will do my best to follow your instructions.
It’s definitely not just you!
BTW, I got that done by quickly pasting your comment into my favorite chat bot. I did a little editing.
Somehow this meme hit home…