Introductions are in order... so here I go!

Hi All! Astartiel here. I've been a "lurker" at ATS for several years but never created an account until recently.

Part of the reason I never did was because I was in a place of denying myself the study of things that truly interest me for fear of seeming weirder than I already usually do. And part was fear of committing to another forum. I have only ever been a regular at one other forum & I realize joining a community like this is something of a commitment that I wasn't ready for.

But recently I've realized it's silly to not study & investigate all subjects I'm interested in, no matter how weird the rest of the world thinks they are. Most of the people who know me IRL already know how weird & out-there I am so why deny it? Might as well be proud of my weirdness!

So, I'm joining ATS & I'm proud of it! ;-)

So, who am I? Well, I'm a 42-year-old (yes, I'm the answer to Life, The Universe & Everything now! At least till my next bday!) single mother who has been into alternative subjects most of my life. I'm very much an anti-authority, INFP-type of person who has had a hard time finding my place in this world.

I don't believe in any religion although I study them all quite a bit, more for historical relevance & to understand humanity than any other reason. Also it's nice to be able to use religious stories when someone who is religious tries to proselytize me. I'd like to believe in some spiritual things but I've yet to find any proof of the spiritual beyond very limited experiential anecdotes.

I also don't strictly believe in aliens or UFOs but I've been seriously interested in the subject since I was about 11 or so. I've also had some personal questions in this area but with no proof besides more anecdotes from family or myself, all it does is raise more questions. I'm kind of like the X-Files poster, "I Want To Believe" but I really can't.

I guess that goes for most things in life. I want to believe in so many things. Life might be so much easier for me if I could just blindly believe in things the rest of the world believes in and forget about everything else but I can't. So instead I'm the one always questioning, always delving deeper, always asking the hard questions there are no real good answers to.

Hope that gives you more of an idea about me. And if you want to know more, just search online for Astartiel. That's all me out there. And I've gone by Astartae as well but there are other people that use that name, so not all Astartae's online are me.

Looking forward to posting & hope I'm not lambasted too hard for some of the odd things I might post... But if I can't post such weirdness here on ATS of all places, where else could I post them?

originally posted by: Astartiel
Hi All! Astartiel here. I've been a "lurker" at ATS for several years but never created an account until recently.

Part of the reason I never did was because I was in a place of denying myself the study of things that truly interest me for fear of seeming weirder than I already usually do. And part was fear of committing to another forum. I have only ever been a regular at one other forum & I realize joining a community like this is something of a commitment that I wasn't ready for.

But recently I've realized it's silly to not study & investigate all subjects I'm interested in, no matter how weird the rest of the world thinks they are. Most of the people who know me IRL already know how weird & out-there I am so why deny it? Might as well be proud of my weirdness!

So, I'm joining ATS & I'm proud of it! ;-)

So, who am I? Well, I'm a 42-year-old (yes, I'm the answer to Life, The Universe & Everything now! At least till my next bday!) single mother who has been into alternative subjects most of my life. I'm very much an anti-authority, INFP-type of person who has had a hard time finding my place in this world.

I don't believe in any religion although I study them all quite a bit, more for historical relevance & to understand humanity than any other reason. Also it's nice to be able to use religious stories when someone who is religious tries to proselytize me. I'd like to believe in some spiritual things but I've yet to find any proof of the spiritual beyond very limited experiential anecdotes.

I also don't strictly believe in aliens or UFOs but I've been seriously interested in the subject since I was about 11 or so. I've also had some personal questions in this area but with no proof besides more anecdotes from family or myself, all it does is raise more questions. I'm kind of like the X-Files poster, "I Want To Believe" but I really can't.

I guess that goes for most things in life. I want to believe in so many things. Life might be so much easier for me if I could just blindly believe in things the rest of the world believes in and forget about everything else but I can't. So instead I'm the one always questioning, always delving deeper, always asking the hard questions there are no real good answers to.

Hope that gives you more of an idea about me. And if you want to know more, just search online for Astartiel. That's all me out there. And I've gone by Astartae as well but there are other people that use that name, so not all Astartae's online are me.

Looking forward to posting & hope I'm not lambasted too hard for some of the odd things I might post... But if I can't post such weirdness here on ATS of all places, where else could I post them?

Welcome!

a reply to: Astartiel

Great photo on Deviantart! (at least I'm guessing that's you) I'm sure you'll have some fun here and meet some interesting people! Take it easy, and hope to see you posting like crazy!

Hi... Hope you enjoy your time here.

Thanks for the welcomes! What are flags & why am I getting them on this post?

originally posted by: seattlerat
a reply to: Astartiel

Great photo on Deviantart! (at least I'm guessing that's you) I'm sure you'll have some fun here and meet some interesting people! Take it easy, and hope to see you posting like crazy!

I'm both Astartiel & Astartae on Deviantart but I haven't been there for awhile. What photo? I know I posted several online.

Welcome Astartiel!

You will find that this place can be highly addictive . Keep thinking outside the box and it will open up all kinds of possibilities for you. Enjoy!

To flag a post is to acknowledge the OP ( original post or poster ) it generally means you liked their post and are recommending it to other members. Stars which are not used in intro OP's like this one, are used in the same way for individual posts within a thread....

a reply to: Astartiel

Welcome! It may be a little weird to explore fringe topics, but to avoid researching things which interest you and you enjoy, would be truly bizarre.

Hello and welcome!

Well, I'm a 42-year-old (yes, I'm the answer to Life, The Universe & Everything now!

Just for knowing the answer to everything - Welcome

a reply to: Astartiel

Will you please take me into the starship with you, thanks.

originally posted by: Gothmog

Well, I'm a 42-year-old (yes, I'm the answer to Life, The Universe & Everything now!

Just for knowing the answer to everything - Welcome

Haha, thanks! Glad to be a part of this place finally!

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: Astartiel

Will you please take me into the starship with you, thanks.

Great assumption based on my username, Astartiel, since Astarte was a Phoenician/Sumerian/Anunnaki goddess, lol.

a reply to: Astartiel

Welcome and Congratulations. I too was a lurker, like you, and just recently jumped in and joined. I have been having fun, some real good discussions. A lot of your interests seem the same as mine, but there are really so many forums.

Have fun, hope to see you around the rooms. Peace!!

a reply to: Astartiel

Welcome to ATS Astartiel

a reply to: Astartiel

welcome to the club hope you expand your mind

Welcome to ATS :-)

a reply to: Astartiel

Cool intro! I relate to basically everything you've said except I'm apparently an ISFP. Some of my favorite people in the world are INFP's though. Glad you're here.