Since Patton is involved in the Community Beliefnet, the social networking side of Beliefnet, I asked him to recommend some groups to Beyond Blue readers, in addition, of course, to Group Beyond Blue, which is jamming, by the way, with tons of discussion threads. Very exciting!

To get to Group Beyond Blue, click here.
Here are some other groups to consider:

Art, Healing, and Transformation
This group is about using art as a means to healing and transformation on both the individual and global levels. Please share your art and your stories, thoughts, and feelings. How has art — in the broadest sense of the term — influenced your life, either as creator or consumer?

Translating God’s Word
This group will be a discussion of the Bible translation process, types of translation, the interlinear, textual criticism, hermeneutics, inductive Bible study, and any field or area that affects the Bible translation process. Do not let the title frighten you; it does deal primarily with the importance of God’s Word by way of the value of a Good translation. But we will deal with such important questions as these: What do you look for in a Bible translation? Should it be literal? Are there bad translations? Can we trust the Bibles that we have? How do we know that what we have is, in fact God’s Word? Who has really been the Bible’s false friend? How did God’s Word come down to us? I hope this to be an academic group containing students of the Bible at all levels of understanding and appreciation.

God-o-Meter Politics
Did Mitt Romney’s “Mormon speech” change minds? Is Barack Obama adopting George W. Bush’s church-based organizing tactics? Will evangelicals sit the election out if Rudy Giuliani is the Republican nominee–or does Hillary Clinton’s standing ovation at Saddleback mean she’ll win more evangelicals than James Dobson would care to admit? God-o-Meter Politics is the place for discussion and debate about the role religion is playing in the 2008 presidential race, moderated by Beliefnet Politics Editor and God-o-Meter blogger Dan Gilgoff.

Living with Chronic Back Pain
This is where we can come together & help each other, learn from each other & discover what may work for relieving our pain. If nothing else we will complain about it & be there with suggestions & support.

Living with Chronic Back pain is a group where those of us that suffer back pain everyday can come together to help each other cope with this & a place where we may learn new ways of dealing with it.
Patton told me that one of the discussion threads is about depression.

The Soulmate Project
Finding true, soulful love is not a destination, its a journey. A real and lasting relationship with a spiritual soul mate requires inner work and outer preparation. It calls us to GET READY for love. Let’s explore a multi-faceted spiritual approach for inviting true love into your life! We will: * Share our love stories * Find out how to release energetic blocks * Focus on self love and embracing ourselves * Learn ceremonial tips for calling to Love * Pray for love together