...and “I hear a high-pitched ringing in my head. “These are the voices of hundreds of users of LightRay.ru, a site that collates knowledges about spirituality, consciousness and meditation.  It also has several entries on new age knowledges such as the Indigo children who are said to emit indigo auras and are here to save the earth, as well as kryon the angelic figure who has been with the earth ‘from before the time of god.’  The internet’s role in self-help has not been extensively researched although self-help sites are potent for understanding constructions of identity. Runet has hundreds of sites for people wanting horoscopic help and wanting to understand their bodies or their ailments. In seeking solutions to problems or answers, and by hearing other people’s experiences, people covet validation of stories of self. On LightRay.ru, in one forum titled ‘about my experience,’ the person who initiates the discussion thread reveals she saw a bright light in her room. Her worries about losing that capacity prompts other users to reassure her by suggesting ways in which she can hone her ‘seeing’ powers.People’s stories of themselves may be also challenged or they may be offered alternative interpretations. My interest is piqued by a man who claims that fellow human beings inspire nothing in him …not love, not empathy, but neither do they evoke hatred or envy. ‘Miss Love,’ which ironically is his username, feels completely detached. He opens the thread for discussion but also ends his post by saying, ‘nothing you say will change my mind, but you can try.” And people do try - both to change his mind but also to empathize and suggest why he might feel complete alienation from humanity. It seems to me that self-help and self-development sites such as these are not just about the quest for information but also for the reassurance that a person is not alone, even when he/she sees flying silhouettes and believes “it isn’t just people who walk the streets of Moscow.” At another level, they  indicate the importance of narrativization for the process of self-help. By sharing with others their very personal stories they are able to locate individual experiences within a wider narrative.In one forum for self-proclaimed indigo children, one person has a spooky post. He describes strange dreams, apparitions near his bed, flying silhouettes and the sensation that someone is tugging at his hair. While many try to diagnose his problem and try to decipher these visions, one cryptic post says: I know what’s wrong with you but I can’t tell you publicly because that could prove dangerous for the newly initiated.’Now I’m intrigued. S.R