I am posting this to big up http://www.meetup.com and encourage you to check it out for yourselves.
I first found Meetup about 3 years ago. I was looking for info on raw foods and google found a Meetup in my area. Well, if that is on meetup...I searched for Reiki as I had been attuned 2 levels, and wasn't getting exposure to more of it. Yup, I found a monthly Reiki Share, and that was the first meetup I went to.
A few months later a new meetup caught my interest and I went to the first meeting. (meetup lets you know what is going on in your area) Right after that first meetup the Organizer had a big life change and had to abandon the group. I adopted it, and we began to meet at my place of business.
My circle of friends at home, are now folks that I met through these Meetup groups. We help each other personally, in business, spiritually, lots and lots of cross-pollination of ideas and dreams and goals and information.
I had empty office and warehouse space at my business and kept thinking 'something should go on here'. When another person I knew started up a Reiki Meetup in a different area of town I got inspired to start one too, and use the empty office space. (You can have up to 3 unique Meetups with a single subscription fee - normally $15/month, currently Half Price for new organizers - whatta deal! Membership is free.)
That was about 2 years ago. Last year, when I went home between Ja visits, I no longer wanted to be the Organizer, and I offered the space and the existing meetups to a group of my meetup friends, who - having met through Meetup, have been working on an enormously creative business project together - so they could begin functioning while they are working toward having the investors to purchase land and build facilities, etc.
Utilizing the Meetup system, they are now offering more than 20 activities (workshops, classes, trainings, etc) per month, all under their business plan idea, its having quite a snowball effect.
This summer I found a whole new batch of Meetup friends and experiences, because I got interested in another topic going on in another town that I had like, allergic feelings about going to before, lol I was driving down there almost weekly and now I am going to California in May to work and study with some of the folks I met through this Meetup.
I cannot say enough good things about Meetup. It has been a huge part of my personal transformation, I am living as I am now because of the magnificent people I have met, we encourage and inspire each other, I have experienced a few other meetups, there are so many out there ANY INTEREST A PERSON MAY HAVE AT ALL, if you don't find it on Meetup, start one and like folks will find your meetup!! Travelling? Relocating? Use Meetup to find new friends and get comfortable in your surroundings.
Here's a short video from the founder/ceo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utOcNOuucEc&feature=youtu.be