Interintellect Host Questionnaire: Helena Ng

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Welcome to the first in a series of casual and fun introductions to Interintellect hosts! If you are a host and wish to submit your own answers, we are currently running a shorter version of the questionnaire here.


1. How did you find the ii and what drew you to it?

Through word of mouth from another inquisitive online buddy.

2. What was the first salon you attended?

Visa’s salon on Introspection.

3. What was your favorite salon you’ve attended?

Hard to pick between Brian’s Lost Boys/roleplaying salon vs Tanya’s Little Prince salon with freeflow drawing!

4. What was your favorite salon that you hosted?

Down the Rabbit Hole’s salon finale!

5. If you could only host a salon series on one topic for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Connection.

6. What was your most memorable salon kerfuffle or unexpected challenge?

A salon attendee’s browser couldn’t hold up with a fervent Miro board we were collaborating on.

7. Do you have any pre-salon rituals/routines?

Cold shower, breathing, kombucha.

8. What items must you have with you while hosting a salon?

Marker pen & sticky notes.

9. In three words, describe the vibe you try to cultivate in your salons.

Sincere, enthusiastic, inquisitive.

10. If you could co-host a salon with anyone alive or dead, who would it be?

Naida from Orphic Inscendence.

11. If you could host a salon with any five guests alive or dead, who would they be?

Norman Chella, Brendan Schlagel, Artyom Kazak, Anwar AlKandari, Vika (Victoria).

12. If you could host an IRL salon anywhere in the world, where would it be?

In the homes of my beloved guests.

13. What was your favorite ii moment?

Relating to Camp Curiosity’s collective journey with The Jewel’s Net during a fervent discussion & reflection.

14. If you could experience the life of another ii host for a day, who would it be?

Through Patricia Hurducaș’ lens of aesthetics.

15. If you could only read one author for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Maria Popova.

15. If you could only read one author for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Maria Popova.

16. Who is your fictional hero?

Amélie Poulain.

17. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

I’ll have to get back to this after a few rabbit holes & a few lifetimes later.

18. Who are your heroes in real life?

The ones who surface the subtext.

19. What was your favorite book/series as a child?

Matilda by Roald Dahl.

20. If you could create your own field of study, what would it be?

Connecting the subtext, an abstraction of all that we know.

21. If you had to write a book, what would it be on?

An autobiography.

22. Who is your intellectual crush?

Anaïs Nin.

23. Who are your intellectual mentors (thinkers who have influenced you most)?

From a younger person to present: Chuck Palahniuk, Alain de Botton, Anaïs Nin, Henry Miller, Osho, Robert Greene, Virginia Woolf, Tove Jansson.

24. If you could live in any historical era, which one would it be?

I don’t have a proclivity for looking back.

25. What have you been learning/thinking about lately?

Jung’s Anima & Animus.

26. If you could be an expert in any field unrelated to your main areas of expertise/interest, what would it be?

Contemporary dance.

27. What trait do you most admire in others?

High voltage energy that lifts up one another.

28. What trait do you most admire in yourself?

Navel gazing.

29. Which living person do you most admire?

Esther Perel.

30. What is your current state of mind?

Undecided.

31. What is your motto?

There is a light that never goes out, either find it or pass it on.

32. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

“I don’t know.”

33. When and where are/were you happiest?

When there is sunshine, nature, healthy pets and inquisitive thoughts.

34. Which useless talent would you most like to have?

Fluent in all the forgotten languages.

35. What would your perfect day look like?

Early morning farmer’s market run, coming home to graze on one meal while preparing another. Followed by coffee, reading and writing.