Bohm Dialogue 9/20/20 – Tribe

Dunbar numbers
  • What tribes are, is a very simple concept that goes back 50 million years. It’s about leading and connecting people and ideas. And it’s something that people have wanted forever. Seth Godin
  • I think we are at a new evolutionary stage. We evolved in tight-knit tribes in which we faced death if we didn’t have the support of the rest of the tribe. Frances Moore Lappe
  • “Indeed, no matter what Facebook allows us to do, I have found that most of us can maintain only around 150 meaningful relationships, online and off — what has become known as Dunbar’s number. Yes, you can “friend” 500, 1,000, even 5,000 people with your Facebook page, but all save the core 150 are mere voyeurs looking into your daily life.” Robin Dunbar
  • “Being the soothsayer of the tribe is a dirty job, but someone has to do it.” ― Anthon St. Maarten

For September the topic chosen by the group is “Tribe”.  People often connect the concept “tribe” with the negative concept of “tribalism”. But the social/economic structure provided by tribe was vital to the survival and success of our early ancestors and may be vital to today’s world too. To quote myself from a summer service I gave several years ago: Assuming I am right, humans will continue to feel unfulfilled without belonging to some sort of tribe-like group. And with that hole in our lives we will always seek ways to fill that hole or distract ourselves from it — like the behavior that keeps us in this mess and propels us to acquire and expand more and more, while blaming our problems on outside “enemies” [see Tribe, Civilization and Beyond].

Bohm Dialogue is a freely-flowing group conversation in which participants attempt to reach a common understanding, experiencing everyone’s point of view fully, equally and nonjudgementally. This can lead to new and deeper understanding.

Join us to listen to what others think and to share what you think.  The Religious Exploration Salon is a group that meets 3rd Sundays to discuss various topics in the format called Bohm Dialogue which emphasizes respectful listening and balanced, synergistic sharing. For more details about how Dialogue works, please see this intro.

Everyone is welcome. You are welcome to think about the topic beforehand but no preparation is required or expected — come as you are with whatever thoughts/intuitions you have, ready to listen, learn and contribute.  We next meet Sunday September 20 at 7pm via Jitsi (an open-source Zoom alternative). Past attendees should receive an email with instructions. Or contact Paul Reising, Tom Yelton  or Jan Hardenbergh  for instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting.

Contact Paul Reising, Tom Yelton or Jan Hardenbergh for more information.