Conference for Global Transformation

Inquiries of the Social Commons

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
– e. e. cummings

We all start life wondering about the world. Somewhere along the way we tend to lose our natural curiosity, and the world becomes more and more about what we know, or don’t know. Our natural instincts to inquire are suppressed.

We invite you to join us in rediscovering, celebrating and developing the free spirit of human inquiry.

We have six realms of inquiry, each with one or more weekly 55-minute online sessions. Join a meeting via computer.

We have a Facebook group, Inquiries of the Social Commons. It’s a closed group, so ask to join.  We also have a monthly newsletter, WonderingSubscribe

Wondering Newsletter Archive

More About Listening & Inquiry

Inquiries of the Social Commons – Weekly Sessions

To Join the Inquiries

Join the Zoom session from anywhere.  Meeting ID: 240 694 3472

To join from the US and Canada by phone only, dial 1-408-638-0968
When prompted, enter the Meeting ID: 240 694 3472#
For more information about joining by phone from outside the US and Canada: Find out more >

Download the Inquiries of the Social Commons Flyer


Inquiry Calls by Day and Time

 

Day/Time
US Pacific Time – Unless specified
Topic
Sunday, 4:00 pm Social Commons: The memory you forgot
Monday, 10:00 am Discourses: The building blocks of meaning
Monday, 5:00 pm Contribution: Why busy people listen
Monday, 6:00 pm Living as a Created Self: Carving out new pathways for life
Tuesday, 8:00 am Public Persona: Who do they think I am?
Tuesday, 9:00 am Contribution: Why busy people listen
Tuesday, 4:00 pm Social Commons: The memory you forgot
Tuesday, 6:00 pm Public Persona: Who do they think I am?
Tuesday, 7:00 pm Measures: The art of comparison
Wednesday, 6:00 pm
Sydney day/time
Social Commons: The memory you forgot
Wednesday, 8:00 am Measures: The art of comparison
Wednesday, 9:00 am Living as a Created Self: Carving out new pathways for life
Wednesday, 6:00 pm  GUEST HOST CALLS
Thursday, 10:00 am Social Commons: The memory you forgot
Thursday, 4:00 pm Discourses: The building blocks of meaning
Thursday, 6:30 pm Social Commons: The memory you forgot

Inquiry Calls by Topic

 

SOCIAL COMMONS: The memory you forgot.

Tuesdays 4:00 pm – 4:55 pm US Pacific Time
Wednesdays 6:00 pm – 6:55 pm Sydney Australia Day & Time
Thursdays 10:00 am – 10:55 am US Pacific Time 
Thursdays 6:30 pm – 7:25 pm US Pacific Time
Sundays 4:00 pm – 4:55 pm US Pacific Time

What if I see myself as a person of the social commons? If we are the resource that’s shared, how could I access that resource? Could I increase my reach and range into the world? What other social commons and groups affect ours? Whose voices matter there and what are they saying?

PUBLIC PERSONA: Who do they think I am?

Tuesdays 8:00 am – 8:55 am US Pacific Time
Tuesdays 6:00 pm – 6:55 pm US Pacific Time

The basis of my public persona, and yours, is what others think of us. How do we even know what our public persona is? What could we do about our public persona? For what might we be responsible? Who is the real me?

MEASURES: The art of comparison

Tuesdays 7:00 pm – 7:55 pm US Pacific Time
Wednesdays 8:00 am – 8:55 am US Pacific Time
Consider that life is wrapped up in measurement – birthdays, statistics, recipes. Might measurement bring certainty, completion and new beginnings? Could developing mastery in measurement open new avenues to freedom, power, creativity and making a difference?

LIVING AS A CREATED SELF:
Carving out new pathways for life

Mondays 6:00 pm – 6:55 pm US Pacific Time
Wednesdays 9:00 am – 9:55 am US Pacific Time
What does it take to create every piece of your life, big and small, day in and day out? Could carving out new pathways for life be an access for discovering yourself and others newly — bringing new love, freedom, joy and results?

DISCOURSES: The building blocks of meaning

Mondays 10:00 am – 10:55 am US Pacific Time
 Thursdays 4:00 pm – 4:55 pm US Pacific Time
What if we consider humanity to be something other than the collection of more than eight billion plus individuals? If we consider language and culture, who we say we are in the matter, and who we have others be, becomes relevant, if not central, to global transformation.

CONTRIBUTION: Why busy people listen

Mondays 5:00 pm – 5:55 pm US Pacific Time
Tuesdays 9:00 am – 9:55 am US Pacific Time

Who are all these busy people? What are they up to? What are they listening for? Who are they listening to? What differences do their activities make for people around them? Does what they engage with occur as contribution? Are you one of them? What is contribution?

Inquiries of the Social Commons – Guest Hosts

Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. – 6:55 p.m. US Pacific time.

Join the Zoom session from anywhere. Meeting ID: 240 694 3472.

Nov 20, 2024 Mark Krauss What is service?
Nov 27, 2024 Rose Grant What if failure is a favor to the future?
Dec 04, 2024 Mark Krauss On the precipice of failure, now what?
Dec 11, 2024 Joe Heer Journal Author Inquiries: Songs of the spirit
Dec 18, 2024 Eileen Epperson Journal Author Inquiries: You think that is an apology?
Dec 25, 2024 Ariela Marshall What is your relationship to being willing and failure?
Jan 01, 2025 Gary Kendrick Journal Author Inquiries: How do we spread the story of a commitment (vs. our individual story)?
Jan 08, 2025 Deirdre Donovan An inquiry into education best practices of homeless students
Jan 15, 2025 Annie Higbee What does kindness look like to you?

 

Inquiries of the Social Commons Paper Submissions

For those of you have participated in one or more of the Inquiries of the Social Commons, we invite you to submit a paper or report from the field collectively, or individually. You could report on what you, or your group, has discovered, encountered or want to contribute from your inquiries. Please consider the custodians of the inquiries as possible resources as you develop your paper or report from the field. Follow the guidelines for writing a paper or submitting a report from the field. Visit Contribute Content for more information