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, Wondering. Subscribe
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 >
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 |
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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?
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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?
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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.
Feb 19, 2025 | Meryl Sher | Journal Author Inquiries: Willing to Risk Failure to Have Dreams Fulfilled? |
Feb 26, 2025 | Amrit Kendrick | Journal Author Inquiries: Seeing failures as play: freedom to create and dream again |
Mar 05, 2025 | Joe Heer | Journal Author Inquiries: Songs of the spirit |
Mar 12, 2025 | Annie Higbee | What does kindness look like to you? |
Mar 19, 2025 | Catherine Green | Journal Author Inquiries: Don’t Poke The Bear |
Mar 26, 2025 | Hilary Burns | Journal Author Inquiries: The Failure Switch |
Apr 02, 2025 | Mary Wells | Journal Author Inquiries: TBD |
Apr 09, 2025 | Lynnie Sterba | Journal Author Inquiries: Dating Failure: A Relationship of Lessons, Growth, and Resilience |
Apr 16, 2025 | Peg Miller | Journal Author Inquiries: Failing forward? Access to a life you love? |
Apr 23, 2025 | Katherine Wilcox | Journal Author Inquiries: TBD |
Apr 30, 2025 | Rose Grant | Journal Author Inquiries: TBD |
May 07, 2025 | Mark Blumler | Journal Author Inquiries: TBD |
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