Creating My Tribe

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A social experiment to awaken

A few days ago, I created this group on facebook "We Belong".  Some of you may be wondering what is this group  about, what is the purpose of this group?

first, I thank  those who have joined me after I invited you. trusting me and accepting my invitation to join this group even when my intention for the group was less than clear. 

The idea of this group came to me after listening to Author Radha Agrawal's podcast about social connections, essentially, we as humans seek authentic social connections with others. Like you. We not only seek these connections it is important for our mental and physical health to have healthy relationships. Facebook we have been led to believe would facilitate this connection. However, we started using it more artificially. Moreover, I have found that  Facebook does not meet my need FOR THIS CONNECTION AND A FEELING OF BELONGING. It appears to be designed for more superficial entertainment use. Instead of connecting us it has created more isolation and dissatisfaction in our lives.  And more generally other social platforms have not found a way to engage each other instead we are having parallel conversations. Like  ships passing each other in the night.  I had a look at my friends and realized I have some pretty awesome friends and that began me to thinking I have a tribe.   I have a community and decided to bring them altogether in one place where we can  design a community that works for us.  it is a social experiment.   my rational  for creating a virtual community is due to my frustration of social media.  

 I have a number of groups I am the administer of. And I use other platforms like twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. None of the platforms satisfy my need to connect.   I find them pretty superficial.   Each of them ends up being pretty much the same as my personal Facebook page, in that people are not engaging with me on an authentic level.  Perhaps they like a certain post but often will not contribute any more than a thumbs up. People post pictures, recap travel where they've gone, where they ate, and that is all good, But I'm looking for something more I am looking for serious conversations that are inspiring and thought-provoking.  Something more you. 

Last evening, we went for dinner with a couple of friends our dinner conversation was electrifying and engaging. We discussed youth incarceration, restorative justice, the judicial system, and whether it was helpful in reforming criminals? The overcrowded penitentiaries and the impact of those on reforming criminals. We discussed healing lodge as a mechanism for reforming criminals who committed serious offenses.   We discussed the cycle of alcohol on generations, in particular how the youth are impacted by this trend. We discussed how youth are place in same prisons as harden adult criminals. Because once you were over the age of 18 you are treated as an adult and therefore will be placed with other adults.  one of the examples discussed was how a stupid action while under the influence can change the trajectory of one's life.  We discussed how incarceration does very little to reform a person or even deter repeat offenders. The subject is serious and impacts our society. Of course, our conversation really didn't resolve the questions, however you never know where such conversation will lead in the future as  it percolates in the mind. 

Before we went to dinner, we had conversations on meditation, and the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. We discussed the possibility of How we can  involve and include Algonquins since the symposium will be held on unseeded Algonquin territory,  in the activities next spring.  the schedule of specific topics would be educational and at the same time identify common ground that would engage that participants to move forward as they remember the atrocities that were committed 25 years ago.  A look at colonialism and its impact on peoples. 

The invitation Letter I sent to a few friends.

I mentioned when I first started this group that each of you was carefully considered before I added you. I was looking for a compassionate person, an intellectual, a person with varied interest, a well-read person. I was looking for people who will make this group engaging, who would be authentic and have the highest integrity in their word and ensure that whatever they post will be inclusive and respectful.   I believe each of you have some of these qualities. If I am correct in my assumption that you too are dissatisfied with your experience on social media, then I made the right choice to add you to this founding group. 

What I would need from you is your word that you would be an active participant in the group. That you would be respectful, and kind in your responses. My promise to you is that I will facilitate and moderate the conversations and ensure that participants remain authentic, respectful, and helpful.  I will ensure to keep this a safe place for sharing of ideas. Like the conversation over dinner last evening we were able to discuss some very serious topic without it degrading to personal attacks but instead added value to the overall conversation.

Is this something you are interested and being part of? if yes, I am pleased to provide this forum for you. If not, - if this is too serious of a group, too intellectual, you can leave the group and I will not be offended. This is not for everyone. Because Sometimes all we really want is to be entertained  and there is nothing wrong with that. 

My promise to you is that  I will facilitate, monitor conversations to ensure  participants remain authentic and keep this a safe place for everyone. 

How I see this working,  this will only succeed if you join me with the intention to make this experience one you want and one that will satisfy your need to belong. The key to it succeeding will be directly correlated to your participation! Which is why I carefully picked the first group of people keeping in mind how each of you will respond and to set the tone for the group. I value each and every one of you in the group and your opinion matters.  I want to learn from you.  I want this form to facilitate learning from each other. 

TOPICS can be introduced by anyone, provide a short synopsis with the question. Subject areas can be identified like health, books, neurology, philosophy, spiritual, psychology, relationships, food, medicine, culture, politics, religion you can introduce any subject as long as it is respectful and not offensive to anyone. Racism and inciting hate will not be tolerated, and you will be requested to leave the group.  I will make every effort to not control the dialogue, only facilitate and moderate.

I, honestly I have not thought of specific details of how this will work. I do know that I want to continue my daily meditation insights which I post on Instagram, twitter and sometimes my personal Facebook page. I have received feedback from many of you who have indicated you enjoy reading them. I see the insights as setting a tone for the group daily. Having said the above, if you have any ideas of how this could work, how you want it to work, I welcome your remarks and we can design this with your input.   

My intention is to create a community of like-minded people who are interested in having a real connection with each other. The goal is to meet our need for real social connections. We can work out the details as we go along. At the moment there are no hard and fast rules.  The experiment is to see if we can override our automatic reactions and default reactions in response to what others post.  Like distrusting others, or being too shy to comment. Essentially, it is to create a new paradigm, a shift in how we relate on social media.  This is a social experiment and I have no idea if it will work, or if this is the right platform, And, I am interested to see where it will go.  If I find it is not working, I will let you know before I delete the group. 

In my tribe we have CEO’s, lawyers, doctors. Artist, Indigenous elders, professors of law, and social work.  indigenous leaders, authors, people who participate at the UN on human rights. Students, Environmentalists, people who are concerned about the impact of our actions on the environment.  And, in a word, game changers, innovators, thought provoker's, some of you I known personally, and we connect on many levels, we have shared a meal, tea, and pleasant conversations. I like the idea of having you all meet each other for this experiment, and we will see where this leads us. Welcome to my tribe!

The first questions for the group is if you were in charge of the world what type of community you would create, keep in mind that this is a virtual community and at the moment we have members from all over the globe. In this group, I would hope that members would feel comfortable meeting each other in the real world. what would your values and goals be? Who would you invite?