Bristol Listening Circle

One golden, sweaty evening, six (sort of) strangers assembled in a secret cafe above Gloucester Road to listen deeply to one another and hold space for the traumas of being lied to about Santa… It is not usually the case that we gather to talk about something that isn’t either urgent or deeply personal on the one hand, or a small-talk sideshow on the other – where there isn’t a primary speaker and where there is no agenda or a goal for consensus, outcomes, actions. But it is equally unusual to engage in conversation about a topic that nobody in the circle is specifically an expert about, where nobody has recently read a paper or book, seen a documentary or listened to a podcast about it. It is unusual amongst a group of people to stay on topic wihout letting the flow of the dialogue start many conversations and finish none.  Just people talking about ideas, reflections, perceptions, experiences around one topic. That’s it.  “This felt like one of those really good conversation...

Not long ago, I used the word ‘agora’ as a synonym of space to talk to others in one of my many rants about speaking to difference. But, to my surprise, my English friend was not familiar with the word nor the concept of agora . And it makes sense that for me, growing up in a Mediterranean country, ancient Greece is part of the history we are taught at schools like Britain will include some Viking history in their curriculum too. This post is not aimed at claiming historical accuracy about Ancient Greece’s Agora , but to reconnect with - and probably romanticise - the concept of it. This is an opinion piece, please be welcome to disagree. The Concept of Agora Ancient Greece’s Agora , the predecessor of Roman’s ‘Forum’, was a space in the city designed for public gathering. The Agora of Ancient Athens, located right by the Acropolis, was the meeting place to exchange ideas and trade, a place to practice both performing arts and philosophy, a place of commoning. Sound familiar? ...

DATES AND TOPICS WHY PURPOSE HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM A CONVERSATION WITH FRIENDS? HOW IT WORKS WHAT TO EXPECT GUIDELINES About Us BOOK FOR FREE on HEADFIRST DATES AND TOPICS Thursday 19th of June - Honesty and White Lie s Monday 30th of June - Excess and Abstinence Wednesday 9th of July - What does 'progress' look like? Tuesday 5th of August - Us and Them Wednesday 20th of August - “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable...” WHY? In polarised online discussion and in-person conversation with our own circles, we are feeding into echo-chambers. Have we lost the ability to engage and listen to difference? Can we disagree with strangers and still offer compassion? Do we need to feel heard more than we are willing to listen to others? When polarising views seem to dominate the digital sphere, how do we coexist in the physical realm when we do not seem to be able to find common grounds? Have places of commoning disappeared? Is the only agora Twitter?  On t...