In our Spheres dialogue last night we got to talking about our plans for future readings, committing to going through at least Globes (assuming this will take us a few months, meeting once a month), and proposing (again) something by Aurobindo for a Spring/Summer adventure into the “Supramental.” Jean Gebser’s name also came up for a revisit, and Roy Bhaskar was mentioned as well.
There was the suggestion, too, that we need not stick to philosophy only, but could read and discuss (and share) poetry, fiction, and other genres of literary or scientific work. Meanwhile, in other threads, other books have been recommended for seminars or Cosmos Café dialogues, including work by Tillich, Ingold, Whitehead, et al.
At the same time, I have been speaking with various individuals about featuring their work in Metapsychosis and/or hosting dialogues on topics of mutual interest. These include Vanessa Fisher, Brian George, Philippa Rees, George Pór, Brigid Burke, James Curcio, Heather Fester, Michael Aaron Kamins, Carolina Arevalo, Paul Maylone, Kara Abdolmaleki, Terry Patten, and others with submissions in various editorial states. I suspect @patanswer, @achronon, and @johnnydavis54 (and @Geoffreyjen_Edwards?) also have projects brewing, or have hinted as much.
I have my own works in progress, too—and I’m waiting for the right moment to proceed with a soft launch of our blogging platform, A Theory of Everybody, which I think will open up a whole new dimension of creative expression in our meta-space, including more diverse and personal voices, reflecting other matters of concern.
And this forum itself—Infinite Conversations—will continue to grow, as new contributors jump in, engage, and start new topics.
The big question is how will all this activity be organized, scaled, and ultimately funded to realize the purpose of the co-op (i.e., cultivating collective genius)? The conversation around cooperative development—where @care_save is playing a leading role—will be a big, multifaceted (and I believe ultimately thrilling) creative challenge in 2018.
How can we make it all happen? And what do YOU (what do each of us participating here) want to have happen?
I would like to be clear on what I personally desire, and what I feel I can offer.
- Writing. I’m a writer, and would like to write more. If I’m able to clear the space for myself, I would like to bring forth various poems, stories, essays, and media projects that I’ve been working on, off an on, for years.
- Reading. As mentioned above, I would like to continue my exploration of Sloterdijk’s Spheres, as well as the various Consciousness Philosophers (Gebser, Aurobindo, et al.)—but there are also other cultural forms or movements I am eager to delve deeper into and learn more about, such as Metamodernism (The Listening Society) and Afrofuturism (Sun Ra, Octavia Butler, Samuel Delany…).
- Engagement. For me this takes two main forms: editorial and conversational. And there is an important sub-component of both, which is curational. Here I would like to simply continue doing what I’ve been doing…but get better at it. Specifically, I am committed to continue publishing new work by emerging authors on Metapsychosis (and Untimely Books), and I am committed to our weekly dialogues via the Cosmos Café and Cosmos Seminars. I would like to further develop these forms in collaboration with our merry band of noetic researchers and literary explorers.
- Cooperation. Last but not least, I am committed to continue working with Caroline and any others would like to step into the role of attending to the systemic whole. How does this all work? What are we all ultimately doing together? How can we support our efforts (and livelihoods) equitably and effectively? How can we model the kinds of relationships, structures, and dynamics we wish see in the world? How can we do it with style?
I will continue to participate in planning and executive meetings, and am making myself available for weekly “Welcome & Orientation” meetings for any (new or old) members who would ilke to talk about how to productively interface with the co-op. Eventually, I’d like others will play this welcoming role, too.
There is much to be done! And much to enjoy and savor in our time. How can we work together better? How could you bring more of your own gifts, skills, connections, and resources to the party? I’m asking many questions! They don’t all have to be answered at once.
The meta-question, for me—what all these ideas are ultimately about—is the integral act of bringing forth a world. I don’t mean “world” as an abstract totality, but an actual lived lifeworld. How can the combining of our various individual efforts enhance our collective lives (and life)?
It’s been a couple years since our first Infinite Conversations event, “December of The Dispossessed,” reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic, in 2015. But this all started for me in 2013 with the “Summer of Jest” reading David Foster Wallace’s monster of a novel (which is obviously where the name of this forum comes from). I began working on the concept for A Theory of Everybody (which in 2016 differentiated to include Cosmos.coop) immediately following that experience.
So, it’s approaching five years of nothing less than daily creative struggle to manifest this humble little place on the internet. I still consider it, essentially, a living work of art, and invite you to see it that way too, and join the inquiry: What can we create together?