You read. I read. They read. Why are any of us reading anything at all? I can only speak for myself, but I read to learn about and understand the world in which I live and the life I must live. At most of our Cafés, I get an opportunity to apply that learning and understanding and have it enriched by others who are pursuing other paths. I have never felt that we’re all on the same Path, but a part of our journeys are certainly being shared because we share with one another.
The Café is an ever-shifting ensemble. Whether planned or spontaneous, whatever “topic” ends up on the table, my personal challenge is to see how I can benefit from the exchange in terms of what I’m pursuing and whenever possible to contribute from that understanding to the topic at hand. When we have a focused reading or the like, I try to incorporate that into what I’m concerned with otherwise. But that’s just how I try to deal with complexity.
The variety of topics that characterize the Café can lead to more structured, deeper explorations … the various projects you have done, John, such as the Generations sessions, or even some of the authors who were mentioned at some point in the Café but dealt with in specific reading groups are examples of this. Not all of us can – or want to – participate in all of them. (And, let’s face it, I managed to read Aurobindo (eventually, a bit behind schedule) and the Batesons, but there was no way I could manage and additional 1-2 hour video and discussion forums, as these are in addition to whatever else I am pursuing (at a slower and more irregular pace than I would like) and my real life which at times makes very high demands on my time. (I’ve been on the road for 10 days now and there’s no clear end in sight.) And, should some of us decide to do something Axial-Agey, that will in addition to not in place of anything else on my plate. I’m the first to admit that my energy is not unlimited. (For most of my working life I either had a second job or was doing degree work, or for more than a few of those years both, in addition to my family commitments, but I was much younger then, I’m older than that now.)
What I enjoy most – and I have stated this repeatedly – about the Cafés is that they are a chance for me to “decompress”, sift and sort through what I’m doing and thinking otherwise, and get inspired or redirected by the contributions of others, and that generally happens whether we have an open- or closed frame discussion. To you, that may be akin to barroom chat, but to me it’s somewhat therapeutic. That’s just how I engage them. Others’ mileage may vary.