Tag Archives: conversations new york

CNY Leaders Meeting, Mon., 8 pm, following “If You Were Mayor…”

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Please make every effort to join us for this premier session at our new location, as we forge exciting plans for CNY’s summer and fall initiatives (see below). Your energy and counsel will add to our strength!


IF YOU WERE MAYOR… Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross

Monday, May 11, 6:00 – 7:45 pm & Conversations New York (CNY) Team Meeting 8:00 – 9:30 PM

RSVP to GrossAssoc@AOL.com

And

CNY meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/222426728/ 

NEW LOCATION: Adelphi University’s Manhattan Center 75 Varick Street — Room 260-261 on the Second Floor
(75 Varick is between Watts and Grand Streets)

Subways: #1 to Canal, or  A, C. or E to Canal, exit next to the building.
J, N, Q, R, W, Z or #6 to Canal, are about 5 blocks southeast at Broadway and Canal. Bus: M20 stops at the front door.
Note: This Center is state-of-the-art,
and excellent take-out food can be purchased at The Mill (www.TheMilltoGo.com) which is part of the same building,
and brought to the meeting.


  • What are your ideas for helping all of us New Yorkers to live together more happily, healthfully, safely, and enjoyably?
  • What bugs you about  the City, that you think could be improved?
  • What do you like about other cities you know, that could make New York better?
  • What changes would you like to see in  our cultural activities, streets, parks, schools and colleges, healthcare, local businesses, housing, environment, law enforcement, rules, regulations, and priorities for spending public funds?

Let’s advance our ideas for improving our city, in the run-up to the international Ideas City Festival at the New Museum and throughout the Bowery on May 28-30 (www.ideas-city.org). “If You Were Mayor…” is a month-long, city-wide array of conversations which will complement the Idea City Festival’s wondrous offerings of ideas from throughout the world, with ideas from New Yorkers themselves.We’re inspired by Mayor DeBlasio’s words:

‘If you give people a chance to offer their ideas, you’ll find an extraordinary number of New Yorkers who have positive, productive ideas.’”
Suggested Readings (optional): If Mayors Ruled the World, by Benjamin Barber; Happy City by Charles Montgomery; Who’s Your City? by Richard Florida; Urban Acupuncture: Celebrating Pinpricks of Change that Enrich City Life, by Jaime Lerner.

Conversations New York (starts at 8:00 PM)
(www.conversationsnewyork.com)

Our exciting Action Agenda will be  highlighted by:

  • planning for our 2nd Annual CONVERSATION DAY in Bryant Park on Sat., July 18th in collaboration with our trans-Atlantic partner Talk to Me London;
  • launching our Conversation-Friendly Restaurants Project to recognize eateries where we can hear each other talk;
  • considering  a Fall symposium on “Reclaiming Conversation” with Sherry Turkel of MIT;
  • impelling new city-wide/month-long gatherings on provocative topics in June and July;
  • expanding our website and presence on the Internet; and
  • honoring outstanding contributors with our prestigious Plato Awards (“…and this month’s award goes to….”)

 

 

 

 

IF YOU WERE MAYOR… Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross – May 11 (NOTE – NEW LOCATION)

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Please join us to celebrate our premier session at our new location!  

IF YOU WERE MAYOR…

Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross

Monday, May 11, 6:00 – 7:45 pm

&

Conversations New York (CNY) Team Meeting

8:00 – 9:30 PM

RSVP to GrossAssoc@AOL.com 

and   http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/222205825/


NEW LOCATION:

Adelphi University’s Manhattan Center

75 Varick Street — Room 260-261 on the Second Floor
(75 Varick is between Watts and Grand Streets)


Subways: #1 to Canal, or  A, C. or E to Canal, exit next to the building.
J, N, Q, R, W, Z or #6 to Canal, are about 5 blocks southeast at Broadway and Canal.

Bus: M20 stops at the front door.


Note: This Center is state-of-the-art,
and excellent take-out food can be purchased at The Mill (www.TheMilltoGo.com) which is part of the same building,
and brought to the meeting.

 

  • What are your ideas for helping all of us New Yorkers to live together more happily, healthfully, safely, and enjoyably?
  • What bugs you about  the City, that you think could be improved?
  • What do you like about other cities you know, that could make New York better?
  • What changes would you like to see in  our cultural activities, streets, parks, schools and colleges, healthcare, local businesses, housing, environment, law enforcement, rules, regulations,  and priorities for spending public funds?

Let’s advance our ideas for improving our city,  in the run-up to the international Ideas City Festival at the New Museum and throughout the Bowery on  May 28-30 (www.ideas-city.org).  “If You  Were Mayor…” is a month-long, city-wide array of conversations which will complement the Idea City Festival’s wondrous offerings of ideas from throughout the world, with ideas from New Yorkers themselves.  We’re inspired by Mayor DeBlasio’s words:


‘If you give people a chance to offer their ideas,

                                     you’ll find an extraordinary number of New Yorkers

                                     who have positive, productive ideas.’”


Suggested Readings (optional):  If Mayors Ruled the World, by Benjamin Barber; Happy City by Charles Montgomery;Who’s Your City?  by Richard Florida; Urban Acupuncture: Celebrating Pinpricks of Change that Enrich City Life, by Jaime Lerner.

Conversations New York  (starts at 8:00 PM)

(www.conversationsnewyork.com)


Our exciting Action Agenda will be  highlighted by:

  • planning for our 2nd Annual CONVERSATION DAY in Bryant Park on Sat., July 18thin collaboration with our trans-Atlantic partner Talk to Me London;
  • launching our Conversation-Friendly Restaurants Project to recognize eateries where we can hear each other talk;
  • considering  a Fall symposium on “Reclaiming Conversation” with Sherry Turkel of MIT;
  • impelling new city-wide/month-long gatherings on provocative topics in June and July;
  • expanding our website and presence on the Internet; and
  • honoring outstanding contributors with our prestigious Plato Awards (“…and this month’s award goes to….”)

SHARING OUR SPIRITUALITY: Conversations Throughout NYC in April

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SHARING OUR SPIRITUALITY:

Conversations Throughout NYC in April

 

SPIRITUALITY will be the subject of conversations throughout New York City

during the month of April, as many of us observe Easter and Passover, in a

project sponsored by Conversations New York (CNY) and listed on its calendar at

http://www.conversationsnewyork.com and Meetup.com http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/ .

 

“Lively-minded New Yorkers will gather to share their ideas, experiences, and feelings

about this compellinig subject,” says Ron Gross, founder of CNY, who conducts Socratic

Conversations at Columbia University. “Spirituality is one of the most powerful forces in

our lives. Some people contend that it’s too hot a topic for conversation. But we believe

that thinking about it together, in a spirit of mutual respect, can help us understand

ourselves and each other more deeply.”

 

Throughout the month, individuals, organizations and institutions will explore the subject

from diverse perspectives, ranging from the personal to the political, from the literary to the

scientific.

 

Why not host such a conversation yourself – with whomever you like, wherever and

whenever you like — to explore SPIRITUALITY from your perspective. It’s a great way to

nurture rapport and understanding!

Among the topics to be discussed at these conversations will be:

What does spirituality mean, to you?

How do you appraise the impact of Spirituality on our society and culture?

Do you feel that religious convictions bring us together or pull us apart?

How have your spiritual principles and practices changed in the course of your life?

Could religious and spiritual leaders and institutions do more to build a better world?

 

Offerings will be listed on the CNY calendar at http://www.conversationsnewyork.com. They

will take place in a myriad of public venues, ranging from the Jung Society, the New York

Society for Ethical Culture, and Columbia University, as well as at warmly welcoming cafes

and restaurants, to the atriums of business buildings like CitiGroup, IBM, and SONY.

 

Suggested Basic Reading: An excellent article on Spirituality on Wikipedia includes

definitions, historical development, major traditions, contemporary schools, scientific

responses, and further readings.

 

Conversations New York (www.conversationsnewyork.com) is a community of

volunteers devoted to enhancing the quality of life in NYC by promoting more and better

conversations. CNY’s projects have included the first national conference on THE

POWER OF CONVERSATION at Columbia University, the first CONVERSATION DAY

in Bryant Park, and promoting 1,000 conversation per year on its on-line calendar.

You are warmly invited to two events at Columbia University – Mar 2 and Mar 5

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You are warmly invited to two events at Columbia University:

WISDOM: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME WISER?

Founding Director

Speaker: URSULA STAUDINGER, Ph.D.

Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center

Robert N. Butler Professor, Mailman School of Public Health

Monday, March 2, 2015, 7-9 PM

Gottesman Libraries, Teachers College

525 West 120th Street, Room 305, Russell Hall

RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com and to CNY Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/220860597/

Please bring a photo ID for admittance to the building.

Ursula M. Staudinger is one of the pioneers in the empirical study of Wisdom, starting with work on the Berlin Wisdom Project at the Max Planck Institute in the 1980s.

 

 

WISDOM: What Does It Take to Become Wiser?

Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross

Thursday, March 5, 4:00-5:15 pm

Teachers College, Columbia University

Gottesman Library, Room 305 Russell

(Starbucks Coffee etc. available for purchase on your way to the Meeting Room if you wish.)

525 West 120th St.

Including Book Display

RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com and RSVP to CNY Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/220625509/

Please bring photo ID required for entrance to building.

Continuing our season theme of WISDOM, this session will extend our inquiries into the practical steps each of us can take to become wiser – informed by the presentation on this subject by Prof. Ursula Staudinger earlier in the week, on Monday, March 2, 7:00 pm.  What does it take to make wiser decisions in our personal and family relationships, our learning and professional lives, and our health and well-being?

Joys and Power of Conversation: CNY monthly meeting – Feb 16

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THE JOYS AND POWER OF CONVERSATION:

How to Enjoy & Benefit from Talking Together

Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross and CNY Conversational Activists

 

Monday, February 16, 2015

6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

 

Bread & Butter

419 Park Avenue South, (Corner of 29th St and Park Ave), New York, NY (edit map)

 

Strictly limited seating.  Please RSVP to Ron Gross at grossassoc@aol.com 

and to CNY Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/220292106/  THANKS.

 

6:00 – 6:30 – Meet-and-Greet and Socializing.
6:30 sharp – 7:30 – Participatory Conversation on “The Joy and Power of Conversation”
7:30 – 7:45 – Break
7:45 – 8:30 — CNY Planning and Team-Building Monthly “Huddle”
8:30 – 9:00 — Skill-Sharing

 

Talking together in new ways can fill our lives with greater enjoyment, friendship, and learning. Please come to share YOUR experiences and insights – and join our thriving campaign to transform NYC through more and better conversations!

 

“Conversation is free – but it’s invaluable,” says Ron Gross, founder of Conversations New Yorkwhich last year held the first Conversation Day on 42nd Street, with partners in London, Paris, and Tokyo

 

Great talk deepens our humanity – and strengthens our communities. Gathering in a circle to make meaning, has empowered our species in every era and culture. We have never needed it more than today!

 

At this participatory event, you’ll learn how you can join the movement to turn away from our devices and towards each other – for delight, understanding, and social progress.

 

Ron Gross, founder of CNY, chairs the University Seminar on Innovation at Columbia University. His internationally best-selling books include The Lifelong Learner, Socrates’ Way, Peak Learning, Individualism, and The New Professionals.

LOVE! Conversations Throughout NYC in February

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LOVE! Conversations Throughout NYC in February

LOVE is the subject of conversations throughout NYC during the month of February, leading up to Valentine’s Day on Saturday the 14th and continuing throughout February, in a project sponsored by Conversations New York (CNY) and listed on its calendar at www.conversationsnewyork.com.

“Lively-minded New Yorkers are gathering to share their ideas, experiences, and feelings,” says Ron Gross, founder of CNY, who conducts Socratic Conversations at Columbia University. “They are going deeper than the Hallmark hoopla and heart-shaped boxes of candy!”

Throughout the month, individuals, organizations and institutions are exploring the subject from diverse perspectives, ranging from the personal to the political, from the literary to the scientific.

Why not host one yourself – with whomever you like, wherever and whenever you like — to explore LOVE from your perspective. It’s a great way to nurture rapport and understanding!

Many of the Conversations are listed on the CNY calendar– including ones at the C.G. Jung Center on 2/3, at the NY Society for Ethical Culture on 2/4, at the Royalton Hotel on 2/7, at Panera Bread in Queens on 2/2, 2/9, and 2/11, at Senior Planet on 2/11, at Café Philo on 2/19, etc. On Valentine’s Day itself, Love will be discussed in the Times Square area amidst the hundreds of couples who will be there popping the question, getting married, or renewing their vows. Discussions of the CUNY TV series Love is being conducted at Whole Foods on Greenwich Street. Concluding the month’s events will be conversations on February 28th at the LGBT Expo at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center.

Conversations are taking place in a myriad of public venues, ranging from welcoming cafes and restaurants, to the atriums of business buildings like CitiGroup, IBM, and SONY.

Among the topics being discussed at these conversations are:

What does love mean, to you?

Is love different for men and for women, for gay and straight folks, and for others?

Does the meaning of love change as we get older?

What have you learned about loving wisely and well?

What the relationship between love and sexuality?

Is love “natural” – or is it “socially-constructed”?

How is love effected by its political, social, and economic environment?

Conversations New York (www.conversationsnewyork.com) is a community of volunteers which has promoted more and better conversations among New Yorkers by such activities as Conversation Day in Bryant Park last summer, and a national symposium on The Power of Conversation at Columbia University.

Holiday Greetings from Conversations New York (CNY)

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CNY Montage

Dear CNY Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Conversational Activists,

We wish you a joyous farewell to 2014, filled with loving, meaningful, astonishing conversations!

THANK YOU for your interest, support, and involvement which made this last 12 months immensely successful for all of us.

We have an even more exciting year planned for 2015, including city-wide conversations about LOVE around Valentine’s Day, our second annual CONVERSATIONS DAY in June, and possibly a second CONFERENCE at Columbia later in the year.

Hope to see you at our first gathering of 2015, at Columbia on Thursday, January 29th, for a Socratic Conversation at 4:00 followed by a CNY Meeting at 5:30.

Gratefully,
Ron  and Your CNY Team

CNY Committee Meeting – Dec 19

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CNY  Committee Meeting, Fri., Dec. 19th,  5:00, followed by gala Social Event nearby

MEET YOUR FELLOW CNY LEADERS!  CELEBRATE OUR 2014 ACCOMPLISHMENTS!  PLAN OUR  2015 INITIATIVES!   Youwill receive CNY‘s latest tips and tools to make Conversations exhilarating!   Your energy, imagination, and involvement are needed.  Where: Empire Szechuan Village,
173 7th Ave S
New York, NY 10014
(between Perry St & S 7 Ave)
Phone: (212) 243-6046Who: Volunteer leaders of CNY — moderators, volunteers, advisors, contributors

When: Fri., Dec. 19, 5:00 – 6:45

RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/219196949/

Agenda:

  1. Celebrate CNY‘s year of accomplishments
  2. Update on November conversations
  3. Recent Public Policy Conversation in partnership with the Interactivity Foundation (D.C.)
  4. Briefing on upcoming initiatives for 2015 including Conversation Day and others.
  5. Commitments to moderate, volunteer, contribute to the calendar, team up to implement projects, etc.
After this  celebration/work session, we’ll adjourn to join the gala event below at the nearby 49 Grove Club,  to contribute our distinctive CNY energy to this high-octane event!

Winter Solstice Party 2014

  • Friday, December 19, 2014

  • 49 Grove

    49 Grove St (btw Christopher St and 7th Ave), New York, NY(map)
  • Annual RNY Winter Solstice Party!
  • Join us for the Winter Solstice on Friday, Dec 19 at the upscale 49 Grove in the West Village.
    This annual event is hosted by Reasonable New York, a consortium of free-thinking, philosophical, and secular social clubs based in NYC and surrounding areas.
    Expect 100+ free-thinkers of all ages for an evening of food, drink, dancing, and socializing.
    Admission is free.
    Join us on the 19th and make new friends and connections with other inquisitive New Yorkers – this is an annual event not to be missed!

    $14 Specialty Cocktails for $7!
    $5 Beers
     Tapas Menu & Full Drink Bar Available – Please Tip Generously!
    HOSTING GROUPS
    Center for Inquiry – New York City
    Center for Inquiry – Long Island
    Dinner & Philosophy Now
    Ethical Humanist Society of L.I.
    Feminist Freethinkers of New York
    Gotham Atheists
    Humanist Society of Metro New York
    New York City Brights
    New York City Skeptics
    New York Philosophy
    New York Society for Ethical Culture
    Secular Coalition of New York
    Secular Humanist Society of New York

    Hope You Can Join Us!

Halloween for Thinkers: Let’s Talk Back to Death — by Affirming Life!

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Halloween for Thinkers: Let’s Talk Back to Death — by Affirming Life!

with Ron Gross

 

Thursday, Oct. 30, 4:00 SHARP – 5:15 pm

Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120th Street  (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam Ave. – 116th St. stop on the #1 train)

Room 305 Russell Hall

 

RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com — space is limited

and CNY Meetup http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/210285442/

 

Please bring photo ID required for entry to building, and plan to arrive by 3:45 to be courteous to fellow participants.

 

Halloween is a holiday that makes fun of Death. At this Conversation, we’ll be inspired by death-defying mentors from Socrates to Woody Allen.  Let’s use wit, thoughtfulness, and conviviality to deal with the Grim Reaper!   (Costumes are Welcome but optional.)

 

Please join us to share your  convictions, feelings, and hopes.  We’ll be in good company: thousands of  Americans are attending Death Cafes, Death Dinners, and Death Salons (featured on the front page of The New York Times). A Showtime documentary series, Time of Death, focuses on “real people face to face with their own mortality.” An acclaimed recent book, The Death Class: A True Story About Life, reports that there’s a 3-year waiting list to enroll in this offering at Kean University in New Jersey; a similar on-line course, by Professor Shelly Kagan, is available from Yale University.

 

We are learning to talk about death more freely, frankly — and life-affirmingly! Come join the movement to demystify this taboo subject. It can be a significant step in learning how to live.

 

Among the topics we’ll discuss are:

 

  • Does your awareness of your mortality affect the way you are living your life? Should it? How?

 

  • What is one of your favorite novels, movies, TV shows, plays, musical works, or other art that deals with Death?

 

  • What happens after death? Do you feel that you are still somehow in contact with anyone you have lost?

  • Do you feel that you’ve thought enough about mortality, to sort out your ideas and feelings in ways that are satisfying to you?

 

  • Do you have any strong convictions about what you would like to happen at the end of your life? Should we have The Pill?

 

CNY Members please note:  This conversation will be followed at 5:45 by the monthly meeting of the CNY Steering Committee, which you are warmly welcome to join!

 

Friendship – Apr 17

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Friendship

Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross

Thursday, April 17, 4-5:15pm

Please arrive by 3:45.pm

 

Gottesman Library, Teachers College
525 West 120th St.  – between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues, north side of street 
#1 train to 116th St.
RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com and http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/176548712/

 

A photo ID is required for admission to building.
PLEASE ARRIVE BY 3:45.
There will be a display of relevant books.
Coffee and refreshments can be purchased as you enter the Library.


Please come to share our experiences, understanding, and questions, including:

(1)What kind of friend do you try to be?

(2)What do you seek from your friends?

(3)Does friendship “just happen” and “grow naturally” –

or are there skills and techniques that can be helpful?

What’s one you’ve learned?

(4)Is friendship different at different stages of life?

(5)Do women’s and men’s friendships differ? How?

(6)How do you feel about re-connecting with old friends  with whom you have lost touch,  via Internet searching or other means?

(7) Are your friendships affected by digital technologies?

(Those Facebook “Friends”…)

(8) What is one of your favorite portrays of friendship in literature, movies, TV, or other genres?  (Like Friends,  Seinfeld, or….?)

(9)What happens when friendships change, falter, or fail?

 

Optional Reading:
Available free on-line:
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics: Book VIII
Michael de Montaigne, On Friendship

Other:
Jacques Derrida, The Politics of Friendship
Steve Duck, Friends,For Life: The Psychology  of Personal Relationships
Joseph Epstein, Friendship: An Expose

Next Socratic Conversation: Thursday, 5/29.