Coming Soon: Deep Community Groups

Our lives thrive in an ecology of vibrant community that has been increasingly more difficult to maintain in our fast paced, technological society. In particular, what we call "Deep Community," community that creates an intentional, structured space for sharing with each other the things that matter the most to us, is often in extremely short supply. If you are looking for a way to cultivate more deep community in your life, Family Tree Mediaiton's Deep Community Groups are a great opportunity to explore.

Why Deep Community Is In Short Supply

Time was that much of America relied on organized religion as a vehicle not only for practicing their faith, but also for enjoying connection within a value-centric community. But for many, organized religion is no longer an appealing platform for spiritual development. A 2023 survey conducted by the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that “Only 10% of all adults have a great deal of confidence in organized religion, a percentage that has been in steady decline in recent years, with confidence now at half of what it was in 2016.” That same year, the United Surgeon General published a report finding that loneliness in America was at epidemic levels and had a negative impact on life expectancy as great as cigarette smoking. Is there a connection between these two 2023 reports? One interpretation is that we Americans have lost our main platform for deep community in the process of growing out of hierarchical religious organizations that inevitably conflict at some level with our egalitarian national crede.

But leaving organized religion behind is certainly not the only factor contributing to our draught of deep community. We used to enjoy purpose-driven community in our workplace as well. Employees and companies practice a mutual loyalty to each other that manifest itself in life-long careers, pensions, and company pride. In our rapidly changing economy, alienation, insecurity, and stress can often be the predominant experience for many.

At the same time, the political climate of our times has become steeped in a divisive negativity, our confidence in the media and our ability to discern fact from fiction, and the alienated conflict our industrialized society maintains with the natural world all further isolate us from each other and the ecology of deep community.

In such a societal environment, the really great news is that, dispite appearances, we are very much empowered by the gift of life and the genius of human nature to find our truth and contribute it to the cultivation of a thriving deep community wherever we are. Change begins with us. Change is possible in each breath. And change that combines individual self-development with the collaborative cultivation of egalitarian deep community is how we do our best for ourselves and our society, steering a wiser, more joyful course in life focused on being present with each other and celebrating the unfolding miracle that we each are.

About Our Deep Community Groups

Please come back soon for more information about our Deep Community Groups.

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I look foward to getting to know you!

You can call me at (650) 762-TREE [762-8733] or email me using the email form on our Contact Us page.

Hank Edson, J.D.        CALL: (650) 762-8733

Proprietor of Family Tree Mediation
Serving Redwood City, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View,
Los Altos and the wider Peninsula & San Francisco Bay Area.