Guys, after almost two years, I believe I can host a gathering again.
This time I prepared a philosophical questions game. A pictionary-like pantomimic game can be played if we get an even number of people and the dance game I hope we are in the mood to play next time in February. Five of us cannot make it in January, and for now, eight are confirmed.
I am making a floral tea again, with about 33 ingredients (most of them listed here in bold). We got fair-trade organic coffee from a non-profit, raw cacao, and cardamom for black French press mocha espresso, plus Pu-Erh tea (fermented instead of oxidized), apple cider, blood oranges, mandarines, dark chocolate almonds, date-seed sweets, corn-flax snack, and maybe one more thing (an apple pie without flour, sugar or fat) if I am lucky. One person is preparing a dish (we keep it vegetarian). More via texts.
See you all soon!
PS: A new passiflora at the door is overgrown, and be careful with the step.
PPS: Thank you guys so much for a wonderful evening!
Nine of us gathered, so we did not play any team games, only philosophical circle one, for 6 hours. We discussed only 2 out of 77 questions, plus 1 was offered on the fly:
- Can love be bad?
Not all agreed that yes, for some of us love is inherently good, and if not, it is not love by definition. We talked about romantic, parental, conditional or unconditional, manipulative, abusive, and mutually caring or unanswered loving relationships. It was beneficial to hear from a scientist in this area. - (Proposed by the next round leader) Can mental illness be good?
We discussed fitting into societal norms, self-harming behavior, diagnosis, differences between disease and disorder, bipolar conditions, specifically manic stages, and how sustainable hypo-mania can be, even for life. The goodness some found in vivid perception and energetic behavior with mild mania and comparing it to a medicated lifestyle, how neurotransmitters and hormones are just signaling and not giving energy but rather allowing the release of the precious resources. Most agreed, based on data and a lot of unknowns, that one can achieve psychological "highs" that are attributed to drugs without taking any. - What makes a person wise?
Some of us stated that intelligence and experience are the main components of wisdom, some acknowledged that wisdom is limited by blindspots, some added that it can be limited not only by blindspots but also by personal convictions and moral priorities, some considered wisdom necessarily good and others though it could be used for "evil" deeds actions that seem evil, some though wisdom is rare and requires an ability to transmit it to another person with consideration of their situation and needs, some stated that wisdom requires a pupil ready to receive it, and the willingness of a wise person to share it.
We also have various wines, special vegetable drinks, banana bread, quinoa salad, and ginger tea.
That flour-sugar-fat-less "pie" ingredients were: fresh apples, soaked dried apricots and some raisins (blended into a paste), ground flax seeds, almonds, and walnuts, plus cardamom, allspice, ginger, and black pepper. Adding whole pumpkin seeds (pepitas) was a mistake for texture, I think.
- Properties: private, informal
- Goals: fun, conversation
