A New Skool Community
what if there's another way to be?
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There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.
Friends.
I started a new community over on Skool, which allows people to create community spaces revolving around whatever kind of work they’re doing in the world.
A podcaster? Make a “Skool” around the topics you explore.
An arists? Make a “Skool” that will help people with their own art.
A writer? Make a “Skool” that will help people become stronger writers.
… You get the idea.
Anyways.
I had this idea to do a little experiment and create a “Skool” revolving around the recent explorations of the What If Project. The Skool is called “What If There’s Another Way to Be?” - a little, quiet place on the big, loud Internet where people can explore and wonder about what it might be like to live as a “united one” in a world that pushes to divide us.
What if we could ask more questions of people we disagree with instead of feeling the need to “set them straight” and “tell them how it is”?
What if we could remember that we are all more than our religious beliefs? Our voting choices? Our values?
What if we could be interested in learning the stories of the people who see things differently than we do?
What if we could look at someone with a MAGA hat on and not immediately judge them?
What if we could remember that buried deep inside of everyone is a Divine spark of goodness?
Yes.
It’s a place to ask questions, share ideas, and talk about ideas and books and practices and life events that have shaped us, softened us, and opened us up. There’s a “feed” similar to Facebook where you can share ideas, thoughts, photos, etc. We might end up doing some Zoom sessions, too, where we gather over video with some coffee and just encourage one another, listen to stories, etc. Maybe even invite a podcast guest to join so people can ask their own questions, share their own stories. There’s a spot called “classroom” where I’m adding some of my favorite What If Project episodes that have shaped me.
Lots of possibilities.
Below is the “Introduction” that I wrote in the community, welcoming people in. This will give you a little more background to the idea and share the heart behind it. It’s currently an “invite only” thing and so if you’d like to be part of it, just send me a DM or email me at whatifproject.net@gmail.com and I’ll send you the link.
Like I said, this is an EXPERIMENT - it may continue, it may not. I figure we’ll give it a go over the Summer and see if we want to continue it in the Fall.
Much love.
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO
Hello friends.
I’m tired. Are you? Do you feel the exhaustion?
I’ve been “away” from social media since mid-December. When I say “away” I mean that I haven’t posted anything because (honestly) I was tired of competing with an algorithm that promotes content that is divisive and fuels outrage.
And.
If I’m being honest - I miss the interaction that I used to have with people, especially the interaction where we’d encourage each other’s work and encourage one another on our journeys.
But.
I stepped away because I’m working hard at “finding another way to be”, you know? And I think (for me, anyways) that’s super hard to do in the heat of social media.
Back in the middle of the 2024 election season I realized that I “hated” Trump and MAGA and Chrisitan Nationalists in the same way that I once “hated” Obama and Democrats and people who are “woke”.
Sure.
Maybe “hate” is a strong word as I’m not sure I ever “hated” anyone, but “hate” certainly describes the energy I once held towards the Obamas of the world and now found myself holding towards the Trumps of the world.
You know the energy, right?
“I’m right, you’re wrong.”
“Our side is close to God, their side is far from God.”
“God is on OUR side, not THEIR side.”
“It’s US vs. THEM.”
“WE are the ones wo will make things better!”
It’s an arrogant, cocky, stuck-up kind of energy; and one day when I was in someone’s comment section on Facebook getting ready to annihilate a MAGA supporter with my carefully phrased words, a small voice stirred from within and said ...
“If you aren’t careful you’re going to become the very same energy on the Left that you wanted to leave behind on the Right.”
And.
I don’t know.
But, that has really stuck with me and over this last year or so has really pushed me and challenged me to find another way to be in the world, to hold my energy differently - not in a way where anything goes and I have no opinions and no voice and no willingness to speak out against what I feel is wrong.
No.
Instead, holding my energy differently ... in a way where I (first and foremost) recognize that people are more than their beliefs, more than their voting choices - that behind every person is a long history and a long story and a long series of events that brought them to this moment where they hold these beliefs, value these things, and vote for these candidates.
And.
So do I - we all have a story, we are all more than the things we believe, the people we vote for. We have families, we have friends, we’ve had successes, we’ve had failures, we have a favorite food and sports team and ice cream flavor and movie and TV show.
More than that, we’re all connected (I believe, anyways). I believe that we are all connected by the same Divine breath that is pumping through our bodies, energizing our souls, and giving us life.
You.
Me.
Your MAGA neighbor.
Your WOKE neighbor.
Your Evangelical Uncle.
Donald Trump.
Joe Biden.
People in Iran.
People in the hateful church down the street.
Yeah - deep down inside, underneath all the stupid things we’ve done, said, thought ... underneath it all is a small, Divine spark that refuses to go out. It may be covered up by years of mistakes and baggage and carelessness.
BUT.
It’s still there, I believe, as dim as it may be.
And so I’ve been challenging myself this past year to focus on THAT spark in others ...
Even when they do something I hate.
Even when they vote for something I find revolting.
Even when I read a fear-laced statement on the sign outside the church.
... I try - REALLY HARD - to let my first thought be, “if only he/she/they could remember who they REALLY are and wake up to their full, Divine potential. I might not agree with them. I might not even really like them. BUT. I can love them by hoping the best for them, by refusing to hate them, by letting my words towards them and about them be formed by the Divine I know is deep within them”.
And so this space is an invitation of sorts to explore other ways to be in the world alongside other people who are also searching for other ways to be as well.
Are there books you’ve read that you’ve found helpful? Share them.
Are there spiritual practices you’ve found helpful? We want to hear them.
Are there ideas you have? Share them.
Are there tears you’re shedding? Shed them here.
Are you looking for support? You’ll find it here.
My hope is for this to be a community of sorts AWAY from the algorithms of social media, a place where people can share what’s on their heart without the fear of being crucified by an angry mob who thinks differently than they do. This isn’t an echo chamber where everyone needs to think the same, but a safe place to be yourself and gift that same safety to others. It’s a place to ask more questions, hear the stories of others, and practice seeing the Divine in everyone.
A few things to know:
First, introduce yourself here - tell us who you are, why you’re here, maybe your own story of wanting to find “another way to be”. At the bottom of your post before you hit “post” you’ll see a tab where you can choose what “category” to place your post in. If you’re introducing yourself, choose “Introductions”; if you’re sharing a book you’re reading, choose “Books I”m Reading”; if there’s a category you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll add it.
Second, there might also be Zoom sessions that I schedule where we can hang out for an hour or so over coffee or a meal to talk and dream and share and wonder together. When that time comes, I will suggest a few days/times and then share the Zoom link.
Third, if you hop over to “classroom” I will be sharing some of my favorite podcast episodes from the “What If Project” that have helped me on my journey of finding “another way to be”. I won’t be posting any “courses” or things like that or charging you any money. I’ll just use that space to add helpful conversations and I’ll let you know when more are added.
Fourth, I might schedule time for some of those podcasts guests to come in and talk to all of us - a time when we can all hop on Zoom and you can ask them your own questions about finding “another way to be” and get some insights into the things you’re wrestling with. More details to come.
Fifth, this is free. It costs me $7/month to keep the community open, but I am not charging you to be here. If you’d like to donate, though, you are welcome to sign up on Patreon where you can pledge monthly support for the What If Project. All money made goes towards making a dent in our grocery bill every month. If you already support there - thank you!
Oh.
And this is NOT a public group and so (for now) this is an “invite only” thing. If you know of someone who you think would appreciate a space like this, let me know and I’m happy to send you the invite link. At the end of the day, this is an experiment - it might be helpful, it might not. We’ll see and we’ll go from there.
Much love.
Glenn