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Conversations New York

4.7•1532 ratings

New York, NY, US

2,452 members · Public group

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What we’re about

https://youtu.be/tw_YkT0CD6I
http://bit.ly/Conversation_Day_Pictures
https://vimeo.com/342325098
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DxPyujK96qFauebW2
Imagine…
Hundreds of New Yorkers coming together in small groups of neighbors
and fellow citizens to discuss topics of intensive interest…
Hosted at no cost and at convenient locations and times…
Aided by simple guiding principles…
Inspired by the city’s grand tradition of robust conversation…

Our vision is to inspire, organize, publicize, facilitate and celebrate a renaissance of healthy dialogue in New York City.
Our Mission:
1. Encourage and support interesting and important conversations among New Yorkers at the grass-roots level,
2. Establish simple, affordable, and sustainable infrastructure to foster such conversations throughout the city year-round.
3. Add to the worldwide image of New York as a metropolis where culture and intellect thrive among the people.
4. Organize the plethora of conversations happening in the city and have them listed in one central and easily-accessible spot.
5. Maintain conversations with a human face by discussing topics in-person, while also allowing for further discussion online.
Note: For access to all CNY-sponsored events, go to http://www.conversationsnewyork.com and subscribe to our blog,
and "Like" on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/conversationsnewyor....
and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/conversationsnewyork

Upcoming events

10

Thu, Oct 16 · 11:45 AM EDT
Blood Donation Drive — One Pint Saves 3 Life (Host: Yen, Bill, and K)
115 E 41st St, New York, NY, US
Hosts: Yen, Bill & Kilaya. Give blood - "One pint of blood can save 3 lives. Bring a friend & save 6 lives." Pay It Forward https://youtu.be/MqUfHAOdn30
- 62% of the U.S. is eligible to donate blood. The #1 reason people don't donate is they were never asked.
- Did you know that platelets support blood clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live?
- Did you know that blood loss victims of car accidents may need transfusions of 50 pints or more of red blood cells?
- More than 25% of the blood supply is used by cancer patients.
"Red Cross declares first-ever national blood crisis." https://youtu.be/ZUmbgpmNixg #GIVEWITHME https://www.cbsnews.com/news/red-cross-blood-crises-united-states-covid-19/

Make your reservation here: https://donate.nybc.org/donor/auth/signin

We'll be donating at the Grand Central Donor Center
Chanin Building
115 East 41st Street
NEW YORK, NY 10017
+18009332566
(this is NOT to be confused with the Metro North Donor Center)

Information for first-time donors, including eligibility criteria: https://www.nybc.org/donate-blood/

"The need for blood is ongoing, but COVID-19 has destroyed the foundation on which the community donates blood to patients served by New York Blood Center.

Every week, more than 75,000 blood donations and 1,700 donated platelet units are needed to meet patient need. To ensure we are prepared to support health agencies in our communities and across the country, NYBCe strongly urges individuals who feel healthy and well to make an appointment at a donor center or find a new community blood drive.

DONORS PRESENTING:

" Regardless of vaccination status, ALL donors MUST wear a mask that covers their mouth and nose

Must be 14 days symptom free if recovered from COVID-19

May NOT donate if they have a positive diagnostic test or experienced symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days

May not donate if they have been told to self-quarantine due to exposure risk, including travel. We follow current State and CDC travel recommendations.

CDC - Travel (cdc.gov)

COVID-19 Travel Advisory | Department of Health (ny.gov)

If you are unsure whether to donate, or if you have donated recently and you develop symptoms of COVID-19 or you test positive for COVID-19, please contact us at 800.688.0900." https://nybc.org/donate-blood/covid-19-and-blood-donation-copy/

#SAVEALIFE #GIVEWITHME #DONATEBLOOD #NYBLOODCENTER #REDCROSS #VOLUNTEER #BLOODSHORTAGE
5 attendees
Mon, Oct 20 · 9:00 PM EDT
•
Online
"Waking Up the Shadow: Jung Meets Groundhog Day"
Online
Asynchronously, please watch the film "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray prior to the meetup.

Note: start time is 9pm after my online class.

What can a time loop reveal about the unconscious mind?

Synopsis:
Join us for an engaging online meetup where we explore the film Groundhog Day through the lens of depth psychology and Jungian theory.

This session will delve into how the film’s characters and events symbolize powerful archetypes—such as the shadow, anima, trickster, and the emerging Self—and how Phil Connors’ journey reflects the inner psychological process of individuation.

Each recurring character and moment in the film can be seen as a projection of Phil’s inner world, offering rich symbolic material—much like a dream. By analyzing these cinematic symbols, we’ll uncover how Groundhog Day mirrors the structure and function of dreams, and how understanding these archetypal patterns can deepen our own dream interpretation practice.

Whether you're familiar with Jungian ideas or just curious about the deeper meanings behind stories and dreams, this discussion invites you to explore how film, like dreams, can guide us toward greater self-awareness and integration.
1 attendee
Thu, Oct 23 · 7:00 PM EDT
•
Online
"The Castle" by Kafka. And what is "Kafkaesque"?
Online
READING most of the novella is required if you intend to participate in the discussion.

If you are unable to read, then you may join the Meetup, yet only as a listener unless you have read other Kafka novellas.

Here's a quick summary:
Franz Kafka’s The Castle is a haunting, unfinished novel about a man named K., who arrives in a snow-covered village claiming to be the land surveyor summoned by the mysterious authorities of the Castle looming above. But from the moment he arrives, nothing is clear. No one knows why he’s there, or if he was ever really summoned. Every attempt he makes to gain access to the Castle, to speak to someone in charge, or to assert his identity, is met with circular logic, shifting answers, and an invisible wall of bureaucracy.

What unfolds is not a traditional quest for answers, but a slow, surreal unraveling of meaning itself. The Castle is never seen from the inside. Its officials are always sleeping, unavailable, or referenced only through other people’s contradictory stories. K. moves through a world where logic fails, systems dominate without explanation, and every effort to gain clarity results in deeper confusion.

This is the essence of the Kafkaesque: a suffocating sense of existential powerlessness in the face of a faceless system; a reality where rules exist but make no sense; where individuals are caught in endless procedures, delays, and miscommunications. It’s a world where the absurd feels ordinary, and the more you struggle to assert control, the more it slips away.

*In our discussion, we’ll explore how The Castle reflects not just a fictional nightmare, but **a symbolic landscape of modern life—*where institutions can feel impenetrable, identity is unstable, and human desires are quietly crushed under the weight of systems that do not see us.

Join us!

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3 attendees
Tue, Oct 28 · 6:45 PM EDT
•
Online
FTI: Fireside Chat: The Power of Words in the Age of Human–Machine Futures
Online
Join the Free Thinker Institute for a thought-provoking fireside chat exploring how language shapes our shared future at the intersection of humanity and technology. Words carry immense power: they can either accelerate division, fear, and collapse—or spark trust, creativity, and breakthroughs that uplift society.

In this dialogue, we’ll explore:

Why now is the critical moment for rethinking how we communicate with each other and with machines

How narratives, framing, and collective meaning influence the direction of AI and human collaboration

The dual possibilities ahead: technology as a catalyst for crisis—or as the foundation of a more connected, thriving world

This session invites deep reflection and open conversation on how we can use words intentionally to guide the blended future of humans and machines toward unity and prosperity.

A little about our host:
Garrett is a programmer turned award-winning software inventor turned entrepreneur ([PlateRate.com](http://platerate.com/) is his company). His hobby is writing and discussing practical philosophy, and he does life coaching on request to help people live happy, moral lives. He is also the executive director of The Free Thinker Institute ([FreeThinkerInstitute.org](http://freethinkerinstitute.org/)), which aims to create a community that helps members increase happiness and decrease harm for themselves and those they can influence.

Format: Lecture and discussion

Note: social time for our community 15 minutes before the presentation.

To get familiar with our past events, feel free to check out our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmixGB9GdrptyEWovEj80zg

After registering via zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We publish our event recordings on our Youtube channel to offer our help to anyone who would like to but can’t attend the meeting, so we need to give this clause. If you don’t want to be recorded, just remain on mute and keep your video off.

Here’s our legal notice: For valuable consideration received, by joining this event I hereby grant Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns, the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use and publish any and all Zoom recordings for trade, advertising and any other commercial purpose, and to alter the same without any restriction. I hereby release Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns from all claims and liability related to said video recordings.
1 attendee

Past events

2131

Organizers

Ronald Gross and 85 others

Members

2,452

conversationsnewyork.com/about-cny/calendar-of-conversations

Related topics

Intellectual Discussions

Self Exploration

Thought-Provoking Conversations

Critical Thinking

Morality and Ethics

Self-Help & Self-Improvement

Successful Relationships

Self-Empowerment