Meeting 04/19/21
The group discussed to the end of chapter 12
Group size was discussed, and how since we have people moving to different locations, we’ll have to break off into local chapters for in-person events. Having whole-Perimeter in person events in the future could be fun to have competitions between each local chapter in addition to intermingling of chapters for competitions.
Socializing outside the group was brought up in the book in context of the Basement group. In this story, the group discovered that going to a social event such as a party ended up disrupting the sacredness and effectiveness of their group. We discussed how The Perimeter could run into the same problems, but keeping “Perimeter talk” inside The Perimeter could be most beneficial for the group. We also talked about how socializing outside the group can absolutely still be beneficial so we get to know each other better and develop relationships.
Pseudocommunity is a stage of community development where groups often get stuck in or do not move past. Examples we brought up are school projects, where no one brings up something that doesn’t feel right.
Total inclusivity - We talked about how even in this discussion we are forming a community within a community (not total involvement). In retrospect, I think these smaller communities are essential. I think it is more valuable for us to keep “Perimeter talk” inside the group, and keep “Perimeter talk” intentioned.
St. Aloysius from the book was very clear about what they wanted to achieve, and kept things simple, which worked well for them. They were also very patient in their decision-making, working well without a central command or single leader (everyone was treated equal).
Spiritual Stages of personal development were well-described by Peck. We thought that it was interesting that these stages mirrored the stages of community development, and the reality of the model requires that in-between stages are present. We also described ourselves as mostly in stage 3: skepticism, and also that most of The Perimeter are in this stage as well.
Emptiness was touched on again, this time in context of the spiritual stages. We discussed how when people are in earlier stages they are not yet willing to open themselves to new ideas or realities.
Religion was described by Peck in the context of the separation of Church and State. He argues that by giving the freedom of religion, we actually decrease participation in religion and therefore decrease the effectiveness of religion since it is not unified among the greater community of the nation. Somewhere in a middle ground (between total separation and no separation of Church and State) might be the best place, but who knows what tf that will look like?
Action pieces for The Perimeter:
-Keeping “Perimeter talk” sacred
-Create a google sheet for sharing goals that promote well-roundedness
-Channel Islands: have everyone bring one thing to the table to do each day