Group Discussion
Atypical chit-chat
Throwing back the curtain of ignorance, the group decided to make significant change in their own lives as well as the group dynamics.
“By questioning and throwing out all conditioned reactions to life we can open up to a new way of living,” said Randall, one of the more vocal members of the group.
“Yeah, that means releasing all beliefs,” said Sandra. “We’ve been taught — programmed — how to think and we’ve got to release that programming if we ever hope to think differently. Stepping back from the conditioned reactions we can become an empty vessel through which new thinking can emerge.”
“Of course we still have to question all new thinking, too,” said Wendy who was sitting on the floor with her dog in her lap.
“Absolutely!”exclaimed Randall who was standing next to the stuffy chair where his sex mate Penelope was sitting in a lotus position, a crystal in each upturned palm of her hands.
Penelope spoke up, “So what are we? Are we some kind of commune? Are we a tribe? Just friends? Some kind of family? A theatrical ensemble?”
“No labels!” said Scott who had been sitting quietly at one end of the couch. “We simply are. Once we put a label on ourselves then we start playing roles and following patterns associated with the label. We just are. Our connection is through our hearts, not deeply embedded thinking patterns and role playing. Can we do that? Can we just be?”
A soft murmuring swept through the room.
Andrew, who was sitting next to Scott, scratched his beard, “That’s not going to be easy. Every time we interact with another human we automatically step into some kind of role. Teacher/student, cynic/believer, liberal/conservative, alpha/beta, leader/follower, cook/eater/dishwasher, passive/aggressive, male/female… Even when we make love we play roles. How do we release all that?”
Scott put his hand on Andrew’s leg.
“Sounds impossible,” said Jenny who was nervously playing with her hair as she sat in the straight-backed chair she had brought into the living room from the kitchen.
Penelope spoke up, “Nothing is impossible. We just have to change our perception. I seriously think that humans can live in new ways but that will never happen until some of us try out new ways. We don’t have to be stuck in the past. We need to get radical.”
“Right on,” said Frank who was sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table.
“Yeah, but don’t we all need boundaries?” asked Wendy.
Randall started to pace the room, “If we are heart-centered then we will be able to sense when we need to put up a boundary. Most of the boundaries we put up around us are automatic reactions conditioned by a lifetime of experiences and programmed thought patterns.”
Wendy replied, “Yeah but there are a lot of weirdos out there who desperately want to pull us into their dramas.”
Randall stopped pacing, “If we truly are in our hearts and inner guidance we can sense that. We can employ our psychic force fields when needed. And as we change our thinking we won’t be attracting that sort of thing so much. Yeah, the world is full of weirdos but what I’m asking is, can all of us, as a group, take down our walls and interact from our hearts in new and different ways among ourselves? Can we be the group that takes things to a new level?”
“Can we be the vanguard?” added Penelope.
Jenny let go of her hair, “I don’t know, man. We talk about getting out of our heads and into our hearts but right now I think we are all just over-thinking everything.”
A silence fell over the group.
Then, suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Wendy set her dog down on the floor and jumped to her feet, “The pizza is here! The pizza is here!”
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Stories by White Feather
More atypical flash fiction…
