Conversations that lead to deeper understanding of ourselves, our relationships, and our communities

Guideposts are a tool by which we get oriented as we travel the road of life on the shared human pilgrimage.  These are carefully constructed conversations in which small groups of people talk about things they feel a sense of urgency about while embracing and celebrating the fact that they each hold different perspectives.  In a Guidepost conversation all have a common aim and each a unique point of view by which the group comes to understand the issue better and may perhaps find ways to act together to create more of what humanity needs.

Each Guidepost has a clearly defined topic which everyone in attendance wishes to address.  Each has a trained facilitator who is responsible for the structure and process of the event, but who does not direct the flow of the conversation.  Some are in-person and some on-line. 

Each iteration of the process informs the events to come by gathering information about what works and what doesn’t.  This is an evolving technology.

The first events will be in April, May and June of 2026.  Online events will be on the first Wednesday of each month on Zoom, and the in-person events will be on the third Friday at the office of the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution in St. Louis.

These events will address topics raised by the group More in Common and named here as chaos, corruption, and contempt.

Chaos: On-line April 1, In-person April 17:

There are a great number of things in the news and the public concern that give a sense of growing chaos.  Climate change, political polarization, human migration, impact of social media and of artificial intelligence…  Society is changing more rapidly than most of us can keep up.  How are you impacted by this disorder?  What do you see as the most fundamental cause?  What do you imagine will create a more stable order and what can you do to support the creation of that order?

Corruption: On-line May 6, In-person May 15:

One source of the chaos is the disruption of formerly stable social structure that are now collapsing because of some sort of corruption.  While the legal definition is rather narrow, what do you mean by corruption, how does it impact you, and what is your sense of what we need to do as a community to address it?

Contempt: On-line June 3,  In-person June 19:

No matter how you define your position in human society, there are those who express contempt for you.  You cannot take a stand on social media without someone belittling you.  You cannot hold a political conviction or choose to be politically neutral without there being someone who finds your stance to be reprehensible.  How and when do you experience the contempt of others?  Who do you have contempt for?  What are the consequences of this cultural climate and what might we do about it?

To sign up for any of these Guideposts, register here for in person, and here for on-line.

Guidelines for the conversations can be found here.

There is a common structure for the Guideposts which can be found here.