kirby is facilitating socratic discussion?

the foundational catalyst for western philosophy (the philosophy that we have internalized here in america) came from socrates, a man who liked to ask questions pertaining to the nature of how we understand truth. a couple hundred years before jesus, socrates plopped his butt down in public spaces all across athens, greece and invited the public to consider the way in which they consider everything!

a fundamental portion of the spirit of socrates's work speaks to me - the asking in itself. over the course of my time in college and beyond, i found that in my groups of friends, i was often the one drawing my friends' eyes to deep, uncharted territory. this is territory that exists in and around all of us, however we may go decades without calling upon what lies out there! we may go decades without understanding what lies inside of us! our own hearts!

this is of course a very personal endeavor, with the open invitation to bring to the surface what burdens you. when one allows themselves to be seen one takes this risk, to hold all of it. i am of the belief that we are all looking to take this risk. the risk of being ourselves! the risk of being ourselves deeply! as we are! where we are. and yes this is in us, however it is also beyond us! remember what life was like as a child, when you held questions and care in the smallest or largest of things! maybe you asked them aloud, verbalizing what nagged at you as the best mysteries are known to nag. we ask these questions like gifts, and we ourselves engage in the activity of wonder! i am utterly in LOVE with wonder!
we walk these lives and these paths amidst other walkers! there is community to be held in our wonder, and the activity it calls us into! there is community to be held in the sharing of our souls, and the relief of laying one's heart down! i speak all of this with implicit depth, however it is the mere asking that matters to me. as deep and wide as one may go, if you are game to play, i am game!

over the past few years i have been mentoring under a man who hosts deep discussion in the context of bible studies, Rabbi Alan Ullman. my stepping out into this form of teaching and discussion has been in large part thanks to his work and his encouragement. i am modeling much of what i dream of here from the experience of his studies.

as a brief foray into my imagination for the tangible - the format of socratic discussion, as i host it, would open with a grounding exercise to bring everyone's hearts and minds into the room. i would then ask a question along the lines of "what have you been pondering lately?" or "what's on your heart?" depending on the answers people bring, topics of discussion will arise! in a previous group, i had someone say that they've been thinking about motivation, describing their desire to be motivated for their personal creative projects - what a wonderful start! "what is the nature of motivation?" "where does one's creative engine come from?" the discussion would be held for ideally around two hours, and by the end who knows what we'll come out with!

as of 8/2/25 i am open and ready to engage in this work (and have done so a few times thus far)!
if you are interested in having me in, or you have any thoughts, questions, ideas, or maybe you just want to say hi, please contact me - kgmail@kirbygroves.com

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