My dad has been talking about this meetup group he joined with me for months. Every week the group discusses a new topic chosen. I could always tell by our conversations how much he enjoyed attending the group. When I went down to Florida, I asked him to take me with him. It was held in a library and there were easily 25-30 people there. That weeks topic was quality of life. The meeting is run by a leader who just seems to start things off but the group is an open discussion. One person speaks at a time and like school you raise your name plate to be put on a list to speak in turn. I didn’t speak, but I was fascinated. I wanted to join a group like this. I wanted a group that made you think. I wanted a group where I can hear other people’s thoughts and learn something. I finally Googled last night. I found this on Wikipedia.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates_Cafe

Socrates Café are gatherings around the world where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange thoughtfully developed philosophical perspectives, based on their unique experiences, while embracing the version of the Socratic Method developed by founder Christopher Phillips. The groups model their discussions from the book of the same name by Christopher Phillips and the guide developed by Phillips at the website www.philosopher.org. Today, there are hundreds of ongoing gatherings around the globe coordinated by volunteers who share the common goal of making ours a more inclusive and participatory world.

This group is worldwide!!! The top 5 groups are:

1
The Mumbai Socrates Cafe Meetup Group
3,376 Socrates Cafe Communities | Mumbai, India
yaron Organized by yaron
2
Sydney Socrates Cafe
2,246 Philosophers | Sydney, Australia
Katherine Organized by Katherine
3
Socrates Café Dublin
1,828 Members | Dublin, Ireland
Paul Organized by Paul
4
The Santa Monica Philosophy Meetup Group
1,682 “Philosophy Enthusiasts” | Santa Monica, CA
Brian Organized by Brian
5
“Conversations New York”
1,671 Conversationalists | New York, NY
Ronald G. Organized by Ronald G.

Unfortuntely, even though I live in New York, the top 5 spot is in New York City. With Multiple Sclerosis, a once a week meetup, this is too difficult for me to attend. To make it even worse, there are absolutely NONE on Long Island, where I reside. This fact was absolutely shocking but true. I even tried to see if there was an online one, maybe where everyone FaceTime or calls in to a meeting line, but again, I found nothing. I was very disappointed. I really would have liked to participate in a group like this. I know when my dad sees this, he’d say so, start one, but I wouldn’t know where to begin. Although I hear him in my head telling me where to begin.  I just realized as I’m writing this, literally, his friend from the group wrote me a beautiful email about attending about the few minutes of interaction we had. I was so touched by her beautiful words it was unexpected, warm and genuine. I’m going to write her and ask her for any thoughts how I can start a group on Long Island. See dad, I hear you even when your not speaking.

Its a wonderful group if your interested, for more information https://www.meetup.com/topics/socratescafe/