7/11/2023 - Meeting Notes - The Golden Rule

Big thanks to Donna Murphy, the National Level Director of 1:1 Conversations, for leading us through the Golden Rule structured conversation exercise, which she created for Braver Angels. If you'd like to recreate the experience with a friend or family member, you cam download the conversation guide here. To learn more about 1:1, Braver Angels style, click here. Donna also recommended Braver Angels' Bridging the Divide workshop, which can be found at this link. 

Here are some reflections from the group after the exercise:

•  It helped me find the way to curiosity about the other person, enabling deeper connection with them.
•  I was surprised at how something as simple and familiar as the Golden Rule is actually so deep and demands so much from us.
• The closest relationships can be the hardest ones to apply this to.
• I realized that I came to the conversation with pre-judgments of the other person that made it hard to actually listen to them. I had to do work within myself to be able to really hear them.
• The Golden Rule requires me to actually put myself in the other person's shoes.
• There is a big difference between knowing the Golden Rule intellectually and being able to actually follow it. It requires me to give up my predispositions and my tendency to project assumptions onto the other person.