The last 150 years have seen unprecedented mayhem and bloodshed. They've also hosted experiments in conflict resolution so grand and successful as to defy belief.
I spent the last few years doing podcasts, videos, writing blogs, and reading books to train my "mediation mindset". I'm trying to see beyond the sides, tribes, and positions and understand the deeper interests of every participant in the conflict.
(That doesn't mean I don't have a side. I definitely have a side! It's called "Unconditional Love".)
125+ episodes and 80+ newsletters later, I'm launching a new project:
Digging into the broader literature -- ancient and modern -- of how to grow a Beloved Community out of a diverse and chaotic world.
This will include theory on community building and conflict resolution, experiments in human psychology, history of ongoing and "solved" conflicts, and understanding the forces that feed conflict (humiliation, scarcity, governance, Othering).
Basically it's non-fiction about (1) the Texture of the mess we're in, and (2) how we can effectively Work our way out of it.
This work is of prime importance for humans who want to be part of the solution, but wading through the literature takes a hell of a long time. It also involves reading triggering (or just distasteful) perspectives, in order to harvest their fragment of the Truth.
I'm going to do all that so you don't have to.
Instead of spending a dozen hours deciphering dense prose you can just read my email in 5-10 minutes.
Each week's email will present the key insights from whatever I studied that week as well as experiments you can run in your own life inspired by that week's insights. I'll also link to a curated list of my favorite quotes from the work in question in case you want to go deeper into the primary source.
The emails won't be summaries (nobody remembers those) and they won't be reviews (do we need more critics?). I will be Milking the Text for anything potentially valuable during our journey towards the Beloved Community.
If you know my work, you know you can trust me to:
- Go deep
- Keep it short, and
- Have a sense of humor.
Conflict exists at all scales: within us, between us, and around us.
My goal is to give you tools to improve your relationships: with yourself, with your families, your friends, your communities, and the broader world of humankind.
In doing so, you will undoubtedly grow in the kind of leadership we all so desperately need
Membership has its privileges:
- The weekly Future of Conflict email (the main event)
- A Web-based archive of all previous Future of Conflict emails
- An opportunity to decide what goes on the reading list (periodic polls and votes)
- Printable PDF versions of Future of Conflict emails (what's up, luddites? I got your back!)
- Async Q&A with me about how these insights can be even more relevant to your life
- Access to a 1:1 Zoom/Phone Conflict Coaching session with me, if you ever need it
"All for the low, low introductory price of..."
"I'm not only the president, I'm also a client..."
"Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back..."
etc.
Yours,
Ankur (ankurdelight.com)