FDR Meetup Connects Us With Others

[Melesina]

[Updated February 5, 2015, to update due to the discontinuation of the Meetup Everywhere platform]

 

One of the first things I did when joining the FDR community online, was to explore every nook of the FDR web site. I was elated to discover FDR was associated with Meetup and eagerly clicked the big blue 'Meetup Groups' button on the Community page. Having been involved in Meetups for over six years, what it meant to me was that there would likely be members of FDR in my geographical area. The prospect of meeting others from FDR face-to-face was both exciting and scary at the same time.

 

At that time in my life, I had been listening to some of Stef's books and podcasts intermittently for about a year, but it wasn't until the fall of 2013 that I delved into it deeper. It had become overwhelmingly clear I had only scratched the surface of what was to come in my life. One of the first changes was the break-up of the 2+ year relationship I had been in and I also began to find it difficult to have the empty conversations with those in my daily round at the office. The only person I had meaningful conversations with at that time (and still do) was the person who introduced me to FDR which is my son. There had indeed been a shift in my thinking and reasoning and understanding of the world.

 

I began to recognize that having people in one's life with whom you can have an honest and trusting relationship, whether it be as friends or romantically, would be the most worthwhile social endeavor. The question became how to meet them. Where were these people out there in the world that I could talk with openly and have meaningful conversations? They were right there...in FDR; in the forum, in the chatroom, opening their hearts on podcasts, and reaching out through Meetup. Each one comes with it's own method of communication and interaction.

 

I embraced each form of interaction, and with each one, my self-knowledge over the months has grown. Learning more about myself couldn't be avoided once I opened my mind and heart and let in the people I began to meet there. Of course, the pursuit of self-knowledge is ongoing and will be a lifelong process.

 

The interaction I've come to embrace the most in the FDR community is Meetup. I had attended several types of Meetups over the past few years, ranging from dance lessons to hiking, and had been a past assistant organizer while living in Texas for a year, so it's something I was already familiar with.

 

At that time, the Meetup Everywhere platform was still in place; however, effective December 1, 2014, Meetup.com discontinued the feature. While people can still set up a Meetup group on the Meetup.com site, it does cost a monthly fee. The other option for those who want to organize an FDR Meetup group has been to use other social media for news and postings about their group such as Facebook.

 

If you're looking to find and meet FDR members who reside within a close enough geographical area to meet face-to-face, take time to check for FDR Meetup groups in your area; using the Meet n Greet section of the forum here on the FDR Board, Meetup, or Facebook. Otherwise, you might not realize an FDR member lives right in your neighborhood. Even if they're not that nearby, how awesome to even have the opportunity to take a drive and get together in person with people who share your enthusiasm for honesty and rational thinking. As one who has taken that drive, I can relate that it's well worth it.

 

Philosophy is about taking action. We, the members of the FDR community are out there. I encourage you to see who's there to greet you. If you don't find a community in your area, consider becoming an Organizer and starting a group. What's required is a commitment to invest your time and effort. Take that important step and be there to greet others who are looking for honesty, personal integrity, and a life where we can connect to make a difference. Stef said it best when he said, “When we connect with each other, we free the world”.

 

If you decide to become an organizer, we have a Freedomain Radio Meetup Organizers group on Facebook and we welcome your participation, as we help each other through the process of developing and promoting FDR Meetups in our areas.

 

“I think that personal integrity and commitment to values and so on is really important, but the people who are around us...

Who you surround yourself with is who you're gonna be.” - Stefan Molyneux (FDR2544)

[coldix]

HI all, I'm a new member from Albany Western Australia, this is my 1st post. I am wondering if there are any FDR listeners in my part of the world? Cheers Colin

[Melesina]

HI all, I'm a new member from Albany Western Australia, this is my 1st post. I am wondering if there are any FDR listeners in my part of the world? Cheers Colin

 

Hi, coldix. There are a few different Meetup groups in Australia, though I think the miles between are considerable. The nearest to you appears to be Perth... http://www.meetup.com/Freedomain-Radio/Perth-AU/. Have you considered starting a Meetup group in Albany AU?

[coldix]

Hi Melesina,

I should do, its 400km to Perth big country Australia, next week I driving to Exmouth to spend 3 weeks at Ningaloo Reef, 1,600km away. 

 

I just joined the Perth Group but doubt that I will be able to make a meetup.

 

 

When I lived in Perth I joined this group and went to a couple of meetups.

http://www.meetup.com/FreoCafePhilo/events/58883042/

 

http://www.meetup.com/members/8032798/ is my meetup profile.

 

cheers Colin

[SueBee]

There is a meetup scheduled for Thursday July 10 in Edmonton, 7 pm, Garneau Transcend.

[Melesina]

There is a meetup scheduled for Thursday July 10 in Edmonton, 7 pm, Garneau Transcend.

 

SueBee, the FDR Meetup site shows the date for Wednesday, July 9th. If you could confirm which date to use, I'll update the calendar on the freedomainradiomeetup.com site. It's awesome that you're getting Meetups started in Edmonton!

[SueBee]

Hey thanks for catching that-  It certainly says Wednesday. What's there is what has been planned for the Meetup.

http://www.meetup.com/Freedomain-Radio/Edmonton/

[Melesina]

Meetup is discontinuing the "Meetup Everywhere" platform effective December 1, 2014. Meetup's official statement explains:

 

"In order to focus our resources on making it as easy as possible to help connect people with the community organizations they’ll love, Meetup will be discontinuing Meetup Everywhere on December 1, 2014.On that date, all communities on Meetup Everywhere will go offline. If you represent a local organization that has a Meetup Everywhere page, read on to learn more about what you can do to keep your community going."

 

In order to continue to have a Meetup group, organizers will need to visit Meetup.com and set up an account (which costs a monthly fee).

 

To find out more details, visit http://help.meetup.com/customer/portal/articles/1726205.

[Freedomain]

I'm waiting to hear back from them about the migration process for transferring the meet-up everywhere groups to meetup.com

[AynRand]

Anybody near Oklahoma city or Norman Ok?

[Melesina]

Giving this post a bump as the original post has been updated to reflect the changes in the discontinuation of the Meetup Everywhere platform. Info and links are provided to other options and a new ongoing project to be a replacement for the platform. Read more about the project in the article, "Replacement for the Discontinued Freedomain Radio Meetup Everywhere Platform".

 

If you're interested in being an active FDR Meetup Organizer, check out the Freedomain Radio Meetup Organizer group on facebook.

 

If you're already an Organizer and have a group page you want featured on the Freedomain Radio Meetup Worldwide web site, comment here or email me at [email protected].