Formed in 2011, cReative asyLum was a reading and discussion group aimed at investigating the psychological roots of evil and violence in the world. For 12 years, we drew upon texts from literature, history, depth psychology, and Indian philosophy to better understand tumultuous events breaking out across the world, from the Arab Spring to the rise of authoritarianism across the globe.
Why 3W Founded cReative asyLum
Seeking ways of staying calm and mindful in challenging times — proposal to move to higher ground through this reading group for like- minded thinkers
Observing the world as it grapples with the archetype of the apocalypse and this reading group prepares us to experience these remarkable events as informed, calm, and forward-looking individuals
The first two books focus on the psychological source of evil and violence while the third discusses the alternative, less polarizing modes of thought and action
We looked to the past in order to understand our present locating the capacity within oneself for both creating beauty and acting out violence in order to open up authentic compassion for all people and events (understanding the vital action of complementary opposites in creating action, both on the micro- and macro-scale)
Participants learned to read, critically analyze, and discuss texts both thinkingly and feelingly, in order to ground ideas in individual experience and process experiences through multiple lenses of perception
Learning to discern the influence of the writer’s worldview and conditioning on the contents of the writing itself, as well as discerning hidden agendas in both group dynamics and individual interactions
Learned facilitation skills for leading a group through open-ended discussion, including caring behaviors and effective interventions for keeping discussions on track to develop insight