LifeInsights is a place of: Connecting – Community – Love
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Welcome! Our LifeInsights group started in 2018 with the vision that we can make our world a better place if we intentionally take a little time to get to know more people around us, sharing in this thing we call “life.” All are welcome. Come as you are. Be who you are. LifeInsights is always free to attend. Join us in our small endeavor to bring our community together, know our neighbors, and build new friendships along the way.
Our Objective: Love Our Neighbors
Participant Comments:
“We are all looking for places in our lives to experience life with others regardless of our various points of view. LifeInsights creates this place and more: new experiences, people and insights are a part of each gathering. This happens because Kevin’s graceful way of facilitating this unique opportunity.” – Russell
“I’ve attended LifeInsights for 3 years to increase my self-awareness and enjoy new friendships. The benefits of self- awareness for me are decreased assumptions and biases, increased empathy for others and better listening skills. The group discussions help me understand societal issues and personal experiences from multiple perspectives.” – Ginny“In a world that seems more divisive and intolerant than ever, Life Insights is a group where folks of all religions or none, and all political views gather to share time together and learn from each other in a friendly and respectful environment. Here, we meet new people and new ideas and share some old ones that we hope make the world and our community a better place.” – Cayton
“My husband and I have enjoyed being a part of LifeInsights for the past 3 years. It’s a safe place where we meet new people, explore ways to relate to others, and learn various information.”
Want to know more about our LifeInsights Group?
CLICK HERE
Otherwise, read on to learn about what’s coming next.
This isn’t a photography class. This is about LIFE and it’s FREE!
All are invited. Always FREE to attend.
All are invited. Always.
Whether we are doing a dinner outing, or a book study, or watching a documentary, or having a guest speaker, or going for a hike, you are invited.
Schedule – Generally 1st & 3rd Mondays
With Occasional Exceptions 🙂
Where We Meet:
11740 Jollyville Rd. Suite 400, Austin, TX
(Kevin Gourley Photography Studio)
What’s Next:
I will be out of town most of September and part of October due to workshops I am leading so our next meeting will be October 14th!
TED TALK Watch Party and Potluck
2 Videos
“Indigenous In Plain Sight” – Gregg Deal
“Why aren’t there more Native American restaurants?” – Sean Sherman
When: October 14th 6:30pm
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Where: Kevin Gourley Photography Studio, 11740 Jollyville Rd. Suite 400, Austin, TX
RSVP: Let me know if you are coming so I know how to set up the room!
Let’s do this as a potluck dinner – bring some food item to share!
An idea if you like to cook: Bring a food item that is a Native American cuisine! Here’s a website with some recipes
More About These TED Talks:
“Indigenous In Plain Sight” (we actually watched this back in 2022, but we’re showing it again). [13 minutes] The indigenous existence in Western and American culture is narrowly viewed and accepted with little to no input from actual Indigenous people. Gregg Deal talks about the use of history as a tool while he navigates the restrictions thrusts upon his work as a contemporary artist while challenging those who hear his words to take responsibility for their knowledge, and create room for this nation’s First Peoples.
“Why aren’t there more Native American restaurants?” [18 minutes] When you think of North American cuisine, do Indigenous foods come to mind? Chef Sean Sherman serves up an essential history lesson that explains the absence of Native American culinary traditions across the continent, highlighting why revitalizing Indigenous education sits at the center of a better diet and healthier relationship with the planet.
I hope to can join us!
Do you like to walk / hike?
Join our LetsWalk ATX hiking group!
We’re a group in Austin Texas who likes to go on walks/hikes. No particular organization or schedule. Many walks are just spontaneous (anyone can ask: “hey, who’s interested in joining us?”). This isn’t about hard core exercise, although walking is really good for you! We enjoy sharing life and discussing life with one another as we hike. Invite your friends to join us!
About LifeInsights
Welcome! Our LifeInsights group is something we started in 2018 with the vision that we can make our world a better place if we intentionally take a little time to get to know more people around us, and sharing in this thing we call “life.” This group is FREE to attend. :-)
Society has become increasingly polarized, fed by so many factors: politics, the pandemic, agendas, news media, social media (which is proving to be pretty anti-social), etc. It is easy to get pulled into that mess, further stirring up mistrust, suspicion, mistruths, and deception and it all becomes quite depressing. We started this LifeInsights group as a place to connect with others, foster a refuge, a safe place to come together, in spite of our differences, connecting with each other’s humanity, caring for one another. We don’t claim to have all the answers. We don’t all see life the same way. Even so we can still care about others. We invite you to join us.
In a sense, our goal is simply to love our neighbors.
Our “neighbors” are the people we encounter in our life, the people next door, the people in our city, our coworkers, our friends, and this includes the people who may or may not be like us at all. What a world this would be if we could all do more to love our neighbors. We are trying to do our part, at least in a small way.
We initially started out meeting in person at my business, a photography studio in NW Austin. We started with a book study of The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. From there, we decided to continue with more book discussions, and then we expanded our activities to include watch parties for TED Talks and documentaries followed by discussion time, and then we started also inviting a wide range of fascinating guest speakers including people who are striving to make our community better in some way, or are sharing from their life experiences with various disabilities and challenges. We also occasionally hosted pot luck dinners or outings to area restaurants and occasional breakfast get-togethers.
When this COVID-19 crisis turned our world upside down, we didn’t let that stop us! We switched to doing online meetings using Zoom video conferencing, just scheduling programs week to week. Then, after several months, we all started experiencing “Zoom fatigue” so we took a break until we could start resume meeting in person again! Yay! We are finally meeting in person again!
By the way, what does this have to do with photography? I mean, we are doing this at my photography studio, so what’s the connection? Well, my studio just seemed like a good place as any to do this since it has a classroom space. But yes there is a connection to photography. The images we create are influenced tremendously by how we see the world around us. In fact how we see the world around us influences our photography way more than the particular make and model of camera we own. So why not spend some time exploring meaningful insights about life? It might just affect your photography, and you will likely make some new friends along the way. And if you are not a photographer, you are definitely welcome to join us also! This group is for anyone / everyone!
Interested? Let’s talk. 🙂
Here’s what participants are saying …
- “Thank you for continuing to facilitate the LifeInsights group. Scheduling, setting up topics, speakers, communicating with members, etc. in a regular setting takes a lot of effort but during a pandemic it is extraordinary. I’ve enjoyed every meeting/class both in person and virtual.”
- “The discussion last night about the powerful TED talk was great.”
- “What you do ABSOLUTELY makes a difference! You provide a safe space for us to have a courageous conversation about race in America. And not only race, but other issues as well that stimulate and challenges our way of thinking about ourselves, each other and the world. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a place to go and voice their thoughts out loud in a safe place.”
- “I enjoyed listening and sharing our opinions about a particular book among the group. The group is very non-threatening, open, and kind.”
- “I’ve enjoyed getting to know many new people through this group, through book or video discussions, field trips, and dinners. It’s a great group of kind people who can talk about their differing perspectives on a variety of topics.”
- “Meeting new people and being able to discuss things in a non-critical way.”
- “I have loved getting to know new people and sharing insights.”
- “I’ve enjoyed meeting all these people. It’s fun getting to know and try to understand each person’s quest to learn and be involved with these very different books.”
- “I have enjoyed the fellowship and connection with our group of ‘neighbors.’ I like hearing others’ points of view and gain more understanding of whatever we’re discussing. I look forward to visiting with this group of friends now, whatever the activity.”
- “I really like everyone too. They feel like family!”
- “I’ve enjoyed getting to know many new people through this group, through book or video discussions, field trips, and dinners. It’s a great group of kind people who can talk about their differing perspectives on a variety of topics.”
- “I’ve only been to two of them due to my travel schedule but enjoyed both the dinner and the discussion group.”
- Experience new things! “Doug and I had never been to a drum circle before and had never heard of Community First Village. We enjoyed the lights and the movie there and enjoyed the drum circle too.”
- “I have always enjoyed events when I have attended. The people have always been welcoming and open to all ideas. It is a great group of people.”
Here was our first group when we started this at my studio:
We have done a bunch of different book studies:
… and a wide range of TED Talk “watch parties” and discussions
… and discussions about various documentaries
We have had some absolutely wonderful guest speakers:
We had a fun time at our Drum Circle and Picnic Around a Campfire at South Wind Equestrian Center in Leander!
We’ve eaten together, pot lucks, dinner outings to area restaurants
We had a fantastic study of the book “The Road Back to You” led by two licensed professional counselors,
Lisa Blackwood and Sherri Woodworth.
Here are more details about our previous activities:
- August 19, 2024 TED Talk Discussion “Is someone you love suffering in silence? Here’s what to do.” – Suicide Prevention
- Limited Meetings During Summer Months
- June 17, 2024 Two TED Talks – Discussion
- The Secret to a Longer Life May Be Your Social Life – Susan Pinker
- There’s More to Life than Being Happy – Emily Esfahani Smith
- May 20, 2024 6:45pm Watch Party: The Year of Living Biblically | A.J. Jacobs | Talks at Google
- May 6, 2024 6:45pm Dinner Outing to Jack Allen’s Kitchen, Round Rock
- April 15, 2024 7pm Watch Party “Transcending Failure – Rising Strong” – Video interview Oprah Winfrey with Brene Brown
- April 1, 2024 7pm Guest Speaker: John Rudd – President Mobility Worldwide Austin
- Mondays February 5, 19, March 4, 18 “Multi-Part Discussion for February/March 2024 – “That Scandalous Rabbi Jesus” March 4, 18 2024 7pm” led by Guest Bill Henderson [First session included a free taco bar]
- Monday January 29, 2024 7pm – The Charlie Center – Serving the Homeless Population in North Austin – Guest Speaker, Leah Hargrave
- January 26, 2024 Lunch at Newk’s Restaurant
- December 18, 2023 6:30pm – Dinner Outing to La Margarita in Round Rock
- Dec 2, 2023 5:30pm Our annual visit to Community First Village of Lights! 18 of us attended!
- Nov 20, 2023 6:30pm: Gratitude – The importance of giving thanks at Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner
- Nov 6, 2023 7pm: An Important Discussion about Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking | Guest Speaker Teri Jansen
- October 2, 2023 7pm Watch Party: “Changing the way we see Native Americans” – Matika Wilbur – TEDxTeachersCollege
- September, 2023 Break
- August 28, 2023 7pm Watch Party “Rainn Wilson on the secret to happiness: One-on-one with Stephanie Ruhle”
- August 14, 2023 7pm TED Talk Watch Party “How Dolly Parton Led Me to an Epiphany – Jad Abumrad”
- July 10, 2023 7pm TED Talk Watch Party and Potluck “Faith and Doubt – Greg Tonkinson”
- June 23. 2-23 6:30pm Dinner Outing to Y’alls Down Home Cafe in Round Rock
- June 19, 2023 7:00pm Juneteenth Documentary Watch Party & Potluck
- May 19, 2023 7:30pm Attended Williamson County Symphony at the new Lakeline Park in Cedar Park
- May 15, 2023 6:30pm Dinner Outing to Taste of Ethiopia in Pflugerville
- May 1, 2023 7pm TED Talk & Potluck – The Danger of a Single Story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- April 24, 2023 7pm TED Talk & Potluck – How Radical Hospitality Can Change the Lives of the Formerly Incarcerated – Reuben Jonathan Miller
- March 27, 2023 7pm TED Talk – A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person
- March 6, 2023 6:30pm – Documentary Watch Party and Potluck Dinner – Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times
- February 20, 2023 Book Discussion and Potluck: “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”
- February 6, 2023 “Know Your Neighbor” program with a representative from the H.E.Butt Foundation – Presentation and Potluck Dinner
- January 16, 2023 Documentary Potluck Watch Party – “Martin Luther King Jr. – Enough is Enough”
- December 12, 2022 Home for the Holidays Watch Party – Collected Donations for the Hill Country Community Ministries Food Pantry
- December 9, 2022 5:30pm Community First Village of Lights
- November 7, 2022 Book Discussion/Video: “The Four Agreements”
- October 17 and 24, 2022 No Meeting
- October 10, 2022 – Potluck/Watch Party – Indigenous People’s Day
Indigenous in Plain Sight
Honoring indigenous cultures and histories: Indigenous Futurisms: Cultures of Radical Love - October 3, 2022 – Potluck/Watch Party – Two videos by Buddhist Nun Pema Chodron on Transcending Resentment and Relaxing with Impermanence
- September 2022 Break while Kevin & Gail were leading workshops in Colorado
- Monday September 5, 2022 – Eva Cassidy Documentary Watch Party and Pot Luck
- Monday August 1-29, 2022 The Kindness Diaries – Potluck Watch Parties
- Monday July 25, 2022 Brene Brown – Atlas of the Heart Series Watch Party and Snacks
- Monday July 18, 2022 Mid-Summer Break
- Monday July 11, 2022 Dinner Outing!
- Monday July 4, 2022 Independence Day Break!
- Monday May-June, 2022 Brene Brown – Atlas of the Heart Series Watch Party and Snacks
- Monday April 18, 2022 TED Talk Watch Party: Listening to Shame – Brené Brown – Watch Party and Snacks
- Monday April 4, 2022 TED Talk Watch Party: “What I learned from 100 days of rejection” – Jia Jiang
- Saturday March 19, 2022 Celebrate Grand Opening of Cinful Sweets storefront! Congratulations Cinthya Romriell!
- Monday March 14, 2022 6pm CDT Pizza Night at Pour House Pints & Pies (on Jollyville Road)
- Monday March 1, 2021 7:00pm CST
Breaking the Isolation Happy Hour - Monday February 1, 2021 7:00pm CST
Discussion over Zoom of a Brene Brown Podcast “Brene on Words, Actions, Dehumanization, and Accountability“ - Monday January 18, 2021 7:00pm CST
Discussion over Zoom of a Brene Brown Podcast “Brene on FFTs” - Monday December 21, 2020 7:00pm CST
Holiday Eggnog Virtual Happy Hour - Monday November 30, 2020 7:00pm CST
Virtual Happy Hour - Monday November 23, 2020 7:00pm CST
Virtual Happy Hour and chat with Cinthya Romriell about her experiences on Candy Land. - Sunday November 22, 2020 8:00pm CST
Watch Party of The Food Network’s Premiere of “Candy Land” - Sunday November 15, 2020 8:00pm CST
Watch Party of The Food Network’s Premiere of “Candy Land” with Pastry Chef / Chocolatier Cinthya Romriell of cinfulsweets.com! - Monday November 9, 2020 7:00pm CST
Chit-Chat & Chocolate Tasting with Pastry Chef / Chocolatier Cinthya Romriell of cinfulsweets.com! - Monday November 2, 2020 7:00pm CST
Discussion on the Netflix docudrama: ‘ The Social Dilemma’ - October 19, 2020 7:00pm CDT
A look at how the concept of Native American “Listening Circles” are being used today, with Guest Darius Pettway - Monday October 12, 2020 7:00pm CDT TED Talk Watch Party: America’s Native Prisoners of War – Aaron Huey
- Monday October 5, 2020 7:00pm CDT Topic: Life Recovery
Guest Speakers Ellen Mainiero and Randy Nettles - Monday September 28, 2020 7:00pm CDT Topic: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator – Tim Urban – TED Talk Watch Party
- Monday September 21, 2020 – BREAK – No class!
- Monday September 14, 2020 7:00pm Topic: Surprising Lessons in Facing Rejection – Youtube Video Discussion
- Monday August 31, 2020 7:00pm Virtual Happy Hour
- Monday August 24, 2020 7:00pm Well-Being During COVID-19
- Monday August 10th and 17th, 2020 – BREAK – No class!
- Monday August 3, 2020 7pm CDT Watch Party
“The Truth About the Confederacy in the United States” – Jeffery Robinson Video Discussion regarding this YouTube Talk: (click here) - Monday July 27th, 2020 7pm CDT – Watch Party TED Talk
“To This Day … for the bullied and the beautiful” – Shane Koyczan - Monday July 20th 7pm MORE Thought Provoking Questions – Open Discussion
- Monday July 13th 7pm Thought Provoking Questions – Open Discussion – An Informal Discussion – Just a time to get together and pick a couple of questions from this website and discuss. https://bucketlistjourney.net/365-thought-provoking-questions-answered/
- Monday July 6th TED Talk Discussion “Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies” – Daryl Davis
- Monday June 22nd 7pm CDT – Book Discussion
“Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. - June 20, 2020 “A Conversation of Understanding – Race Relations in America” – A special video conference we collaborated to put together with Darius Pettway (https://www.dariuspettway.com/)
If you missed out, we recorded it! You can view it here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ixKLSsNMI - June 8, 2020 8pm Just Mercy – Movie Watch and Discussion
A powerful and thought-provoking true story following lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice against racial prejudice and oppression. - Monday June 1, 2020 7pm Online Happy Hour
- Monday May 18, 2020 7pm
Online TED Talk Watch Party
“The Gift and Power of Emotional Courage” by Susan David - Monday May 11, 2020 7pm
Online Brené Brown Talk Watch Party
“Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count” - Monday April 27, 2020 7pm
Online TED Talk Watch Party
“How the Worst Moments in Our Lives Make Us Who We Are”
by Andrew Solomon - Monday April 20, 2020 7pm
Online Virtual Meeting using ZoomWho’s My Neighbor . . . Who Am I?
Career/Passions Share Time - Monday April 13, 2020 7pm
Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom
Book Discussion: “Wonder” by RJ Palacio - Monday April 6, 2020 7pm “Virtual Happy Hour” BYOB 😉
Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom - Monday March 30, 2020 7pm “Virtual Happy Hour” BYOB 😉
Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom - Monday March 23, 2020 Online Virtual Meeting using Zoom – Simply to connect with each other to share how we’re all making it through this crisis.
- Monday March 9th, 2020 7pm: Perspectives on Growing Up BLIND
Guest Speaker: Ann Foxworth - Monday March 2, 2020 6:30pm Dinner Outing! CraigO’s Pizza and Pastaria 5501 Balcones Dr. in Austin http://craigositalian.com/Balcones/
- February 3, 10, 17, 24 4, 2020 Book Discussion
“The Road Back to You” Led by licensed professional counselors Lisa Blackwood and Sherri Woodworth - Thursday February 6th, 2020 7am Breakfast at Kerbey Lane Cafe
- Monday January 27th, 2020 7pm Documentary Watch Party
With potluck food. CBS News Story: “Photo Finish – Kodachrome” – National Geographic Documentary: “The Last Roll of Kodachrome” - Breakfast Get-Together Wednesday January 22nd, 2020 7am at Jim’s Restaurant.
- Monday January 6th, 2020 Movie Night! Kodachrome (the movie)
- December 16, 2019 Guest Speaker David Dauber – Accessibility Specialist in the Civil Rights Department of the State of Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in Austin, Texas. and co-producer, performer, writer and promoter of The Gene and Dave Show
- Potluck Dinner and Guest Speaker Kaylee Lartigue
Kaylee progressively lost her hearing as a young child but never let that hold her back. She’s an activist advocating for the Deaf community. More info: Click Here - December 7th 2019 Community First! Village of Lights and Movie Night
- December 2nd Happy Holidays Party!
- Special Program – We Are Not Broken – Volunteers Info Meeting
- Guest Speaker Matt Freeman – Spiritual Director for Mobile Loaves & Fishes – Community First! Village
- November 1st FUN EVENING – Drum Circle and Picnic Around Campfire at South Wind Equestrian Center in Leander
- Dinner Outing: Mandola’s Italian Kitchen, Cedar Park
- Book Discussion: “Broken Open – How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow” by Elizabeth Lesser
- Guest Speaker: Deborah Cole, MSF, LUT
Author of Forthcoming Book: “Letting Go: How Less Becomes More”
Topic: “The Heart and Soul of Cuba: The People” - Guest Speaker: Nichola Cotto, Photographer and founder of an amazing organization: We Are Not Broken
- Guest Speaker: Bill Schoening, Radio Voice of the San Antonio Spurs helping make a positive impact on men incarcerated in Texas prisons.
- Guest Speaker: Kelly Jones, founder of Unbridled Connection – Creating Connections Between Horses and Humans which supports military and first responders, and their families, by providing a safe, confidential, therapeutic environment that promotes healing through deeper connections and improved relationships.
- Stories and photos from our Rocky Mountain Photography Workshop – Kevin Gourley
- Documentary – Watch and Discuss
Brene Brown: “The Call to Courage”
(we watched it a 2nd time, it was so good!!) - Dinner Outing: Ike’s Love and Sandwich in Cedar Park
- TED Talk Watch and Discuss:
“Say Your Truths and Seek Them in Others” – Elizabeth Lesser - “The Kindness Diaries” We’ll watch an episode and discuss.
- TED Talk Watch and Discuss
“What Makes a Good Life: Study on Happiness” Robert Waldinger - TED Talk Discussion with Fiona McInally
“The Missing Connections in the Fight Against Poverty” - Documentary – Watch and Discuss
Brene Brown: “The Call to Courage” - “Meet the Author” Session and Potluck Dinner with Author Darius Pettway
- Book Discussion of “A Chance To…” by Darius Pettway
Darius is working to restore opportunity to young adults by providing them with tools of leadership, self-empowerment and conflict resolution. - TED Talk Discussion Forum
- “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” – Bryan Stevenson
- “My Stroke of Insight” – Jill Bolte Taylor
- Dinner at Nancy’s Sky Garden (Cedar Park)
- Book Discussion: Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habitsby Gretchen Rubin
- Dinner at Almarah Mediterranean Cuisine (620/Lake Creek Parkway)
- Dinner at Kerbey Lane (Anderson Mill/183)
6pm Monday December 3, 2018 - TED Talks – Discussion Forum
- Do Schools Kill Creativity? Sir Ken Robinson
- Bring On the Learning Revolution Sir Ken Robinson
- Book Discussion: The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life by Erwin McManus
- Documentary and Discussion: Finding Vivian Maier
- TED Talks – Discussion Forum
- The Power of Introverts – Susan Cain
- The Surprising Science of Happiness – Dan Gilbert
- Your Elusive Creative Genius – Elizabeth Gilbert
- Book Discussion: “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life” by Cami Walker
- Dinner at Kerbey Lane
- Book Discussion: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are” by Brene Brown
LifeInsights Recipe Sharing!
Share some of your favorite recipes! Then we challenge others in the group to MAKE the recipe and post your results and send a photo!
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe – Cathy White
- Nicole’s Vegetarian Zoodles Spaghetti – Nicole de Falcis
“If we focus our attention on what we have lost, we lose sight of what we have, and in doing so, we have lost even more.”
Kevin Gourley
