How is Collective Action Related to Conflict Resolution? "What do you do when the conflict you have is not with an individual? When you are in conflict with a policy, a law, something unfair in society?"

I grew up with a healthy concern about curiosity, though I had plenty of it. My New England aunt cautioned regularly that curiosity killed the cat. 

Biases are part of the human condition. And biases themselves aren't necessarily good or bad -- it’s the actions fueled by the biases that are problematic.

Over the last few decades, personality tests have gained popularity -- in magazines, newspapers and now online -- suggesting a wide-ranging interest in self-discovery.

Conflicts in the Digital Age: The ding of a text notification. The swoosh of an outgoing email. That little red bubble alerting you to Facebook and Instagram messages.

Tone of voice can cause or calm a conflict: Try this: Say 'That's really interesting' in a normal and even-handed tone of voice. Now say it again in a bored tone. And in the way you would when you're surprised. Or with sarcasm.

Power is the ability to influence an outcome or complete a task. To understand power, it is vital to know the context in which it is being exerted and the other forces and influences in play.

Assumptions get in the way of conflict resolution. I call it snapshot thinking. A person takes a mental snapshot and fills in all kinds of information that may or may not be true based on their biases, imagination, fear and limited experience. 

Language Matters: Paulo Freire, Brazilian educational theorist, famously said "language is not neutral."

For some, competitive verbal sparring is a way of life. Others might be uncomfortable with arguing. Opinionated chatter is one thing, when the stakes a low. When strong disagreements arise within a relationship, workplace or family, though; what to do?

Conflicts are driven by values: Pick a conflict, any conflict. You don't have to look too deeply to see that the conflict is, at least in part, fueled by individual values.

The problem of the twenty first century is othering. The solution is belonging. These are the words of Dr. john a. powell who has dedicated his life to teaching and writing about othering, belonging and what he calls bridging; the way to get from one to the other.

We’ve all got families: birth, chosen, adoptive, step, nuclear, extended. Whatever type of family is yours, along with the joys and shared milestones, there’s likely a common factor: unresolved conflict. 

Time -- the conflict causer and conflict resolver: We all have our own time conceptions. For some, existence is measured in the context of the last seven generations or centuries.

Identities and Conflicts are Related. We all self-identify: Some of these identities are obvious, based on something inherent: 1980's baby, tall, youngest sibling. 

It’s rough out there. Wars, atrocities, mass shootings, global warming, toxic polarization, free-floating anger and anxiety.

There is a lot of unresolved conflict connected to diverse generational culture and expectations.

What is US and THEM and what does it have to do with Conflict? In social philosophy, objectification is the act of treating a person as an object. It is part of dehumanization -- the act of disavowing the humanity of others.

We are all in this together.  It’s a phrase we don’t hear enough of these days, and it brings forth the idea of mutuality.  Mutuality is a positive, interactive relationship between people. The word comes from mutual -- meaning given and received in a reciprocal way.

We're going to talk about bodies. No, don't click off. There's no way to talk about body language without talking about bodies.