Peter    Benjamin

Many of us sense that we inhabit a world in which the traditional sources of meaning and moral authority have been undermined, fractured, and in some cases, completely destroyed. The Social Capital Society is a community of friends and people of all ages seeking to reconstruct a functional system of meaning, truth, beauty, and goodness in a world that can be suspicious or even openly hostile to such a pursuit. 

How do we understand our deep religious impulses in a world that dismisses and ridicules the idea of God or the supernatural? What tools should we bring to bear on the problem of making sense of the profound complexity of our contemporary world? What place do dance, music, beauty, truth, love, and openness have in a world that seems to be primarily oriented toward economic and material? How do I refuse the endless temptations of immediate pleasure so that I might build something truly valuable for my future self and for others who count on me? What must I believe in order to practice a more spiritually integrated life? These are only a sampling of the kinds of questions the SCS might explore.

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The Social Capital Society Creed

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The most authentic experience of Being is available through the action of pursuing the highest value we can imagine. The path toward this value is illuminated by the apprehension of meaning. To discover meaning, we must take responsibility for our place in the world. To do this, we must tell our truth in every moment- especially when the path forward is unclear.

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Truth - Responsibility - Meaning - Value - Action - Being

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Social capital (a term first used by economists Jane Jacobs and Glenn Loury, but which I am modifying and expanding somewhat) is the currency with which individuals and groups build appreciation, admiration, acknowledgement, commitment, and reciprocity of action toward one another in the shared desire to pursue meaningful lives. The Social Capital Society operates in tandem with The Peter Benjamin Music Workshop and focuses on building individual, relational, and communal integrity through principles derived from collective action and dialectic process among those who participate. This dialectic is performed through the sharing and distribution of ideas, experiences, insights, knowledge, skills, and expertise. Put more simply, we come together to share our experiences, skills, knowledge, and insights in order to create a healthier world.

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The SCS seeks action, partnership, and service with a wide range of people and organizations. Here are just a few of the groups and organizations that we are involved with.

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Meetings and activities -

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Life, Labor, & Work - Discussions on how to integrate what you do for a living with what you do for life.

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We live in a time of significant economic and social change. As a expression of this change, the connection between our jobs, our relationships, our habits, and our health is perhaps more confusing than ever. The life, labor, and work discussion group is a one-on-one and/or group dialogue designed to give you tools and strategies on how best to optimize life's most important things. Contact Peter at peterbenjaminmusic@gmail.com to see how you can participate!

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Reflection, Value, & Dialogue - Identifying and orienting yourself toward your highest value.

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The religious act of worship is essentially one of acknowledging and orienting ourselves to the thing(s) we value most highly. For traditionally religious people, this highest value is understood as God. However, whether or not we consider ourselves religious, we all have a set of values that we arrange into some kind of hierarchy, whether or not we realize it. For some, it might be family.* For others it could be work. For still others it might be art, music, or some other creative pursuit. It's important to realize however, that any action in pursuit of our highest values is religious in nature. Unfortunately, many people are oriented toward the pursuit of things that aren't good for them or those around them. Perhaps we can re-identify and reformulate what we most value and reorient ourselves in pursuit of them such that our lives have the greatest possible meaning.

The Reflection, Value, and Dialogue program currently takes place Sunday mornings and is interactive educational group meeting focusing on the discussion and development of the core ideas and values out of which we can live the most authentic and productive human lives. The group focuses on biblical narratives as well as a diverse range of sources including academic, literary, film, music, and philosophical to more fully contextualize the stories that form the foundation of our shared civilization. This program is geared toward families,* groups, and individuals who may not have a strong doctrinal commitment within a church but who are interested in the foundational narratives and teaching of the biblical canon. Peter approaches The Bible and other sacred writings, narratives, and texts as a studied and informed lay-philosopher and experienced educator and whose lifestyle is heavily bent toward religious ideas and practice, regardless of their historical or cultural origins.

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* In my experience, one of the most powerful driving forces behind the loss of meaning in our lives has to do with the disappointment and dysfunction around the relationships within our own families. Humans understand and experience the fundamental realities of the world in large part through the personalities or images of the father, mother, and child. If our experience of these basic personalities of nature becomes somehow damaged or otherwise pathological, we will struggle to exist fully and authentically in the world as adults. Simply put, strengthening and repairing family roles and relationships is a major part of improving our lives.

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Contact Peter at peterbenjaminmusic@gmail.com to see how you can participate.