The Chicago Socialist Youth is an amalgam of independant, free thinking youth in Chicago dedicated on creating a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control - A non-racist, classless, feminist, environmentalist, socialist society in which people cooperate at work, at home, and in the community for the greater good. We seek a society that is based on the fundamental tenets of collective human decency instead of selfish individualism. We fight for a new social and economic …

Under Construction (but join!) (Note that this page as well as some outgoing links are NSFW.) This group is for people who have an intuition of something better, and who are pursuing it in every direction simultaneously. You have a sense of rightness and wrongness that cuts to the bone, and it doesn't line up with traditional religion or the zeitgeist. You're an information sponge, but you hold it all provisionally and pragmatically. You know that all truths are partial perspectives, i.e. wrong …

Anyone willing to give a thoughtful, honest, yet respectful, critique is welcome.  Many topics, genres and forms are welcome (Ex. chapter of a novel, short story, play, poem, article, essay, etc.).  While publishing is a worthy goal, the focus of this group is helping writers fine tune works, which either have literary value or are otherwise substantive (i.e. scholarly).  All such works are welcome. Those concerned with poverty, and / or human and animal rights and welfare, and similar issues (i …

This is a social-intellectual group in the spirit of the late great Atheist scholar and whiskey imbiber Christopher Hitchens. This group will meet bi-monthly at various local and friendly Chicago watering holes for camaraderie, community, mild drunkenness, and free-spirited discussions about the virtues and obstacles of our identity. We will also demonstrate through practice that ethical and altruistic behavior is innate and beneficial and not dependent upon a celestial creation. All Backgrounds …

This is a group to promote community between UU young adults in the Chicagoland area. Whether you've been a Unitarian Universalist for years, or you're just now starting to consider it, you are very welcome here. Typically the term "Young adult" refers to people between 18 and 35 years old, but there's no age restriction here. Hopefully we'll be able to meet regularly to talk, connect, work on social justice projects, and generally be around awesome people who share our values. There are seven p …

International Workers Day, which falls on May 1st of every year, is celebrated throughout the world (with the conspicuous exception of the United States of America). This holiday finds its origins in an event which occurred in Chicago, in May of 1886, and in the travesty of justice which ensued. Please click here for a brief synopsis of the full story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair The Haymarket Society exists to make sure that the legacy bequeathed to us by our patriots, who we …

Know that Mothers are the GUIDES to the Human Race. When Mothers bring life into this world, that moment is only about Love, about Creation, about Peace. In that moment, any life destroying another does not even exist. Somewhere along the time, something has been shifting, that we have the world as we have it. Let us all CONNECT, and connect with the FELLOW MOTHERS WORLDWIDE, to AWAKEN them to their role as the Guides to the Human communities. As Mothers own their power, and take on Guiding thei …

Discover a new path to spiritual awakening with spiritual teacher Ustad Mazhabi. About Us: Mawlana Faizani International is a nonprofit educational organization that was established in 1997 by spiritual teacher and visionary Ustad Mazhabi. As our name indicates, Mawlana Faizani International was established to represent the spiritual teachings and enlightenment of the authoritative spiritual leader, Mawlana Faizani. Mawlana Faizani is a Sufi master of the Qadri, Naqshbandi, Chishti and Suhrawar …

Maum Meditation is a simple 7 step method that allows anyone to become free of the limitations imposed by past experiences.  Maum means original mind, soul and spirit in Korean.  The past is recorded and stored within the body and mind as pictures.  These pictures, or images, dictate thoughts, emotions, desires, conceptions, behaviors and health.  Although these pictures are illusions, humans unknowingly live within the illusions thinking they are real. Due to the collective whole of these pictu …

This group is a place to meet others interested in rationality and cognitive bias. Come learn with us... and socialize, too! Since Kahneman and Tversky pioneered the science of human decision-making in the 1970's, researchers have developed a good understanding of how humans reason relative to the ideal. However, much of this research on cognitive bias has yet to trickle down into popular culture. The goal of Rational Future meetups is to promote the public understanding of rationality and human …

Shamanism encompasses the belief that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. The shaman also enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community. Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls …

Hello! Are you ready to revolutionize the way in which you are dating? Are you tired of the same ole meetup scene with the same faces? Do the bars and clubs fail to satisfy your dating needs? Do you feel as though eharmony and match.com is just not your cup of tea? Then welcome to my world! BEBWSM was created to change they way you approach dating while at the same time providing you with new faces, professional attitudes and beautiful people. There is a need within the minority community that n …

Do you love making people laugh? Would your life suck without comedy? Funny people, rejoice! Chicago Funny People is aimed at offering members lots of free and discounted comedy shows,workshops, and events to give you the quick fix and help you foster your funny bone. Please, leave your ego at the door! We aren't looking for 'social elites' or singles dead-set on finding a mate today; we want real people ready to take on the world in a fresh and human way! We all have a unique point of view and …

This is a different kind of singles group oriented toward non-religious people of all ages, backgrounds, sexual orientation, and gender. Whether you call yourself an atheist, agnostic, bright, disbeliever, freethinker, humanist, nonbeliever, pastafarian, rationalist, secular humanist, skeptic, "spiritual but not religious," or simply were not raised in with an organized religion and have no interest in one, you are welcome to this group! This group is open to singles from all around the Chicago …

Urban noir, subversive subculturalists. >Fire spinner performances >Burlesque >Offbeat circus >Aerial performances >Small magic shows >Odd spoken word >Culturally diverse >Freethinkers and rad speeches >Politically incorrect or alternative comedy >Cult film >Halloween or Halloweird-O depending on your bent >Alternative theatre >Performance art >Subculture art Subversive Subculture: a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the large …

Get INSPIRED!!! Join the BABC Chicago (a non-profit, business-forward, international organization) at our monthly event, The Speaker's Series. Each event features a fascinating speaker from all corners of the business world. You are bound to be inspired and motivated by their stories. A personal Q & A session allows you to pick the minds of some of today’s great business leaders! We have been graced by the presence of great minds such as, Laurence Geller of Strategic Hotels, Martin Radvan, Presi …

Get an insider's view on what it takes to develop a successful career from local Chicago experts. Each meeting will focus on a specific career and detail the job responsibilities, capabilities, intrinsic value and work environment of the expert's career focus. The meetings are offered as part of AltaStaff's CareerFocus program, a training program offered by this local, woman-owned boutique staffing agency to educate its associates on career and capability development.

Freethought Families of Chicago represent a local group of parents and families in the Chicagoland area with secular worldviews, humanist mindsets, and value science-based education. Those who wish to join us can look forward to regular family-friendly (and freethought-friendly) events and meetups around the area. Freethought Families of Chicago is affiliated with and run by the Chicago Freethought Project.

This is a discussion group about Positive Psychology Topics.

Meet other local atheists, agnostics and secular humanists. Gather to discuss beliefs and philosophies, and make new friends.

The Chicago Tao Cultivators seeks to explore the ironic, absurb and penetratingly insightful gentle "way" of wisdom - and hopefully in the process reach the end of logic and enjoy a really good laugh. Taoism can signify an unknowable and emphemeral cosmology - the "Void" - out of which every experience and being is born. But it can also reflect the smaller notion of understanding one's own nature as captured by the concept of "the uncarved block." Seemingly both simple and enigmatic, the writing …

"Stranger, here you do well to tarry; Here our highest good is pleasure" Join a gathering of Friends to discuss applied Epicurean philosophy; the research, science and philosophy of happiness; simple living, frugality, self-sufficiency; ataraxia, living the pleasant life and the analysed life, even perhaps gardening and other Epicurean interests as presented in the webpage for the International Society of Friends of Epicurus: societyofepicurus.com/ For more on Epicureanism, you may visit newepic …

This is a group for anyone interested in meeting other socialists and communists in Chicagoland, learning more about Marxism; turning radical ideas into real action and building a united movement for justice, equality and working class power.

Discourse cheers us to companionable reflection. Such reflection neither parades polemical opinions nor does it tolerate complaisant agreement. The sail of thinking keeps trimmed hard to the wind of the matter. -- from "On the Experience of Thinking," Heidegger "Philosophy is not a theory but an activity." -- from "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus," Wittgenstein Join us soon for friendship, cooperative discourse and mental exercise, all organized around an interest in our own engagements …

This is a group for anyone interested in arts, business, lectures, music, science, technology, outdoors, family events, education, book clubs and any event that can be organized with a secular approach. If you are an Agnostic, Atheist, Non-Religious, Freethinker, Rationalist, Secular, Skeptic, Cynic, Secular Humanist, Naturalist, Deist, 'Nothing,' or any number of non-religious descriptives, you belong here. Visit us at our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NOgodsLAND/3844180982 …

We welcome people in sex-positive jobs or lifestyles, or those who are just interested in sex-positive discussion and activities. This can include members of the following communities: BDSM, Swingers, Sex Workers, Pornographers, Academics, Gay, Lesbian, Queer, Intersexed, Trans People, Poly, AIDS Workers, Feminists, Students, Tantra, Free Speech, etc. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy our open, pro-sex community.

Here in Chicago, the group meetsevery 4th Monday of the month. Agnostics, atheists, humanists, naturalists, skeptics, freethinkers, etc. joining together for good food, drink and lively conversation.