Could heart, empowerment and conscious effectiveness be the pillars to aligning as a society and making progress on the issues that matter to us most? Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations—  a divide healing organization, thinks it’s a great place to start.

As the founder of political groups like Moveon.org and MomsRising, Joan knows a thing or two about bridging political divides. She also has a wealth of experience in mediation, with her background as a practicing lawyer and as the author of Family Mediation, a book on the subject of navigating divorce.

Sharing the dream behind Living Room Conversations, Joan explores the root causes behind the political fracturing in the United States. She explains how the illusion of otherness and distractions from technology has influenced our culture. Find out how people are using Living Room Conversation guides around the country to bridge partisan gaps and move past differences. Getting back to the underlying connection we all have: our humanity.