Do you start from the premise that all forms of life are equally valuable and contributing strands in a vastly complex web of life? Do you want to live authentically and cooperatively, in relationships of mutual respect?

IMAGINE . . . entering into mutually-honoring relationships with all the inhabitants of your landbase, including a family of friends who support each other’s personal growth, communicate compassionately, and share resources and responsibilities.

The fundamental way we conceive of relationships is that we are interconnected with every living being. If we see ourselves as part of the ecology, then how we interrelate with others, human and nonhuman, matters. Infused with a life-force or spirit, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, mountains, waterfalls, the ocean, the sun, and the cosmos are beings to enter into relationship with, rather than resources to exploit. Animist cultures figured this out thousands of years ago but sadly our culture has worked tirelessly to ignore the lessons of the land.

BEING NATURE

This biophilic orientation is the underpinning of how we will relate to the land:  taking time to observe and discover what the land reveals over the course of our first year; learning lessons from our co-inhabitants as they’ve experienced the rain, sunlight, wind, water flow, soil, the seasonality of the existing fruit, seed, and insects; working by hand when we can; treading lightly on the land, with care to all who live there with us. Engaging in this way, we can re-discover the subtle, ineffable delights that life reveals, every day.

SECURE CONTAINER

Interconnection also serves as the compass for our hearts, as we share life with each other. A healthy and stable community can only emerge from the social conditions in which humans flourish. We’ll create an atmosphere of mutual esteem, acceptance, openness, trust, and equal accessibility to resources—a vibe of support, safety, love, friendship, family, warmth, and freedom from inhibition. It will be a place to be vulnerable and be heard; where confidentiality is respected; where commitments are kept; and where everyone is dedicated to the greater good.

COLLABORATIVE TOOLS

Through structured group processes like weekly heart-shares, daily check-ins, and co-counseling, we’ll meet each other’s needs for emotional nurturance, minimize patterns of isolation and repression, and help each other address the roots of counter-productive/maladaptive behavior. This requires each person’s commitment to showing up authentically and, at times, setting aside one’s own needs to attend to (those of) others. We’ll develop an equilibrium between individuality and collectivity which honors both the durability of group decisions and the uniqueness of each person’s contribution.

HEALING OUR DEEPEST WOUNDS

We’ll cultivate an environment in which psychological and spiritual healing can take place. Just as the body innately heals wounds of the flesh, our psyches are also imbued with an inner intelligence, that “knows” how and when to heal from separating and traumatizing conditions we have been subjected to. As life brings each of us into periods of psycho-spiritual crisis, we’ll be prepared to make space, provide active listening/guidance, and allow for new growth to emerge. Towards this end, we’ll seek members with expertise in experiential psychology, holotropic states of consciousness, and the use of technologies of the sacred.

rev. 5/2/21