I've been away from the forums for awhile, and I guess I was hoping to see more posts about people coming together and making things happen. One of our earliest attempts at community came from here and we learned a lot from the experience. The venture didn't last beyond a season, but the experience was invaluable...we had a dream and even though it didn't work out the way we thought it should, we did something. There are always going to be a lot of dreams floating around...discussions of what could be. Time has a way of getting away from you and what you plan on doing next year, or someday soon never happens. We're not out on the land we were working when we tried to form our community, in fact, we moved to Washington state and I'm working a 9-5. The land that we were on belonged to my family and after a death in the family, we split. Five years on the land with people there at times to help out just cemented our belief in blending with others to achieve a common goal. We're here now working toward buying a piece of land and when we have it (and even before) we'll start looking for others to share that dream with again. One thing that is a constant on the forums is the abundance of people that wish and dream, but have no idea what it's like to experience. Well, do whatever it takes to have those experiences and in the end just know that it'll be hard, you'll make mistakes and you'll have regrets, but if you don't get off your ass and do something about your dreams, regret is the only thing you'll have. Don't think I'm coming down on dreamers, I'm one of the biggest dreamers you'll ever meet, but I'm past my fear of doing. I'll be posting some ideas for community in the near future, because what I see out there rarely works. I'll share the dreams I've had and the chunk reality took out of the ass of those dreams, and if my ideas aren't too radical, we might break bread someday and take steps toward them together. Peace and love to you all
Thank you One of the challenges we have here is that people seem to grow away from the forums when they move into doing. Seldom do we hear back from a success story ...and some have shared their dreams here and moved on to manifest. Some have silently, or not so quietly, continued through with the motions even when no success is apparent. And in this , it becomes obvious (from personal experience) that indeed the purpose of the exercise, no matter what else may come of it, is to Grow. To accept the challenge and put our hands in the gloves of Doing and not to measure success but through moving into the Beyond and BeComing More....person by person does the Ascension take place as we all Grow on and come to yet greater Awareness. And so I ask of you all...where will you put your focus, ...where will you place the efforts that are your life as you live it. And no one can judge another.... the best we can do is discern as best as we can what our own best choice is, - and to act on it. Blessings Namaste
thank you for this positive and realistic energy.. I think underlying a search for community is ultimately a search for understanding one's self. Since many of us are not immune to the powers of media/commercials in the current culture, I think there is a special challenge to breaking away from the "noise" and finding a purpose in the moment, which is where community has to take place. So it's all about personal development and learning from others rather then gathering a group who completely agree with your way of doing things or looking at the world. It's tricky though because there is a lot of intense and sometimes negative energy out there and when you open yourself up to someone who exudes that, you can become damaged or drained of dreams. Cynicism is bad for a community I think.
when you are building community all who have ever done so will tell you that the first year and the first people joining together is a time and choosing of extreme importance...especially so the people harmony and resonace between the core group starting is extremely important...because of the great amount of time and effort and conjunction with each other the people must be closer than the closest families...many communities have a sense of extended family Blessings & Love Namaste
In my original post, I should have mentioned the bastions of the communal living forum. Even though I don't see people actively working toward something at the moment, there are still so many great contributors that are living the dream in their own way, so much wisdom and life experience for the people just starting out to draw from. When we started our first venture, the encouragement that we recieved here was the added boost that made things happen. People from the forum came and shared experiences with us and we each walked away from the experience with more than what we had in the beginning. From time to time, we still bump into one another and share a positive memory or two. Like I said previously, the venture did fail, but it gave us an opportunity to really examine what we wanted, how our beliefs compared to others and what it would realistically take to make something like this work. The first thing we were sure of is that we need a relatively small community. Since self sufficiency is one of our primary goals, we realize the need to limit the number of people to the amount of productive acreage. Larger groups also tend to have more of a need for structure and formal organization. Don't get me wrong here, I believe strongly in organization, but to borrow an architectural term, form follows function, so in building anything, skyscraper or community, a rule for the sake of having a rule is worthless unless there is something community specific that it supports. It may seem nice to use the buckshot approach and to throw as many rules as possible out there, but if there isn't something tangible that they support, it's just a second story door that opens to nowhere. The second thing we agreed on was the type of person(s) we wanted to do something like this with. To use a quote from polypod... "So it's all about personal development and learning from others rather then gathering a group who completely agree with your way of doing things or looking at the world. It's tricky though because there is a lot of intense and sometimes negative energy out there and when you open yourself up to someone who exudes that, you can become damaged or drained of dreams. Cynicism is bad for a community I think." I think it's a combination of personal development and development of a harmonious group dynamic where everyone may not be on the same exact page, but at least they're reading from the same book. It wouldn't do much good to join a Latin 101 community if you're interested in English Lit. I think diversity in background and experience is critical in the success of a forming community, but there is no substitute for a common purpose. I whole heartedly agree that a negative and cynical person, or a person who is unable to function as part of the group in any way can be its undoing. You have to avoid them at any cost, even if it means losing a group member that seems to have qualities or skills that seem to balance or outweigh the negative. No skill or attribute can counterbalance something like that. The last thing I'll say in this post tonight is about motivation. Look for people that know what they want, and are willing to work their ass off to get it. If someone comes to you with a thought, that's great, but you have to ask where the action is. What steps have they taken in the past to help them realize their goals, and if coming to you is their first action, give them the support they need to take the next step. If they've given this a lot of thought and have some idea of the time and energy needed to make something like this work, they're on the right track. If they come to you and say, hey, I'd like to do something like this in five years or so after I've back-packed through Europe and after I've recieved my degree in Philosophy, and hey, wouldn't it be great if we could just plant medicinal marijuana and live off of the profit?I don't think I even have to say it, but refer them to IC.org and assure them that there is a phiolsophical pot community out there for them if they just look hard enough.
Hi oldwolf, I agree. As it happens we haven't found such people. We have some fairly close friends but they're on a different path and aren't community oriented or self-sufficient-living bound. Sometimes I'll see people online who seem really cool, who might be a good fit with us, but there is too great a distance, or timing isn't right, or circumstances aren't conducive, etc. etc. And of course what you see online is often far from what you discover when meeting in person. It seems peculiar to me that with all the billions of people in the world there would be such difficulty meeting and joining with others who are like-minded (or rather like-hearted). I can only assume that it's not the right time, in the greater scheme of things. Some gear hasn't shifted into place... some alignment hasn't yet occurred... some level of readiness hasn't been reached. Who knows? I find that being frustrated and pushing against WHAT IS doesn't do anything but bring on premature grey hair and wrinkles. I see visions of such a harmonious, beautiful community... but then the ride I'm on now will either take me there or it won't. I honestly have no clue whether this will come to fruition in this lifetime. But I accept that it is as it is. I've also learned that close ties can form in the most unusual of ways and so I don't hold any rigid concepts of who will or will not "fit". In fact it's been rather hard to come up with definitions of who we are, how we are, & what sort of people we're looking for. Just for grins... here's a shot at it. We are a peaceful, open-minded, open-hearted, open-in-general, giving couple, willing to join with others & work hard to create a balanced, simple, & harmonious sustainable community. Fully responsible for our own mental and emotional well being, we support each other in following our inner guidance at all times. Looking for same in others. That's a good start.
cryptoman and blues afire, Well shit y'all got 176 acres, a real good start on all the equipment needed, some materials and only 1 permanently (moi) on land that the only reason I put myself open to it was community. On the east coast..real winters but good growing season. You have been invited several times, been gonna come visit a couple and never made it.....so you up for a vacation that may see more than you though possible come to pass....don't think we're very far off from a good fit together..and I've learned to not assume on that...visiting and working together is the only way you really find that out...and recognition must also be given that Change is constant. so when y'all gettin here ? little tongue in cheek, but not much....you be welcome Blessings & Love Namaste
Namaste, Oh Sage of the Finger Lakes... Long time no talk to... I too need a vacation to come and sit and visit. One day I will, I know I've been saying that for a while... but, well, you know... busy with my little farm, etc. For a while it has seemed to me that a lot of folks around here are all talk. All dreams. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Like the song (from the musical "South Pacific") says, "If you don't have a dream, how are you going to have a dream come true?" But on the other hand, folks need to stop wishing and dreaming, and need to start working and doing. And now I need to get to work doing the harvesting of blackberries & a few tomatoes Namaste Peace, poor_old_dad
Thank you for the invite, oldwolf. I don't know what the future will bring, but for now we're drawn to be here on the west coast of the country. For some reason the east coast never felt right, even though we considered it a few times. I have no clue why that is, just have learned to listen to intuition and follow its dictate, no matter whether I understand it or not. Often I can't see beyond what's right in front of me, as far as my path goes, although I remain open and flexible to whatever I'm guided to do in any given moment. So what happened with your other members? I thought there were others joining you already?
thank you POD ...I know how it is trying to get away from what you're already doing some day my friend...and wait long enough and the millstone will be off from my own neck (debt...2 yrs more to go)and then the mountain may come to mohammed so to speak bluesa fire...yah I knew that girl - that you felt drawn to the west coast and maybe south but not the N.E....that's why the tongue in cheek....but you never know..and every once in a while one needs to renew the invite... others...well there are 2, but each has limitations and priorities (don't we all) that make it so they cannot be up on the land permanently, at this time....once it gets more set up, I expect people may of a sudden have an easier time looking at the idea of being here...now it can be a bit overwhelming...and no money makes it harder to make happen...my own money flow will change in about 2 yrs. and then i will again be able to direct some this way...but now it's take care of the back log and make sure it cannot jeopardize what is already. what Is ...is what shall be ...we shall see Meanwhile .... we trudge on and give thanks for all that is and enjoy the concept of blessing what is and finding peace and joy therein lovin y'all Blessings Namaste
Well we both appreciate the renewed invite, especially because that path has never felt closed to us and it may just be something that works out in the future. We'll keep feeling for it. Right now we're committed here where we are for at least a year as we just signed a lease. During this time we will be addressing some practical financial issues that would even allow us to venture out in self-sufficient living later. There's always that darn practical side. Neither one of us feels like it's time to plant roots, or that we'd even do it here in this area... which pretty much leaves anything open for the future. Maybe we had to experience the west coast for certain reasons but aren't meant to settle down here... who knows? We have transitioned to homeschooling our daughter (who is now 8), so that simplifies any relocation that may take place down the road. By the way, we'd both like to extend an invitation to you (and to old crone) in case you would or could make it over here to our neck of the woods. We have a spacious house now and plenty of room for visitors, and we'd love to meet you in person. Anytime, just let us know. If you find yourself shivering alone in the middle of winter, well just hop on over here and shiver with us for a time! Unfortunately there's not as much shivering to be had here in the winter... pretty wet though. Goes well with a cup of hot coffee. That's why everyone around here is addicted to the stuff and there's a Starbucks on every corner. ~blue
