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The Art of Community: Crafting Relationships by Cynthea Jones
 When you live in intentional community, a place where people have chosen to come together to share their lives, their work, their ups and downs—then you live in a place where crafting relationships becomes essential. And crafting relationships is the work of a lifetime. Creating community is an art. The craft is working on the relationships that make the art possible.
Ritual is Community and Community is a Ritual by River Roberts  Just a few short months ago I had the good fortune to be one of the facilitators of a workshop that focused on the art of building and priestessing ecstatic energy in ritual. The experience level of the participants varied. Some were quite familiar with ecstatic, embodied ritual, while others had ritual experience, but not in the form we were offering. A handful of participants were brand-new to Earth-based spirituality, period. I find it both a challenge and a blessing to work with such a wide range of experience levels because I can never anticipate what will happen. As a facilitator, I must do what I can to create a container for safety and permission, but there comes a point when I just have to give up my attachment to outcome and start trusting. A Communication Road Map: It Begins with Dead Ends by Shaun Perkins
 The times of failure, embarrassment, and shame in my life are the times that haunt me the most. I will perform superhuman acts to try and relieve myself of the shame of failing, the shame of being embarrassed. Flunking out of graduate school brought great shame for me—so great that failure became anathema and success was all that I would allow myself. In the process I became strong and skilled; in the process I forgot to be human. |
Life in Community: Let’s Talk About Shit by Laurie Dietrich 
Shit happens. In community, in particular, shit happens. Not only do all communities have their shit, but all communities produce shit as well. Literally. When people come together to live in groups, there are issues. One of them – one we don’t talk about too much – is what to do with the waste.
The Cornerstones of Healthy Community by Jennifer Wilson
 I find the idea of a cornerstone to be an apt metaphor for the principles of healthy interaction upon which this community rests. The Cornerstones were first introduced in 1999 by Cynthea Jones, who explained:
“Like constructing a building, when the foundation is solid and intentionally laid, it will support amazing height and weight. If the foundation is weak the building will require constant repair. Little adjustments here and there: the roof always leaks, the windows require effort to open and close. And so, the cornerstones.”
Fifty Dogs by Cynthea Jones
 Community, companionship… this is a dog’s greatest need. When I wrote this article we were caring for fifty dogs. Now, I would have to say 150 dogs will be fed tonight. That extra 100 are thankful for their dinner... and their life.
These fifty dogs will be fed tonight.
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SUMMER 2009: Community |