Social Permaculture

Posted on December 7, 2011 by
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While expert at understanding ecological connections, permaculturalists often founder in relating with one another. Applying permaculture principles to group dynamics can help us work together more effectively.


Permaculture 101 and Attending to Zone Zero

Posted on December 7, 2011 by
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The editor provides a refresher on our theme and suggests some new Zone Zero guidelines to help keep permaculturalists in the game for the long haul.


Unto the Second Generation

Posted on September 7, 2011 by
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When a cohousing group’s honeymoon ends, and economic stress dictates selling units to any willing buyers, can a community’s core values and connections endure?


Buddha Being…Buddha Doing

Posted on September 7, 2011 by
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Overcoming her resistance to waking up at 5 a.m., a veteran community seeker learns transformative lessons at Deer Park Monastery.


The Lenox Place News

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

A fifth-grader takes initial steps toward right livelihood by creating a neighborhood newspaper that embodies and helps bring together her local community.


The Gift of Compost

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

To the Compostmeister at a collective house, the cycles of compost embody a new economics that focuses upon human needs and relationships.


Which Comes First, My Community or My Career?

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

Believing that the next phase in human evolution involves a return to the “local” and to community with neighbors, the author focuses his job search close to home, and includes any useful type of work.


Crowdfunding

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

A collective financial approach that allows individuals to pool their resources in support of favorite projects, crowdfunding both encourages and thrives upon community.


Remade in Edinburgh

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

In Brixton, South London, and Edinburgh, Scotland, right livelihood finds a home in innovative, resource-conserving, grassroots projects.


Work Less, Simplify More

Posted on September 7, 2011 by
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By reducing our economic impact, we can shrink our ecological footprint, while freeing up time and energy to contribute to community and a more sustainable world.


Right Lively ‘Hood

Posted on September 7, 2011 by
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Finding meaningful, socially and ecologically responsible work cannot be done in a vacuum. Right livelihood depends on networks of relationship.


A Communitarian Conundrum

Posted on June 7, 2011 by
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Despite widespread desire for community, structural and cultural obstacles to intentional community in the modern world loom large.


Fascinating Selfhood

Posted on June 7, 2011 by
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Do you think a half-century-old book on proper “womanhood,” much of whose advice is guaranteed to cause feminists to scream out in indignation, has nothing to teach us? Think again.


The Solace of Friends in Community

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

Women’s Empowerment Circles offer community-within-community, building trust, caring, and mutual support.


Intimacy in the Village Setting

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

After a journey from nuclear family life through student coops, an ecovillager finds rich opportunities for intimacy, in many diverse forms—not just with lovers and family.


Three Perspectives on Intimacy in Community

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

A starter marriage, a spouse’s health crisis, and the small details that define each person shed light on the meaning of intimacy.


The Relationship of Relationships to the Group

Posted on June 7, 2011 by
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Relationships don’t exist in a vacuum. Through a culture of communication and support, communities can create the healthy container which relationships need in order to flourish.


Honesty and Intimacy

Posted on June 7, 2011 by
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In the author’s first, very intense intentional community immersion, revealing the truth led to love and intimacy. He left that group, but, in many spheres of life, emotional and intellectual honesty became his religion.


A Nomad Ponders Family and the Ecstasy of the Group

Posted on June 7, 2011 by

To a former communitarian and long-time student of community, utopian experiments—some sweet, some gone sour—offer valuable lessons about oneness, diversity, and intimacy.


Piece in Atlantic about Transition Towns

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

An article in the Atlantic by Kentaro Toyama describes Transition Towns as “the latest in a history of intentional communities that have experimented to find more enlightened alternatives to modern… Read More


Hopeful New Stories from the Old World

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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Ten European ecovillages show the way to a brighter future.


Nurturing Healthy Minds

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Living in community can provide all the elements necessary for promoting mental well-being, from kinship and useful work to recreation and beauty.


Rx for “Mental Illness”

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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How can we best support mental health? Caring attention—even from amateurs—can promote healing unattainable through impersonal approaches or drugs.


Prescription Facebook

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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Ex-members of the Emissaries of Divine Light reflect on their shared past and discover more holistic approaches to inner wellness as they reunite online.


Shadow Sides of NVC and Co-Counseling

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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To make best use of nonviolent communication and co-counseling, avoid these traps.


Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

With loving help from others, the old emotional distresses that can sabotage both our mental health and our relationships in community can be cleared and permanently resolved.


Tough Grace

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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For 12 years, a once-proud career woman struggled with manic depression, becoming a “bag lady” and experiencing more than a dozen hospitalizations, before entering recovery.


Communicable Gifts

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Both healthy ideas and unhealthy ideas can take hold and spread like viruses. Suicidal tendencies and eating disorders provide invaluable lessons to one communitarian.


Gifted, Mad, and Out of Control

Posted on March 7, 2011 by
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The author recounts his personal history with the “mentally ill”—social misfits who can show us the way to a better world, if they are allowed to make the journey.


Further Thoughts on a Community’s Changes

Posted on December 7, 2010 by

This companion piece to Elderhood, In and Out of Community gives further reflections from community members.