Web Features
Ritual can connect us more deeply to place, mark the passages of our lives,
comfort us in times of grief, and link us in the pure joy of celebration. It
works best when created collectively.
Even “non-spiritual” groups can benefit through a multitude of simple practices that deepen participants’ connections with themselves, one another, and the sacred.
If you haven’t heard of hollow earth theory, zig-zag-and-swirl, B-FICs, or
bathing bans, you’ve missed out on some of the more distinctive contributions
of communal spirituality.
The former Elderhostel coordinator at Holy Cross Monastery explores
personal and monastic history to explain her unlikely presence there.
To these communitarians, all work was holy—but overwhelmed by “the
accumulating weight of such holiness” and other disappointments, they
eventually adjust their aspirations.
A journey through various flavors of spiritually eclectic community brings
us face to face with cursed seeds, the White Brotherhood Team, mystery,
and stardust.
A dancer’s year at Currents community opens and transforms both her and the group.
At New View Cohousing, practicing consensus, navigating illness, and simply
sharing lives are continuing spiritual exercises.
In a world in which food choices
and dietary preferences can
become quasi-religions,
lactic-acid fermentation wins
a new convert.
Web Special: Our critic-at-large finds both humor and surprising insight in this cinematic journey into a fictional intentional community. (An excerpt from our forthcoming Summer 2012 print edition, #155.)
Also in This Issue (Print Version Only)
· REGAINING OUR SENSE OF ONENESS THROUGH LOCALIZATION
Helena Norberg-Hodge
In Ladakh and elsewhere, the global economy has severely disrupted our
communities and their relationship to the natural world. Localized economic
systems restore our connections.
· ON THE VALUE OF BEING THERE: Why Spiritual Communities Matter Now More than Ever
Margaret Critchlow
Disturbing the comfortable here of day-to-day life, holistic centers create a
there in which to be fully present.
· THE SPIRITUAL PATH
At the Farm in Tennessee, founded as a spiritual community, a set of truths,
sacraments, and beliefs continue to define the shared culture.
· GNOSTIC HISTORY LESSON
There’s something poignant about being a member of a spiritual community
that no longer exists...but its members were never very clubby to begin with.
· FINDING FULFILLMENT AT ANANDA
Larry Rider
More than a half a lifetime spent within an evolving spiritual community
offers bountiful lessons, new challenges, and inspiration.
· SPIRITUAL WARRIORS: Dharma and discipline cross paths at India’s Mahabodhi residential school
Kiva Bottero and Are Saltveit
Nestled deep in the Indian Himalayas of Ladakh, Mahabodhi is an expansive spiritual
community providing Buddhist spiritual education to more than 400 children.
· FROM 78 TO 73 IN COMMUNITY
Don Gobbett
At Cennednyss Community in South Australia, an elder finds richness in
a life that is enhanced by deep connections.
· CIRCLES OF COMMUNITY: Paganism and the Quest for Connection
Like other forms of spirituality, Paganism can bring people together, both
through intermittent events and in long-term community.
· SPIRITUALITY AND ECOVILLAGE EDUCATION
Daniel Greenberg
By embodying more holistic ways of being, ecovillages offer a surprisingly
spiritual context and campus for sustainability education.
· SPIRITUALITY AND COMMUNITY LIVING
Clistine Morningstar
At the Global Community Communications Alliance, a seeker finds herself in the
“Spiritual Olympics,” learning to walk her talk while embracing a cosmic perspective.
· TIES THAT BIND
Understanding Israel
Ceremony defined a now-dispersed group’s spirituality, and continues
to bring it together.
· NOT A NEW RELIGION: Spirituality in Intentional Community
Miles Sherts
Community can offer us the benefits of connection and spirituality without
some of the downsides of organized religion.
· IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CONSCIOUSNESS!
Kelly Bryson, MFT
We need conscious groups with strong communication skills to understand
and evolve ourselves both socially and spiritually.
· THE PATH OF COMMUNITY
Barbara Stutzel
Embracing the spiritual path of community means dedicating oneself to
exploring the human being.
Voices
· PUBLISHER’S NOTE: GIVING UP THE GJETOST: Seeing I, Eye to Eye
· REVIEW: WE THE PEOPLE
Diana Leafe Christian
· REVIEW: THE ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS
