Psyche in Community

It’s amazing what can happen when a group of women over 50 get together in wilderness with the intention of speaking in circle from their hearts in safety and with guidance. I just returned from such a gathering, sponsored by . I am already benefiting from the support of the eleven sisters who gathered under a juniper tree to prepare for, experience, and report on their three day solo journey. The sense of solidarity in community fostered by this experience was deeply felt y all.

Watkins, M. (2009). Restorative Practices in Small Group and Individual Work. In G. Nelson & I. Prelliltensky (Eds.), Community psychology, 2nd edition (pp. 219-236). NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

I went to a party recently that had a true feeling of community. I knew only a few people there but felt kindred to all. The party was outdoors behind a tent, home of the hostess. Her goats were in a pen nearby and they were attentive to the party, looking at us with interest and seeming to like what they saw. The food was good and the feeling mellow. I felt we had all lived there a long time together. Perhaps what made it seem that way was the way we greeted each other, looking into each others eyes and taking time to hug each other and listen deeply to what we each had to say.

I just spent four days with my Tai Chi community. People come from all over the country to participate in Jane Golden’s camp. We become a close unit. At breakfast, a woman from Austin, Texas leaned across the table and told us, “You are my family and this is my Thanksgiving and Christmas!”

SEE THIS FILM! Back to the Garden by award–winning filmmaker, Kevin Tomlinson. It’s showing in San Francisco on Monday, June 21^st. If you’re there, check it out at www.oddmondays.com. Otherwise, check it out at (http://www.backtothegardenfilm.com).

In the sixties they were satirized and vilified for rejecting materialism and corporate culture; in the seventies they stopped the war, started communes, urged back to the land and environmental sustainability… but by the eighties they had virtually disappeared from everyday life. So where did all the “flowers” go?

They’re still here! What they had talked about— sustainability, living simpler, sustainable lives, loving  the earth, questioning authority, self-reliance, and community responsibility—is coming full circle as the impact of climate change, an unpopular war, shopping-as-patriotism and the green movement.

One of the great things about community is cooking together. At a birthday dinner recently, Patty was too tired to cook, Ellen made something she had to throw away, but Nancy put  together some pasta and Sharon had made a delicious tabouli salad. Dessert was the piece de resistance: ice cream sundaes and tiny marzipan pigs for cake.

Hi from another community person.
Hope this forum is very successful!

Hi there! Welcome to my new blog. I hope we have many stimulating conversations about living in Community.