CommUnity Visioning
Friday, 1/22/21 @ 4:00pm PST (virtual)
(please read this invitation all the way through with presence, mindfulness and intention)
Aloha friends! As most of you know I have been working on a regenerative community development model with Local Earth for quite some time. I recently have felt inspired to LET GO of any attachment to that specific model… and approach community co-creation from a new perspective. I had previously been focusing on WHAT the MODEL could look like… I am now focusing on WHO are the most amazing and inspiring people I know and love; that I would be honored to build community with… and that is YOU! I SEE YOU living a life guided by purpose and intention… I see you as a steward and healer… I see you as someone who cares deeply about Pachamama… I have deep respect and appreciation for YOU! (this is a private event please do NOT invite other people)
I am letting go of attachment to any specific components of the vision… and inviting everyone who wishes to play to co-create the vision from the ground up! There are several general elements and proposed values that I will share below simply to spark ideas and inspiration… yet we as a tribe will collectively create the community vision. This is an invitation for a virtual CommUnity Visioning session on Friday, 1/22/21 @ 4:00pm PST. (we will also have an in person After Party @ 7pm for those in the San Diego/Southern California area)
This community project can start ANYWHERE in the WORLD… it feels quite likely that eventually we will have a network of connected community projects in amazing places all around the planet. There are around 100 amazing people from all over the world invited to this visioning session. Many of you already know one another and are close friends… some of you will be meeting many new friends! If you are interested in creating community together, yet can not participate in this visioning session please let me know directly and still submit your information on the visioning document below. We will record the session and share it with everyone interested.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
CommUnity Elements
To get the creative juices flowing below are several elements that I feel could be inspiring to integrate into a community project. Something similar to Esalen, Breitenbush, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Pachamama, Punta Mona and/or Harbin feels inspiring to me!
- Ecovillage (for residents, staff and families)
- Holistic Health & Wellbeing Retreat Center
- ReGenerative Organic Farm
- Nature-based School for children
- Wildlife Sanctuary & Environmental Preserve
- ReGenerative Living Education Center (Virtual & Land-based)
- Natural Building Company
- Cafe & Artisan Goods Market
- Music/Multimedia Production & Recording Studio
“It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community – a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Potential Values & Objectives
Below are several potential Values & Objectives that I feel could be inspiring to weave into the community vision (again these are simply ideas to spark inspiration – I am not attached to anything specific at this point)…
- Cultivate optimal health, wellbeing and healing (for residents, guests and planet)
- A healthy, inspiring and supportive place to raise children and families
- Cultivation of commUnity based in love, joy, peace, harmony, resilience and celebration
- Environmental stewardship, guardianship, preservation and regeneration
- Honoring the sacredness of all life and Universal Spirit
- Inclusivity, equity, balance and equality
- Cooperatively owned and managed businesses
- Cultivating a place of inspiration for creativity, art and expression
“In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete.” – Richard Buckminster Fuller
Visioning Session Intentions
Below are several of the intentions and objectives for our time together during this visioning session…
- Share our commUnity dreams and visions!
- More deeply get to know one another
- Explore and learn where there is shared common vision and values amongst us
- Evaluate if there is currently enough interest, synergy, shared vision, motivation and excitement to move forward on some type of community project together
- Explore if there is one strongly shared common vision or several distinct/different visions
- There may be one strong common vision that meets the needs and interests for a substantial part of this group to move forward together… or there may be several distinct/different community visions that arise from this session with several smaller community projects being birthed from this experience
- If there are several distinct visions that arise we can then discuss if there are enough shared common values to have a shared platform/entity that supports the development of multiple projects; or develop each project as its own autonomous entity
- If there is enough gravity, excitement and momentum begin to form our initial Community Development Team (or multiple teams)
- Discuss what the potential next steps of action are to build momentum and begin manifesting the community project/s
“WE are the ones we have been waiting for”- Hopi Elders
Things to Complete and Review BEFORE the Visioning Session
Share YOUR Vision & Values! (review the V&V of others)
Please share YOUR commUnity vision and values HERE in this document! (bit.ly/visioning_share) This will give all of us an opportunity to share our inspiration and learn about one another BEFORE our visioning session. Please check back to this document BEFORE our session to review what has been shared by the others to learn more about where there may be synergy and overlap with your personal vision and values.
Create a Personal Video
I invite everyone to film a short video of yourself to share with the group. We can learn certain things about one another from writing and reading the words that others wrote… yet there are so many more dimensions of communication shared in a video where we can SEE and HEAR one another! A video gives us the opportunity to learn more about one another’s personalities, vibration, tones of voice and more subtle energies. You can view everyone’s videos on this page ~ feel free to come back and check this page often as new people share their vision!
In the video please respond to these questions…
- Name, where you live and what skills/attributes/experience you have that you feel would be beneficial in the co-creation of a community project?!
- What feels inspiring to you about the potential of creating community together with a group of inspiring, loving, talented beings?!
- Share anything you’d like about your vision of healthy, thriving commUnity!
- Do you have any concerns about co-creating a community project?
You can provide a link to your video in the visioning document listed above. If you don’t have a YouTube profile it is free and easy to set one up and upload a video; or you can email your video to (video@local-earth.org) and I can upload it for you.
Community Elements
Please place the appropriate letter & number next to your name in this document to share your personal interest in specific community elements. If there are elements you are interested in that are not currently listed, feel free to use the “other” columns to add more elements. Simply leave the column blank if you have no interest in that element. (bit.ly/community_elements)
X(#) = I am personally interested in being involved with this element of a community project
O(#) = I think this is a wonderful/beneficial part of a community project, yet would rather not be directly involved with this element
# (1=little interest) (10=passionate interest)
Community Building Resources
This link has a list of informative Community Building Resources. If you feel inspired to do some research prior to our visioning session I recommend you check out some of these movies, books and YouTube videos. The more we can all inform ourselves, the more wisdom and inspiration we will have to share in our community co-creation process!
This is PRIVATE (please do NOT share)
This is a PRIVATE invite only visioning session… please do NOT share this invitation with others. I have been deliberate and discerning in the creation of this invitation list. I have done my best to be attentive and intuitive to various personality types and energies that I feel have great potential to synergize, harmonize, resonate and co-create. I know we all know other amazing people that could potentially be great additions to this vision… and eventually I feel confident we will have a process in place to invite others to the party! Yet for this present moment let’s explore what the potential and resonance is with this current constellation. If there is someone you feel really strongly about inviting please talk with me and we can discuss if it feels in the highest alignment to send an invitation at this point in time.
Visioning After Party 7-10pm (in person for those in San Diego/Southern California)
For those of us that live in the San Diego (Southern California) area we will also be gathering afterwards in Cardiff for those that would like to meet in person, cultivate deeper connection, continue sharing commUnity vision ~ as well as food, love, fire, music and presence. See this page for more information and directions.
Registration & RSVP
Please register on Eventbrite ASAP so I can get an estimate of how many people will be participating. This will help me organize the framework our visioning session to be as joyful, impactful and efficient as possible! Once you have registered you will receive an email with the Zoom login information.
I am looking forward to exploring what we can ENVISION and co-create together!
Thank you ~ Namaste
