Description
Toward Enlightened Community
by David Truman and Sara Donna
(available as ebook only)
Communities come together for a variety of purposes, and have a wide range of expectations. But no matter what we propose as the goals and intentions for our community, as human beings we all need the same thing. What we really want and really need is to exchange real and substantial love with a number of people. And we need to be profoundly engaged, not just for a few minutes or hours here and there, but on an ongoing basis, with true friends.
Human beings are social animals, that’s part of it. But more to the point, we are spiritual beings, with spiritual needs. Our innate aspirations as spiritual beings cannot be fully satisfied with functional, philosophical, or political purposes, no matter how idealistic. We want to fully exercise our capacity for loving, and satisfy our need to love and be loved—both of which far exceed the love we can exchange in our romantic and family relations. In addition, we have a lifelong need for ongoing personal and spiritual growth, which is best supported in the context of close, committed community.
Toward Enlightened Community was written to help people recognize and actually fulfill their own deeper human needs for community. What does it take to create a community that will support the members’ true human and spiritual needs? What are the benefits of doing so, and what are the challenges to be overcome? You will find food for thought and heart inspiration here.
Written by two of the founding members of Lampa Mountain Community. With forty years of experience in building a harmonious and fulfilling community, this book comes from a place of understanding the human challenges and graces we encounter in live-in community.
“A passionate desire for community seems to be innate in the human heart.
Community can be expressed and experienced in many ways, but some of the most
dedicated seekers take the bold step of forming residential intentional communities.
High ideals are necessary for that task, but realistic plans and programs are essential
as well. David Truman and Sara Donna together have over forty years of living in a
functioning, fulfilling intentional community, and here have provided a most practical
manual for making it all work. Community founders would do well to read this short
book first.”
Timothy Miller, Professor Emeritus
Religious Studies, Kansas University
