Communities Articles
Here is a selection of articles from previous back issues of Communities magazine. All back issues up to issue #184 are available for download here.
For more information about Communities magazine, visit its new publisher at GEN-US.
Unto the Second Generation
Posted on September 7, 2011 by12 Comments
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 by1 Comment
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 byA 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 byTo 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 byBelieving 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 byA 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 byIn 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 by1 Comment
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 by1 Comment
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 by1 Comment
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 by1 Comment
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 byWomen’s Empowerment Circles offer community-within-community, building trust, caring, and mutual support.
Intimacy in the Village Setting
Posted on June 7, 2011 byAfter 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 byA 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 by2 Comments
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 by3 Comments
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 byTo a former communitarian and long-time student of community, utopian experiments—some sweet, some gone sour—offer valuable lessons about oneness, diversity, and intimacy.
Hopeful New Stories from the Old World
Posted on March 7, 2011 by1 Comment
Ten European ecovillages show the way to a brighter future.
Nurturing Healthy Minds
Posted on March 7, 2011 byLiving 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 by3 Comments
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 by5 Comments
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 by1 Comment
To make best use of nonviolent communication and co-counseling, avoid these traps.
Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart
Posted on March 7, 2011 byWith 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 by4 Comments
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 byBoth 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 by4 Comments
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 byThis companion piece to Elderhood, In and Out of Community gives further reflections from community members.
Getting Elder All the Time
Posted on December 7, 2010 byCommunity can be balm for the discomforts of aging, just as elders’ wisdom and caring can soothe the growing pains of youth.
Poor Minutes Lead to Wasted Hours
Posted on December 7, 2010 byAuthor: Laird Schaub Published in Communities Magazine Issue #149 Good records of what happened at meetings are important for a variety of reasons: ● Informing members who missed the meeting… Read More
Remembering Jane Owen
Posted on December 7, 2010 byIn reviving and restoring the site of two historical intentional communities, a town’s benefactor revitalized its sense of present-day community as she continued to dream, create, grow, and give.
