A
Lifetime in Pursuit of Community
By
Charles
E. Betterton, MS CED
Reprinted
From Enlightenment Magazine
For
as long as I can remember, I have been interested in community.
In my early teens, I used to envision living in a community of
friends as I played in the woods in the remote hill country
where my father lived as a young boy. Even at that early age, I
sensed a desire to live with other people of like mind in a
setting designed to further personal and community advancement.
When
I was in my early twenties, my wife and I spent many pleasant
hours drafting a never finished screen play which we hoped to
use to raise money to build a spiritually oriented survival
community in the Ozark Mountains. As we grew older, we began to
learn about intentional
communities and developed an attraction to those with a
spiritual orientation.
In
1975, I learned about the intentional community of Stelle,
Illinois which had been established upon the philosophy and
world view presented in a book, The Ultimate Frontier.
My family and I moved to Stelle in 1978 and I remained there for
almost fifteen years. In early 1994, I moved to the Oakwood Farm
Community near Muncie, Indiana which is one of over 150
communities around the world associated with the Emissaries of
Divine Light.
After
living in intentional communities for many years and working in
community and economic development, I discovered the field of
community economic development (CED. Within months of learning
about the CED
Masters program at Southern New Hampshire University in
Manchester, NH, I entered the only graduate degree program in the field in 1990
at the age of 42.
Through
the CED program, I learned that the primary goal of community
development is to help people improve their economic and social
conditions. Community economic development, a subset of
community development, is a people-initiated strategy which
seeks to develop the economy of a community, region or country
for the benefit of its residents. Community
economic development strategies seek to develop efficient,
productive and profitable ventures and programs within the
context of a community's social, cultural and political values.
Thus, these strategies focus on issues such as:
*
local ownership of economic resources;
* citizen participation; and
* building the capacity of local people to participate in and
manage the development process.
This
introduction to the significant differences in CED helped me
understand why so many traditional approaches to community and
economic development fail. It is primarily because they lack the
comprehensive focus and the commitment to self-help, empowerment
and capacity building inherent in community economic
development.
During
an introductory class in the CED Master's program, my classmates
and I developed the following list of the root causes of the
problems that threaten our society:
*
The me generation
* Getting away from God
* Lack of spirituality
* Lack of common vision
* Absence of wisdom
* Focus on accumulation versus circulation
* Spiritual and cultural disintegration and the
* Lack of an appropriate values system and ways to express it.
The
following month we considered potential solutions to these
problems by reflecting on the values of community economic
development which we described as including:
*
Active citizen participation in government and community
* Focus on human development and community development
* Building collaborative partnerships
* Local resource utilization
* Application of cooperative principles
* Retention of wealth in the neighborhoods
* Seeing personal and organizational goals within the context of
community and society
* Consideration and appreciation of multicultural differences in
religion, race, values, perspectives and communication
* Enabling people and communities to empower themselves
* Recognizing a spiritual underpinning, a sense of oneness
After
twenty-five years of serving in various management capacities in
community and economic development programs at the local, state
and national level, I can attest to the significance and
relevance of these CED Principles. Many communities are
discovering that the principles and practices of community
economic development provide a framework and formula for
addressing the root causes of major concerns such as crime,
drugs, gangs, quality of schools, increasing multi-cultural
diversity and the need for jobs.
After
twenty years of studying, applying and teaching various success
principles and techniques, I have observed that there are three
primary factors that determine the level of success we realize
in life as individuals and organizations. I believe these are
the clarity of our vision, the definiteness of our purpose and
the appropriateness of our attitudes and actions.
I
also believe these three success factors are applicable at the
community level and I am therefore committed to helping provide
expanded access to resources for personal and community
empowerment. Over the past few years, I have discovered and
collected a wealth of resources on the many different approaches
to community and I am always happy to share this information
with anyone who is interested.
RESOURCES
FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT
"When
a community and its people are empowered, they have the capacity
to articulate their needs; to identify actions to solve those
needs; and to mobilize and organize resources in pursuit of
commonly defined goals. When the people of a community come
together to visualize and work together to achieve a common
future, they recognize that everyone--regardless of education,
job, race, age, or background--has something important to
contribute to personal and community empowerment. Indeed, the
greater the diversity of the participants, the richer the vision
and the more effective its accomplishment" Lorraine
Garkovich, University of Kentucky
COMMUNITY SERVICE INC.
"Where
there is no vision, the people perish. So it is with
communities." Arthur Morgan
"The
Great Community will achieve a living unity. It will not be just
an aggregation of individuals, families, congregations, firms,
cliques, and interests. Holding that "that which unites us
is greater than that which separates us", it will develop
unity of outlook, purpose, and program without thwarting
individual or group autonomy. Its various organizations will not
tear the community apart to advance themselves, but will be
agencies for enlarging and unifying community life." Arthur
Morgan
Arthur
Morgan wrote The Small Community and The
Great Community in the 1940's. He also founded Community
Service, Inc. in 1940 to help people improve the quality of
small community life. CSI is a national, non-profit organization
concerned with all aspects of community life and development.
Central to its work is the realization that the small community,
in its many forms, is basic to social evolution and survival.
The
work of Community Service is carried out through correspondence,
consultation, a quarterly newsletter, books on community related
subjects and annual Fall conferences in Yellow Springs, Ohio. A
one year membership is $25 which includes a quarterly
newsletter. For more information, write: Community Service, 114
East Whiteman Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Telephone: 513
767-2161 and 513-767-1461.
FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY ENCOURAGEMENT (FCE)
The
Foundation
for Community Encouragement (FCE) is a non-profit
educational foundation which teaches the principles and values
of community to individuals, groups and organizations. FCE was
founded ten years ago by M. Scott Peck, MD, author of The
Road Less Traveled, The Different Drum and
A World Waiting to Be Born. Scotty created
the FCE as a means of sharing his discovery of a powerful
community building process. FCE offers two to four day Community
Building Workshops across the country on a regular basis. With
the help of trained facilitators, any group participating in
this process can work to achieve a sense of community and:
*
learn the skills necessary for effective communication
* appreciate and respect differences
* revitalize to create new solutions
* locate resources and knowledge within the group
* overcome obstacles to working together effectively
* make remarkably effective consensual decisions
* accomplish specific tasks or goals
* experience personal and group empowerment.
PRINCIPLES
OF COMMUNITY Developed by the Foundation for Community
Encouragement
*
Communicate with authenticity
* Deal with difficult issues
* Welcome and affirm diversity
* Bridge differences with integrity
* Relate with compassion and respect
* Tolerate ambiguity
* Become aware of the tension between holding on and letting go
* Become inclusive
* Be open to Spirit
* Listen attentively
The
FCE will hold its annual networking event on July 20-23, 1995 on
the campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati. This event is
designed to bring together participants from previous community
building workshops with those new to the process. For more
information on FCE, write or call: Foundation for Community
Encouragement, 109 Danbury Road, Suite #8, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
Telephone 203-431-9484.
FELLOWSHIP
FOR INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY (FIC)
There
are hundreds of successful "intentional communities"
in the United Sates today, and hundreds more around the world. The
Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) is working to
increase public awareness of the many alternative communities
now in existence, and to make referrals for individuals who are
seeking such a community for themselves. The mission statement
for the FIC states that the organization nurtures a sense of
connectedness and cooperation among communitarians and their
friends by providing a forum for sharing among a wide range of
intentional communities, networks, support organizations and
people who are seeking a home in one of the hundreds of
intentional communities.
The FIC accomplishes its objectives
through a number of activities including: publication of the Directory
of Intentional Communities and Communities,
Journal of Cooperative Living and through regional and
national conferences and educational programs. The 1995 edition
of the Communities Directory features listings of over 500
communities in North America and 70 communities on other
continents. It also includes thirty-one feature articles
covering various aspects and issues of cooperative living and
over 250 listings of alternative resources and services. A
subscription to four issues of Communities magazine is $18 for
individuals and $25 for institutions. A sample issue is
available for $5.
"
The most comprehensive and accurate reference book ever
published on community living!" Kirkpatrick Sale, Author
and Bioregionalist on the Directory of Communities. For more
information on the FIC, write: FIC, Box 814, Langley, WA 98260.
For more information on Communities Magazine and a book list on
community, write: Sandhill Farm, Route 1, Box 155, Rutledge, MO
63563.
CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL, PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY ENLIGHTENMENT
CENTER
SPACE,™ the Center for Spiritual, Personal And Community
Enlightenment, is a non-profit membership organization that
produces and disseminates uplifting publications, audio/video
cassette programs, seminars, workshops, television programs and
consulting services that foster spiritual, personal and
community empowerment. The organization's ultimate objective is
to help create a better world by helping people, organizations
and communities empower themselves in order to realize and
actualize their potential.
CENTER
SPACE was established:
(1)
To provide educational programs and materials which foster
spiritual, personal, organizational and community empowerment;
(2)
To address discrimination, prejudice and neighborhood tension
through various educational programs and initiatives that foster
greater communication, cooperation and understanding among
people of different races, religions and socio-economic levels;
(3)
To facilitate cooperative and creative problem solving efforts
between individuals, businesses, religious organizations,
non-profit organizations and government; and (4) To promulgate
the principles and practices of community economic development
which include: Recognizing a spiritual underpinning, a sense of
oneness; Application of cooperative principles; A focus on human
as well as physical development; Retention of wealth in the
neighborhoods; Viewing personal goals within the context of the
community; Respect and appreciation for multicultural
differences in religion, values, perspectives and communication;
and Enabling people and communities to empower themselves.
For
the CENTER SPACE book list, catalog of audio video cassette
learning programs and calendar of seminars and workshops, please
write: CENTER SPACE, 127 Sun Street, Stelle, IL 60919.
SIDEBARS
AND QUOTES
"
Without a community you cannot be yourself. The community is
where we draw the strength needed to effect changes inside of
us. Community is formed each time more than one person meets for
a purpose." Malidoma Some in Ritual: Power, Healing
and Community.
Human
beings concerned about planet learning how to be human together
in small enough groupings to mean anything to each other, large
enough to survive. Women and men respecting personhood, sharing
insights urban, rural touching of the universe. Prepared to
build political, social, economic, ethical models toward
spiritual growth. Please make contact.
From back cover of Communities,
Journal of Cooperative Living
"
A good community will not be invented, discovered or "just
grow." It must be forged from the purpose and quality of
the lives of the people living in it." Arthur Morgan
A
living environment where doors don't need to be locked, where
significant relationships with neighbors are the norm rather
than the exception, where generations mix and everyone has a
role, where people experiment with commitment to something more
than their individual interests...in short, intentional
community.
Excerpted
from the Directory of Intentional Communities
"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." - Thich Nhat Hahn
"The
modern quest for community is a quest for one's personhood...The
essence of community is wholeness: the opportunity...to
co-create a livingness that meets my needs and those of the
greater whole of which I am a part. Community is the deeper
reality within which I move and have my being. It is one of the
names of God. Community is the gift of myself that I give in
endless participation with my world." David Spangler
FOUNDING
DREAM OF THE FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY ENCOURAGEMENT
"There
is a yearning in the heart for peace. Because of the wounds-the
rejections-we have received in past relationships we are
frightened by the risks. In our fear we discount the dream of
authentic community as merely visionary. But there are rules by
which people can come back together, by which the old wounds are
healed. It is the mission of The
Foundation for Community Encouragement to teach these rules
- to make the vision actually manifest in a world which has
almost forgotten the glory of what it means to be human."
M. Scott Peck
In
a world that often appears cold, callous and indifferent, which
seems to have lost its connectedness to matters of the heart and
spirit, and where too many of us feel isolated in our own
private worlds, there is a growing hunger for something more.
Whether our sense of isolation and misunderstanding occurs in a
business, organizational, social, or personal context, Community
Building is a powerful process which facilitates our coming
together in new ways.
Excerpt
from Foundation for Community Encouragement Brochure
"Community
for me has proved to be one of the fiercest fires of
purification and, at the same time, one of the most satisfying
and productive paths for growth." Ram Dass
"In
and through community lies the salvation of the world. Nothing
is more important. Yet it is virtually impossible to describe
community meaningfully to someone who has never experienced
it-and most of us have never had an experience of true
community....We must come into community with each other. We
need each other" M. Scott Peck
"
Let us imagine the community where we would all want to live. It
is a community where families, regardless of income or
structure, have access to a wide variety of services and
programs designed to nurture and strengthen them. It is a
community where residents have opportunities to find jobs that
match their skills and provide a living wage. It is a community
with different economic classes, but where a person begins life
is not the primary determinant of what they can achieve. It is a
community that encourages its members to be active participants
in all phases of life by acknowledging that everyone has skills
or ideas that can contribute to bettering their world. It is a
community that recognizes that some tasks cannot be completed
and some goals cannot be achieved alone. Indeed, cooperation and
interdependence, not competition, would be the key
characteristics of successful communities and a successful
society." Lorraine Garkovich, University of Kentucky
ABOUT
THE WRITER
In
addition to living in intentional communities for over 25 years,
Charles has served in many capacities with organizations
involved in community. For example, he co-founded the Fellowship
for Intentional Community, the Foundation for Personal and
Community Development, the Illinois Community Economic
Development Association and the Center for Spiritual, Personal
And Community Empowerment. Charles was Managing Editor of
Communities Magazine for five years, and served on the board of
directors for Community Service, Inc., Community Educational
Services Council, Inc. and the Illinois Community Development
Society. He has a Master's degree in Community Economic
Development and over 25 years of administrative experience in
community, organizational and economic development. Charles is
the author of the Introduction
to Personal and Professional Success Techniques Seminar, Motivision:
21 Steps to Successful Living, and The
Ultimate Life Inpowerment Planning System, a comprehensive
spiritually oriented program for achieving personal and
professional goals.
Charles
presently lives in Vista, California where he and two companies
he founded, Universal Empowerment, Inc. and Wisdom, Wealth,
Wellness, Inc. are help launch Ultimate
Destiny. He also maintains a home in the intentional
community of Stelle,
Illinois where he is further evolving CENTER SPACE and
assisting with the development of the CENTER
SPACE Retreat Center. His addresses are: CENTER SPACE, 127
Sun Street, Stelle, IL 60919. Phone 815-256-2273 and Wisdom,
Wealth, Wellness, PO Box 1655, Vista, CA 92085.
TEN
MAIN ASPECTS OF THE NEW UTOPIAN VISION
(An
overview of intentional communities published in the December
1983 Tarrytown Newsletter)
1.
A dual commitment to transformation, both personal and
planetary. Dedication to individual growth and to serving the
needs of humanity.
2.
Cooperation: A community based on sharing, pooling of finances
and human resources, rather than competition and being "Out
for Number-One."
3.
A deep respect for the environment, to restoring ecological
balance and "living lightly" on the earth. To develop
solar and wind energy, organic agriculture.
4.
A spirit of experimentalism- in both work and relationships. A
commitment to "working through" the shadow side of the
personality, to confronting conflict between individuals and
within the self. To bringing out the dark side for
transformation into affirmative alliances.
5.
A new economics: Finding businesses and ways to manage them that
put human values on the bottom line and still return a healthy
profit.
6.
Common sense. The determination to find practical solutions that
work toward conquering society's problems of pollution,
inflation, violence and alienation.
7.
A holistic approach to health: Exploring alternative healing
from herbs to acupuncture, nutrition and massage, to preventive
methods aimed at helping people to take responsibility for their
own health.
8.
Building a positive vision: The determination, far from grim, to
build an example for a better society and to live tomorrow's
world today. And to make their insights available, through
outreach programs, to local communities and the world at large.
9.
Self government by consensus. Working with group process and
evoking the intuition of community members in the
decision-making process.
10.
A world network. Cooperating with similar communities throughout
the world, sharing skills and services, taking political action
- and forming the vital nucleus of a new civilization. Reprinted
with permission from the Tarrytown Group, P.O. Box 222,
Tarrytown, NY 10591
"In
and through community lies the salvation of the world." --
M. Scott Peck, Introduction, The Different Drum
"...'community'
is a group of two or more people who, regardless of the
diversity of their backgrounds, have been able to accept and
transcend their differences, enabling them to communicate openly
and effectively, and to work together towards common goals,
while having a sense of unusual safety with one another.
Community Building workshops endeavor to create this safe
place." -- M. Scott Peck, "Community
Building in Brief"
Community
Building, in the context of this site, refers to a group process
where participants experience and practice communication skills
that create the possibility for deep human connection. This
process was described by author Dr. M. Scott Peck in his book, The
Different Drum. Further information was presented in a later
book, A World Waiting to Be Born.
Community,
according to Peck, may be described as "a group of
individuals who have learned how to communicate honestly with
each other, whose relationships go deeper than their masks of
composure, and who have developed some significant commitment to
'rejoice together, mourn together,' and to 'delight in each
other, make each others' conditions [their] own.'" [Drum,
Simon and Schuster, 1988, p. 59.]
The
stages of Community Building generally include:
Pseudocommunity
An
initial state of "being nice". Pseudocommunity is
characterized by politeness, conflict avoidance, and denial of
individual differences. Let's be honest -- most of us can't keep
this up for long. Eventually someone is going to speak up, speak
out, and the dam breaks.
Chaos
In
the stage of chaos, individual differences are aired, and the
group tries to overcome them through misguided attempts to heal
or to convert. Listening suffers, and emotions and frustration
tend to run high. There are only two ways out of chaos: retreat
into pseudocommunity (often through organization), or forward,
through emptiness.
Emptiness
Emptiness
refers to the process of recognizing and releasing the barriers
(expectations, prejudices, the need to control) that hold us
back from authentic communication with others, from being
emotionally available to hear the voices of those around us.
This is a period of going within, of searching ourselves and
sharing our truths with the group. This process of "dying
to the self" can make way for something remarkable to
emerge.
Community
"In
my defenselessness, my safety lies." In this stage,
individuals accept others as they are, and are themselves
accepted. Differences are no longer feared or ignored, but
rather are celebrated. A deep sense of peace and joy
characterizes the group.
Copyright 1995 by Charles Betterton. All
rights reserved.
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