Vision for Community

Healing

This element of the vision is what sets the Earthkin Collective apart from other intentional communities, and it is embodied in the community members’ commitment to a certain level of personal growth and transformational work. How people choose to spend their personal time is up to them, and not everyone enjoys process work to the same degree. At the same time, there are certain things within us (childhood traumas, shadow parts, patterns of behavior, etc) that block our ability to live with and relate to others in a good way.

To balance free will with the needs of the community, the standard of personal transformational work is simply to address whatever shows up that has a negative impact on others in the community. Members commit to do whatever individual work is needed to address these obstacles, and to support one another in doing that work. This involves a willingness to share their true feelings and concerns about anything that bothers them, and address this through a collaborative process of inner healing work and conflict resolution.

There are a variety of healing modalities and methods that can be helpful for this, such as movement & bodywork, shamanic healing, counseling & transformational psychotherapy, emotional healing, etc. While we should be open to new and emerging technologies and practices for healing on various levels, we should also be wary of unproven methods and technologies that have yet to prove tangible results (through testable, repeatable means), especially where the mechanism of healing (ie. how it actually works) is unclear or unexplainable.

While many popular “healing” modalities and practices that are more accurately called bliss practices and wellness practices, such as sound baths and chakra tuning, can be wonderful for the maintenance of overall health and well-being (along with yoga, qi gong, physical exercise, etc), they are not truly transformative when it comes to healing deep wounds and shifting deep patterns, and substituting them for deeper healing modalities is one of the most common forms of spiritual bypass.

With that said, wellness practices such as qi gong and restorative yoga are important as a part of a holistic regimen to support the deeper transformations that are occurring. Other shared activities such martial arts, archery, and nature skills such as stalking can also be helpful in shifting patterns and ways of being.

Learning

This element of the vision takes the form of workshops and retreats, as one of the offerings by the community to the wider society. The goal of these workshops is to offer guidance for how to live in a way that respects and cares for all of life, both in practical ways and on the level of worldview and values. This curriculum would include:

• Philosophical teachings such as animism and the beliefs and principles that make up the New Story.

• Growth-oriented teachings such as what it takes to heal, and why that matters to the world.

• Sociology teachings that describe what it means to be a true adult, and how to live in community in a way that brings out the best in each of us.

• Practical teachings showing how to physically live on this planet in sustainable and pro-life ways.

• Magical teachings that assist students in accessing their intuitive gifts and forging connections with helpful spirits and energies such as the elements and spirits of the land.

Visitors can come for specific classes and retreats that interest them, or they can join a longer residential program to take in everything the community has to share.

To make this possible, the community offers:

• Workshop space(s) for classes & retreats, and a variety of classes offered in a retreat format as well as stand-alone events.

• Foundational materials provided for people to read and engage with beforehand, so the workshops can focus more on discussion and hands-on experiences.

• Temporary accommodations for people to stay, regardless of income level or payment. We envision a variety of lodging options, such as glamping, shared tiny homes (mini-dorms), and single-room tiny homes, depending on how much people are able and willing to contribute in an exchange of energy.

• A work-trade system for people to give back to the school that they are learning from, for sustainability and healthy energy exchange. Money and physical effort (time and energy) are considered equally valuable forms of energy.

Living

This element of the vision is embodied in a community of people learning how to live together in a way that is sustainable and creates a viable alternative to our modern, capitalistic way of life. The community is open to visitors to experience living in community temporarily, as well as people becoming full members if they meet the requirements and are accepted by the rest of the membership.

Unlike most other intentional communities, the Earthkin Collective does not require people to “buy in”, but provides a way for people from all class backgrounds and life circumstances to participate equally. This community is modeled after indigenous ways rather than capitalism, based on principles of equality and collectivism (by valuing each person’s unique gifts, and working for the good of all life) rather than hierarchy and selfishness (as seen when valuing certain skills and abilities more than others, and working to maximize personal self-interest).

These values translate to decision-making as well, maximizing each person’s expression of their personal power in relationship with others (”power-with”), in place of the dominant culture’s hierarchies of power that lead to dominance and submission (”power-over”). Members commit to fully stepping into their power and wielding it (shared leadership), with the understanding that everyone’s voice is inherently equal, and equally valuable.

The Collective is modeling a very different relationship with the land than that of our modern society, by recognizing that the land is alive and has the same sovereignty as any human. This means living from the belief that humans do not have a right to own land, but should instead be stewards and caretakers, for the benefit of all of the living beings that share the land and not just humans. To express this belief, the community’s land is held in a Land Trust with community members as trustees, and the community is given perpetual permission to live on and caretake the land.

Sustainability is not only achieved in practical ways, through things like sustainable building and food-production, but serves a larger goal of relearning how to live in harmony with the land and the wider community of life that shares the land with us. Sustainability is also sought on an interpersonal level, by learning how to live together as archetypal adults, and addressing the various wounds and patterns that stand in the way of healthy relating.

The vision for the community aspect of the Earthkin Collective includes:

• Community living spaces, such as a kitchen/eating/socializing space, communal laundry, outdoor ritual spaces & shrines, etc.

• Temporary accommodations for visitors to stay, regardless of income level or payment, including camping, spots for vans & RVs, shared tiny-houses (dorms), etc.

• Communal gardens, ponds, animal shelters, and an extensive food forest, to grow food for the community.

• A water catchment system, filters, storage tanks, and piping to cycle water through multiple stages of use.

• Permanent tiny homes built by the community for members to live in. These are legally owned by the community, but are treated as the personal property of the resident as long as they live there and remain part of the community.

• A work-trade system for visitors and full members to participate in all aspects of community living, for sustainability and healthy energy exchange.

• Handmade products by the community (such as canned goods and knitted gloves) sold online and at farmers’ markets, to cover community expenses and provide disposable income for individuals (according to how much they contribute).