I hope to find some others wanting to follow Peter Limberg’s admonition: Perhaps, right this moment, the wise thing for you to do is… Craft communitas…
What we do now matters.
You are invited to join me in my quest for communitas within the Emergent Commons community. As best I can, I will outline this little project which seems like the next elegant step in my journey. I will address the who, what, when, where, why and how of this initiative.
WHO
This invitation is open to any Emergent Commons member, including our newest members and silent members, although I will specifically tag those who participated in the Coffee House - Crafting Communitas events. I would like to form a small group of only five people. Perhaps other members will initiate similar groups along somewhat similar lines.
WHAT
We will be crafting communitas, but I do not know the steps to be taken. So this will be a voyage of discovery. We will not search for a universal model, just for what works for us in this context at this time.
WHEN
Now.
WHERE
Out of necessity, online.
WHY
Why is as important as what. We will do this in service to each other, to Emergent Commons, to the Game B movement and, ultimately, in service to all life on earth. It is my belief that the collective wisdom of average and ordinary people needs to be part of the solution to the metacrisis. This is not as grandiose as it sounds, just one tiny insignificant project among many, but hopefully it will become special for the participants.
HOW
Each participant will contribute their own unique gifts. There is much in so-called We-Spaces to guide us. Personally, I am particularly inspired by the book Collective Presencing by Ria Baeck and the work of Peter Limberg, steward of The Stoa. Ideally, something will emerge from this collective experience that is greater than the sum of individual contributions. Or not.
Intuitively, I am inclined to start cautiously, building trust, establishing boundaries, enhancing the sovereignty and agency of each other. Although what I have in mind is definitely not group therapy, I like the approach of Gregg Henrequies to psychotherapy:
The therapeutic alliance is itself formed by three related, but also somewhat separate elements. The first element is the quality of the relationship; its levels of warmth, trust, degree of mutual respect, and the client’s general sense that the therapist has the skills and capacity to help and thus results in an early, hopeful attitude about the work. I see humans as having a core need to be known and valued by important others, and many individuals lack the basic experience of being valued for who they are or have no idea how to value themselves. As such, for some, the experience of being valued by a respected other can have healing properties. In addition, individuals filter their thoughts and feelings, both publicly from others and privately from themselves, especially if they are feeling disconnected or judged. This means it is crucial to have a working relationship that is intimate, open, and honest and cultivates authentic communication about what is really going on.
I would like to explore our individual paths to Emergent Commons. And I am interested in sharing our whole selves, not excluding our Game A entanglements. We may start with objective facts, but hopefully we will explore and share some of our subjective experiences of life.
We will move forward as a group at a pace that feels comfortable. However, I am hopeful that we will progress to what is meaningful, what is important, what matters. I am hopeful that we will explore our hopes and dreams.
It is my premise that something more than shared values and shared activities is necessary for crafting communitas. Perhaps shared beliefs at the level of grand narratives is a necessary ingredient. I hope that we will explore the narratives that shape our lives, the Emergent Commons, our society and the world at large. I hope that we can create one paragraph of a new grand narrative that needs to emerge.
Commitment
I am looking for others willing to commit to meeting for about an hour twice per month for five months, plus some contact between meetings, perhaps a few group emails. Thereafter we will reassess our experience. Hopefully, we will have something good, beautiful and true to share with Emergent Commons.
It is easy for you to decide if I am someone you would like to spend more time with. You can check out my Emergent Commons activity and follow the links in my profile. Please let me know if you have any questions.
There was enough response to form two groups of five but I only launched one due to time constraints and a desire to stay focused. We had our first meeting in September 2021 which went well. I am really looking forward to discovering what this experience will be like.