Rules ...

Recent discussions with visitors bring the intentional community building question to the fore ... online connections to Noomap as a tool for such work lead round to lots of activity in Portugal ... seems to be a serious contender for A Place to Be ... which brings up the practical question of rules ... resisted intuitively, yet whatever word is used and however codes of behaviour are developed and implemented, it is well to consider the experience of past pioneers .... and to remember the amusing tale of the world expert on intentional communities ... had experience of so many because he was impossible to live with!

Perhaps, to start, we can accept that many different forms can co-exist ... and to set out what A Place to Be aspires to achieve, at least in its first model.

So, for discussion ... recognising that APtB has a history, but no longer a legal form, bank account or formal leadership ... and that, as above, so below, congruence in thought, word and action practiced ...

Spiritual core: commitment to co-creation, compassion, tolerance, simplicity and respect for all sentient beings and our Mother Earth ...

Personal development: commitment to address the psychological issues which may block our personal development and following from that affect community life ...

Taking responsibility: eschewing gurus, blame and passivity, we take responsibility for our lives and the way they affect the whole ...

Healthy bodies: consciously exercising our minds and bodies and eating wholesome food ... avoiding toxic and addictive substances ...

Returning to Love: accepting that co-creation is challenging as well as rewarding, employing processes that transcend thought-provoking differences and bring us back to our spiritual core ...

Astute readers may have noticed an absence of rules in the five principles proposed ... of course the messy business of living aligned to them may change all that!

Lots of friends are interested in Permaculture, which is not specifically mentioned ... though fits well with the principles ... corpse eaters and smokers may be wondering if their conditioned behaviours will fit in ... respect for sentient beings, avoiding toxic and addictive substances, taking responsibility, will have doubtless led them to their own conclusions ...

After this provocative starter for discussion, what is really exciting is the energy which is building for new ways to live together ... based on cooperation and compassion with new economic forms ... and for this would-be participant, as well as promoting an international membership, it is essential that folks from the host countries and local areas are involved from the start.

Portugal here we come ... via France and a Spanish Camino del Norte if the replacement housesitters arrive in time!