COMMUNITY VISION
Andrew Rosenthal

I want to live within a community that's as self-sustaining as possible. A group of people continuously co-building and improving communication techniques to create a "World where everyone wins" (HAI); by moving in this direction, our quality of life will continuously improve… Heading this "Space ship" we call, Earth, toward a world without paralyzing Fear, Violence, or Repression of any kind: sexual, spiritual, hierarchical, controlling, manipulating when it feels like being exploited, et al… I want to live with people committed to recreating emotional, psychological, economical and etc., structures. I feel very strongly that as motivators, cooperation and love be greatly emphasized over competition and fear. The knowledge exits right now, to teach along these lines from nursery school through the doctorate program in every school on the planet.

I want to live in/with a community where we are always conscious… of helping each other (without rescuing) to improve our humanitarian communication skills. I believe that using a variety of communication/conflict resolutions "Games" and techniques can best achieve this. A few examples: "I feel" statements instead of "You make me", enhancing our self-esteem because we are taking responsibility for our own emotions rather than putting that "On" another person, this isn't possible anyway; "Active listening…" as opposed to "Parroting…", and the "Forum": a group and individual self-esteem enhancing "Game" designed to transparently share and shed emotional "Issues".

Here are a few "Guiding Light" phrases I use in my life and are part of my "Vision": "Ask for 100% of what you want 100% of the time, be willing to Hear "No", and negotiate for the difference, "Awareness plus experience equals potency", "The awesome power of fantasy is awesome…", the word, "Intimacy" taken apart phonetically spells.., "Into-me-you-see…", also, Communication is the Best Lubrication…", in all aspects of living. These "Tools" plus others, my own, observations, instincts, and experience, help me to be always moving toward (even when I'm not) co-creating community being transparent, direct, honest, and kind. I feel that a lot of our "Work" is to put out what we'd like to get back.

"Thank you!" Stan Dale, The Human Awareness Institute's Love, Intimacy, Sexuality Workshops, Isadora Alman, Stephen Davis, The Network for a New Culture, Z.E.G.G., and all the other players in my life; past, present, and future.

I want to co-live with folks actively involved in creating together a love/life environment. One with an overall, Genuine, warm feeling of mutual trust, respect, and support. Perhaps one of our greatest challenges, and the greatest act of love we can give each other is to be willing to really Hear and accept without judgement or criticism where we "Are" at any given moment. "Simple, but not easy…".

In my life's observation and experience, now 49 years travelin with this "Space Ship", one of the strongest and mostly unspoken undercurrents of our human condition is…… you guessed it, S E X! This can be the most divisive, most delicious, most confusing, most exasperating and/or any wide variety of multitudinous combinations thereof. How many times, for example, have you spoken your truth about what you're feeling currently, directly, and honestly? It is from here that we build trust. How can we have relationShips (not dinghy's) without trust? How does it serve us to not speak the "Unspoken"? Personally, I prefer the delicious spoken variety with all its positive self-esteem building connotations. "Ask for 100% of what you want…, being willing to Listen and Negotiate…",etc… A quick aside here - I find it interesting (actually, really sad) how quickly and easily we tend to diminish our sexuality/humanity with our overt and covert addiction to commercialization. Too bad, as this also tends to tarnish and diminish, as well, the bright warmth of our ability to really love. We have allowed ourselves, as a species, to become blinded by money and its addictive/seductive power. It is only a tool. What if we transferred that power to our hearts…? I understand, again, "Simple but not easy..". And, doing the work here cooperatively and collectively can only serve to build our self-esteem and enhance our humanity/sexuality not diminish it. So I say, "Let the work begin and continue…continuously building…" Double standards, mixed messages, indecision, confusion, and fear; all part and parcel to some 600, plus or minus, years of mostly institutionalized societal programming and conditioning, Especially the insidious sex roles/rules we've all been propagandized by. So, for me, I am and love to be around people who are or striving to be Healthy, Assertive, and Enthusiastic about sex in general and their own sexuality specifically. Please, this is not the "be all and end all" of my life. I just recognize and celebrate the potency of life and love. I hope that you do too.

Community Logistics:

1. Population - Approximately 30 - 60 folks on 50 - 100 lush green acres in mild climate away from the tendency of major weather disasters.

2. Diverse and balanced as possible:
Gender
Racial/Ethnic background
Sexual orientation
Age
Relationships: Non-monogamy/monogamy (all consensual forms) Supporting each other being at Choice with mutual Trust, and Respect, continuously Building Together an on-going, on-growing, on-flowing, Strong atmosphere of Unconditional Love

3. Organic vegetarian - grow our own… (o.k., maybe a free range chicken or two with no garbage chemical eggs)

4. Regular massage programs (wide variety of techniques), meditation (whatever works), exercise (again, whatever works best as determined by participants), other spiritual/health pursuits, emotional and physical, with NO DOGMA! (How's that for dogma?) just a goofin and a spoofin here

5. Housing - "Cluster" or whatever style(s) people decide on that's aesthetic with and built well to fit the environment.

6. Complete Health Care: Holistic medical, dental and psychological with emphasis on prevention and treating the cause as well as the symptoms; incorporating all forms of care in use on the planet.

7. Composting toilets, solar, wind, waterpower, complete recycling, garden composting, environmentally safe cleaning techniques and tools.

8. Regular balanced co-created chore scheduling.

9. Whatever pets are wanted that, of course, can be trusted to be safe, can be cared for responsibly, and are in sync (as close as possible in the moment) with their surroundings, human and non…

10. Wide variety of frequent celebrations of Life, Love, and Diversity!!

11. Non -polluted river, lake, or stream nearby.

12. Some things I like to do:
Communicate
Internal/external travel across the street, the world, the universe, our
psyches
Horseback riding
Camping
Softball (women & men playin together)
Canoeing
Quietly walking with nature
Hot tubing
Dressing up, down, not (mostly the latter)
Eating/preparing organic food
Sharing in common social, political, environmental, awareness and responsibility
Sharing work projects
Music Is Very Important! Practically all genres, emphasizing a bit, soaring, abstract, what some may hear as wild improv.. Dancing to Motown, the Blues, and Rock 'N' Roll, folk songs/Bluegrass around a campfire, etc. And more living love, loving life…

13. Socially responsible income producing

14. A supportive environment for an eclectic array of education and creativity…

We all agree to continuously support each other in whatever various ways that can mean. And, to be especially aware of the societally programmed addictions we're dealing with every day: Sex roles/rules, assuming, running at heart attack, stroke, etc., speeds on the profit motive treadmill, generally choosing to be more motivated by fear than love, as a few examples. Likewise, the diverse levels of justification (implied and direct) connected with materialism, racism, sexism, classism, ageism, etc., etc. In A word, Fear. I've been learning more and more that this our basic monster.
All of the previously mentioned and other tentacles (with and without suction cups) grow from this source. Also, I'm discovering that we can shape fear into a catalytic springboard toward Love. Jump on!

I want to live with a community with on-going, on-growing awareness… of the traps (negative habits) of betrayal, abandonment, judgement, critical "parenting", hiding, mixed messages, and the Screaming silence of avoidance. Love means/feels like, looks like for me: genuine trust, support, mutual respect, and acceptance, being Turned On by speaking/hearing truth to feelings. Living with people who are willing to dialogue about and actively risk changing our actions that cause the demeaning invidiousness, of these emotional, behavioral "Demons" is, for me, a cause for euphoric enthusiasm. In other words, I want to participate in co-creating a space of trust by speaking the unspeakable; living with people cooperatively and actively interested in being as emotionally articulate and psychologically astute as possible.

Here then, is my vision of/for community. This reflects my worldview as well. I see our planet heading toward being humanistically connected by an on-growing series of world wide intentional communities; each one rich in its own culture and willing to share with the rest of world. Nationalism, borders, and symbols thereof, being replaced by all inhabitants of Earth joining hands and thereby connecting hearts. "Simple, but not easy…"

Everything I've written is an invitation for questions, comments, and negotiation, (my personal favorite) because, I feel, that this enhances "Win-Win" which in turn, strengthens/warms/brightens, intimacy ("Into-me-you're-invited-to-see.."). "Love! Me Hearties…"

"Some say I'm a dreamer, and I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, so the world will be as one,
Imagine…."

Thank you, for travelin this far with me. The journey continues……

Love and Peace!

Andrew Rosenthal
3860 Glen Park Rd.
Oakland, CA 94602-1202
(510) 530-7698

THE COLOURS OF LOVE

Violet flowers and green
Others come from all life's
Spectrum of what I've seen
May the garden of our Humanity
Produce through out time, pure
LOVE
From which we choose
Not to be blind