Gaian Communities of Practice

Dear friends,

This morning, pursuant to a conversation about ecovillages and other 
communities seeking, in various ways, to withdraw our support from Glomart and 
cultivate better ways of living peacefully with each other and with our 
life-sustaining planet, I found myself once again thinking of the best ways to build Gaian 
communities of practice. 

In order to succeed, any such community would have to have a set of 
principles, precepts, and practices that all agreed upon, and that formed the 
foundation of their shared agenda; otherwise, conflict will sooner or later tear any 
such community apart, OR it will be reduced to an authoritarian cult around a 
charismatic, egotistical guru figure, increasingly isolated from the world.

So what principles and practices would steer a middle path between the vices 
of hyper-individualism and conflicting egos, on one hand, or oppressive, 
authoritarian conformity and "leader"-worship on the other?

The following is my proposal for a Gaian Community Charter that, once 
adopted, would tread this "middle path" and be self-sustaining and self-replicating, 
and not dependent on any charismatic leader:

Principle: The founding principle of any Gaian community of practice would 
be, of course, the Universal Dharma (impermanence, interbeing, and Oneness), as 
expressed in every authentic spiritual tradition on the planet, and as 
embodied in Gaia, our living planet. In short, I would like to see an ecumenical 
community, which open-minded adherents of all different faith traditions would 
feel comfortable visiting or joining, and where they would feel that their own 
traditions are honored and respected as an expression of the Universal Dharma.  
My own favorite formulation of the Universal Dharma is that of Martin Luther 
King, Jr.:

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single 
garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

Precept: Any community of practice would need to have agreed-upon ethical 
norms or touchstones, which serve as asymptotic goals toward which the community 
would continuously strive. The precept presupposed by a clear understanding of 
the above Principle is, of course, the Golden Rule, or universal compassion. 
My favorite practical formulation of the Universal Dharma as a precept is that 
of Lao Tzu:

Take care of everyone, and abandon no one.
Take care of everything, and abandon nothing.

This aptly sums up our right relationship with each other and with Gaia, when 
we live in an "inescapable network of mutuality" where "whatever affects one 
directly, affects all indirectly."

Practice: 

Breathe, Observe, Let Go.
Be well, Do good work, Keep in touch.
Learn Gaia, Teach Gaia, Heal Gaia, Create Gaia.

This, which I call the Dharma Gaia Mantra, would be the backbone of a Gaian 
community of practice--informing everything we do. To unpack this a bit, let's 
look again:

Breathe, Observe, Let Go.  Any Gaian community should be predicated in a 
strong daily silent meditation practice in which everyone participates.  This 
could include, of course, bringing in prominent meditation teachers from various 
traditions. It would also involve openness to various forms of meditation, 
including sitting, walking, yoga, qigong, and tai chi.

Be well, Do good work, Keep in touch.  This second triad would comprise the 
generic daily agenda of a Gaian community of practice, comprising both vertical 
(body-mind-spirit) and horizontal (self-community-Gaia) modes of healing. It 
would translate into sponsoring a wide range of workshops on holistic 
physical, emotional, and spiritual health (Be Well); on permaculture, organic farming, 
solar power, community cooperatives, and other Gaian practices and 
technologies (Do Good Work); and on various forms of outreach and mindful political 
engagement to restore civil society, prevent the destruction of the Earth, and 
alleviate the sufferings of the world (Keep in Touch). 

Learn Gaia; Teach Gaia; Heal Gaia; Create Gaia. These, of course, would 
constitute the ongoing objectives for a Gaian community of practice as a whole--

--to learn all we can about our living planet and its life-sustaining 
practices, both locally and globally (Learn Gaia); 

--to find skillful ways to educate others in our larger community in Gaian 
theory and practice (Teach Gaia); 

--to get involved with others in both preventing further environmental 
destruction and restoring damaged ecosystems to health (Heal Gaia);

--to work with others in designing, testing, and implementing innovative 
agricultural, technological, architectural, economic, and community design 
initiatives that are sustainable and that help shift our relationship to Gaia from 
parasitism to symbiosis.(Create Gaia).


Hope this is helpful.

Best wishes,

Tom Ellis