I came across an interview on www.SoundsTrue.com/podcast with Stanislav Grof founder of Holotropic Breathwork.

He is a psychiatrist who was involved with the original medical exploration of LSD before fellow researcher Timothy Leary went off the deep end and LSD exploration became taboo for legitimate science.

Dr. Grof’s interview on Sounds True is definitely worth listening to. He shares what the research discovered about consciousness and the nature of “reality”. One of the people involved in the LSD experiments had a near death experience and exclaimed that it was very similar to an LSD experience.

One of the more fascinating comments he makes in this podcast interview is “we have a lot of evidence that consciousness is not produced by the brain . . . that what we are experiencing as the material world is really virtual reality.”

Sort of validates the “you create your own reality” concept.

I hope you get a chance to listen to his interview. I’d love your feedback.

Love and light
Jennifer

I love my wall calendar that was gifted to me by my Buddhist friend, Jim. It has inspiring quotes and artwork guaranteed to put me in a blissful state. I was surprised to note that today, August 25, 2010, is Kiss and Make Up Day. I’ve never heard of this holiday, but I can certainly support the sentiment.

Just the other day I was wondering what ever happened to the Flower Power and Make Love Not War sentiments that were so popular in the 60s? So much of our current, volatile culture is laced with fear, greed, and vulgarity. How did we stray so far?

Just imagine if every person on the planet decided to Kiss and Make Up today . . . Wow! Heaven on earth! It can seem a distant, if not impossible dream from where we stand now.

Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that life as we have known it is shifting into something new. I know some people are fearful of what will happen to them as our culture continues to crumble right before our eyes. However, as a visionary, I am seeing this not as a death of a way of life, but as a whole new beginning in which we each have the opportunity to co-create the world into which we are stepping.

A major element of the Spiritual Growth Community is to be a resource and clearinghouse of information of interest to Pioneering Souls on a path of conscious evolution. So it is not surprising that my heart is calling me to explore community living as a way for people to come together to join in intentional communities. We have the opportunity to influence the emerging paradigm with our intentions and actions. Imagine living in a community founded on mutual support, and sustainable and joyful living where resource-sharing significantly reduces the amount of money needed to live the “good life!”

In some sense we are each already a part of many different communities — family, work, neighborhood, organizations, etc. The movement toward intentional communities is to self-select who you want to be in community with, then this community becomes your family, your neighborhood, your work, and the place to organize into the special-interest groups that call to your heart and soul.

A group has formed within the Spiritual Growth Community that is interested in knowing more about what intentional communities already exist, and exploring what sort of community they would like to create or be part of. We’ve gathered twice so far to share information and enjoy informal gatherings to get to know each other better, which is a form of developing community in itself. Go here if you’d like to be on the mailing list to receive notices of future events.

Back in the day, neighborhoods were mini communities. It was common to go next door to “borrow a cup of sugar.” Block parties, coffee klatches (defined as a casual social gathering for coffee and conversation, a.k.a. gossip) and shared supervision of the neighborhood children were common.

Today it is rare to know your neighbors, let alone socialize with them. With children in day care, the elderly in assisted living, and most adults working in environments away from home, there is little opportunity for true connection. Add to that the dwindling earth resources, and the resource-sharing benefits of community living begin to have some appeal.

Now, my first reaction to the idea of community living was reluctance to giving up my privacy. I have found I am not alone in that. But the more I explore the huge variety of intentional communities already in existence, the more certain I am that it is possible to create private space to retreat to whenever necessary to maintain a sense of self, while also being a full-fledged community member. 

After all, the new paradigm we are evolving into is one of “and” rather than “or,” all of which is possible because we are expanding our consciousness to easily integrate diversity in ways humanity has never before been able to do.

How this will play out for me personally, I don’t know . . .  yet. For now I am living in the unfolding. What I do know for sure is that community living is the direction evolution is taking us. In the meantime I am focusing on developing the communication and conflict resolution skills that community living will demand of me.

BOTTOM LINE: Once you get past the fear of “losing your privacy” and open your mind to exploring the myriad configurations of existing intentional communities, a whole new world of freedom opens up. Freedom from having to do everything yourself. Freedom from having to supply every resource for yourself. Shared appliances, tools, bicycles, cars, and on and on tremendously reduce living expenses leaving you free to pursue what you love to do to earn a living rather than working a soul-sucking job just because it pays well!

TIP: Start thinking about what qualities you like about your best friends. (If your best friends don’t have qualities you like, you need new friends!) What commonalities would form the basis for coming together in community? Who do you want to live with?

P.S. Having a diverse pool of viewpoints, coupled with great communication skills are a solid foundation for successful community living.

P.P.S. You don’t have to live together to be a community. Get a weekly or monthly potluck group together. Get together for a game night. (Canasta, anyone, or am I dating myself . . . oh yeah, it was my mother who played Canasta, with two decks, no less!)

What are your thoughts on community living and intentional communities? What is your vision of your ideal community? Have you lived in community in the past? Are you living in a community now? I’d really love to hear from you!

Have you ever seen a planned building-demolition? I’m not talking about the old-fashioned wrecking-ball kind of demolition that takes days to complete. I’m talking about strategically placed explosives that cause a building to collapse into a pile of rubble in seconds.

Click this YouTube link to see for yourself!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK50So-yYRU

Most of us have experienced more than a few life-demolitions here and there. Some have been the slow, tortuous wrecking-ball type, and others have been the instant implosion. Even the voluntary ones, like a friendly divorce, or leaving the area we grew up in, or quitting a job to take a better one, etc. can be tinged with regret, or even grief.

The really heart-wrenching life-demolitions are those we did not plan, and do not want, like the death of a loved one, loss of a job, instantaneous evaporation of life savings, and so on.

I bring this up because during Tuesday’s Spiritual Growth Community teleclass a picture of a disintegrating twelve story building came into my mind with the message that when the old is collapsing we can mourn the loss, or be aglow with anticipation of the new.

This is so apropos of the current evolutionary phase humanity is experiencing when life as we know it is collapsing . . . some in whack-bang-crunch wreaking-ball style, and some in spectacular implosions! Add to that the powerful astrological configurations that are pelting the planet with life-changing energetic vibrations, and there is plenty of reason to be feeling more emotional, more physically tired, more out of balance, more out of sync with those around us, and really sick and tired of worrying about the future, while looking for signs that things are getting back to "normal."

BAD NEWS: Life as we know it is all but over. Instability is the new normal. Think flowing river. Think constant motion. Think rapids. If, by chance, a placid pool does form, it is soon awash in algae, stagnant and stinky.

GOOD NEWS: "All heaven is breaking loose, and the effects will be felt for a long time to come," says astrologer Allison Rae. "New forms are taking shape even as the old forms fall away. It’s still early to fully harvest the new. It’s more that an energetic imprint is established at this time for later manifestation in the physical realm. When we’re flowing with the energies, the feeling is incredibly light and free, optimistic and joyful. It’s also easy to get caught up in the chaos and feel overwhelmed or helpless."

As many of you know, in this time of instability and uncertainty, I am being impulsed to explore community living, visioning it as the new normal lifestyle for us humans. The last thing my ego wants is to give up my privacy, my individuality, and my sense of propriety.

I love doing what I want, when I want, how I want, whenever I want. I relish my me, me, me lifestyle. Well the Universe sent me a message gram: "Too bad, sister, times are changing and you can stay ahead of the curve or be dragged along in the undertow, which by the way will be so not fun!"

Well . . . alrighty then . . . 

I’ve done my part. I have rearranged my living space to create an equitable division of my home to share with an "evolutionary partner" who wants to join me in exploring and expanding our community living skills. I’ve begun distributing information about what I am offering and what skills I am wanting to develop to make me more community-living friendly. I am living in the unfolding as the Universe does its part by creating paths that will cross and connect me with the perfect person to participate in this phase of my growth. Click here to see the invitation webpage.

BOTTOM LINE: Once you "get it" that there is no going back to the way things have been, it is easier to let go and make space for the new to emerge. It is going to happen . . . the question is will you go with the flow or be dragged along kicking and screaming while the inevitable evolution transpires? The quicker you can let go of what is not working and let the new emerge, the easier the transition will be.

TIP: Stay focused on how you want to feel, and do what you can to accommodate that. (Sometimes something as simple as a nap will do wonders!)

P.S. Keep your focus on yourself. Do your inner work. Clear your unconscious, limiting beliefs. Take responsibility for how you experience your life.

P.P.S. Surround yourself with like-hearted people. They will be your life-line to sanity in these crazy times!

So how are you experiencing the lack of stability in your life? Where have you surrendered to "what is" and let go of needing to control the outcome? Do you feel you are surfing the chaos and navigating the flow with grace and ease, or do you find yourself drowning in the undertow? Or somewhere in between? I’d love to hear from you, so please leave your comments below.