051 - The New Intentional Communities

Portals of Perception

* This conversation was recorded just a few weeks before the conversation The Emergence of Belonging took place. In several profound ways inquiries framed here are answered in the discoveries of The Emergence of Belonging.

It shouldn’t be surprising that with the cultural changes born of the pandemic, and the ecological crisis of climate change, there is a new passion for, simply put, finding new ways to live — creating ecologies that will support the kind of life we imagine is possible.

It isn’t easy; as intentional communities create their visions, they face familiar challenges: building a shared living space that respects an individual’s passion and growth, while harmoniously supporting mutual values and mission. Surviving practically and financially, when the motivating energy isn’t about making money.

Easy, no. But there is renewed interest — perhaps an emerging global movement — in imagining new blueprints for collective living in this time of cultural and ecological upheaval. Current events poin t to the motivation: forced isolation during the pandemic; environmental catastrophe from the extraction and depletion of natural and human resources, and a deep intuition that we are due for and can bring about a constructive reset for humanity.

What could new models for collaborative living look like? In this conversation, Aviv Shahar joins author, consultant and Emmy Award-winning documentary film director Tucker Walsh for a closer look at the rise of new intentional communities. Tucker’s life - long interest in group and collective living has taken him to communities around the planet.

Among their observations and insights:

• You will face the obstacles, challenges, and fault lines; the first being in the paradigm of the modern world where the question is, how will this project support itself?
• We are able to converge and cohere at the high idealistic aspect of what we imagine, but the breakdown occurs in the "middle spaces" of where we live our lives.
• These are people that on a deeply intimate level you know their shadow, their light, their stories, their traumas. This also creates a sense of safety.
• Could there be a community celebrating the miracle of life and living together in away that is ecologically and interpersonally sound? Something like an intentional village?
• How do we move past the interpersonal conflict? How can we show up and be of service as sovereign individuals that also recognize all of life is a relational process?
• A voice deep within my being is hungry to fall in love and fully serve and give mylife to something larger than myself. One way that can manifest is through community.
• Can we engage in a deliberative co-evolving endeavor that will include our desires today and our children’s desires? Unless we do, we won’t unlock our fullest and highest potential.

This conversation is part of the continuing Portals discovery into what is emerging on the frontiers of human experience in this time of profound change. Information about upcoming special events can be found on the Events page. Also visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“So imagine waking up and hearing animals outside. You just wake up to nature. You have just direct immediate access to nature in a landscape that is not just a plot of land that you kind of clear cut and built your house next to, but you're actually living embedded in the actual nature, and there's a regenerative mindset that says, "This piece of land is my home and I want to leave it better than how I found it."” (Tucker)

“There's a constant awareness and dialogue around trauma, around healing, around shadow work, around awakening. I just sense there are other ways of orienting in a shared collective with people who still feel that healing is an essential part of their daily lives and still feel that doing the work, so to speak, is a part of the work of life, but are here maybe to operate more from a place of service, more from a place of celebration, more from a place of actually healing the external systems and the larger society and the larger structures that are in need of service as well in addition to our ego structure in our psychological health. ” (Tucker)

“The fact that we're alive in this moment even as we're dying is even more of a reason to celebrate, and there's a shift in consciousness that's happening around the existential crisis that's coming — I'm certainly not applying this as the only narrative or as a narrative that would work for everyone.” (Tucker)

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Portals of Perception Website

Aviv’s LinkedIn

Aviv’s Twitter

Aviv’s Website

The New Intentional Communities

Tucker Walsh Linktree