Intentional community

Defined communities

An intentional community is a planned community which is often residentially designed from the beginning to have a high degree of social cohesion through a common interaction.

The members of an intentional community often hold common values which involve a social, political, religious, or spiritual vision. They will often follow lifestyle with particular goals or purposes in mind. They typically share some responsibilities and resources.

Intentional communities include collective households, cohousing communities, ecovillages, communes, survivalist retreats, religious orders, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives.

Ancient communities

The most predominant Community form of society and government throughout history has been based on voluntary systems composed of a Network of intimate groups linked together by a system of charity. It was called the tens, hundreds, and thousands.

Most ancient civilizations evolved from intentional communities. The foundational values that are held by a community will dictate the growth or decay of a society.

The Greek city states evolved a number of different societies and as they shifted values they also shifted the nature of their society. The shift created new problems or dynamics which cause values to shift again. Societies may change over time from generation to generation until the society fails.

What are the essential parameters of a free and prosperous society?

Rome, the Teutons and ancient Israel all began with specific sets of values or Social Virtues all shifted those values based properties of their community which changed society and then changed the moral character of the people within society and then another shift in values occurred producing new changes.

Each of these societies created foundational structures which set the moral character of society. From the 12 Tablets of Rome to the Ten Commandments of Israel those basic outlines of acceptable elements of society set the boundaries of those free societies. While the desire for personal liberty is important, whether escaping from the tyranny of Tarquinian kings or Corvee despotism of the Pharaohs of Egypt, far more important is the pervasive and cultivated desire to sustain the freedom and rights of your neighbor.

In other words the golden rule of caring about your neighbor as much as yourself is an essential element of a free society. What rituals and sceremonies with in society might foster and enhance that element within the hearts of the people?

Understanding these foundational values, guidelines and limits in their many forms and comprehending where straying from them brings social change and even degeneration is not only important but essential in a sustainable community that wishes to be free.

It is inherent in the nature of man to desire relationships within society that promotes a “Sense of Community” of belonging, a feeling that you matter to others within your group or tribe. This Sense of Community comes from practices that confirm a mutual commitment which encourages respect, honor and compassion.

The rituals or practices and ceremonies of an intentional community should establish, nurture and affirm that sense of community from generation to generation. That sense of community must run deep within the heart and mind of individual to sustain loyalty during the extremes of societal hardships.

James Scott has looked at such remote societies that chose to be free rather than comfortable or pursue the promised comfort of the organized state. Abraham departed the city State of Ur to form an Intentional Community and did so with his Altars of Living stones. Moses left the state of Egypt to form a free state with no exercising authority from the top down where every-man was king in his own home. Christ started an Intentional Community when he appointed a kingdom to His Apostles where there was no Benefactors who could exercise authority but the people lived by faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of liberty with Lively Stones forming living Altars of social welfare.

The Christian conflict was also mostly about not participating in the state religion which consisted of the covetous practice of state sponsored Corban which is so popular with Modern Christians.

One of those natural governing agents of society is the purpose for gathering to support the well being of the people are the Charitable Practices of a voluntary system of Daily ministration.

The purposes of intentional communities vary. They may include sharing limited resources, creating physical or financially safety and or more spiritual and emotional commonality.

The way in which you do this and the bands that society depends upon to hold it together will determine the nature of society and the people within it.

Modern Approach

New members of an intentional community are generally selected by the community's existing membership, the leaders or a board rather than by real-estate agents or land owners especially if the land is owned collectively by the community.

This idea of intential communities is a major topic of the Network.

==Footnotes==

Intentional community

Defined communities

Ancient communities

Modern Approach

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