MultiGenerational

Because it Takes a Whole Village

Adam and Eve
Starry Lake

Forming Community

Some communities do have age limits and child limits and probationary periods and a lot of other things that we don't have yet in Eden. All of which are going to be impacting a lot of well meaning boomers in just a few short years.

With Eden there is not that much of that judging going on yet. You just join in with it as it comes together and you will probably pass right on through without being so carefully scrutinized as it would be anyplace else. Later on that might not be the same as it is now.

All communities are like families who all do have a choice about who they want and who they don't want to come into their households. But in the early stages it is not easy to slip in without having to be subject to the judgment of other people which can be a very undesirable process to have to endure for some people who don't hold up well under scrutiny.

Eden is a Lot Better

It doesn't matter if you are not sure what you have to offer or what it is that you can contribute. No one likes to be judged. But if you are there in the groups and at the meetings and on the hikes and up at T's place and all, then you might make it through without being treated like some kind of an applicant. That is Key. You can pay your way.

You want to make a real contribution. More than just your own fair share. We feel that those who will only do their own fair share aren't really with us here. 

Boomers and the older people who usually can and will do more than their fair share of the financial aspects of things, will be able to enter like anybody else.

The younger people will have to follow our lead but only if we really do take one and can hang onto it because they may try to take it all away from us just so they can throw the whole thing into the waiting hands of the rapaciously hungry desperados of doom and gloom.

With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.

All will be expected to carry their own weight and most all will be made to pay their own way one way or the other. And it's always got to be more so one way when it's going to be less so the other. 

Not like you would think coming out of the brain dead system we have all inherited from those who did not know the difference between one thing and the other. But that is so common here in america which does not yet have the Honor System or the Natural Order of Priorities which appears to be only way to reach Univeral Integration.

Some prominent communities will not even accept new members over 56 years old. All Boomers are now over 56.

The world is changing rapidly. And so we have to change or we will be changed by it. I only say these things so people will know that it is not for them to assume they don't need Eden. They do.

There are not a thousand other Eden's that you can join as easily as a book club. This is the only one I know of where you can lay your money down and get some get around.

Intentional Communities

Normally you would have to put in for approval as you would expect. We don't yet do that. But in every case you do have to earn your place in any real community. And we do teach respect for knowledge and experience here, which some of the older people may have in some abundance.

But you can't expect to be able to take advantage of that forever. Because it doesn't always kick in overnight and it doesn't always have that magical effect until it's proven to have a high degree of integrity and real lasting value.

The Garden

People really do expect you to know how to enter into the garden that is Intentional Community. There are so many things you don't want to step on.

There may be sprouting seeds that have been carefully planted just under the surface. You certainly want to proceed with permission and with every consideration.

Even though you might have thought it was just another community garden that anybody can do anything they want in. That may not actually be the case.

Community shared areas or even ideas does not always mean wide open public availability to thrash and trash it all to death.

That is a major misconception that if it is a community kitchen that means that anybody can just go in there and make a real big mess of everything with no accountability for their actions.

Even if it looks like just a field of overgrown weeds everything may have been planted there as it is on purpose. And so you do have to know how to talk to the gardeners as if they were real people and not just as hired hands to be dismissed like servants at your convenience as it might be in the city where a gardener is often thought of as being a subservient person of a lower class who works only for money.

The Word of Eden

The Word of Eden must be respected. To be an Edenite does not refer to just anybody who may have taken a passing interest in the sales pitch we may have sent out to them.

We generate that kind of interest all the time. That is usually just a knee jerk reaction that has no depth and will be sucked in and it will float right on out of here by its own momentum most of the time, and big fat train of thought just keeps on going right on down the track.

That's why it is always best not to assume you are the hottest item in the entire communities movement just because you can a knocking on the door one time for a little more information from one of our spokespeople.

Many are in fact going to more accurately describe themselves as being the rejects of the Post Modern world. Many people who come to this group just couldn't make it anywhere else and that is the truth.

This really is to be seen by some as being the last resort for a lot of these people who have no place left to go, but that is mainly just because they have burned all their bridges, and we could be the next Bridge to Go if we don't become very cautious about these false offerings of interest.

They are very often not really here just because they love Eden. Why would they love Eden? We would have to buy their love considering what it is like in the dog eat dog world they came from, would we not?

They are often at the end of the line and Eden or this whole Intentional Community thing actually is seen as being one last wildcard that is probably going to be their last resort before the end times come down hard on them with a whimper instead of a  bang, and they would sell us all out just to get that bang.

They haven't got anyplace else to go and that's the truth. Most of these people think that is what the community is supposed to be there for, which is to service their needs and demands just like a public library would be for a homeless person who just needs a place to sleep and will take full advantage of a comfy armchair in the library as being a perfectly good place to sleep it off, while they have no real interest in any of the books.

They would gladly be just gaming the system as usual. They have no idea of the true significance of our important work to Save the Earth. Some communities fall prey to these people because they are still infected with the theological ethics of mass mediocrity.

Walk Softly

Think before you speak in the early stages of your approach before you even think about stepping into that garden of Truth that is community.

You would be wise to form relationships very carefully with all of these people who are your very first new friends and contact people here. 

It's not like your first day of school where everything is going to be done for you. Nor is it like the dog eat dog world some folks may have become all too familiar with where you have to act tough just to keep from being clobbered by these gang thugs who will likely inherit the Earth if we don't beat them to the punch.

Pushing your own agenda forward is considered to be a big fat disgrace in Eden. Everything is about flowing into the Oneness of Eden, and letting the Spirit of Truth come through.

All Ways Free

We don't need to be looking for a lot of problems. You must show your own very real willingness to listen and to learn and not just a strong desire to teach.

If you need to be the teacher and a preacher, then first you will have to unlearn everything from the beginning, before you can approach the foot of that terrible mountain that is the Natural Order of Priorities where all the Truth may remain safely hidden even unto this day. And there are few here among us now who would even dare to climb such a mountain, which could be the only way out of here.

These are all Learning Communities of high thought and decisive action here. We are not creating Co-Dependency complexes.

Relationship

Relationships must be formed. This is very much like moving into a very important personal or work relationship where you know that one little thing can destroy everything else.

How many chances to blow it bad do you get with a woman when you first meet? It is like a hair trigger is it not? How about a prospective employer? Almost as bad. How about a place to live? Not that much room for unpleasant people. How about a new friend or a room in some ones home? A significant business partnership? It doesn't take much.

One badly chosen comment is all it takes. That's why we ask people not to even think they can just insinuate themselves into this or any other community like they were going to be welcome as wedding crashers with a big appetite who did not even bring a gift.

You do have to actually join into any relationship as someone who knows they could meet with rejection and would be fine with that. No problem. Same with Eden. We may or may not be interested in what you will ever have to offer. Later on that will change as you become better known and well trusted. 

How many times to you get to blow it real bad with a woman after you have been with her for 5 years? Well then you know you will have much more of a positive track record laid down that you can rely on. This is all about relationships and how they work, and some of the same principles apply here in our relationships with the community, as you can see.

Eco-Logical

You don't have to be a strong and hard worker to be a valued member in a truly Eco-Logical community. It's not really about that. Nor should you expect a job to be waiting there for you where you just stand around all day.

But when it comes time to write those checks you are there and with little fanfare you do so much more than you fair share that it makes people wonder if you really are just another boomer or a whole new breed that believes in deeds instead of words.

We want to create a place where you could be right at home and ultimately do what comes naturally to you with the resources that you do have. What comes out of your heart and out of your own desire to create a better world with a focus on the here and now might be a good place to start.

It will cost you no more than it would anywhere else. That is how this thing works. Maybe you like to make music. And we will make room for those who really are good at whatever it is they choose to do. Not as a negotiated settlement. Everything is free flowing and easy going. Bring us your best and forget about the rest.

Life Skills

Maybe you speak English and are good at taking care of children or growing plants or taking care of animals. Or you like to make things that work.

We all have to find a way to give and to share with each other and we must begin to make new plans for how things could work in a more flowing and naturally beautiful way.

We are the new architects and designers of a Sustainable Way of Life that is fluid and dynamic and that is one thing that Boomers are going to be very good at as soon as they get the training they are going to need and maybe even a Certificate in Permaculture Design would be in order.

You are seen as being a very creative and independent person who may choose to have a kind and gentle hand in many different things. And we see you as being fully able to do any number of things quite well. And we need to be able to teach our children how to be all around competent people which is often not the way we were raised.

Lateral Moves

We don't really care that much for money or the people who have it and yet we still plan to use a lot of it so we do need a few people who know how to manage it.

Many people truly are being locked out of the system they have grown too dependent upon. And now they don't have any place to go. What a surprise. Who knew?

We've got our own system of internal integration that is superior to wall street. And we like to think it's a pretty good idea to invest in our own people and into our own community and not to expect it to take over where the other one left off.

Everything works by the meaningful exchange of resources and energies and nutrients that really do need to happen. Anything else would just be a lateral move. There are no lateral moves within a finely tuned community because that is a waste of energy and that is inefficient, and shows no regard for the Natural Order of Priorities.

World Service

We are all going to be very creative people who are much more than just the artists and musicians and the world peace visionaries and Eco-Logical Luminaries and everything else that we continue to bring together into our growing group of revolutionaries, as that Larger Resource Base is just the beginning of the process.

Eden is Expecting

We expect only the best from those who do wish to join in with us. And those who have made some real progress already on their own might be a good place to start. More than Enough and Some to Share is what you bring to any community. That is not what you expect to receive. 

It's very much like the do unto others thing which is a theological way thinking that shows no conception of a Natural Order of Priorities yet, because you have no idea which others to do what unto or how much or how often to do that which is what we will be covering further within the Honor System.

But like the Waterfall, and the rest of the Universe, it may be that it only works one way, in that it goes downstream first and then it evaporates and comes back up over the mountains and then it comes back down to refresh the waterfall with flow after it rains. But the River itself does not ever seem to kick itself into reverse, and so the Waterfall never goes up into the air at that point.

Excellence is another one of our words of choice and that works the same way. We must all learn to treat Eden and each other with the highest degree of Excellence that we can imagine. It is not about expecting that from Eden or anyone among us that we will always be served with excellence, meaning that it flows only one way and that is down hill.

Good Neighbors

No experts who know it all, and been there, done that will be welcomed. Old and cool is fine but not that you know it all and it couldn't be any other way than you learned back in the sixties. Things have changed some, and we have Turned a Page on all that.

Same with our younger friends.

In recognition for that which is good and right and that which has turned out well and makes a contribution and not that long list of needs on which they may have been sold but that can never be sustained since it is nothing but a drain.

We are creating a place for the new views, and are not to remain stuck in the old fold. And that is a subversive act. My apologies to those who may feel their entire generation has just been offended. - T

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