Models for Future Community Development

NorthernSanctuary · 06-19-2009, 03:45 PM

I can't say I've heard of Sabine Lichtenfels, but she was give the Nobel prize for peace. She founded this community. Interesting ideas.

http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=64

Illumination · 06-19-2009, 06:34 PM

Thanks for posting. This looks like a very well thought out and liveable community. Thanks to the internet, communities can learn from others around the world without having to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

NorthernSanctuary · 06-19-2009, 06:51 PM

Illumination, I agree. It's founded by 3 women. Reminds me that the next age is the age of the Goddess. Here's some info on the community from the site that I found interesting:

"
Community Life
"Only tribes will survive" Vine Deloria jr. / Native American

"When I see modern nuclear families in the US and in Europe with one father, one mother and one or two children I ask myself: Where are all the others?" Sobonfu Somé / Burkina Faso

The original community of human beings was not the family but the tribe. The community is the bed for all human life including family. Community is the organ of the whole which had been wounded the most. If we want to put into practice a sustainable ecological humanism we have to re-develop its foundation: a place amongst humans where children, men and women feel at home. From this base a stable peace and an authentic ethic
will arise.

Community and being an individual is not a contradiction: authentic individualism can only be developed on a seedbed of trust. Living in community means to live on a communitarian base instead of a private one. Maybe this is the most radical change of paradigms which is thinkable.

The ethic orientation for community in Tamera is:
1.Mutual support
2.Truth and transparency
3.Responsible participation

Approximately 180 adults (including students) and 20 children currently live in Tamera. There are no religious or ideological obligations, but there is a common direction that shapes the spiritual character of Tamera. This includes the desire to build things up, the desire to think in new ways, respect for life, participation in creation and solidarity with its beings, and friendship towards animals. On an interpersonal level this common direction entails "loving thy neighbour", the dismantling of leadership cultures through assuming responsibility for oneself, honesty in relationships, truth in love, and transparency in community.

Love and Sexuality:

"There can not be peace in the world as long as there is war in love." Sabine Lichtenfels

A non-violent culture will emerge when humanity succeeds in ending the war between the genders. Tamera gives no ideological answers to these questions but we are looking for new spaces of experience, for truth and insight. Love without jealousy, sexuality free of fear, faith which does not break with escapades, truth and constancy in love, solidarity between women and men and new ways for partnership are the big themes of the "love school" Tamera.

Women´s Council:

In old matriarchal cultures experienced women were the core of every tribe, every community, every extended family. The female knowledge of healing, conflict resolution and caring was the guarantee of stability and well-being of any social group. The female knowledge and power has been diminished and destroyed during the last 5000 years. In Tamera it is being restored on a new and modern level. It is one of the sources for peace.
The women´s council of Tamera is a group of experienced women whose task it is to use the female power and knowledge to help, heal and advise community members, guests, groups specially in questions of love and sexuality.

In future the women's council of Tamera will become a voice in the world and takes a stand in political questions on the base of female peace knowledge.
Female power does not mean domination, instead it is based on co-operation with men. Female knowledge in this sense means knowledge, authority and increased efficiency which arise from compassion for all life and from experience in all sexual questions.
The women's council is open for everybody in the community who needs help and advice. It supports young women and men in their first steps in love and it has a encouraging word for everybody who is going on the adventure of truth and trust in love.

Foto: Nigel Dickinson (C)
"

Illumination · 06-19-2009, 07:15 PM

I so agree with their philosophy. Although I've read much about a return to the Goddess or Female Culture I believe there are many men (and women) who will fight this realignment. In the US right now there is a huge backlash towards many of the rights women fought for in the 1960's and 70's. The culture is so hyper-masculine and militaristic and macho that women have to emulate those traits in order to gain a voice or power to be heard. Or they have to embrace the Madonna/Whore philosophy by taking on only one of those roles "allowed" for females by being the Perfect Nurturing Mother or the Sex Goddess.

There has to be a balance some how. Even though history shows us how men and the big three Monotheistic traditions purposefully destroyed the Fertility Goddess cultures and oral histories of Women Healers/Midwives and turned peaceful traditions into Male-centered stories of war and valor and competition, I don't think we can revert to those earlier Women-centered societies.

While the Earth's magnetic poles might make a 180 shift, Human cultures don't usually make such dramatic changes. But then again, there are so many changes happening all around us and within us that perhaps we will get to that Peaceful Coexistence place where war is unthinkable and women are treated with respect and personal autonomy.

06-19-2009, 03:45 PM	#1
NorthernSanctuary Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 698	Models for Future Community Development I can't say I've heard of Sabine Lichtenfels, but she was give the Nobel prize for peace. She founded this community. Interesting ideas. http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=64

06-19-2009, 06:34 PM	#2
Illumination Avalon Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 60	Re: Models for Future Community Development Thanks for posting. This looks like a very well thought out and liveable community. Thanks to the internet, communities can learn from others around the world without having to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

06-19-2009, 06:51 PM	#3
NorthernSanctuary Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 698	Re: Models for Future Community Development Illumination, I agree. It's founded by 3 women. Reminds me that the next age is the age of the Goddess. Here's some info on the community from the site that I found interesting: " Community Life "Only tribes will survive" Vine Deloria jr. / Native American "When I see modern nuclear families in the US and in Europe with one father, one mother and one or two children I ask myself: Where are all the others?" Sobonfu Somé / Burkina Faso The original community of human beings was not the family but the tribe. The community is the bed for all human life including family. Community is the organ of the whole which had been wounded the most. If we want to put into practice a sustainable ecological humanism we have to re-develop its foundation: a place amongst humans where children, men and women feel at home. From this base a stable peace and an authentic ethic will arise. Community and being an individual is not a contradiction: authentic individualism can only be developed on a seedbed of trust. Living in community means to live on a communitarian base instead of a private one. Maybe this is the most radical change of paradigms which is thinkable. The ethic orientation for community in Tamera is: 1.Mutual support 2.Truth and transparency 3.Responsible participation Approximately 180 adults (including students) and 20 children currently live in Tamera. There are no religious or ideological obligations, but there is a common direction that shapes the spiritual character of Tamera. This includes the desire to build things up, the desire to think in new ways, respect for life, participation in creation and solidarity with its beings, and friendship towards animals. On an interpersonal level this common direction entails "loving thy neighbour", the dismantling of leadership cultures through assuming responsibility for oneself, honesty in relationships, truth in love, and transparency in community. Love and Sexuality: "There can not be peace in the world as long as there is war in love." Sabine Lichtenfels A non-violent culture will emerge when humanity succeeds in ending the war between the genders. Tamera gives no ideological answers to these questions but we are looking for new spaces of experience, for truth and insight. Love without jealousy, sexuality free of fear, faith which does not break with escapades, truth and constancy in love, solidarity between women and men and new ways for partnership are the big themes of the "love school" Tamera. Women´s Council: In old matriarchal cultures experienced women were the core of every tribe, every community, every extended family. The female knowledge of healing, conflict resolution and caring was the guarantee of stability and well-being of any social group. The female knowledge and power has been diminished and destroyed during the last 5000 years. In Tamera it is being restored on a new and modern level. It is one of the sources for peace. The women´s council of Tamera is a group of experienced women whose task it is to use the female power and knowledge to help, heal and advise community members, guests, groups specially in questions of love and sexuality. In future the women's council of Tamera will become a voice in the world and takes a stand in political questions on the base of female peace knowledge. Female power does not mean domination, instead it is based on co-operation with men. Female knowledge in this sense means knowledge, authority and increased efficiency which arise from compassion for all life and from experience in all sexual questions. The women's council is open for everybody in the community who needs help and advice. It supports young women and men in their first steps in love and it has a encouraging word for everybody who is going on the adventure of truth and trust in love. Foto: Nigel Dickinson (C) "

06-19-2009, 07:15 PM	#4
Illumination Avalon Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 60	Re: Models for Future Community Development I so agree with their philosophy. Although I've read much about a return to the Goddess or Female Culture I believe there are many men (and women) who will fight this realignment. In the US right now there is a huge backlash towards many of the rights women fought for in the 1960's and 70's. The culture is so hyper-masculine and militaristic and macho that women have to emulate those traits in order to gain a voice or power to be heard. Or they have to embrace the Madonna/Whore philosophy by taking on only one of those roles "allowed" for females by being the Perfect Nurturing Mother or the Sex Goddess. There has to be a balance some how. Even though history shows us how men and the big three Monotheistic traditions purposefully destroyed the Fertility Goddess cultures and oral histories of Women Healers/Midwives and turned peaceful traditions into Male-centered stories of war and valor and competition, I don't think we can revert to those earlier Women-centered societies. While the Earth's magnetic poles might make a 180 shift, Human cultures don't usually make such dramatic changes. But then again, there are so many changes happening all around us and within us that perhaps we will get to that Peaceful Coexistence place where war is unthinkable and women are treated with respect and personal autonomy.