Cohousing-L Mailing List: Conference Closing Ceremonies

[BPaiss (BPaiss]

Dear John,

As the instigator of the closing ceremonies at the Colorado conference I was
moved by your posting to speak to your concerns.  It is my experience,
working with groups all over the country that there is no religious agenda
behind any of them.  For some groups standing in a circle in silence at the
end of a meeting is way too intimate and for other groups it is a common
practice.  Remember folks we are trying to re-discover what it means to
create community together.

I have found groups of people committed to building better relationships with
their neighbors and the land upon which they choose to live.  It has been my
experience that many cohousers feel what we are doing is IMPORTANT work and
has the potential to make a difference in the way we create communities in
the future.

The Dances of Universal Peace which were done as the closing to the
conference were chosen because they promote the coming together of ALL ways
of believing in a desire to create a more unified world.  No dogma, no rules,
just a growing trust and tolerance in one another.

For those of you not present it is difficult to express the mood and
character of the time.  We did three dances one in Hebrew speaking about how
good it is for brothers and sister to dwell as one, another in Russian
speaking about the earth and peace and the third I don't remember at this
moment.

What people do with the experience after leaving Colorado will vary
dramatically.  It sounds like the member of your group felt it gave him
permission to ask (in new age terms) for help in the healing of a former
group member. Please don't think this is the beginning of something sinister.
 At the least, use your concerns to discuss with the group yoir feelings
about spiritually and community.

Thanks for listening.

Blessings from the holy spinach patch,

Zev