Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Ordering Communities Magazine; Community Member as Lightning Rod

[Michael McIntyre (michael]

On 09 June 2000 20:44 Zev Paiss wrote:

> For those of you who have not yet seen the current issue of Communities
> magazine, it is GREAT.  The main topic is on cohousing and they have
> covered many aspects of the issue in a very professional way.  This is
> an excellent resource for new members and anyone you want to educate
> about cohousing...

Please see the Table of Contents at:

        http://fic.ic.org/cmag/currtoc.html
        
In addition to the focused collection of writing on coho (which y'all
should read and hand out to prospective members), I want to highly
recommend the feature article on conflict in community: "Community
Member as Lightning Rod," by Harvey Baker.  
        
It's a very insightful piece exploring the dynamics of how a community's
attention or angst can become focused on individuals who represent the
relative 'extreme' of a negative trait; how the "lightning rod" shifts
from person to person, how this can create a downward spiral, and how we
can recognize, learn and grow from this tendency.  I found it extremely
relevant to every group and community setting I've been in.  What do you
think of the article?

Get your copy from Zev at the TCN store, 303-413-9227.

-michael, Sunward, Ann Arbor, www.sunward.org