If Communities, Collectives & Neotribes are the Modern Day Dojo's for our personal and collective evolution then these seven invitations are the martial arts we can practice within them. They are a playful and community focussed reinterpretation of the Cleaning Up, Growing Up, Waking Up and Showing Up model popularised by Ken Wilber and other thinkers such as Douglas Tataryn.
In my experience repeatedly stepping through each one of these doorways can help us to become more sovereign beings. They include:
Waking Up - Becoming acutely aware of the extraordinary suffering and injustice that continues to occur on our planet and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the various existential crises we now face as a species.
Tuning In - Tapping into the subtle and spiritual (a la the Metamoderna interpretation) aspects of our own inner experiences. Feeling more deeply into the changing states of our bodies and minds through contemplative, somatic, shamanic and mindfulness based practices.
Leaning In - Having the courage to show up, engage with others and take on a level of responsibility within our communities. To open our hearts and risk having them touched by those around us.
Integrating In - Recognising those areas in which we can still mature and grow. Identifying our own interpersonal edges, shadow material and personal trauma and then doing the work to integrate the parts of our selves that we are either not yet conscious of or have perhaps chosen to repress.
Levelling Up - Recognising the kind of cultural codes and cognitive frames we use to interpret reality and continually orienting ourselves towards a more nuanced and all encompassing understanding of how the world works and our place within it.
Throwing Down - Directing our energies towards making art, music or any other kind of creative endeavour that allows us to fully express ourselves and then sharing the fruit of our talents with our wider community. This also involves taking in others creative expressions.
Giving Back - Taking effective collective action towards bringing about more ecological balance, social justice, peace and joyfulness into the world.
Each of these seven invitations is also a gateway towards increasing our capacity for cultivating Communitas. I wish you a fruitful journey into the crucible of communal growth and belonging.
Joe Lightfoot is a writer, podcaster and apprentice community weaver. He is the author of A Collective Blooming: The Rise Of The Mutual Aid Community and the host of The Lightfoot Podcast. You can sign up to his newsletter The Lightfoot Letter and find him on Facebook & Twitter.
