If we come to perceive that the Universe as alive - actually an external form of Divinity - we will naturally shift our priorities from an "ego economy" based upon consumption to a "living economy" based upon growing aliveness. An aliveness economy would seek to touch life more lightly while generating an abundance of meaning and satisfaction.
It will then be only natural for us to choose ways of living that afford greater time and opportunity to develop the areas of our lives where we feel most alive-investing our time in nature, nurturing relationships, caring communities, creative expressions, and service to others.
Eco-Villages and New Communities:
For many, home is a feeling of safety, acceptance just as we are, and a sense of belonging. We also have the feeling of being home when we are deeply relaxed within ourselves and making meaningful contributions to the well-being of those around us. With this as a guide, we can anticipate that, as the old world breaks down economically, socially, and environmentally, new searches for "home" will be underway. This is leading many people to search for new kinds of community.
As the world unravels, smaller communities can provide lifeboats of resilience and belonging to weather the storms of transition. Communities on the scale of a "village" - roughly one or two hundred people - are small enough to support a rich array of personal relationships and large enough to support a vibrant micro-economy and diverse social activities. Large-scale breakdowns can provide the opportunity to produce local breakthroughs in patterns of living.
Cities can be decentralized into thousands of relatively self-reliant and highly resilient "eco-villages," each with distinctive adaptations of architecture, culture, and expressions of sustainability. Common to most would be a child-care facility and play area, a common house of some kind (for community meetings, celebrations, and regular meals together), a community garden, a recycling and composting area, solar energy systems, a bit of open space, and a workshop.
Each could offer a variety of services to the surrounding eco-villages as well-for example, organic gardening, green building, conflict resolution, health care, home schooling, elder care, healing, and so on. Ecovillages could replace the present alienating and insecure landscape of massive urban regions with countless, small islands of sanity, security, and resilient community. The culture and consciousness of each village could be unique while the orienting context of living lightly in a living universe could be shared by a majority.
Conclusion
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