I have been thinking for years that I would like to help build a community
(i.e. small village) of people who share an interest in human potential, and also
in the sacredness of the land... people who don't feel they have all of
the answers, and are interested in continual learning from each other... people
who are good at leading and also good at being a team. I love gardening
and would like to learn much more about working in co-operation with the
deva nature spirits. (Perelandra--and Michaelle Wright if you know of her
work).. There is a group in the area where I am now living that is
interested in a co-housing community. We are getting together every other
week to envision the kind of community we want, and in the process getting to
know each other. They all share a concern for sustainable living. Many of
them are self-employed. They are wanting solar oriented houses, wind
energy, etc. And as I get to know them more, I am finding out that many
also are involved in some kind of healing work. So this could be a good
possibility for me to put my considerable enthusiasm into building a
community. The approach is consensus oriented (in this particular group,
many of them are Quakers). However, my greater dream is to work with
people from the A.T. community who would like to make a center for human
potential that is relating to other somatic fields, where we can live,
work with the land, take the lead by example in showing the quality of
community living that can happen on this planet . I envision several people
who function well together deciding to take on this project, pooling
resources to buy land and build homes, and gradually create space for
people to stay, (retreat center), who can come for workshops (kind of like
the Omega campus if you have been there... but with more gardening,
orchards, houses for people who are living there year round, so it could
be more like a village). I see this as a place where ATI can hold agm's and
other gatherings it needs, where young people from inner cities can come
for summer camp. It could go in any number of directions depending on the
need and interest that would develop. I would love to find people who are
wealthy and would be eager to support such an endeavor. I know that such
people exist, however I am not acquainted with anyone from those circles.
Do any of you know such people who are philanthropists, interested in
human potential and sustainablitity (at this point we can't have human
potential without sustainability), who don't know what to do with their money?

This space would not have to be rural. It could be on the edge of a city
or town. It could even take over abandoned buildings in inner cities and
refurbish them, add gardens , bring them back to life, and in that way be
directly affecting the rehabilitation of our cities. I would be drawn to
an existing small farm in an area bordering a town so people could have a
sense of retreat and nature but also access to town by bicycle or walking.
(One can dream, right??) One question is where would it be good to locate
such an A.T. hot spot for human evolution, so that it would not be too
hot in the summer when outdoor work would need to go on, and when people
would be arriving for summer workshops, and also not so remote that
people would have trouble or too much expense to get there??

I would like to swing this idea by you all, and put it out to the wider
A.T. community, to see whether there are any others who would like to
take on this venture. I think it has great potential, and could help
Alexander's discoveries get to more people in a way that is deeply integrated
with living.

- Jan Baty

A Blessed Garden