Global Ecovillage Network/Solution Library/Community building

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We spend a lot of our life in groups, be it family, teams and work groups, clubs, community­settings, etc. We may carry an assumption therefore that it is a natural and easy thing to be in a group, to speak authentically in a group and that groups naturally evolve in healthy ways. However, the opposite is often true. It can be hard to be authentic, and groups often seem to become more dysfunctional over time. How can we raise our awareness in group settings so that this does not happen?

Community requires the ability to expose our wounds and weaknesses to our fellow creatures. It also requires the ability to be affected by the wounds of others... But even more important is the love that arises among us when we share, both ways, our woundedness.

— Scott Peck

Scott Peck has identified 4 phases of group development and created guidelines for skillfully navigating these that culminate in an experience of a mature, authentic community. Once we know that going through, for example, phases of pseudo­community, chaos and conflict, vulnerability and letting go of expectations, are necessary steps in the evolution of a group, we will be more willing to embrace them. The conscious practice of authenticity counters any tendency we might have to hide in habits and masks.

• Diversity & Cohesion.

• Mindfulness & Self Reflection.

• Peck S, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace. Arrow Books 1990
• http://fcecommunity.org*
• http://www.context.org/iclib/ic29/peck/
• Submitted by: Kosha and Robin