Embodying Authentic Community: Shamanic Ecovillage Design

In this retreat we take active steps to re-imagine how we live on this planet together.

It is our experience that a personal relationship with Spirit and an understanding of one’s place in the cosmos allows for transformational healing, on both personal and cultural levels. Indigenous plant medicine ceremony catalyzes this healing, allowing for the emergence and creation of vibrant communities.

  • How does deep commitment to healing one’s self and the planet empower the creation of authentic and healthy communities?
  • How does relationship with spirit and with indigenous ancestral plant medicine ceremonies help foster embodied and vibrant community?
  • What does it look like to intentionally co-create healing human communities that are rooted in healthy relationships between humans and nature, humans and humans, and humans and Spirit?

Each individual and every group will discover their own answers.

Overview

In this unique course, we learn to use our personal and collective awareness and experience to guide the evolution of an authentic healing community both at Paititi and in your own homes.

The three main pillars of practice for this time together are: personal embodiment, authentic communication, and relation to and connection with that which is holy in Nature.

Daily practice and plant medicine work provide the foundation from which we explore the theoretical and practical framework of Ecovillage Design.

Theories and practices explored during the course:

  • Group decision-making and governance
  • Non-violent and authentic communication
  • Deep listening
  • Ecovillage history and theory
  • Right Livelihood and Regenerative Enterprise
  • Resonant field awareness
  • Permaculture design
  • Ancestral wisdom stories

We will explore the creative tensions that arise when designing, inhabiting, and committing to community. These tensions can become evolutionary forces that weave our communities together into supportive, productive, healing families, or they can tear apart relationships and destroy idealism.

We will learn from the mistakes of the past and open space for our dreams of the future. We will stay grounded firmly in the Now through body awareness and the development of authentic communication skills. Participants will experiment with community governance theory and practice. Models explored will include consensus, post-consensus, and community theories from monarchy to anarchy.

The Amazonian and Andean wisdom of medicinal and sacred plant traditions supports participants’ process, having been cultivated by the ancestors of humanity over thousands of years for the specific purpose of healing and fine-tuning the elements of one’s life, including the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social aspects. These traditions can help create thriving, healthy, and abundant communities where each individual is able to fully unlock their highest creative potential while recognizing the highest potentials of others, and humbly share it in the communal environment for the greater good of all. Throughout the course, we will partake in the ceremonies of Ayahuasca, San Pedro and others, designed to bring people together under the light of the true self.

The work of building community is a journey into opposites — the dual nature of being true to one’s own heart and also being committed to the community. This relates to many seeming dualities: Pragmatism and Idealism; Freedom and Commitment; Human and Nature; Scarcity and Abundance. Through embodying these seeming paradoxes and remaining present to our shared emergent wisdom, we transform these polarities into dynamic tensions that give birth to more authentic and healthier community.

We look forward to creating the change we want to see in the world together.