Photo Credit: Gavin Andrew Stewart on Flickr
It is my pleasure to bring you a guest post from Amy Jewell from Cirkla. Amy formed Cirkla and has talked about it at Heal Pain Naturally before in her post, “Cirkla: A Directory for the Mind, Body, Spirit and Planet“. Amy also interviewed me which I posted recently. Amy is such a lovely and genuine person and I am so happy she has written this post. It is timely for me as I am preparing to conduct my first workshop at The Spiritual Arts Fair locally and am really making an attempt to connect in my own community right now. Thank you Amy!
By Amy Jewell
I am not a healer… or at least I don’t think of myself as one. But the more I piece together a picture of who I am and what I am here to do on this planet, it often comes back to a healing of a different sort…a healing of community.
Ever since I was a young girl, I often had visions of community. My family was somewhat nomadic growing up. My dad worked for the government and we moved quite frequently. The nomadic lifestyle had both good points and bad points and it has really shaped my life in many ways.
On the plus side, it gave me a sense of detachment which I have found to be very helpful. Some people fear change, but I like it. Change gives us a chance to start over and to redefine ourselves. In that way, it was good. I remember one time I was moving from the US over to England and I could only carry two bags with me on the plane. At that moment, I had to determine what was important enough to bring with me to start my new life overseas. It was exciting and horrifying, all at the same time! I may not have been able to do it if I had not been through many changes before.
On the other hand, this nomadic lifestyle often left me guessing what true, long-lasting community was like. I was watching the movie Phenomenon last night and the movie was set in a small town where everyone knew everyone and George Malley (the character played by John Travolta) had been struck by some sort of light which suddenly increased his ability to learn. The people in the town were afraid of him because he was changing and growing at an alarming rate and he was leaving them in the dust. He was learning things that they knew nothing about and it scared them. They either feared him or tried to discredit him. Both of which left him alienated and alone in a community that he had lived in his entire life.
I think that having some sense of anonymity is helpful. It frees you to change and grow without fear of judgment or rejection. But it is also a lonely path. I believe that one of my missions in life it find some middle ground with this. For humanity to evolve and grow, we need to find ways to support each other’s growth. What this means on a community level is to be accepting of change and to allow people to grow, even if it means that they may grow beyond you. I believe that we all have different specialties. We cannot always know the specialties of others and sometimes we need to just give people the freedom to let them go.
I encourage you to add your comments and share with us your understanding of community. What does community mean to you? Please share your stories with us in the area below this post!
Thank you Amy — I think this is so important with the way the world is going. It is something President Obama talks a lot about. I think we must help each other in as many ways as possible. I feel these are times to look to each other’s strengths and use them in our community to help. I feel that we need to Recognize the Power of Our Words and be kind to EVERYONE. One of my favorite quotes from Wayne Dyer is one where he says he looks for what he is supposed to learn from every single person he meets… what a wise man he is! Thank you for this thought provoking post and I hope my readers will chime in with their own thoughts on community. Love, Jenny
Amy, nice post, and a very important topic too I think. This is really how new ideas spread – through community. I recently read The Tipping Point, and it is interesting how new ideas ‘take off’ – it starts with one person connecting another, and that happens enough times, and then eventually it hits a critical mass and the idea goes mainstream. So I think that is happening with many mind/body healing and spiritual ideas these days, and you are one of the ‘connectors’…
Lisa (mommymystic)s last blog post..7 Facts About Me (yes, I’ve been tagged)
Community is for me very important and the community I found via the web has been very important to me as well as the community i am developing where i live after a feew years of being anonymous- well sort of.
I understand what you have written about The movie experience in The phenomenon- interesting sometimes when you don’t fit “the norm”
I often say I would like to live in a small community and Des says I don’t think so.
I love the community where although I have still to meet Jenny or you in person I know when we do meet in person the conversation will flow. Beking with liked minded people helps me be a better person.
Thanks for writing
Love & blessings
Suzie
Suzie Cheels last blog post..Do You Live in The Moment?
Hi Lisa,
I loved this post as well. I feel all three of us are connectors and it is wonderful to share these ideas and findings with others. I am looking forward to my workshop at the Spiritual Arts Fair in my community to meet other like minded people and to share resources. I have lived in a college town (2 colleges) for the last 5 years and am finally reaching out and have it a primary intention to meet others with similar ideas.
Thanks Lisa – for commenting, your friendship and for all you do.
Love,
Jenny
Hi Suzie,
Always a pleasure to hear from you! I was the same – while not anonymous in my community just made friends through my kids, neighborhood and people we knew before we moved here. Now it is an intention to meet people with similar beliefs and I have already attracted a few of those people to me.
I am very grateful for my internet community and the times I have met people after getting to know them through blogging have been MOST amazing. We talk about such heart felt issues that meeting in person seems so natural and like we have known each other forever — I look forward to that experience with you and with Amy.
I am back from vacation and want to catch up on the Reconnection work and other stuff so let’s try and connect on Skype soon or set up a time to talk. Thanks so much for leaving a comment Suzie.
Love,
Jenny
As you say, the intention to help as many human beings as possible is a meaningful initiative. To send positive vibrations into the universe with thoughts and kind-hearted initatives is shaping the vibration of the planet and reminding people they are always loved and valued as they are. Communities created on-line are reminders that everyone is connected everywhere. All beings grow and learn together, in varying degrees and on different wavelengths.
Liara Coverts last blog post..10 Alternatives to shift fears of 2012
Hi Liara,
I love that we are all connected. Distance healing has proved this to me and made it a daily reminder. The internet has also been a constant reminder of how we all can help and affect each other’s lives. Always a pleasure Liara.
Love,
Jenny
I’m not doing a very good job at building any community when I forget that I wrote this post! Lol… thanks to Lisa, Liara, Suzie and Jenny for coming out and reading my post and to Jenny for your patience with your novice guest blogger!
I still am not sure if I am a city mouse or a country mouse. The city most definitely offers me many opportunities to explore but I just love the peace & solitude that I find outside the city. With the internet, there are a lot more opportunities to make some connections online but, as I shared with one of my online friends, it seems as if hearing someone’s actual voice has become what used to be seeing someone in person and seeing someone in person seems almost sort of sacred in a way…when did life get so busy? I am on a NEW quest… to slow things down. This weekend I did a lot of nothing and I just loved it. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and look forward to reading more of your posts in days to come!
Amy Jewell / Cirklagirls last blog post..TooMuchNess