Community

Last May, a week before my impending marriage, the participants in our yearly yoga teachers retreat came together to perform a blessing ceremony in preparation for my union.  We gathered around a fire, and gifts from nature were imparted with bits of hard-won wisdom.  I knew some of the yoga community well and some not at all.  While my marriage was certainly marked by many happy family and social events, there was a beauty and simplicity in this blessing from my spiritual community which I carry with me as a treasure.  What is it that characterizes spiritual community and marks it as differing from other types of purposeful interactions?   

Webster's Dictionary defines Community as a "unified body of individuals" and in the case of a spiritual community, what we are ultimately united in is our search for communion with the Divine.  Many of us have had the experience of having spiritual goals that are undermined as the concerns of our daily lives encroach on our intentions.  Spiritual community, or gathering together to commune with the Divine, supports us in our highest goals.

At last May's retreat, some of us were just entering into relationships and others were undergoing painful separations, but that weekend, we were united in our mutual acknowledgement of the importance and transcendence of commitment in relationship.  In the best sense, we were all alone together on our respective journeys; feeling the safety of being heard without judgement; and sharing our commitment to uncover our true nature. 

G.I. Gurdjieff posited that without an intentional community, it is almost impossible to achieve enlightenment.  It is so easy to slip into old, destructive patterns if you are not surrounded by those with the same goals.  Similarly to Gurdjieff, Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hahn points out that "It is difficult if not impossible to practice the way of Understanding and Love without a Sangha, a community of friends who practice the same way," (Hahn, p.131).  After all, it is easy enough to find people to tell you how wonderful you are, or to affirm your negative thoughts and make those true for you.  It is another thing altogether to find a group of people who are willing to work with together to reveal each others true nature in a loving manner.  (For Gurdjieff, of course, the 'loving manner' was not so overt as to always be perceived by an injured ego, and many people left their discipleship when their 'character flaws' were pointed out). 

In addition to the ‘cult’ tag that many spiritual communities are burdened with, there is also a view that such organizations are utopian in nature; a group of wide-eyed idealists whose naïveté outweighs their common sense.  While communities such as Findhorn in northeast Scotland (www.findhorn.org) give us a practical working model which disputes both of these negative images, it is hard work to destroy the ego in such a way that what takes its place is Divine Light instead of someone’s egoistic view!  If it were not difficult, we would all be enlightened and there would be no more discussion!

Being part of a spiritual community does not relieve the individual of culpability for their own actions.  As Thich Nhat Hahn notes, "To create a good community, we first have to transform ourselves into a good element of the community." (Hahn, p.141).  Going to retreats or a weekly class to talk about spiritual principles, or simply to meditate together can help us to connect with our innermost being while being supported by holy company.  Ultimately, our duty as a participant in a spiritual community is to help provide a safe haven for each individual to go within and commune with the source of all being and to feel ourselves supported as well.  While some of the activities that sustain this may be social in nature, ‘socializing’ itself will not bring the desired results.  It takes the strength and integrity of each member to keep the real goal in sight! 

At our retreat last May, we created a safe place to delve into our individual thoughts and feelings on commitment.  There was some sharing and many more private revelations.  I do not know what words I could use that would fully describe my feelings as I received the gift of a group blessing around the fire that spring evening, but it will always be held in my heart as a true example of Communion with the Spirit. 

Hahn, Thich Nhat, 1998.  Teachings on Love.  Parallax Press, Berkeley, CA.