I was going to write a post about my insights from a talk that Tara Brach gave about Healing Self-Doubt. The talk has helped me realize just how pervasive self-doubt is in my life. What I understood this morning, though, was that at least some of what Tara is describing (our sense of a separate self in particular) might be more a reflection of modernity with its hyperindividualism than of the human condition. It seems like I’ve written on that before, though, without making a dent. My thoughts shifted to Daniel Quinn’s tribal ideas and somehow all of that landed me with an idea that I’ve had for quite some time: A healing house collective. I want to write about that, as scary as that is for me.

Quinn suggests that our way to collective survival requires us to move beyond civilization (also the title of one of his books) by creating a culture based on tribes. This tribal culture cannot be simply a return to the old ways, partly because most of us don’t know how to live that way and partly because we have learned a few things through the experiment of civilization, which we might want to incorporate. So, he calls on us to start forming tribes. Exactly how those would look like, he doesn’t say – can’t say, really – though he provides us with the example of the circus and his own small work group. Both examples point toward the central components: Tribes live and work together; as with a puzzle, every person’s contribution to the whole is necessary for the whole to function properly. This would probably counteract our sense of separation…

My vision of a healing collective seems to capture some of these ideas. The healing collective brings together people to heal themselves and others by living and working together. It also regenerates the soil through a permaculture-based food forest. The collective is made up of healers, people who can run a business, and gardeners. The collective works together by coordinating approaches to healing, which might include dance (to reintegrate the body) and learning skills.

With that typed, take a listen to this video… I am experimenting with new ways of expressing myself, so have started to play around with videos. In the first version, I sketch my vision a bit more formally. This second version tries to tell more of a story. And of course I forgot some things – like that the healing collective tends to be filled with laughter, dance, play, and touch. So I’ll probably update the video at some point… However, I am eager to hear reactions! So take a look/listen:

I realize that this “vision” I am articulating is still very sketchy, more like the draft of a draft… However, maybe there’s enough there for you to get inspired to join me in making this a reality? If so, please let me know! And, of course, you can also contribute to this process by asking questions or making comments! I am sure this will be helpful in fleshing out this picture of a healing collective – and maybe that’ll help me produce a more compelling vision.

A partial list of people/skills needed for this collective:

• Healers of all forms: Physical therapists, massage folks, counselors, empaths
• Business folks: Strategists, finance folks (accountants and financiers), marketers
• Dance teachers
• Musicians so that we can dance!
• Carpenters and people who can repair things
• Gardeners
• Group workers: Facilitators, mediators, group process guides who help us resolve conflicts
• Diversity monitors: People who ensure that all the diverse voices are heard and included
• Artists who transform the space and help integrate left & right brains