Changing the World

What it takes

What we're talking about is setting up a living and working example of how things could be and how things should be. And that works best by the free exchange of nutrients and resources. Everything feeds into everything else. Where does the Sunshine come from and where does it go? Where does your water come from and where does it go? Where does your food come from and where does it go? Where do your kids come from and where will they go? Where does your life come from and where will you go?

We come from the Earth

We are here for a reason or we could be if we chose to be and we are the people who do choose to be. We do choose to be here for the protection of this biosphere and the care and the propagation of all life here there and everywhere. Life must be passed on or it will die.

These times of transitioning right into the heart of the Global Environmental Crisis may be a very necessary sign to get us to wake up to the imperative of taking the next step along the way of this vision that we find ourselves walking in the midst of and to begin to act on what we can already very clearly conceive. And Eden is all about Conception. Life on Earth itself may need to be reborn.

They have all tried to shape you

We will create our own Homes

Everyone has to be able to make it this far on their own. We are all very different. But for whatever reason we have survived and escaped still free enough to think for ourselves and to be able to direct our gaze upon something more meaningful and real. At least to some small extent we have already arrived. But now all that needs to go over into something beyond just considerations of our own little lives.

Now we must begin to get it together around the vision of a new kind of Sustainable EcoVillage Community to make a great new start in a Grand new way. And then the rest will unfold in its own time but the time to start moving on this is Now. But if we're going to take this amazing new vision upon ourselves we are going to have to build the kind of community that can survive long enough to manifest this kind of vision which is thought by some to be extremely bold and powerful if indeed it could even be uttered among the ears of man.

But that is going to take some planning and that is going to take some breeding. I hope you at least like that part of it. And this could be a bit too much for some people who really don't like that kind of thing. And so T may have to step in from time to time to take care of business that has been left unattended to. Those who don't want to do it in this way will not have to.

This is not for the people who have no sense of humor. Or who just don't have enough juice to be of any real use anyway. We have no room for some of the people who might drift our way at any given time that is usually defined by their own convenience. Next time you come at our convenience.

Later on we will be able to accommodate many more people who do need to be re-educated and retrained in many ways. But it will be within the scope of some sort of a positive learning experience which is all we do here in Eden.

Peaceful Conflict Resolution

Other deeply committed people who do know how to integrate into this community in a way which is not designed to subvert or destroy the whole process might also be considered for their potential usefulness.

We should be the kind kind of people who already know how to expect the best and take care of the rest. We should be the kind of people who are already ready to learn and willing to help carry out this bold new vision on a grand new scale, which is just the kind of thing some of us have all dreamed of. Not that you will ever have to do it all alone. Not with us. We do help to make things work when it's not too much of a problem.

We have to be willing to move quickly and decisively. We aren't going to be here to be playing games with every little thing that comes rolling down the pike.

Yes. We will use consensus when the time is right. But not just to find the lowest common denominator and then to let the whole ship go down for that. And it's very much like peering over a cliff. It's a great view as long as you don't fall into it.

That does not usually accomplish anything, especially when it is premature which it most definitely will be with people who are premature and who have not at all been prepared for anything real.

We have tools and we will use them to do the jobs we need done. Not like a child who only knows how to play one little game over and over again and then cries every time we put the game away. It is not a toy pistol that gets shot as soon as it comes out of the box. This one we handle with great care. 

You can be honest here

All that has been done here is just enough to be able to create the beginnings of something that is rich and alive enough to bring some people into the current flow who have been stranded along the banks for way too long already.

Like one woman said to me at one of our meetings, "I am a misfit. I have never fit in anywhere or felt like I really belonged anywhere else in this world". And I think if you can speak in as honest and as open a manner as that I can tell you at least know this much:

It is all good. Beyond that I have decided to leave much for others to say. We are not coming totally out of the blue here. We do have more than just a little twinkling star to wish upon. Although that would be enough for some. But we do need to see at least a spark of light in the way people choose to relate to this project.

We do come from all over this once fine and future world and so we will have to make this important enough and I think we have succeeded enough with that.

Most of our main area of interest and general support we do intend to draw from a little known area that extends from Arcata on down to Santa Cruz and across to the foothills of the Sierras. And we do meet in a place which is fairly appropriate for that area of drawing power.

We do have to be willing to do whatever it takes to overcome the great distances that may lie between us. And that may be true in more ways than one. But you must be able to come on out of hiding and cross those distances, and become the person you want to be. And that is going to be a naturally creative act.

There is no need to think we have to negate T in some way childish manner just in order to get the recognition we may need for all the things we have not yet done as there will be no recognition for that.

We do not believe in jumping the gun on any of these matters or doling out unnecessary levels of premature recognition for that which has been nothing but a corrosive attempt to get revenge upon the world of which Eden is just one small part.

That would only be another lateral move of nutrients and resources that does not connect up with good things done and that just means further erosion of the spirit of life on Earth. This whole system works on the natural flows just like a mountain stream. There does have to be a certain slope for that. A deeper sense of caring and sharing should come first before a place in Eden is ever even to be considered.

All of these false expectations for ready made answers for any of those who do not deserve them may have to be re-examined. What right do they have to an answer? That is one question that people like T may choose to ask to any of those who have not even read the website, for instance.

What rights you may have to anything will be very closely tied in with whatever rights you may have earned or have been given or otherwise rightfully have come by.

Who thought there was a great big fast forward right through the center of the Universe? Let us not be alarmed by the impending changes in our cages until we have learned to appreciate the subtle differences between doom and gloom, as laid out by T.

They are not both the same thing. What responsibilities you will each have will have to do with what responsibilities you may have taken on or those that you may have been rightfully saddled with like Motherhood or Fatherhood.

With Marriage comes Responsibility. You should know all these things. If it is your baby then you must and will get to take care of it. How could it be any other way? And that applies to Eden as well.

When you marry up with Eden or the Man from Eden you become responsible to take care of a whole lot of things that you didn't have to care about before, like the land and the community.

We will all have to learn how to follow the True Spirit of Eden ever more closely as it speaks through the various peoples within the Community Circle of Trust and the word of strangers will carry no value among us until they have gained some recognition for all the good works they have done. Does that sound fair? Let us hear from those who can comprehend what they have heard first, and can prove that.

No one ever needs to be elected for anything. We are not that desperate for answers. We should be the kind of people who can live in a world with any answers. We might even expect to have some of these peoples votes already, before they can join us just it would be at apple computer, because if you are not on board with the platform they are probably not going to be interested in taking you on board. The same thing might be true in any Tribe.

I would expect that each person should put in about 4 hours a week of Eden Time into Community Service. Those who have more important things to do or cannot move a muscle, can just send in the equivalent of Ten dollars an hour I would think for that time frame since that is what we pay in Eden where one Eden Hour is what we pay for one hours work and that is worth the equivalent of Ten Dollars.

People could decide for themselves whether they would rather work on something else that may be more important to them or not. For some people the time is worth more than the forty dollars. Teenagers could get off for maybe something more like one quarter of that. But we can discuss these ideas at the next meeting with our new friends from around the world.

I think it would be reasonable to expect that each person puts in something every month towards the maintenance and support of the land and its upkeep so that we can buy things we need to get things done.

When we meet up at an environmental center or something everybody should kick in a couple of dollars to support the house and about twice that just to support the project.

When we meet at a restaurant the same thing is true only more so for obvious reasons. I have seen many times when people may have driven hundreds of miles to get here and may have even rented a car just to be able to drive up here from the airport and then stayed at a motel the night before, and had dinner out, and had been living the good life and spending money like real big spenders. Why shouldn't we expect these people to make a contribution towards Eden?

If they support Everything but Eden, then that is what they will probably get. Do they support Exxon more than Eden? Maybe we should send them back to Exxon. You show us what you believe in by what you are willing to do for Eden.

People will be able to keep all their own money. That should be nice to know because it all belongs to Eden, as it all belongs to the Tribe and as it all belongs to the Earth. But what good is that money homey, without having good standing in Eden?

People should always try to speak to us in an overly clear and methodical manner with an abundance of verbiage that would leave us no doubt about their true intentions which should be towards the good because that will show us that you really care enough to send the best even if you still don't pass the test.

Supporting Eden is like supporting a political candidate for a very high office. You do not know if he or she will win. You are assured any success out of that. You do not get your money back when the election goes the other way.

You are supporting a cause and you are supporting a message. We are having an influence upon the world and that will effect the outcome of the Universe in our favor. The same thing is true about getting married or falling in love. There is no way to buy happiness or to be assured success.

Eden is a lot more like a Wedding Ceremony than some people may realize. It is not just another tailgate party so I do hope you all do come dressed for the occasion when you come to one of our meetings, just like you were going out to dinner.

Glen Ellen is a somewhat upscale version of small town America at its best. We do have a free issue of the Eden Journal and the 42 minute DVD to share with with all those who do contribute something real to the cause.