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this is a document writen as we write our buisness plan...
enjoy, and ask questions... JoyUs
What does the Tree of Life business look like when it is fully operational?
I prefer to call this “operation” Heaven on Mother Earth (HOME). This is what it means to me. And being fully operational means that it is completely and fully sufficient to benefit all who arrive here to give and receive healing. “Take what is needed and give what you are able.”
The operational purpose of this enterprise for me is to share the gift of abundance that we are given. The love in our hearts isn’t meant there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘til we give it away. This is my need.
What this looks like to me is that these lands are used as a haven to provide a safe place for healing and a community founded on our depth of trust in each other and in spirit. These two dimensions of Trust are linked very clearly in A Course in Miracles.
(I believe, for example, that it is a mistake to believe that the planning process will provide a foundation for our future. I do believe that it may provide yet another opportunity for us each and all to develop trust with each other and in spirit, or not. Every moment always provides such an opportunity.)
My view of what this requires is much more modest than that of most of my colleagues. This is because many of the people who need to be at HOME here will not be able to pay for the privilege; and after all we cannot buy our way into heaven. We can’t work our way into heaven either.
All the great teachers and teachings say that all is provided, nothing is required externally. All that may be required is our acceptance of the abundance that we’ve already been given and learn to give it away. This sort of homecoming and hospitality is an eternal moment in the heart and is available to (and from) each of us at every moment.
What do I want the Tree of Life planning team to accomplish?
What I want the business plan to accomplish is to make clear the ways that we are to “give it away” and to explain in detail how this is to be sustained and expanded over time. To me this is more about how we behave with and support each other in our relationships rather than about housing. (We already have the land, lumber, vinyl and canvas that can shelter many. What are we waiting for? Could not the labor be easily provided by Eduardo?)
In the economic area, I would like the business plan to focus like a laser on the most direct path to self-sufficiency for the community; on supporting the needs of the family, and on protecting the family from community vision binging. My own approach would be to:
stop everything that cannot be supported with current resources
initially undertake only “projects” that will become self-sufficient in the near term
I see no difficulties in borrowing money against the land to fund any projects as long as the plan includes the repayment of the loan and the community demonstrates the levels of surrender and discipline needed to keep our agreements.
July 31, 2006
About our Wealth
From my very limited perspective, the purposes of money for this enterprise are two-fold: to ensure that the family is well-nourished in every way and to facilitate the distribution of the abundance that we’ve been gifted through John.
The true wealth of our community lay in our connection with the Source and in our relationships with each other: the ways we life, manifest, mirror and celebrate this connection in our experience of each other. We remind each other of our connection to Source though our connection (and its absence) with each other.
(provide some words about source here.)
We are also infinitely blessed in our relationship with the infinite wealth of these sacred lands which resonate with and amplify our connections to Source and with each other.
I experience in these places a gift of complete acceptance and complete assurance of abundance sufficient to any need. I relax. I trust. I heal. I am trusted. I am sufficient. I am connected to Source. I learn. This is heaven. There are many others here. I trust them. We are sufficient to any need. We are the one we have been waiting for.
About Our Community
We are a spiritual community in the ways we embody, reflect and nourish our connection to the source.
We are a learning community (as described by Marshall Rosenberg and by Neale Donald Walsh) in the ways that we embody new paradigms of relationships, community, society, economy and ecology.
We are a healing community in the ways we nourish the levels of trust with each other that support our own ability to heal and to offer that sanctuary to all in need.
In these ways and others that we co-create, we manifest and embody Heaven on Mother Earth.
We trust. We surrender to Source. We heal. We learn.
We invite you to join us.
Relationship Structures
Heart Circle
The heart circle is the foundation of our experience of each other as community.
(Tenasi has written on this. Please include his write-up.)
A heart circle may be convened by anyone in our community for any reason, and may be joined by anyone. The heart circle has worked well to practice joining with each other and with Source; and in these aspects is a model for all of our structures. The heart circle has not worked as well for making decisions.
Integrity Circles
The Integrity Circle is convened by a member of the Budget Council to address any doubts about the conduct of any member of the community or guest. The integrity circle is the primary way that the community supports the resolution of issues that arise in our relationships with one another. A member of the Budget Council designates the people who will sit with the issue. Attendance is mandatory for these individuals and for the individuals involved in the issue. Anyone else who wishes may also attend. Before convening an Integrity Circle, a Budget Council member must have received a written identification of the issue from one of the individuals involved. These identifications may include how one member has been disrespected or disempowered by another, had choices limited by another, or has not kept a community agreement. The Integrity Circle has the authority to make agreements for the community about our conduct with each other in all areas of community life except Budget and Equity.
Budget Council
The Budget Council prepares plans for community operational expenditures and administers those expenditures with the assistance of the office staff. The Budget Council is comprised of staff members and meets weekly. It is joined by invited experts who are asked to assist the council in making its decisions. Others may attend as they wish to submit questions for resolution. Minutes are kept and made public. The Budget Council periodically submits the budget to the community for its advice and consent. The initial membership of the Budget Council is made by the Original Owner with the advice and consent of the community. Thereafter, the membership is maintained by the decision of the council with the advice and consent of the community. All decisions of the Budget Council may be appealed to the Integrity Council.
Equity Council
The Equity Council administers the relationship of our community members to our land, capital, and other tangible assets. The Equity Council has the authority to make agreements for the community on the transfer of equity and the equity value of improvements to community assets. The Equity Council will also establish the value of initial community equity and the number of member shares. The process of the Equity Council is otherwise the same as the Budget Council.
Equity
Our equity is the way that we are clear in our agreements with each other about our rights to and privileges for access and use of our assets. Equity is earned through donations and through labor on behalf of the community and is transferable. Equity is also used when voting on budget issues submitted to the community by the budget council and on equity issues submitted by the equity council. Equity is identified in shares. All equity is transferred (either initially or subsequently) only by written agreements with the member to whom the equity is transferred.
Original or Baseline Equity.
The baseline value of a share of equity is $1000. The original number of shares is established by the value of community assets. A portion of these shares will be awarded to individuals based on their contributions of labor and/or capital to the community.
Donations
Donations amounts for residing in the community (for a weekend, a week, two weeks, a month, two months, etc.) will be established by the Budget Council. Donations amounts for residing in the community on a recurring basis (for a weekend each year, a week each year, etc.) will be established by the Equity Council. The equity shares associate with these recurring rights to the access and use of community assets will also be identified. Donations involving the right to recurring access are transferable.
Development
The value of any asset may be increased by additional investments. Individuals desiring to make such improvements are encouraged to seek the advice and consent of the Equity Council. Only the Equity Council is allowed to increase the number of equity shares associated with an asset.
Equity Appreciation
Ownership of any equity may be transferred with the advice and consent of the Equity Council. Part of any appreciation earned during the stewardship of the asset by a member will be retained by the community to fund the return of initial investments, capital improvement, sweat equity and operational expenses.
Staff
The community is administered by an initially limited (for the purposes of sustainability) number of staff members. Their agreements with the community include residence and sustenance and the monthly transfer of equity. The amount of equity transferred for staff will vary but will never be less than the equity needed to ensure the transferable rights to residence and sustenance in our community within 10 years.
Staff Agreements
Every staff member’s relationship with the community will be clarified in a written Staff Agreement. This agreement includes:
The Role(s) of the Staff Member
The Responsibilities associated with the Role(s)
The Current Priority Objectives of the Staff Member
The Ways that Residence and Sustenance will be provided by our community
The Ways that other resources needed to undertake the role(s) and responsibilities will be provided
Other Needs of the Staff Member to sustain her relationship with our community
Disclaimers, Conditions and Limitations of the role(s), responsibilities and relationship of this staff member in our community.
These agreements will be approved by both the Budget and Equity Councils.
MODELS: Findhorn, Yogaville, Goinka, Sudbury School, Open-Air-School,
August 2, 2006
enjoy, and ask questions... JoyUs
What does the Tree of Life business look like when it is fully operational?
I prefer to call this “operation” Heaven on Mother Earth (HOME). This is what it means to me. And being fully operational means that it is completely and fully sufficient to benefit all who arrive here to give and receive healing. “Take what is needed and give what you are able.”
The operational purpose of this enterprise for me is to share the gift of abundance that we are given. The love in our hearts isn’t meant there to stay. Love isn’t love ‘til we give it away. This is my need.
What this looks like to me is that these lands are used as a haven to provide a safe place for healing and a community founded on our depth of trust in each other and in spirit. These two dimensions of Trust are linked very clearly in A Course in Miracles.
(I believe, for example, that it is a mistake to believe that the planning process will provide a foundation for our future. I do believe that it may provide yet another opportunity for us each and all to develop trust with each other and in spirit, or not. Every moment always provides such an opportunity.)
My view of what this requires is much more modest than that of most of my colleagues. This is because many of the people who need to be at HOME here will not be able to pay for the privilege; and after all we cannot buy our way into heaven. We can’t work our way into heaven either.
All the great teachers and teachings say that all is provided, nothing is required externally. All that may be required is our acceptance of the abundance that we’ve already been given and learn to give it away. This sort of homecoming and hospitality is an eternal moment in the heart and is available to (and from) each of us at every moment.
What do I want the Tree of Life planning team to accomplish?
What I want the business plan to accomplish is to make clear the ways that we are to “give it away” and to explain in detail how this is to be sustained and expanded over time. To me this is more about how we behave with and support each other in our relationships rather than about housing. (We already have the land, lumber, vinyl and canvas that can shelter many. What are we waiting for? Could not the labor be easily provided by Eduardo?)
In the economic area, I would like the business plan to focus like a laser on the most direct path to self-sufficiency for the community; on supporting the needs of the family, and on protecting the family from community vision binging. My own approach would be to:
stop everything that cannot be supported with current resources
initially undertake only “projects” that will become self-sufficient in the near term
I see no difficulties in borrowing money against the land to fund any projects as long as the plan includes the repayment of the loan and the community demonstrates the levels of surrender and discipline needed to keep our agreements.
July 31, 2006
About our Wealth
From my very limited perspective, the purposes of money for this enterprise are two-fold: to ensure that the family is well-nourished in every way and to facilitate the distribution of the abundance that we’ve been gifted through John.
The true wealth of our community lay in our connection with the Source and in our relationships with each other: the ways we life, manifest, mirror and celebrate this connection in our experience of each other. We remind each other of our connection to Source though our connection (and its absence) with each other.
(provide some words about source here.)
We are also infinitely blessed in our relationship with the infinite wealth of these sacred lands which resonate with and amplify our connections to Source and with each other.
I experience in these places a gift of complete acceptance and complete assurance of abundance sufficient to any need. I relax. I trust. I heal. I am trusted. I am sufficient. I am connected to Source. I learn. This is heaven. There are many others here. I trust them. We are sufficient to any need. We are the one we have been waiting for.
About Our Community
We are a spiritual community in the ways we embody, reflect and nourish our connection to the source.
We are a learning community (as described by Marshall Rosenberg and by Neale Donald Walsh) in the ways that we embody new paradigms of relationships, community, society, economy and ecology.
We are a healing community in the ways we nourish the levels of trust with each other that support our own ability to heal and to offer that sanctuary to all in need.
In these ways and others that we co-create, we manifest and embody Heaven on Mother Earth.
We trust. We surrender to Source. We heal. We learn.
We invite you to join us.
Relationship Structures
Heart Circle
The heart circle is the foundation of our experience of each other as community.
(Tenasi has written on this. Please include his write-up.)
A heart circle may be convened by anyone in our community for any reason, and may be joined by anyone. The heart circle has worked well to practice joining with each other and with Source; and in these aspects is a model for all of our structures. The heart circle has not worked as well for making decisions.
Integrity Circles
The Integrity Circle is convened by a member of the Budget Council to address any doubts about the conduct of any member of the community or guest. The integrity circle is the primary way that the community supports the resolution of issues that arise in our relationships with one another. A member of the Budget Council designates the people who will sit with the issue. Attendance is mandatory for these individuals and for the individuals involved in the issue. Anyone else who wishes may also attend. Before convening an Integrity Circle, a Budget Council member must have received a written identification of the issue from one of the individuals involved. These identifications may include how one member has been disrespected or disempowered by another, had choices limited by another, or has not kept a community agreement. The Integrity Circle has the authority to make agreements for the community about our conduct with each other in all areas of community life except Budget and Equity.
Budget Council
The Budget Council prepares plans for community operational expenditures and administers those expenditures with the assistance of the office staff. The Budget Council is comprised of staff members and meets weekly. It is joined by invited experts who are asked to assist the council in making its decisions. Others may attend as they wish to submit questions for resolution. Minutes are kept and made public. The Budget Council periodically submits the budget to the community for its advice and consent. The initial membership of the Budget Council is made by the Original Owner with the advice and consent of the community. Thereafter, the membership is maintained by the decision of the council with the advice and consent of the community. All decisions of the Budget Council may be appealed to the Integrity Council.
Equity Council
The Equity Council administers the relationship of our community members to our land, capital, and other tangible assets. The Equity Council has the authority to make agreements for the community on the transfer of equity and the equity value of improvements to community assets. The Equity Council will also establish the value of initial community equity and the number of member shares. The process of the Equity Council is otherwise the same as the Budget Council.
Equity
Our equity is the way that we are clear in our agreements with each other about our rights to and privileges for access and use of our assets. Equity is earned through donations and through labor on behalf of the community and is transferable. Equity is also used when voting on budget issues submitted to the community by the budget council and on equity issues submitted by the equity council. Equity is identified in shares. All equity is transferred (either initially or subsequently) only by written agreements with the member to whom the equity is transferred.
Original or Baseline Equity.
The baseline value of a share of equity is $1000. The original number of shares is established by the value of community assets. A portion of these shares will be awarded to individuals based on their contributions of labor and/or capital to the community.
Donations
Donations amounts for residing in the community (for a weekend, a week, two weeks, a month, two months, etc.) will be established by the Budget Council. Donations amounts for residing in the community on a recurring basis (for a weekend each year, a week each year, etc.) will be established by the Equity Council. The equity shares associate with these recurring rights to the access and use of community assets will also be identified. Donations involving the right to recurring access are transferable.
Development
The value of any asset may be increased by additional investments. Individuals desiring to make such improvements are encouraged to seek the advice and consent of the Equity Council. Only the Equity Council is allowed to increase the number of equity shares associated with an asset.
Equity Appreciation
Ownership of any equity may be transferred with the advice and consent of the Equity Council. Part of any appreciation earned during the stewardship of the asset by a member will be retained by the community to fund the return of initial investments, capital improvement, sweat equity and operational expenses.
Staff
The community is administered by an initially limited (for the purposes of sustainability) number of staff members. Their agreements with the community include residence and sustenance and the monthly transfer of equity. The amount of equity transferred for staff will vary but will never be less than the equity needed to ensure the transferable rights to residence and sustenance in our community within 10 years.
Staff Agreements
Every staff member’s relationship with the community will be clarified in a written Staff Agreement. This agreement includes:
The Role(s) of the Staff Member
The Responsibilities associated with the Role(s)
The Current Priority Objectives of the Staff Member
The Ways that Residence and Sustenance will be provided by our community
The Ways that other resources needed to undertake the role(s) and responsibilities will be provided
Other Needs of the Staff Member to sustain her relationship with our community
Disclaimers, Conditions and Limitations of the role(s), responsibilities and relationship of this staff member in our community.
These agreements will be approved by both the Budget and Equity Councils.
MODELS: Findhorn, Yogaville, Goinka, Sudbury School, Open-Air-School,
August 2, 2006
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