People forming a circle in a forest clearing during autumn.

The Open Circle Conscious Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological

Founding year

  • 2023

What we do

What is Community?
Community is a natural process of interpersonal, inter-connective, multidimensional and interactive relationships that unfold as beings share their unique aspects, thoughts, feelings, desires, talents, visions, interests, resources, knowledge and discovery.
This definition of community opens up a much broader perspective landscape of human experience and potential that integrates the ‘inner’ aspects of our Self with the ‘outer’ aspects of our social reality, rather than focusing on the generalized concepts often defaulted to in the social construction of community such as politics, economics, culture, infrastructure, media, etc that are often separated from the individuals who make up that society or community. This much simpler, yet more encompassing definition than the traditional version brings us back to the basic connections not just between people, but all beings, the Earth, and ourselves. And it is this point, this beginning where infinite possibilities arise and manifest, stretching our imagination to evolve beyond our current limitations. So, rather than looking at the concept of intentional community in the traditional structured ways that are usually employed, lets start from from a deeper ‘place’, or ‘space’ that we can open up together. Let’s explore the wonders we can create when we put forth a real intent to evolve and create a world we not only enjoy living in, but participate in with our whole being.
From here we can begin a process of healing that is not separate from the process of community creation, but is integral to it. In this community each person will be free to follow their own path of Self exploration and healing, but also in co-creation with everyone in the community as a whole. Awareness of individual and collective experience will be the main spiritual practice of the community. From this co-creative community space, the physical manifestations of community can unfold based on the people in the community.
There is no specific form, design or structure for how a conscious intentional community should act, look like or be located in space. In fact, any real intentional community is always global and organic because it flows from the intent and vision of everyone involved, rather than following a single vision of what community ‘should’ be. There may be a plot of land with Earth based dwellings, or someone may share a house they have, or they may be multiple locations.
Most communities in our world today are not conscious intentional communities. They often limit inter-connectivity and interaction as well as creative potential within structured boundaries, rules, beliefs, judgments, etc that may be disconnected in many ways from the individuals that make up the community. We create an ‘image’ of life or what we think life should be, which focuses us in our minds and away from our whole being and true potential. This is often where we find ourselves today in our global societies which are made up of many communities that take on the limitations and boundaries of the society they exist within. More often than not ‘change’ in such communities or societies is filtered through a social-economic-political system that controls, or attempts to control these mind based dynamics. Individual conscious awareness is generally regulated to those boundaries and patterns, such that evolution is mostly stagnant at the community and individual level. People get hung up on an external place, forgetting the deeper Space where we are all connected and within which all places are built, starting with imagination.
Within communities that are not fully intentional, people most often focus on expanding and defending their identity(beliefs, ideals, lifestyle, social standing, gender, appearance, etc) through money, power, control, limited relationships, material possessions, or other cultural manifestations associated with identity. Creative energy is spent on this, rather than developing the deeper connections through the heart which can facilitate and unfold the unique individual aspects of each being and their visions in co-creative ways.
All aspects of how the community operates will depend of the people, as the people are (or should be) the heart of any community. So this is where the community will start, with gathering people who share this vision of what community could be, if we choose to move beyond this box we have lived in for so long where most have forgotten there could even be another way.
If you are interested then message me and let’s chat.

Our Mission

The focus of this community is to create a space where deeper connections, healing and understanding of ourselves provide the catalyst for developing a truly conscious and intentional community for all involved.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Commune
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2023
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2025
  • Started living together
  • 1 Total member
  • Open to new members
  • Not open to visitors
Total
1

How to join

Message me and tell me about yourself, and we can go from there.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

We will start off with consensus and evolve from there.

Economic model

  • Partial Income-Sharing

Members contribute a percentage of income to community funds.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation

Additional economic information

Labor: Encouraged or suggested
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
This will depends on the people in the community, but people would be encouraged to share any resources that could benefit the community. Eventually there would be a form of shared income once the community has income making projects developed.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Vehicle Share, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Guest Book

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Location

  • Ohio, United States

The Open Circle Conscious Community

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
1 month ago

Rooms in Beautiful Location in downtown East Austin

Mountain Laurel House has upcoming room openings on August 1 and September 1 to share our house in central East Austin close to downtown. Rent is $925 per month with $75 to cover your share of the utilities and maintenance. You provide your own food. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and talk about housekeeping together. To apply, email do*************@***il.com with subject line Room at Mountain Laurel House. Request the brief application questions and we’ll provide more info and answer your questions. Mountain Laurel House is in a great location! It’s on a green cul de sac, with a wooded lot to the southwest and a green open space to the west. It’s close to the East 11th & Rosewood dining and entertainment district and right across from the Carver Library and a bus stop. We’re in walking distance to downtown Austin, the State Capitol, Huston-Tillotson University and a short bike or bus ride to the University of Texas; and, south or east of here, Lady Bird Lake and Boggy Creek hike and bike trails, park lands, swimming pools, pickleball and basketball courts. I kayak on Town Lake aka Lady Bird Lake or swim just across downtown at Deep Eddy or Barton Springs fresh-water, spring-fed swimming pools. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and plan housekeeping together. HEB is a short 5 minute drive east on 7th St. and Whole Foods is about a ten minute walk from here on 5th St. Amenities in the house include a dishwasher, utility room with a clothes washer-dryer and an optional clothesline, high-speed internet, a big dining room table for meals or activities, and a large screen TV for movie nights. The yard has beautiful native wildlife habitat gardens, veggie and herb pots, a large Cedar Elm, two Live Oaks, a fruit-bearing Fig, a Champenelle grape vine, and a Chili pequin. The cul de sac is a large park-like
  • Promoted
Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Need
  • Communities with Openings
3 years ago

Twin Oaks, an established, income-sharing, village-scale community is seeking new members

Twin Oaks is looking for new members! Founded in 1967, Twin Oaks is an egalitarian, income-sharing community made currently 70 adults and 15 kids, living on 500 forested acres in central Virginia. Twin Oaks has strong social justice values including feminism, racial justice, and queer culture. We host a Queer Gathering and Women’s Gathering each summer, and we have a number of working groups around racial justice issues in general and in an intentional community context. Please visit our website twinoaks.org for more information and directions on how to apply for a Visitor Period. A Visitor Period is the first step towards becoming a member. We can offer: your choice of full-time work in our income-sharing community businesses (heirloom seeds, hammocks, and others) and/or domestic work areas from organic gardening to milking cows and cheese-making to office work to technical jobs and more! an individual room in shared housing; each member has their own personal bedroom and shares a kitchen, living room and bathroom with others in their house. Each residence has its own culture and range of ages. all meals are provided in our communal dining hall and/or in smaller kitchens for individual eating. We generally accommodate all special diets. (gluten-free, vegan, no garlic, etc.) income-sharing includes health-care and monthly stipend for extra We are looking for: people with various life skills and/or a willingness to learn people who share our values of social justice, sustainability and living closely with a diversity of people people with a generally responsible and pro-active approach to community living experience or interest in non-hierarchical, shared decision-making BIPOC, women and non-binary people especially encouraged The first step towards becoming a member is to participate in one of

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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