Introduction


Introduction Building Community & Embracing Diversity The Art of Compassionate Communication Facilitation Skills: Decision Making & Conflict Resolution Personal Empowerment & Leadership Skills Celebrating Life: Art & Creativity Local, Bioregional & Global Outreach	Social Design
	“The next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community; a community practising understanding and loving kindness, a community practising mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
	Introduction The archaeological evidence shows that the primordial social pattern for human beings is to gather together in relatively tightly-knit, egalitarian, clan-sized ‘bands’ closely coupled with Nature. Today, we need to consciously reinvent cooperative and harmonious ways of living and working together. Therefore, seeding, growing, and rebuilding meaningful groups, communities and networks are vital steps towards a more liveable, sustainable future. Building cooperative groups, organizations and communities is an endeavour whose immense challenges should not be underestimated. Reconnecting with one another across barriers and borders of misunderstanding and miscommunication calls for clear, calm, firm intention. One of the most cited common reasons for the break-up of intentional group projects is conflict. And so, propagating successful community will necessarily entail a healing process in which we step out of the cycles of pain and violence that have run through human history and take responsibility for initiating new patterns; the fact is, this healing process is needed, and healthy, constructive social skills can be taught and learnt! Peaceful, productive relationships can be a conscious, deliberate choice rather than left to capricious, random chance. Rediscovering the beauty, compassionate nature and innate power of human beings is part of our journey through this Dimension. It also has a very practical orientation: to give an answer to questions like: What will be the rallying call – the vision that will help our projects be coherent and inspiring? How will decisions be made and conflicts resolved? How will we walk that delicate line between being an individual and growing in a sense of personal empowerment, and synergizing our wishes and desires with the collective body we are a part? Will we be able to celebrate our diversity or will we find our differences too challenging and uncomfortable? What will we do to reconnect with the creative source in the Web of Life, and bring a sense of beauty to everything we do? Finally, will our group, organization or community be a world unto itself - an insular, self-sustaining bubble on the face of the Earth - or will it reach out to the local and bioregional communities, building bridges, learning and teaching, giving and receiving? Designing for Sustainability implies holistic design processes that pay attention to the 'people' side of things, alongside the work on economics, ecology and our worldviews. On the threshold between vision and reality, an integrative design can set the course for a healthy and sustainable reality. The Social Design dimension begins with Module 1 – Building Community and Embracing Diversity – which discusses the basics of building community, and teaches values and skills that help foster an atmosphere of trust. Module 2 – Communication Skills: Decision-Making and Facilitation – is a journey into learning the art of decision-making and the facilitation of groups. It talks about redirecting the energy of conflicts towards growth, inspiration and a deeper mutual understanding. Module 3 – Personal Empowerment and Leadership – offers lessons in distinguishing between ‘power from within’ and ‘power over,’ and developing leadership skills that serve the group and the world as an important part of taking responsibility. Module 4 – Celebrating Life: Creativity & Art – reminds us all that in community there is a re-unification with the Source. And finally, Module 5 – Local and Global Outreach – helps to broaden our perspective and see the value of networking. Looking at the dimensions of time and space, an awareness is strengthened of the threads that connect us to past and future generations, as well as to communities all around the globe.	People Circle in Findhorn (Scotland) Children Building with Clay in Lotan (Israel) Ecovillage Meeting in Artosilla (Spain) Residents of Sieben Linden (Germany)