live in a commune

Just something I have wanted to do since I was a kid.

Madison actually has a large number of co-op houses. I’m going to try to live in one my senior year of college since I have already signed a lease for next year.

I want:
-a community of people, who support and love each other. Larger than a single nuclear family.
-to be able to do what I want.
-nature.
-happiness.

I fear:
-crazies (I don’t do spirituality, or much activism)
-complete isolation (at least some internet access and a reasonable distance from the “real world” is important).

I don’t want to live in suburbia. It’s unhealthy.

The list of organic farms to volunteer in Italy is overwhelming, but I’m excited deciding which hosts offer the experience I’m looking for.

I just want to spend this summer in a commune atmosphere focusing on meditation, yoga, expanding my muses, and learning about permaculture. I may even apply at some of the entirely self sustained farms- no modern luxuries, really throw myself into the off the grid lifestyle. That would be one hell of a transition.

It would be nice to live in a big or small compound where everyone is in complete tolerance of each other’s sexual orientation and personal quirks. Something like Friends only gay and possibly more people. This way, nobody has to be lonely at any time whether they’re happily single or just broken up with a boyfriend. It’s also good for medical emergencies where there is more probability that someone will be there for you, just in case.

It would be so much fun. You can have instant parties in your courtyard on Friday nights. Or, you can just hang out right there for coffee or tea and try out someone’s new recipe.

I guess it would be real sweet to grow your own veggies,raise your own cows and chickens and have a family around you with the same goals in mind,i.e.,protect the children and give them a chance to grow up strees free and happy and safe.And loved.Have gatherings everynight to talk and eat and laugh and be happy.It would basically be like the past where the town was so small we would have to depend on each other,and likewise to support each other.It is not impossible to live free of worry,most of the worry is caused by dependance on others for our welfare,and humans are not designed to depend on others,they are made to be self-sufficient.I would definately be more succesful in that type of society,than the one I’m in now.

Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook
http://store.ic.org/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34_50&products_id=355
The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook: Recipes for Changing Times
by Albert Bates
2006; 286 pages; 7.5 ” x 9 ”, paperback; ISBN 0-86571-568-8
The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook is a blueprint for moving into a changing energy future. It distills the essentials for small-footprint living, leavened with deep wisdom, a wide variety of wonderful recipes, juicy quotes and reminders to enjoy life as we power down.

I’m really drawn to the self sustained community notion, but wonder where to start? I’ve heard of some communes in the country that have trial experiences for newcomers, but no one has anything solid for me to research other than hearsay.

I’ve recently decided that rather than continuing my majoring in psychology I’d like to pick up a more practical trade, and develop skills toward living a less dependent lifestyle.

The thing is that I’m legally blind, so I can’t just throw myself into a craft..

Gah! Where to start?

I want to go somewhere where people are accepting and don’t constantly get detracted by things that don’t matter. I want my biggest problem of the day to be watering the sweet potatoes.

I want to live free of this odd detached system that people have created for themselves. I hear the talking heads and the politicos lamenting the lack of work ethic in America. It’s simple. Why would anyone care about their job when all they do is work for other people.

Nothing matches the satisfaction of doing hard work for yourself, and reaping the benefits directly. This strange system of sitting at a computer all day or cooking food for others to eat, so that you get little pieces of paper to give to other people so that they’ll take care of your basic needs is immensely strange to me the more I look at it.

I want to build my own home, grow my own food, and be as self-sufficient as possible. And I want to do it around like-minded knowledgable people.

So my plan is to go on a sort of Commune Tour around America, staying for a few weeks at a number of different communes and trying to find one that I fit into and that fits me.