Intentional Spiritual Communities

being intentionally spiritual is one thing ...

... such common intentionality at a community level is something else all-together.  Imagine committing yourself to a set of common practices of which everyone in the community agrees to be a participant, and which rise significantly above least common denominator-type habits, comfort-seeking, privatized beliefs, and personal schedules that normally define our individual spirituality.


Many people might stop short of joining any community who requires more than showing up to worship at least once a year and expecting a financial obligation of more than one dollar, annually.


For some people, higher expectations would seem excessive, controlling, confining, or even abusive.

But for others, the common affirming commitments involved in remaining an active part of an intentional, ordered, spiritual community, as seen in the type of groups with links on this page, does not offer anything close to restriction, but rather an active invitation to a larger life of grace, freedom and empowerment.


Of course, one must examine any community’s balance between expectation and freedom. It is always beneficial to consider the higher order to which community calls us. Healthier communities seem to offer greater freedom for diverse thought and belief, while affirming a commitment to significant common action and practice. Often, the demise of more-contemporary ordered communities is due to lack of an adequate vision that moves participants and members beyond individual personality and current but fleeting piety, nor holds such folks steady with enough care and grace.


Certainly, the human potential for vitality and transformation is often shaped by the quality of community in which humans are active, and the level of commitment to such groups that each person enjoys.


So, take a look at the intentional spiritual communities for which there are links on the left side of this page. Consider other communities of intention with which you are familiar. How might a similarly high intentionality in your own life, to significant common practice within community, free you into a renewing experience of deepening grace, healing satisfaction, and a new joy for living?