Happiness, optimism, passion or tribal pride
On September 19th the New Human City team decided that the site is ready enough for us to begin publicizing it. Lots of readers will sense our enthusiasm and lots of those will embrace New Human City like a new friend they want to know better. How groovy!Many readers, however, won’t get far before they feel less positive reactions. Hopefully this mildly ecstatic article will address annoyance, boredom, complacence, confusion, indifference, or pessimism—substituting curiosity, or drawing out your altruism, benevolence, or sense of whimsy.
Maybe readers will feel surprise at recognizing a pull to connect with Toronto’s conscious community.
Movement outward
The weekly event run by The Move Dance Collective (themovecollective.org)—AKA “The Move”—exists “to provide community members with freestyle movement gatherings that honour dance as an essential expression of self, and way [sic] of connecting with others.” We come together to dance without speaking so we can be more conscious of our bodies; it’s also an opportunity to learn Contact Dance, an art form that heightens conciousness of our Toronto’s conscious dance community also flourishes in Ecstatic Dance Thursdays (tribaldancecommunity.com), Conscious Dance Parties (consciousdance.ca) and The Move spin-off CreateMoveConnect.The Move has inspired New Human City because of its size and energy. The NHC staff met because of The Move, and like many who dance there we linger when the lights go up, to meet and catch up with community news. The variety of people at The Move shows the breadth of Toronto’s conscious community but the dance collective is just one way of connecting that community.
NHC represents a movement outward, seeking and encouraging connections all across the city.
Nurturing consciousness
Stillness and awareness are important aspects of becoming conscious of our capacities. It’s natural to rest and rejuvenate in contemplation of the sweetness of life beyond the rat race. For many, the escape from the cares of every-day life is very important for mental health. So we participate and are satisfied.But awareness of the healing side of attending to consciousness also brings a longing to share its benefits with friends. It’s sad to contemplate the gap between consciousness of how to live more fully and the evidence that most of society pursues shallow goals of comfort, consumption and convenience. Why does the conscious city have to be on the fringe?
New Human City helps us see beyond ourselves and the communities we belong to, even if they’re as deep and broad-based as The Move. By encouraging learning and exploration, NHC increases opportunities for more individuals to identify with and support more expressions of what it means to be alive and kicking.
As you renew yourself in community, imagine a city full of others doing the same. Keep yourself open to possibilities of which you’re not yet conscious.
First published by newhumancity on September 27, 2016
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