autumn twilight

I’m very excited. I had a second letter on Salon.com today that was selected as an Editors Choice. Call me a geek, but that thrills me to no end. I try not to write unless I have something to say, something meaningful, something that hasn’t been said before. Which brings me to actually saying something (as opposed to being excited for myself.

Mmmmm Hot zombies on my desktop. Wait, that’s a distraction. Not what I meant, not what I wanted to say.

I’m sitting in the living room, watching Jesus Christ Superstar. This is the 2000 version, and oh my wow is it fascinating. I will admit that I don’t love all the music, but the cinematography and the way it was put together are the fascinating parts. Jesus is s a curly-blonde with a rather body-builder face, and Judas is played by a greasy shyster type. The Pharisees are officious looking members of some corporate Board of Directors.

Neither George nor I have ever seen it before. I think the original must have been better, cause wow. With the exception of this one scene “See my eyes…” the whole thing is just a bit awkward. I’m wondering how it was made in 2000. It looks as though it was filmed sometime in 1986. But no. Oh and Jesus, sweetie, you don’t have that note. Really. You don’t have it. At all. Stop trying. Please stop trying. It’s not pretty. No joke, he’s tried to sing the same note at least a dozen times so far, and every time it’s come out uglier than Judas’ purported sin. I just heard the line “your omniscient brain” sung. Yeah, it’s that bad. Hmmmmm. Now there are Jewish ninjas on the screen. Fascinating. (I’m not sure they’re supposed to be ninjas, but that’s what they look like)

Anyway, I was thinking about how awesome it is to have Netflix. If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m working up to a discussion of communal living. We have a Netflix account, and we share it. I admit that I spend more time on it than anyone else, but we pick what movies we want next. Right now we have Kinky Boots (Because it’s awesome), Jesus Christ Superstar (Because we’re weak and curious), and Bang Bang You’re Dead (Because I love it and insist everyone else sees it.)

I’ve been reading more and more about living communally. I figure since this great experiment of ours is flowing forward whether we like it or not, I should know what I can about it.

Now is a good time to talk, since I’m beginning to encounter some of the rough spots. In organizational life cycles, I would say that we’re going through a phase of storming.

Right now there are a lot of stress factors building in the apartment. I’m the only one of the four of us who is currently employed. I won’t be able to manage all the bills on my own for more than another few weeks, so we’re all feeling the pressure of that. Above and beyond that, Josiah is a new element, that we’re working hard to incorporate. We love him dearly, but he’s caused an energetic shift in the apartment. We’re all struggling to incorporate this, but we haven’t gotten there yet.

So when you live with other people, what do you do when the energy doesn’t feel right? How do you handle it when things get a bit weird, or when you don’t feel welcomed by your home? Lots of communal situations have long and detailed lists of rules for how to handle all personal conflicts, and house rules. I haven’t seen any of these things taken from a mystical point of view, or from the point of view that we share here at Ceann Widhe.

There are a few primary tenets we operate on.

First, organicism and balance. We strive to create natural communal living spaces. By natural I mean uncontrived. Our living room is primarily a pillow room. When we watch dvd’s we pile into the living room and make ourselves as comfortable as possible. I often work on the laptop (as I am now, I’ve been conditioned since a child to do something else while I watch the television, don’t ask.) The altars that are in public spaces are earth tones, nothing that is garish or intrusive. We try to create a space that feels warm and embracing. The altars in the public room are also altars for things that are generally honored in Ceann Widhe. An Ancestor Altar, A Faerie Altar, a Hearth Altar, and a communal working altar. We strive to carry this principle throughout the apartment.

Second, the concept of harmony. We work to support each other, to be more than just house-mates, but family. We try to keep each other healthy and happy. We try not to get in each others way and to oblige each other however we can. When we have conflicts of personality we resolve them harmoniously where possible. We try not to leave hurt feelings or bruised hearts lying around in the open. We each commit to being responsible for our own feelings and ensuring that they’re addressed.

Third, the concept of mysticism. We are a household of mystics. We are spiritualists, witches, pagans, mages, psychics, healers, and shamans. We honor and respect the spirits and gods with which we reside, and strive to maintain a healthy, spiritually active environment for ourselves and our extended family.

Fourth, we are not a family of hippies. We love hippies, they have their place in the world, but we aren’t hippies. We’re young, urban mystics and professionals. Two of us serve on the Board of Directors for the Brotherhood of the Phoenix. All of us partake in activist opportunities that interest us. All of us are urbanites, fascinated by, and in love with the city and the community we are building here. All of us enjoy having money to spend. We’re all curious about how communal living will function INSIDE a capitalist environment. (Most often, communal collectives strive to remove themselves from capitalist society as much as possible. This may be an eventual goal for us, more likely it will be a side effect of trying to live healthier, better lives. But none of us are actively trying to get out of capitalism)

There may be more, we’ll have to discuss them, but these seem to be pretty essential to the way we live. So with those things said, how is it that we resolve conflicts that arise? How do I explain that things feel a bit wonky? As mystics, we need to embrace our intuitive knowledge of these things. If I am feeling that there is an energetic pressure, there is a reason for it. That reason may be my own, or it may be the manifestation of something larger. Either way it needs to be addressed. This is a rule in all walks of life. When something begins to fester, or rot, or stagnate, you need to address it appropriately or it will continue to fester.

Alright, that’s it for now. Namaste.