'If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him, therefore, march to the beat in which he hears, however measured or far away.'
  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Communitas

My definition of Communitas is that place where Heaven dances on earth. Dance is always driven by rhythm. I propose that rhythm is at the heart of a pure Communitas just as rhythm is the very nature of all matter. To understand God we must under-stand the rhythm of our companions, the universe, and ourselves. A formal definition of the latin word Communitas is 'a joint ownership or participation in fellowship.' It is my greatest desire that Acacia Center will facilitate an environment that promotes the Joyous Rhythm of Communitas.

To understand Communitas, I believe a good starting place would be to discuss the definition of religion. The word 'religion' comes from the Latin meaning 'to bind together.' A working religion then, according to Mickey Hart in his book Drumming On the Edge of Magic, is one 'that binds together the many rhythms that affect us by creating techniques - rituals - that attempt to synchronize the three dances - (1) the cosmic, (2) the personal, and (3) the cultural. The result is The Sacred.' I believe the key ingredient to the synchronization of the three dances is The Sacred or The Secret which is sharing Gods resonance or vibration of joy, and the result is Communitas.

(1) The Cosmic Drummer. The first step to the joyous rhythm of communitas is to be aware of and revel in the marvelous Glory of Rhythm in all of creation. God is the master drummer, and all of creation is the drum. The first law of rhythm is repetition. Anything that repeats itself is rhythm. A cycle is anything that repeats or recurs; therefore, a cycle is rhythm.

Science tells us that the universe or 'creation' began with The Big Bang which set forth an infinite repetition of smaller explosions until all of matter- the stars, planets, galaxies and parallel universes - vibrated into a great cosmic drum circle - rhythm upon rhythm, cycle upon cycle, vibration upon vibration. Science shows us that everything from the largest to the smallest physical matter is vibrating.

German Jazz historian Joachim Ernst Berendt wrote: (a) since the one sure thing we can say about fundamental matter is that it is vibrating and (b) since all vibrations are theoretically sound, then (c) it is not unreasonable to suggest that the universe is music and should be perceived as such.

Music is vibration. Vibration is rhythm. The universe is Rhythm. God is the drummer and all of creation is the drum.

(2) Become the drum. The second step is to be aware of our personal connection to the big time piece or Master Drum/Drummer.

We are all drums and drummers in co creative, collaborative rhythm with the One infinite drummer. We must return ourselves to that ever-flowing river of truth where God's resonance can speak to us and work in our lives. We must empty the vessel by which our spirit resides, so that the river of God's Joy can run freely through us. We must become the drum. Our body is the shell. Every inch of our physical presence is the empty shell. Our toes, our skin, our bones, our organs, all must be set free to accept the great cosmic resonance of the great drummer within and without. Emptiness is the goal. Death to our egos is a continuously necessary state to allow God's Truth for us to resonate clearly in and through us. We must clean the dance floor so that we can dance with God. We must empty our minds of all thoughts, wise or not.

(3) Recognize the drummer in others. The third step is to be aware of our connection to each other. It is not enough to be aware of the rhythmic nature of creation and the creator, and our connection to it. We must also be aware of the resonance we are creating in ourselves and with our life companions because we are part of something much greater than ourselves. Emotion is the vibration of the heart. We must be aware of our emotions. It is through our emotions that we will discover how our being is vibrating - how our drum is speaking in and through the universe. Our resonance affects all that we connect with. So we must take care that we are truly resonating in God's Rhythm. When we resonate in the rhythm of the ego our hearts are set up to be broken. We experience pain, despair, sadness, jealousy, anger, etc. Our whole being resonates in these emotions, and can act as a poison in the hearts of our community. However, It is when our hearts are broken that we can truly be changed. We can truly learn to resonate in God's Rhythm.

Community vs. Communitas. Community according to Dr Evan Hodkins is the school of heartbreak. Community is where the ego is the dictator and specializes in divisiveness. The ego is angered when expectations go unmet, sulky and self-piteous when slighted. CS Lewis observed, the true slogan of hell is: 'I have My rights.' The result of this dictatorship of the soul is a shattering of one's dreams.

If the ego's rhythm resonates in the School of Heartbreak, where do we find the resonance of God's Rhythm? How can we graduate from this heartbreak, this sour resonance of our ego into God's magical Rhythm. Where can we graduate or evolve to. We know that Love is part of the answer, but, how will we ever, in the words of W.H. Auden, learn 'to love our crooked neighbor with our crooked heart.' We must first consider the law of Entrainment. The Dutch Scientist Christian Huygens first discovered the Law of Entrainment, which is fundamental to the universe, in 1665. Huygens noticed that if two clocks were placed next to each other, within a very short time they would lock up and tick in perfect synchrony. Entrainment means if two rhythms are nearly the same, and their sources are in close proximity, they will always entrain or lock up in perfect synchrony. This is because nature is efficient. It takes far less energy to work together than it does in opposition.

Secondly, with Entrainment in mind, we should consider a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. He said 'If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him, therefore, march to the beat in which he hears, however measured or far away.' We are all unique and we need to be supportive of each other where ever we are in life, no matter what we are going through.

Community (The school of Heartbreak as Dr Hodkins puts it) is alchemized or evolves into communitas. Communitas people are graduates of the school of heartbreak. We resonate in the warm womb of God's Loving drum. We empty our drum vessel of the ego's vibration, we clear the dance floor of obstacles that will trip us, we purify the crooked heart, so that God's resonance can vibrate in, and through us.

In communitas we don't give and receive love, we share love. We bask in each other's glory. We gaze into each other's eyes with pure joy that we are all part of this big cosmic drum. We calibrate our connectedness through dance, drumming, ritual, song, and the utter perfection of our messy, sloppy, co creative 'beingness.' We are 'InGodded'. We have no purpose other than to experience Joy and revel in the Joyful madness of cosmic resonance. God's Rhythm is Joy. The vibration of Joy is the music of Communitas. Communitas is the evidence in this world that Joy is unstoppable. Communitas is the cosmic drum circle of life. My prayer is that Warriors for Peace is Communitas, that place where we dance together in heaven on earth to the joyous beat of God.

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