Conscious Coliving 101 — Day 2

Part of the free course Conscious Coliving 101. Prefer it paced? Get it by email — one lesson a day.

Dear conscious human,

Do you want to have more time, do less washing up, get FREE childcare, and have relationships how you want, no matter how many 😉? Well all of this and more is available to you with conscious coliving.

In all seriousness though we know we're sugarcoating the reality but doesn't it sound good? In the next lesson we will get down to the reality of conscious coliving but first we are going to share with you exactly what conscious coliving is, and bust a few of the myths that might be lurking when you hear that term.

What is conscious coliving exactly?

Before we define conscious coliving, we need to first understand what these two terms mean independently.

What does it mean to live consciously?

To be conscious you need to have an awareness of an internal and external existence. To have both knowledge and be able to respond (instead of react) to your surroundings. Therefore, for us, conscious living has two complementary components:

• An active engagement with inner development whether in a spiritual or secular form
• An explicit awareness of one’s impact on others and the planet

What is coliving?

Modern coliving is where people live together with varying degrees of integration and shared space.

This covers the broad spectrum of co-living models, from one where all space is held in common to one where everyone has their own private, personal dwelling along with some shared communal spaces such as a kitchen or a dining area. It can also range from a fully residential model to short-term retreat style approaches and much in between.

One important point for us, is that we see coliving as not simply being an economic convenience but involving an active commitment to fostering community.

All of the below, and more, can be examples of coliving environments:

• Living with your family
• Living with your partner
• Your street
• A house share
• Your village
• Intentional communities

So, conscious coliving is the joining of being conscious within a coliving environment. We see these two aspects of conscious coliving as complementary and synergistic. That is, conscious living supports coliving and coliving supports conscious living.

Now we've told you what conscious coliving is… which picture do you imagine a conscious coliving space to look like?

If your answer is B - don't worry we're about to bust the myths that might have contributed to this.

The many myths of colving

There are many myths about what conscious coliving environments or communities look like, here we bust the top 6.

🩸 Myth #1: All communities are sex cults, do human sacrifices, and always dance around naked

Obviously if that’s your thing, we bear no judgment. But the reality is that most coliving spaces do not involve even one aspect remotely related to these types of things, even the unconscious ones! A conscious coliving space might offer moments of confrontation. But, the whole point of consciously coliving is not to be fanatically devoted to a series of unwavering beliefs or practices drastically set outside of social norms. Conscious coliving environments are in fact a place that should be providing you with the opportunity to question and explore new beliefs and ways of living from a place of connectedness and awareness. Fully dressed.

😵‍ Myth #2: All communities are completely ostracized from society, because people in communities are weird, mentally unstable and trying to escape the responsibilities of life

Again, there probably are groups of people and communities who tick these boxes. However, these generally don’t last very long because they aren’t likely to be very functional. Most intentional communities and conscious colivers come out of people's desire to create a more balanced world. A world with more mental, emotional and physical stability. A world where the natural challenges of life feel less overwhelming and people work together, not in opposition or isolation.

👿 Myth #3: You always have to do things for the "greater good", which is decided by ONE leader (aka a psycho)

Who doesn’t love a good cult film or documentary? Understanding the inner workings of the one charismatic leader, who managed to create the unthinkable in a group of people? As horrific and terrifying as it can be, it is also fascinating. But, the thing with a conscious coliving situation is that although a leadership structure needs to exist in some way, the value system of the community as a whole should be easy to recognise. The community should ideally be working to maintain a balance between the personal, the communal, and the societal. This is an intricate balance and is often where conflict arises but, if this conflict is handled well it can demonstrate the healthiness of a community.

🦷 Myth #4: You have to be a communist and you have to share everything (including your toothbrush)

Your paycheck, your partner, your toothbrush, all of these items can seem up for grabs in these communities. But, again, if this is an expectation that these things need to be shared, it’s likely that you aren’t in a conscious coliving community. Although sharing and adopting (or at least being open to) new practices is often required, you shouldn’t have to check in all of your belongings, wealth and personality to participate. In a good conscious coliving environment you should definitely still have your own toothbrush.

💫 Myth #5: Communities are not for normal people. You have to be spiritual.

We’re going to call BS on this one too. OK, so there has been a rise in new age spirituality over the past few decades and we’ve learnt that spirituality can come in all shapes and forms, but being spiritual isn’t a requirement to consciously colive. Often the practices or techniques used to live more consciously involve an aspect of spirituality. But, generally communities exist because of a shared interest or vision, whether that’s related to spirituality or not.

🙇🏽 Myth #6: If I join a conscious community I'm automatically conscious

Erm, we’re sorry to break it to you but this is a big, resounding no! Consciousness is like a muscle, you’ve got to do the work to keep it strong. Some people are naturally gifted with bigger, stronger or more defined muscles but they still have to work out to keep them. Consciousness is like this too. It is a state of being that you live, not something you suddenly become or already are. It requires constant awareness, work and investment and just joining a community isn’t going to give you that. In all honesty, if you join with this attitude you’re probably not going to enjoy the experience either.

Today we have looked at how conscious living supports coliving and how coliving supports conscious living. We’ve busted the 6 most common misconceptions of conscious coliving, and we’ve started to introduce you to the reality of coliving.

⏩ Next up we examine the benefits and challenges of conscious coliving. See you in the next lesson!

Lauren

Life Itself Legend\

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