Intentional Living

Sometime in one's life, there rises a dream of shared purpose, for a community of shared values, or just shared cooking and meals -

The Communities Directory: a comprehensive guide to Intentional Communities and Cooperative Living provides a starting point to take that first step to seek alternatives to suburbia.

Published by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, based in Rutledge, Missouri, the directory lists over 600 communities in North America such as ecovillages co-ops, communes and cohousing projects, plus 130 international communities.

Based upon responses to survey sent out, communities are listed in multiple ways: geographically by state, alphabetically by name, with distinct sections for those who provided more detailed information, and those with just short directory information.

Many communities list their visitor policies. There is an keyword index, so you can search by agriculture, arts, activism, simplicity, social change, stewardship, sustainability, service, specific religious groups, lifestyle groups, environmental, family-oriented, those that have guest facilities and many other options.

There is a giant cross-reference chart that indicates each groups policies on alcohol and tobacco use, dietary practices, size of membership, year formed, finance and labor policies, etc.

This is the fourth edition of the directory. More than just directory listings, it includes advice about what works in community life, contacts for networks of intentional communities, resources for starting your own community, how to be a good visitor at a community, the differences between cults and intentional communities, and how to discern them.

The directory is available in the Warrenton Branch reference collection (REF 307.77 COM)
For more information about Intentional Communities,
check their website http://fic.ic.org/

Understanding Grief

Among the many other commemorations in the month of November is National Hospice Month. As part of their effort to reach out to those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, the Hospice of the Rapidan has donated copies of the book Understanding Grief: Helping yourself heal to all three branches of the library. Written by Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt, this book explores common myths and misunderstandings about grieving and addresses critical occasions such as anniversaries and holidays. For information about grief support see their website
Hospice of the Rapidan

Other resources available at the library include:
155.937 Levine, Stephen
Unattended sorrow: recovering from loss and reviving the heart c. 2005

155.937 Kübler-Ross, Elizabeth On grief and grieving: finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss c2005.