village builder’s toolkit volume 3 handout€¦ · village builder’s toolkit volume 3 handout...

! Village Builder’s Toolkit Volume 3 Handout

Supportive Community Structures—Some Favorite & Proven Elements By Jon Young

What will follow in this document is a short list (with short descriptions) of things you can do as a Village Builder that we have found work well in families, groups, and in organizational and community settings. This list is derived from the following diagram. At the Art of Mentoring weeklong intensive program we often share this diagram, and the concepts therein, in a “game show” format. We put the chart in front of the group towards the end of the week and we have people name a box (East Ring 4), and then the staff up front has to talk about how that cultural element was implemented during the Art of Mentoring week-long “village simulation” event. It’s a great moment during the week, and I really have fun seeing how people’s creativity raises both in their implementation of cultural elements and where this discussion goes.

The point here, anyone can do this. It can be fun and remarkably simple.

The grid below depicts the names of the 64 Cultural Elements used in the Art of Mentoring, and in Village Builder thinking. The Acorn Leader’s Toolkit offers explanations for many of the first four rings of cultural elements on this grid. These are the most helpful for running powerful, fun and connective events using the 8 Shields.

© Jon Young, 8 Shields Village Builder’s Toolkit, 2015


64 Cultural Elements: 8 Shields (Columns) and 8 Rings (Rows), both reference the 8 attributes in that each of the elements is positioned for what attribute is most supported in application of the cultural element. For instance Southeast Ring 1 “Games” supports the “Vitality” attribute.

Where do these concepts come from? If you look at Ring 2 West (like Bingo), you see “Facilitate Individuality”. There are lots of terms there that might be foreign or even strange, sometimes funny. “Intergenerational Transfer & Possession” for instance, gets people talking. What are these elements and where do they come from?

The research I did at Rutgers University, Cook College, in the years 1979 to 1983, and really ever since then, was driven by some questions that were and continue to be, very important to me. The basic question is set in the context of a basic set of assumptions and observations:

• Indigenous hunter-gatherer people really KNOW their place—the landscapes they live in and identify with—and there knowledge is at a very high level.

• This high level of knowledge, and relationship with their place and the natural elements of their place, are also indicative of a deep sense of connection and responsible environmental behaviors.

• There’s something in the way that they “train” their children, and adults, in this knowledge and connection, that can benefit us today.

• If we can get people today to the same level of connection and knowledge as the indigenous folks mentioned above, then we can ‘expect’ that they will have responsible environmental behaviors—among other attributes of deep connection and inherent responsible behaviors including caring for other people with more attention, capacity and intention.

What I have learned over the thirty years of applying the deep nature connection and strategic cultural mentoring model is that there is some truth and dependability to these above-listed assumptions. So, let’s say this as a foundational context to support the following questions:

People are truly moved into connection through strategic deep nature connection mentoring and community facilitation (Village Building). This is a proven concept and process. Connection is measured by the presence of 8 Attributes of Deep Nature Connection.

We list these connection attributes according to the 8 Shields (so we can match processes and elements to the ‘expected’ or ‘intended’ outcome with respect to these attributes.

People find it helpful to think specifically about the attributes as a guideline and reflection tool;

• East: Happiness of a Child (innocent and prone to smiling, giggling and laughing) • Southeast: Abundance of Electricity (vitality, reflexes peaked and plenty of energy to

move) • South: Commitment to Mentoring (listening deeply to others’ stories and helping

others get these same attributes!)



• Southwest: Connection & Empathy with Nature (and people of course) • West: Being Truly Helpful (finding our gift and using our awareness to take initiative) • Northwest: Being Fully Alive (losing loved ones helps us remember to be in life fully) • North: Compassion & Love for People (forgiveness in our hearts, even for those who

challenge us) • Northeast: Quiet Mind (inner peace, comes from deep sensory engagement with our

surroundings)

Now the question that drove the research:

What do all these indigenous communities have in common in their cultural practices—since they don’t have a “school” per se? This caused me to research various traditional cultural practices and societal and elements, especially in hunter-gatherer, nomadic societies—and from sandy places to limit the diversity for my research, and to match my experience with Tom Brown, Jr. and the Apache lineage, Ingwe and the Akamba and Bushman lineages. These cultures had something in common: the children were all raised to be amazingly connected to nature—very deeply. All the children and adults have the attributes most of the time. They are exceptionally aware and possess amazing tracking skills—both the men and the women. This became the core of our model—where do great trackers come from and why?

Another framing question was, “Can I find these same practices or elements in at least three cultures—and on three different continents?”

Finally, “Are these processes or elements used for peaceful purposes and, do they bring about well-being among the people impacted by their application?”

From this basis of context and questions, I gathered concepts, teachings, elements and processes. I looked at each of these cultural elements, found their basic essence (that which all three continents have in common), and found ways to apply these as “models” in the group settings such as programs for youths I was leading. This research is still under way and the chart still grows, but much slower now as we are filling up the 8 Shields map. On the 8 Shields map, there are obviously 8 Shields. A shield is a collection of elements, teachings, processes and concepts that are gathered according to their relationship to certain archetypal values. Each collection is “aimed” at an attribute of connection. For instance, the Northeast Shield is a collection of elements that bring about the Quiet Mind.

Each shield has 8 rings. These rings represent—roughly—the stages of life from birth to death. These rings correspond to the archetypal unfolding on a deep learning journey related to the biological, inborn and instinctive aspects of our consciousness as human beings related to stages and ages of life. So, there are 8 shields and 8 rings. There are also strands on each shield—guess how many! Yes, there are 8 of them. These are pathways of activities that are sequential in nature. In other words, each of the 8 strands “down a shield” toward an attribute, represents the sequential pathway with 8 steps (represented by how each of the 8 strand crosses an intersection with a ring). Why such complexity? Well, this gives us—as a movement—a toolbox for referencing how to work with cultural elements effectively and consistently. And, to apply the ‘right element at the right time’ as best we can. We are imitating the village structure and mapping what’s there, and what’s missing.



The original purpose for this diagram was to collect all in one place, and to reference 8 Shields as a context. That’s why it’s organized this way. So, study that chart if you want, but really just find simple things that you can do in your community, family and group settings.

The Four Pillars of DNCMCR: Deep Nature Connection, Mentoring & Culture Repair

The DNCMCR Pillars are really important design considerations. These came from asking “What did the people have in common who manifested the 8 Attributes of Connection within 2 years?”

1) Deep Nature Connection, 2) Conscious Competence in the Art of Mentoring (Principles of Art of Mentoring now built into

this Village Builder’s Toolkit course), 3) Effective Grieving / Reconnection Routines, and 4) Regular Exposure to Transformative Leadership (people who have the attributes and who

are walking their path as a role model).

More on this in future Volumes of the Village Builder’s Toolkit. In the meantime, there are some simple things you can start with below, so read on. Remember, to be patient, to think about this stuff and begin to evolve plans around all this. Have fun with this process and add elements to regular gatherings with people you want to build relationships with and explore village building with potentially.

Here’s the List of FUN and SIMPLE Things You Can Do To Create Supportive Community

o Welcome People well [Re: (East 1) Greeting Customs]—Remember when you gather with folks, welcome them well. Give them a nourishing treat or drink, and show them the facilities. Let people arrive fully and invite them to be present. Reach out. Ask them how their travels were. (See the ROCP “protocol” for more concepts around this). Adjust the style of your greeting to meet people where they are at, take some time to really understand their perspectives—and you will find your customs getting stronger in their ability to facilitate good connections. Remember the role of gratitude as part of things. A simple ‘sharing circle’ or talking stick model can really enhance this, but remember to meet people where they’re at.

o Wipe Off the Road Dust [Re: (Northwest 1)]—Now, don’t start thinking too deeply around this. People like to tell the story of their travels—catch that story. Do you know that a walk in the garden, small talk, tea and visiting, as well as a talking circle can be effective for grief removal—road dust removal? Also, are you aware that words of gratitude shared in circle can really do the same? Remember the safe container.

o The 8 Hand Shakes of 8 Shields [Re: MANY of the boxes together in a sub-list]—We met for several years with an organizational consultant / elder named Peter. He really helped us to distill the core and foundational elements of our work. This was an intense process. We recognized that we were all about connection, and the processes that got us there. So the non-negotiable items on our list are now called the 8 Handshakes. These are AWESOME design principles to consider. They say simply…

o East (1st Hand Shake) Deep Nature Connection is at the core. Facilitate activities, games, informal times with other friends and families where people can meet up (routinely and regularly works best) so that people can observe and interact with nature in her seasons, find and share fun things with each other, track wildlife and subtle sign together, wander and be with the herbs and plants, celebrate the ecology, celebrate the heritage species, the trees & bushes and



birds and bird language. Tune into the elements of wind, water, soil, rock, mountain, hill, creek, river, marsh and sea. Look to the clouds, the rains, snows, stars, sun and moon. Be in nature and build relationships and connections among yourselves and in your families and in your communities. Deep nature connection results in the 8 Attributes EVENTUALLY (five years sometimes).

o South (2nd Hand Shake) Strategic Mentoring Results in Deep Nature Connection. Apply the core routines in Coyotes’ Guide in small groups and in families. Remember aunties and uncles can often be more effective in working with children than parents when it comes to weaving deep nature connection. Therefore, parents, become aunties and uncles and share this with other families regularly. Find small fun ways to make this work. Remember the core-est of all core routines: go for “timeless nature experience” and then gather to “share the story of the day”. This cycle is the back-bone. Share nature. Share stories. Then build on to that with good role models (who reflect VALUES and CONDUCT as well as NATURE CONNECTION). Study Coyote’s Guide and keep it simple.

o Backyard Subsistence Practice (3rd Hand Shake) rules! Having a Weber grill and things to cook together is hearkening back to the most ancient, 1 million year old pattern, of cooking around a fire together and eating together. Feasting and potlucks can be partially outside. Dirt piles can entertain children. Permaculture principles can be applied to backyards to serve multiple purposes: garden, share gardening in work parties, berries, chickens, bushes, trees to climb, bird habitat, wildlife habitat, interesting water features. We found that this is true with respect to Backyard Subsistence Practice:

▪ Have Fire at the Center ▪ Share Music, Song and Dance (if comfortable enough, keep it accessible

and fun and simple) ▪ Water features really add something (beach side, river or pond shores,

pools, puddles, sprinklers…) ▪ Sharing Food ▪ Sharing Story (in a good container) ▪ Sharing Skills (all manner of them, from fire by friction, to birding, to

canning and cooking). ▪ Shared work

o Tend the Wild (4th Hand Shake) and get out there in wild places. Seeing those coyotes on the hill, watching that bobcat hunting voles, laying in the grass and watching the clouds with a few friends after a good long hike or wander, taking joy in clearing trash from a stream bed, helping restore wild habitat for spawning fish, or breeding birds. Whatever that activity that gets groups together tending the wild—the rewards are awesome. One of our favorites here is going with families to large, wild huckleberry patches and clearing dead brush out (bring it home for the fire), and then showing up in the season for harvesting berries and really enjoying the results. Create a nature connection club that just goes and explores nature together—and even more powerfully—tie the above mentioned activities to that experience as an after event.

o Community Facilitation Practices (5th Hand Shake) need to be shared with commitment by core stakeholders. What we call “Peace-making” is the simplest version of this to get across to folks, but there are other containers out there as well from Compassionate Communication, to Re-evaluation Counseling, to Open Space and World Café. There are others as well. We have adopted, adapted,



blended best practices from, and integrated into the 8 Shields all kinds of facilitation and group process models from traditional and modern sources. We still build on this basic framework…

▪ The East-West Axis is Inviting, including and welcoming all voices, and sharing words with care and intention, “The Good Message”

▪ The Northeast-Southwest Axis involves engaging the connective system through sensory awareness, gratitude and timeless grounding in nature, “Peace” is the result and the intention at once

▪ The North-South Axis holds space for “Unity”, and it’s a learned and felt sense, as opposed to “agreement” on an intellectual level; the safety of the container is built from the two axes above, but also from honoring agreements

▪ The Northwest-Southeast Axis recognizes that when the top three practices of Peace, Good Message and Unity don’t seem to work, there’s probably some grief tending to take care of for “Releasing Blocks” from connection

o Releasing Blocks & Healing Processes (6th Hand Shake) are important to have in place as agreements BEFORE they are needed. We, at 8 Shields, encourage folks to be vulnerable (when they have created a safe container to hold that), and witness vulnerability and transparency on the healing-of-connection journey. This is relatively “new stuff” we are dealing with—a society at large with large leftover vestiges of historic trauma that effective our ability to safely connect in many ways: with nature, with our gifts, each other, our ancestors… and ourselves. There are numerous practices emerging globally (thankfully) that look straight at this. A traditional practice called “ho’oponopono” is gaining popularity, even at the United Nations. The bottom line is for folks to build relationships with various grief-tending practitioners and to be sure to have them invited to all the activities in community that you can. We have (as a movement) adopted Sacred Fires as a practice in harmony with deep nature connection, as well as various ceremonies and healing modalities from traditional lineages. Deep nature connection tends to bring up unique patterns of blocks that are particular to the deep nature connection movement. We are in constant study of best-practices here and you could say this is where the forming edge of 8 Shields is at right now as far as research, testing and model development.

o Regenerative Design (7th Hand Shake) is really a group processes sharing what you now know as Renewal of Creative Path. This is a very effective recipe, and a collection of best practices that depends on individual stakeholders, and their primary relationships, and organizations and collaborators—sometimes neighbors—getting together and sharing ideas about what’s working best for connection enhancement. From these ideas, looking at commitments to move forward with, and witnessing and supporting each other on this journey. Some might call these “planning” retreats with a focus on people and nature connection practices. I think that fits. Ultimately, it’s about how to take the items in this document and bring them forward in your life by developing teams sharing the concepts in the document, the values, the processes for facilitation, and then going for it! Don’t forget to plan feedback and evaluation session into the process too. That really matters. Permaculture principles are a great resource to think about these important design elements in Village Building. In fact, Village Building is directly



linked to Permaculture in that it represents design and implementation of “invisible structures”. Regenerative Design also refers to how this work will manifest into the future, for future generations of all living things—not just people.

o Facilitating People’s Individuality & Creativity (8th Hand Shake) is a primary core element (on the chart you can find it in multiple places) for healthy regenerative culture. Design (a la the 7th Hand Shake above) requires creativity. What brings creativity to the fore? Lots of things, art, music, creative expression in various forms of media, and processes like the Renewal of Creative Path. The most powerful expression of this is the Vision Quest as a common cultural element, and an imperative in a healthy culture. It’s really about helping every person find their gift so they can take their responsibility in community effectively—based in their greatest connection to true power in the ultimate creativity: that’s the energy, or “spirit” that moves in all things in nature. How to get that fastest? You guessed it… Deep Nature Connection (the 1st Hand Shake), so we are back in the East and the need to facilitate deep nature connection effectively. So go to the top of the document and read it again… (Just kidding sort of).

Remember in all this that whatever you do, make it fun, simple and something you can easily take on, and in a relaxed manner. If it’s stressful, you are probably over doing it. I gave you a MASTER list of possibilities, can you find a simple sub-set for yourself, family and friends to create from? Share this with other potential Village Building collaborators in your area and start gathering in small and simple ways. Remember to include many generations, from babies to elders—and wander in nature, then circle round the fire, sharing food and stories! This is the smallest unit of Village Building.

Wishing you the best!

Jon Young


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