159 - The Community We're Taught to Fear

A circle of strangers, no rehearsal, no sheet music…Just voices and a guide named Porangui pulling a room of near-strangers into one shared rhythm. 

In this solo episode, host Elizabeth Mintun reflects on three very different gatherings from the same couple of weeks: a sound circle led by Porangui, a monthly meeting of her Conscious Practitioner Collective, and the first live session of her new program, Finding Your Footing When the Ground Shifts. Underneath their differences, she found the same medicine at work in each one - and traces why that medicine took her so long to trust, starting with a hard lesson learned in a middle school hallway.

Elizabeth explores why so many of us learn to fear community rather than trust it, and how belonging can form in real time between total strangers when a group is given just enough structure and permission. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like they were standing just outside a circle, wondering if there was room with their name on it.

Key Takeaways:

• Community isn't a scarce resource to be chosen for; it's something people can step into together, again and again, the moment they're willing to.
• Co-regulation (settling a nervous system in the presence of other regulated nervous systems) can happen in a drum circle, a practitioner gathering, or a Zoom room alike.
• Real community includes friction, activation, and disappointment. The goal isn't a frictionless group, but a safe enough one to be vulnerable inside.

Resources:

For 1:1 coaching and/or to ask any questions or share reflections, contact Elizabeth at elizabethmintun@thecalmingground.com

Conscious Practitioner Collective - monthly gathering for practitioners in Columbus, Ohio: https://thecalmingground.com/conscious-practitioner-collective

Follow along: @thecalmingground on Facebook and Instagram

Subscribe to The Calming Ground Podcast so you never miss an episode. If you loved this conversation, please share it with a friend and leave a review!