Community of the Heart: 3 Steps to Build Your Conscious Tribe
Tools to foster deeper sharing and grow more authentic community
In this blog, we’ll explore tools you can apply immediately to help you foster deeper sharing and more authentic community. Life gets richer when we work to invite each other to shine brighter. Enjoy!
Many of us that have tuned into a deeper vibration to align more deeply with our true purpose. We have been guided to listen more closely to our inner wisdom. This can lead us to step away from the norms of what we have been told is valuable (for example, get a “good” job and then spend the weekend zoning out) and are choosing new ways to be and relate that actually feed our true selves (i.e. taking time to tune in and reflect). We may be opting to spend more time in nature or listening to podcasts that make us think in new ways.
As we make these life shifts, we may notice impacts to our relationships. For example, we may no longer want to hang out with people who don’t match our “vibe.” Friends that we used to enjoy are now left by the wayside because they feel like too much work to keep up. And this can leave a void.
We wonder, “where are our people?”
We are evolving what we want on this new part of our journey. We may crave camaraderie with people who “get” us. We are eager to talk about how the universe loves us, and what steps we’re taking to build lives that matter. We yearn to share these ideas deeply and be heard fully and acknowledged. This supports us in feeling less alone and more connected.
So how do we, as consciously awakening souls, build connections that truly light us up and feel nourishing - rather than those that are an energy suck?
Dig beneath the surface
Building new relationships that nourish our inner beings requires learning a new set of tools. For example, we may not have experience with building the safety required to get to talk beneath the surface.
Do you have a way to explore questions past “what do you do for a living?” and get to “what do you do to grow your life?”
Are you able to move past talking about polarities in politics and discuss larger collective issues such as minimizing ecological collapse?
There are ways to nurture open dialogue with diverse opinions and views. We can disagree while still honoring the unique magic and wisdom within each other.
Create the space for deeper connection
This past weekend, I was honored to lead 12 lightworkers, healers, and empaths on an Intentional Hike here in Northern California. While most of the participants were initially “strangers”, by the end of the hike we had fostered a deeper level of trust, finding a path of heart together. This will likely carry over into new friendships, connections, and magic.
So how did we do this?
1. Start with Intention
Setting intentions early is important. This invites a level of clarity and alignment that people then can tap into throughout the event. It also calls in all the supportive energies in the universe to help you have the experience you intend.
In practice:
In the opening circle, the invitation was made for each person to close their eyes and connect with their heart and ask what their intention was – for themselves, for the group, and for the larger community. Consider: one’s intention for oneself may be to unwind after a long week. The intention for the group may have been to build friendships. And their intention for the world may have been to cultivate greater peace and love for all beings.
As you can see each of these intentions are powerful individually. When considered collectively, however, they build on each other. For example, our desires for ourselves, each other and the world around us may all circle on the energy of love, peace, or connection. There is no separation.
Toward the end of the hike, we revisited these intentions in the closing circle. At this point, participants were asked to step back into their heart space and recall their intentions. This helped highlight what came up for them, what they learned, and what answers were given to them from the universe based on what they intended.
2. Everyone has a voice
When leading groups, I have found that starting with an exercise where everyone has a voice and can be heard authentically is a powerful way to foster inclusion, deep listening, and trust.
You can start with an icebreaker, for example, that asks a question related to the focus of the event. The host or leader can then ensure a deepening of the conversation by starting with a vulnerable share that models the type of answer that you want.
In practice:
In our opening circle, I asked everyone to share their name, where they are from, and one memory or feeling that they had around trees (our focus). I kicked us off with sharing a memory of growing up with a tree outside my bedroom window. Whenever I felt sad or alone or disconnected, I sat by the tree and felt this deeper sense of peace and comfort. I then opened the circle for others to share, and each person offered a memory or experience that evoked deep compassion from the entire group.
There was a space for each person to be listened to deeply, and to be heard at a level below the surface. This set the tone for an event where the participants, who initially were relative strangers, to be more vulnerable with their sharing. This led to a stronger cohesive energy woven throughout the hike.
3. Connect with something larger
As humans, we may feel like we are the most important species around. However we are part of an interconnected web of life that we can learn from. We often feel separate from each other, as we may live in an individual homes and drive a separate car. In reality, we are all very interdependent.
Consider that if you go to a grocery store for an apple, you are dependent on the farmer who watered the orchard, the trucker who loaded the fruit, and the grocery worker who stocked the shelf. We are not islands, and we truly do need each other.
How do you align with the world around you?
Do you pay attention to the bluebird that flies nearby reminding you to slow down and take in the moment?
Or are you so busy tracking your mental thoughts that you don’t even notice the larger life unfolding around you?
We can receive important messages – for ourselves and for our connections – by simply being present and opening to our interconnectedness.
In practice:
We started our hike in a forest where the pine trees offer their rich scents and gentle breezes accompanied us. The focus was on trees, connection, and magic. We started with simple prompts to get people situated on where we were going. We let people know we would guide the path forward, and also asked people to stop at crossroads so no-one would get lost.
Partway along the path, a few of the participants hung back a bit from the rest of the group. I was curious and went back to see how they were doing. One woman shared that she just wanted to tune in to the energy of the trees and didn’t at that point want to engage in conversation with others. I was able to fully support her in this while also reminding her that a crossroad was coming up. I wanted her to keep an eye out for this, so she could stay aligned with the group and not get lost.
Know that when you are connecting with others, there will be moments when you are guided to listen more closely within. While this is valuable and important, and can be balanced with aligning with the larger weaving of life. This balance of inner reflection and outer alignment supports us in “not getting lost” or separated from the larger life that we are a part of.
Final thoughts
It can be scary to build lives more aligned with our deeper knowing and truths. Fostering connections with those on a similar path of growth can make the path less lonely and more joyful. Consider leveraging the tools above to help you create your own authentic tribe. Together we are so much stronger!
About me
I am a “Life Path Maverick”. I work with mission-driven people to move from stuck to fulfillment through classes, workshops, and 1:1 coaching. Learn more about me, and the resources, gatherings, retreats, and classes to help you create your thriving mission-driven life at www.diamondlightnow.com
If in the area, consider joining our local meetup Northern California Conscious Community, which I recently started to bring together like-minded folks for just this type of deep community building.
Subscribe to receive my monthly newsletter with inspirational articles, or schedule a brief consultation to discuss your particular path and needs at DiamondLightConsulting.as.me/
This is so helpful, Alisa, not only for expanding our tribe but just to help us make interesting conversation in social situations. I can't wait to see you collect all these wisdom articles into a book someday! I know it's coming!