How To Grow A Conscious Community

9 min readMar 3, 2021

Wondering why the world is so separated? Have you been looking to call in your ‘soul tribe’ or simply more human connection into your life? In three simple steps and a concise list of ideas, I think we have you covered. Ready?

Original Artwork of an outlined human figure sitting before an array of colors and light, coming from the stars. — “The Cosmic Truth” Original Artwork

Humans are social creatures. In fact, as I have finally been reading the highly acclaimed psychology book, The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M. D., I am greatly reminded of this truth. We were born as one species, one people. We need some form of community to survive.

Interesting how vastly different that has felt in our current world. For months, we have found ourselves in the social tundra, so to speak. Socializing seems like a distant and foreign concept in our lives right now.

Perhaps you have come into this zone of isolation and loneliness in your personal life as well. It is cold, shallow, and disenchanting. There were few experiences worse for me personally than truly believing I was alone in the world. When we are disconnected from our natural world and from one another, we starve.

When we lack connection, belonging, community, we stay in an endless state of survival mode. This means that we fundamentally lack safety — the most necessary element to life. As humans, we crave stability, certainty, reassurance, routine, comfort. This necessity longs to be honored, in order to enjoy life.

So, in a world where our safety is constantly at stake, how do we move forward? Well, we don’t.

Excuse me? You heard right. We stay stuck in survival mode as long as our safety is at stake. What we as individuals inevitably need to realize is that we must be the ones to create our safety, even if it has been stolen from us in the past.

The first step to feeling safe is to become aware of one’s current reality, which is that you either feel safe or not. That means in any area, too: physically speaking, mentally, or emotionally. If you’ve read this article thus far, congrats! You have already initiated this phase. Awareness is always the key we seek.

What if we are uncertain about whether or not we are? This ultimately leads into step two, which is tuning into the body. There are many ways we are able to do this: through meditation, by engaging our senses, or even through basic life functions such as breathing.

Our bodies teach us the truth about our current state of being. Give yourself permission to be sincere with who you are.

Through checking in with our body, we learn the secrets of what makes up Heidi, for me, and what makes up you. Luckily, I already did the work for you on how to figure out more about this whole matter. The Ultimate Self Care Guide talks about how to create a routine of care and appreciation for your own self.

By learning how you feel loved, appreciated, and cared for, you can create that reality. This is why they say knowledge is power. But the phrase should really say, “Knowledge of the self is power.” After all, you are everything, just as I am.

At the end of the day, the body we are in belongs to the earth. We are the essence within this vessel and simply loan a body. It’s quite magical when you really think about it for a minute.

The third step to begin to create community, is to become clear on your values. This is the exciting part! As we learn to be secure and stable, we choose what our interests, goals, and desires are. What comes up for you?

When we no longer function in constant anxiety due to survival being threatened, and we have tuned into caring for our body through routine and steadiness, we have perfectly calmed the mind to work most optimally. The mind, the spirit really, wants us to have fun; who would have thought!

By becoming clear on our values, the intention to cultivate a like minded community amplifies tenfold. The universe responds well in co-creation to directness, clarity, and specifics.

In knowing our values, we can align them with the people who share them. How can you attract your tribe if you have no idea what they’re like, what you might have in common, or how they feel about issues that deeply matter to you? Get clear on who you want in your life.

As we experience new people and situations, remember to say THANK YOU! If it were not for them, we would not have the pleasure of knowing exactly what we DO and (definitely) do NOT want. Life is a refinery process, so let’s start to embrace change instead of results.

Okay, no more waiting! Are we ready to know how to create the community we are longing for?

1) LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE.

I know this is an ongoing joke with YouTubers and other social media stars, but think about it. If we are going to be using social media, we may as well start using its features for its basic intention — to be social!

You never know what amazing souls you could connect to through simply commenting on a post on any social app. In fact, this is where I have met many of my fellow spiritual friends over the past year!

This is great to do on any platform! Whether for music, art, photography, comedy, and more, it is absolutely entrancing to be able to connect with people of all backgrounds and from incredible locations due to our modern, globalized world.

Don’t underestimate how powerful you can be in one comment, share, or message. People are literally dying to connect.

How does this create community? When we are in the habit of being present in our virtual worlds, we create a supportive presence. We allow people to be seen, and in showing who we are, our people see us and find us too.

2) RECONNECT IF POSSIBLE.

You know what’s even crazier than using social media for their basic purpose? Realizing that you already know people! Listen, I know Mercury may or may not be in retrograde when you’re reading this, and I am telling you it does not matter. At all.

Once upon a time, you went to some form of school, had community events and sports, were able to go out to bars or restaurants, and maybe even festivals or concerts. Or at least one of these things! And because you’re human and we all are too (for the most part), there’s a chance you met people along the way.

The magic is that it is possible to reach out. Have the courage to interact. Social rejection is only permanent if you believe it to be! There is no harm in respectfully engaging with someone from the past. Who knows, maybe they were hoping you would reach out!

The primary caution I have on this one is to be conscientious about where the interaction left off and if it was unhealthy. If you have done the healing, you know what I am talking about. Just be careful about who you spend your energy with!

3) BE OBVIOUS. SHOW, DON’T TELL.

How much more clear and direct can we get? If you are serious about finding friends, fellow artists, people who share your moral code, then say so! Someone needs to say it, and maybe it needs to be you.

Be the one to go ahead and share with your friends and family that you are passionate about saving marine life (SandCloud and L’Sea are two of my favorite brands to support on this)! It is always a wonderful surprise to find out how many share your cause, or rather those who you weren’t expecting.

Anyways, let’s say that you put it out to the world that you are going to start a bookclub on poetry books and no one bites. That’s okay! Sometimes, our desired community is not here yet.

While we give them some time to show up, keep doing your thing. Support your cause vocally, through posts, creations, or sharing your interests. Over time, you will be amazed how people gravitate to you for being authentic.

4) VOLUNTEER.

Don’t laugh. This is not a college application form and it sure isn’t the Peace Corps. Life can be whatever you make it, as I explain in detail in Give Me Wings. If that means you turned your hardships and traumas into a crusade for a better earth, then that is your noble reality.

Guess what? Despite the world being on some weird pause, the issues don’t stop. There are people out there still dying of hunger, disease, fighting to function every day, plastic filling up our oceans, and those who are still being sexually abused or even trafficked.

I’ll say it for everyone: it does not negate the hardships that you have been and are going through. The truth is that it is still disgusting that these evils persist. So, if life has been feeling meaningless, if you have been feeling isolated or alone, or simply wanting to share in a common goodwill, volunteering is perfect.

Come together with people to bring goodness back into the world. You will always be welcomed with open arms in any one of the world’s issues. Trust what you’re passionate about changing.

5) SAY HELLO!

This last option will not be for everyone. In a world so fixated on privacy, we have forgotten how precious human interaction is. Did you know that our bodies actually need physical affection daily to survive and function properly? I am not a scientist or doctor, so do what you will with that information.

What I am saying though, is that one hello will not harm you! In fact, let’s not be too insane here. I understand there are perceived limitations: anxiety, trauma, dangerous situations and people, and more. In our current society, we also have been lacking in the luxury of social settings. So where do we go from here?

In any instance where you may be in public, especially locally and regularly such as the grocery store per se, just give a casual hello or question to your clerk or a fellow shopper. A kind remark may be what they needed to get through that day.

If you are on a walk, make eye contact with the other people around. I am not saying to be impulsive, invasive, or intrusive. Respect space, but remind people that they are surrounded by others who are willing to connect to.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little courage to inspire a great change.

The grand idea behind all five of these is that we are responsible for some effort behind our intentions in order for them to come to life. We were given life — you can determine how, by who, and what — and it is one of our greatest blessings to pass life on. By sending kindness onward, showing the world we are looking for community, and becoming clear on what we want to see, we can bring about a wonderful world.

Remember that community is everywhere. You decide how big or small you will go about creating it. How subtle or loud. How consistent or intermittently. There are people out there who desire your presence and support.

We are more supported and loved than we know. If we were meant to be here alone, we would not crave connection. We would not need physical touch. We would not become irritable in isolation.

You know how monks are so peaceful even when they are in isolated meditation? It is because they know the truth. This is that we are never really alone.