The Aisling Community Constitution

The essence of the AISLING vision is contained in the phrases:

Rooted in the Celtic

Living in Right Relationship

Working for Transformation

Those who live by this vision do so in a creative and personal way, giving it their own unique expression and emphasis.

Aim: The prime aim is that people will give expression to the Aisling vision in their lives, within their homes and in their workplaces. These people will be identifiable by the way they live their lives, by their work and by their professed values and beliefs. Through this will grow a sense of belonging and identity, an experience of community.

Practical Objectives

The practical objectives of the community are:

* the nurturing of a lifestyle that is simple and frugal, hospitable, spiritual, whole, just and balanced. At the heart of this lifestyle will be the achievement of right relationships – with ourselves, with each other, with living things and with the divine.

* the creation of social structures that reflect Celtic traditional values such as friendship, service, participation and sharing, and that give the most vulnerable support, protection and healing.

* the promotion of relevant learning and personal development for all, including and especially, the children.

* the practice of organic gardening and its promotion.

* the obtaining of food locally while respecting the ecological balance.

* the usage of usable energy from renewable sources – e.g. sun, wind, water and biomass.

Tackling Global Issues

Lifestyle: Participants choose to live a lifestyle that resists a consumerist mentality and materialist values. In this way, they oppose – and offer an alternative to – the gross destruction of nature and the oppression of people for purposes of western 'development' and economic growth.

Wealth and Poverty: Participants work to understand world structures and the reasons for the ever widening rich—poor divide. They seek to find ways to bring about limitation, fairer distribution and proper use of material wealth, beginning within the community.

Local Autonomy: Participants work to reclaim power for themselves and the local community. They do this by marginalising the influence of the macro-economy and other national or multinational institutions, through such things as self-reliance and barter, and by encouraging participative democracy and the structures that support this.

Globalisation: Participants oppose the negative forces of globalisation which

* rob people of their local culture, lifestyle and traditions

* force people to leave the countryside and to live in large towns and cities

* replace local economies with a global economy

* impose global products in place of local products

* enslave people economically to transnational bodies

* remove much of everyday life from personal or democratic control

* put control in the hands of corporations that put profit before people

* change the way people live and turn the world into a monoculture

Religious Globalisation: Participants recognise that the promotion of global institutions began historically with certain religions. Today, the global promotion of the institutions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism offer, in some cases, a more serious threat than that of the secular corporations. In this situation, participants make a distinction between the practice of a spiritual tradition, which people freely choose to take on, and the imposition of an institutionalised tradition which takes away people's freedom to choose.

Diminishing Non-Renewable Materials: Fossil-fuels and other non-renewable materials are used sparingly. Long-distance travel and transportation is avoided where feasible. Renewable materials, obtained locally, are the preferred option. Waste is minimised or avoided by good maintenance, sharing, recycling, composting, simplifying or doing without.

Alienation: Participants work to restore a sense of identity, individual and communal, among people. They do this by creating conscious links with one’s history, personal and communal; by recognising and promoting each individual’s role as part of a community; and by seeking to work together towards a better future for all.

War, the Armaments Industry, Terrorism and the Nuclear Threat: Participants work for peace with justice through non-violent means. They oppose violence and the threat of violence. They promote dialogue among opposing forces, and search for ways of reducing fear and distrust. They start among themselves, working to resolve local disputes and find ways of living together peaceably.

Technology: Technology can hardly be avoided. It includes the wheel and the pen. However, modern technology has significant new and sinister dimensions. It can be used to manipulate and control the lives of people. In its manufacture and use it may cause abuse to animals, damage or destruction to nature, or waste non-renewable materials. Unjust means can be used in its production, including the abuse of people and even children. It can be used obsequiously to create or promote injustice in trade. Participants are cautious therefore in their use of modern technology and try to be conscious of what they are implicitly supporting through it. Their preferred option, where technology is necessary, is a ‘soft’ technology which is appropriate to a simple, convivial and spiritual lifestyle.

Masculine / Feminine Balance: Participants of both sexes work to incorporate the feminine dimension into a grossly distorted masculine world. The masculine emphasis on rational thought, on specialisation, and on material productivity has devalued the more feminine emphasis on right relationship, nurturing and intuition. The imbalance is at every level of society, from the human psyche to structures of church and state. Participants seek to achieve masculine / feminine balance within their own relationships, in domestic structures, work structures, decision-making structures and in worship and ritual. They also work for the redress of this balance at national and global level, within church and state.

Oppression: People are particularly vulnerable to oppression and exploitation when they are dependent or lack awareness. Participants work to develop conscious and critical awareness among themselves and others. The process ranges from personal awareness – one’s psychological processes, behaviour patterns and available choices – to awareness of the influence of systems, structures and dominant attitudes and values within society and church on personal and interpersonal behaviour. Participants promote personal and local empowerment, and challenge thought-patterns and structures that promote injustice, oppression and domination.

Note:

This document is a ‘pilgrim’ constitution because it travels with the authors. It is always open to change and will never have a set form.