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Communities Creating Shifts
By Stephen Dinan
(This article appears in Shift at the Frontiers of Consciousness, Issue No. 7, June-Aug
2005)
At the Quest for Global Healing in Bali (Dec. 2004), a film project entitled Watts Up!
began which focuses on the journey of Demaria Perry, a 17-year-old from Watts. Demaria
comes from a world of strife and impoverishment - one of the toughest 'hoods in one of the
toughest towns at the margins of life in black America. His peers grapple with drugs,
prison, and the daily struggle to survive. No one in his family has graduated from high
school, much less college. And yet, with the deck seemingly stacked against him, Demaria
is not imprisoned by his circumstances. Demaria carries a torch for not only his personal
transformation but the healing of our planet.
In Bali, he had discussions with world-renowned peacebuilders like Archbishop Tutu of
South Africa, authors like Lynne Twist, and pioneers like Edgar Mitchell, as well as
dozens of IONS members. Instead of the insights and healings flowing in only one
direction, though, it was often Demaria who helped open the hearts of those he met,
inspiring participants to go still further in their own transformation. At one point, he
gathered those who had touched him into a circle, on stage, to honor them and share the
love, a scene featured on the cover of this issue of Shift in Action.
 It was a beautiful example of community forming - a circle of kindred souls
who shared a vision and a dream. In forming that circle, an opportunity opened. The dreams
of Demaria to be a social healer expanded. The hearts of others expanded in response. The
community that formed, even if only briefly, created a flow of mutual benefit and
empowerment, each person receiving sustenance to fuel work in less hospitable
circumstances back home.
Truly transformative communities dare their members to step outside of fixed ideas about
what is possible. They dare each other to dream. And they find the place where those
dreams can become reality. First, though, comes the real encounter of human beings.
Through participating in intimate and heartfelt exchanges, Demaria and others could
receive something to bring back to their communities at home. In this way, one
individual's healing sparks the opening of others, and then still others, until a movement
has begun.
Just as science is proving our minds and hearts are connected, so it appears that our
wounding is connected as well. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. Communities that
share a spirit of transformation and a vision for healing, as well as a willingness to put
vision into action, are catalysts to create a new story for our world.
Watts Up! is an IONS-supported project. Tax deductible contributions can be made payable
to IONS: Bali Film Support. If you'd like more information about the project, contact
Belvie Rooks, the film's executive producer, at bjr@carrieproductions.com. The director of
the film is Damani Baker, featured in Filmmaker magazine as one of the 25 new faces in
independent film.
Stephen Dinan is an author, consultant, speaker, and workshop facilitator, as well as the
acting Director of Membership for the Institute of Noetic Sciences. His website is www.radicalspirit.org
    
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