THE MISSION (3.0)
I foresee a future where society can flourish again. And I believe the way to get there is by emphasizing community and encouraging a culture of engagement with the world around us.
I’ve been on a four-year journey through community spaces, literature, and history, and I’m currently focusing on conceptualizing and creating IRL-conscious communities. Spaces for people to imbue mindfulness into their lives, work on impact projects, and connect with individuals who share a purpose to serve the world.
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Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to create my own city. As a 3rd grader, I’d stitch together papers and scrawl out my masterplans for a futuristic utopian city. As time went on, my motivations evolved as I sought to find as many “alternate universes” as I could in the hopes of finding different answers to questions of society and individuality. Each “case study” highlighted new models for creating organic and ideal community, and I began challenging my eight-year-old self’s notion that progress for society entailed a “techno-utopian”, conventionally futuristic path forward.
My explorations into alternate universes most recently brought me onto a permaculture farm/commune up in the redwood forests of Santa Cruz, CA. It changed my life. It was the first time I experienced somewhat radical, fringe concepts of living and began to consider entirely new frameworks of community and finding individual + shared fulfillment. I was isolated from technology, separated by a windy road, and nestled within a forest that allowed me to dive deep into myself. Although we all shared the vision of connecting with the land and building a truly self-sustaining, cyclical community operation, the vision served as a force that united us beyond our differences and stimulated a truly tight-knit community.
The farm also helped me build up a new approach to navigating the world; I began employing a more intuitive approach to decision-making and let my yoga and mediation practice guide my path forward. My feelings began to turn into emotions. I initially struggled with this new lens because the destination often feels unclear, but I’m continuing to learn how to trust my gut and the process of putting one foot in front of the other.
Post-covid, we have a chance at a blank slate society. It’s a chance at reinventing how society works at a very fundamental level and creating social dynamics that operate without constraint just like the sci-fi universes I’ve been enamored with. There are also some fundamentally disruptive technologies and a community ethos that is changing how things are going to be built. In this world, we get to choose what this future looks like. People and collectives actually get to decide how we use tech and for what, instead of corporations and boards and business suits. We are a younger generation that gets to right the wrongs of older generations.
I feel compelled to test out a hypothesis for a conscious community. I’ve internally called it The Hydrant Temple, and it’s now Manifesting in Verci.
An IRL space that will serve as the MVP of a conscious community in 2023. This will be a space for young college members / recent grads who are interested in building tech-for-good, finding authentic community, learning, reaching their potential, or just journeying into whatever feels true to them.
The Global Garden City:
I’m inspired by Ebenezer Howard’s “Garden City” (above) which was actually supposed to be the master plan for Los Angeles. Unfortunately, that vision didn’t pan out as hoped, but the digital connections and values aligned community we can find through alternative media echo his spirit. Perhaps seeds of Verci can be carried across the world.