The sanctuary of Eleusis, near Athens, Greece, was perhaps the most revered site in the ancient world. For nearly two thousand years, it was the center of a religious school whose initiates came from all over the civilized world. The initiates of Eleusis included most, if not all, of those who are considered to have "invented" much of what we call Western civilization. No one is really certain what was taught there, as the initiates kept the secrets too well. Many believe that this knowledge dates from the peaceful, Goddess-worshiping cultures of the very ancient past. But all who were initiated felt forever changed, felt a sense of connection with a higher spiritual power, and a sense of peace with the death and the afterlife. We have borrowed the name as a symbol of spritual and metaphysical traditions that were truly transformative in nature.

"The next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community; a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the Earth."
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

"There is an almost sensual longing for communion with others who have a larger vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendships between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality almost impossible to describe." - Teilhard de Chardin

All I want is to live life's unanswered questions in good company. --Nina Graboi

"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come." -Victor Hugo

Damanhur, perhaps the most fully realized intentional community on Earth

"Our aim is to create free people, human beings with an open mind and wide perspective." -Stambecco Pesco of Damanhur

"It began as a project, as a vision of how the world might be. This was our vision of the whole world." - Orange Riso of Damanhur

Rudolph Steiner, especially his architecture

Gaudi's architecture

Eugene Tsui, architect and Renaissance Person

Hobbiton

Intentional Communities online

"The center was founded in 1968 with little more than a dime and a prayer to ensure its survival. Through all the years of my involvement here, I have never thought of the center as an institution, but as an adventure, an exhilarating bet on the future of the arts."
- poet Stanley Kunity, founder, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Mass

"Artists' communities are the nation's research and development laboratories for the arts. These communities go back to the origins of civilization.There is written record of ancient Greek and Roman writers and artists retreating to the countryside to places where they could work, free of the influences of the marketplace."- Michael Wilkerson