How Shall We Live? – Our Vision for Community Life
The Main Thing.
Those of you who have been to Polestar over the years have often heard one of our favorite mantras: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Our primary inspiration springs from the practical, timeless, and universal teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. His example of unconditional love and respect for each individual soul and for all paths, religions, and approaches to human evolution, guides all our activities. Our essential goal is to create an environment that helps each of us to reach our highest potential; to realize ‘the Self’; to reawaken within, that Joy of Being which is unconditioned by the fluctuating circumstances of life. We call this Yoga or Self-Realization. This path of yoga, ascending from the little self to the true Self, consciously engages the heart, mind and will in love, wisdom, and service to others, anchored by the practice of daily meditation.
We recognize that there are as many ways to define one’s path through life as there are people living. However we may choose to define our own path, a core value for us is that we are each consciously engaged in the process of our own development. This orientation, to one’s authentic, inner process, holds an essential key to building a harmonious community. Those who focus on others’ behavior, on fixing everything that is outside them rather than attending to their own steady improvement, cannot easily harmonize with others. On the other hand, those who adventurously seek their own continuous physical, mental and spiritual unfoldment automatically create a positive environment for others to do the same.
Polestar Village is intended for anyone and everyone who resonate with these values and have the intention, good will and patience to try work out all the other details of community living.
A Growing Community
One of the most delightful, uplifting, and nourishing aspects of the new Polestar Village is the incredible opportunity we have for growing food! Continuing the momentum of almost 40 years of organic, biodynamic gardening from the Happy Heart Farm, and with the purchase of 14 &1/2 acre–feet per year of irrigation water in the bargain, we have the opportunity to integrate food production, nutrition, and abundant spiritual nourishment for our entire community. We are finding tremendous interest in this aspect of our vision! There are many practical models for community supported agriculture these days and we will find a way that fits the abilities and sensibilities of our members. The garden is a place for growing not only food but also friendships, health, and wisdom. We intend to include gardening areas in and around all the various housing clusters and to encourage community participation, allowing each of us the opportunity to have organic, locally grown food in our daily diets.
Open, Sacred and Community Spaces
Three main areas in our community offer our residents, and to a lesser extent the general public, access to open space and natural areas. For starters our 2 plus acre ‘Village Green’ will not only have plenty of space for farming but for recreation and relaxation as well, including volleyball, pickleball courts, and play areas for children. The south and western boundaries, which feature a 50’ natural area / buffer next to a flowing waterway, currently support many types of wildlife including ducks, dear, owls, and hawks, and will have an adjacent, unpaved walking trail. Mandated by the city, the northern 3rd of the property features a large ‘detention pond’ for flood mitigation. This 4-acre open space, which runs from the western to eastern boundaries of the property, can also be enhanced for natural habitat and will support low impact activities such as hiking, frisbee, and a dog play area.
Perhaps one of the best things about our location is our proximity to the wide open spaces just beyond the city. Located as we are, on the far western edge of Fort Collins, one can jump on a bike and within a few minutes be exploring miles of trails and wild areas heading up into the mountains.
Elder Housing
Housing for seniors, ‘age-in place’ design, and assisted living facilities are an essential part of our vision for Polestar Village. We have learned so much on this topic and the conversation is ongoing as research and planning continue.
So far, we have determined that most or all of our downstairs living areas will be constructed using ‘age-in-place’ design features and we have set aside prime real estate for our assisted living facility. We are inspired by many who are doing creative work in this field (including elder care coops!) and are still discussing how this will all unfold. A small group of us meet regularly on this topic and if you would like to part of this discussion, please let us know! More links?
A Walkable Neighborhood
A primary consideration in the ‘new urbanism’ movement is designing communities that are oriented to humans rather than automobiles. There are countless reasons that make this is a good idea but among the most important is simply this: people on foot, living in a walkable neighborhood, will greet, meet, and get to know each other in a very short period of time. When most every life event requires driving an automobile, those chance, informal, daily interactions with others, which form the very fabric of a community, are completely lost. As a result, it is common in many places in America, that people barely know their neighbors, though they may have lived near to each other for decades!
Our recent Family Camp in the Rockies demonstrated this phenomenon perfectly. Many of us were unknown to each other beforehand but within just 3 days on a walkable campus and with plenty of shared fun, sadhana (spiritual practice), meals, and adventures, we felt such connection and cohesion with each other it was hard to leave.
Beyond the health, aesthetic, safety, and environmental benefits, which are just the tip of the iceberg, we are committed to breaking the mold of so much dependence on our cars. Here’s how we can do it:
Our community is compact. All essential features of life: work, play, sacred space, socializing, dining, gardening and even shopping are well within walking or biking distance from each residence. Even downtown Fort Collins is only 3 miles away!
Public transportation, which can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go, is only a half block away.
Fort Collins is a “Platinum Rated” Bicycle Friendly Community and maintains more than 200 miles of bike lanes and over 50 miles of dedicated bike routes. The adjoining natural areas just to the west of us are full of mountain bike trails as well.
Personal Electric Vehicles (link) (glorified golf carts) are all the rage right now and provide easy, affordable alternatives to the traditional automobile. These can be used within the community and some of them are also approved for lower–speed city roads: a very practical alternative for any normal town trip.
Car and bike share coops are an obvious choice for a community wanting to simplify and economize their lifestyle and we plan on making these available to all members.
Finally, the advent of the self-driving car is likely, in the coming years, to seriously disrupt our ‘one car per person’ mentality of the last many decades. With so much paved real estate for parking required by law, when the day comes that it just makes more sense to temporarily rent the exact type of vehicle you need (rather than owning several different types and storing them on paved earth), parking lots may become a thing of the past; and we will hope to add many more pickle ball courts and gardens to our community!
Education
Lifelong learning is one of our core values and informs every aspect of our design. It is hard to imagine a more fertile ground for raising conscious, curious, joyful children (and students of all ages) than to be surrounded by an intentional community that participates in and celebrates their development. To have friends of all ages; mentors, teachers, aunties and uncles; to be able to learn from others and also to be able help those younger and less developed than oneself, allowing for that constant changing of roles between student and teacher, mentor and mentee that is so helpful in one’s maturation; and to allow the natural magnetism of Friendship to work it’s magic in a group of people that share life together: this is the power of community in education.
We have wonderful connections with several educational traditions including the ‘how to live’ schools Yogananda created in the early years of his life’s work, the Montessori tradition and the ‘Education for Life’ system from Ananda Village. All of these emphasize the whole child and promote the harmonious development of body, mind and spirit. Exactly how this all takes shape on our campus is still unfolding – please let us know if you would like to get involved!
Community Center / Sacred Space / Common Areas
These are the heart and soul of community activities whose operation and vitality are the primary responsibility of Polestar Gardens, and its army of volunteers. We expect to have a rich diet of daily and weekly activities available to the community and occasionally the larger public, including regular meditation, yoga, and kirtans in the temple; daily meals in the dining hall; ongoing work parties for gardening, beautification and construction; workshops, educational and cultural events; volunteering in child care, school and eldercare; a seasonal farmers market, and last but certainly not least, plenty of recreation and play! As in many co-housing communities, by cooking and cleaning just a couple times per month you will be able to sit down to a prepared hot meal almost any time.
Finally, it has been a tradition at Polestar Gardens that we regularly support other neighboring non-profits and community events through volunteering, sharing food, and marshalling work crews for various construction projects. This keeps us connected to the larger community and is a great way to energize and expand our service.
Housing.
We are seeking a wide variety of dwelling units that will support a diverse community. Our current design allows for single family homes, 1,2, & 3-bedroom townhouses and condos, paired homes (duplexes), apartments, and ‘micro’ units starting at 400 square ft. “Financially Attainable” housing is a huge value for us and we hope to meet this goal through micro units, an owner builder coop, offsite, modular construction, and community grants for affordable and energy efficient homes.
Thanks to the sunny skies of Colorado, “Net zero building”, where a home or community sustainably produce as much or more power than they consume, is surprisingly attainable here. Many of us involved in Polestar are lifelong builders and our goal is to create sustainably built, high quality, beautiful dwellings as affordably as possible.
Prosperity and Right Livelihood
The bane of Polestar’s previous incarnation on the Big Island was not only an active volcano but its extreme remoteness. Unless you were independently wealthy (or willing to live in a tent!) it was difficult to keep body and soul together there since the economic opportunities were so minimal. By contrast, opportunities in Fort Collins and Colorado in general, abound! The area is known for its manufacturing, high tech, and higher education as well as numerous state and federal agencies.
Our current plan includes not only commercial space (directly adjacent to the community center and with living quarters above) but opportunities for individual home businesses as well. To state the obvious, anyone with any kind of construction skills (including management) will be in high demand for many years. We also see the farm and garden, with its potential for ‘farm to fork’ meals, organic produce and various other farm products including a Farmer’s Market, as having great economic potential as well. Polestar will run a ‘BnB’ above the dining hall and individuals can host guests in their own residences as well. Property management: maintaining the grounds, common areas and buildings, will also provide employment. Within a prosperous city, and in a community of like-minded souls, there are countless ways for those with energy, initiative, and creativity to prosper.
