Core and Guiding Principles
The Braided Bridge Community’s core principle is that the law is love. Creativity, spirituality and justice are three important energy strands that we interweave in order to explore and practice what this means, for peace in our world and for our relationships to each other. The following principles guide us this.
Love is relational. Therefore, a just environment is one in which beings of that environment are in healthy relationship with each other.
Violent actions are actions that separate relationships, and are to be addressed in ways that attempt to support healthier relationship.
Restoration is the healing of injustice. Therefore, the practices of restorative justice, including self-opening, witnessing, truth-telling, accountability, compassion for all beings, reparation, and reconciliation help us live our core principle.
Spirituality connects us in relationship with each other and all Being. It is fully inclusive, and we are interdependent with each other and all of Life.
Creativity is the generative expression of love and the freedom of one’s being. Attempts to control, coerce, or limit creative expression are acts of violence.
Art changes the story, vision, and myth of the collective society, channels energy and life, and is an essential component of the practice of love and justice.
Living and being in community through the law of love is a practice, not a rulebook. Working through trauma, difficult emotions, and conflict are a natural part of growth. Acceptance of limitations, mistakes and imperfect outcomes is a component of justice to self and others.
Participating
As a Member: Contact us for an orientation into how the community and bylaws work. Members take active part of the decision making process of the community, and that decision making is based on consensus, that is arrived at through mutual respect, discussion, and restorative practice. Once you are familiar you will need to sign a membership agreement, which helps us to have a clear sense of who is participating in decisions, and helps members have a clear sense of what the community needs from members. If you haven’t interacted with the community yet, it’s recommended that you spend some time with us before becoming a member. There is no membership fee.
As an Associate: Associates include anyone who supports the organization through participating in our work or community, through financial contribution, or even simply through following what we’re doing and applying it in their own lives. Associates do not participate in the decision making process.
Long Distance Community: We are reaching out to potential members who would like to participate in the community without being local. What we do to bring us together through distance also helps people who are local stay connected with each other. We will make use of digital options to keep us connected, including but not limited to list serves and signal for group messages, and zoom for sharing, meditations, and restorative circles.
Codirectors Circle
The Codirectors Circle is somewhat like a board, but is integrated with the members of the Braided Bridge Community who participate together in consensus decision making. There is a treasurer and secretary with roles the same as any board. There is a community representative, who functions similar to the role of a president, though the focus is on the function.