"Practice community" is the accurate way of defining, describing and demonstraing true community because essentially community is engagement - what we do, or, more correctly, what we do together as a common or shared experience, although not necessarily during face-to-face encounter or together. Community is one of the most misused terms in contemporary communication.

Practicing community is commiment to a creative and collective interrelational process which provides the individual practitioner wth the opportunity to share with others and release his talents while simultaneously receiving benefits from orhers. It is a lifestyle, way of being and livingness that occurs in an environment where the weak is aided by the strong who is not weakened  because his actions are propelled by love. And love given always return better than it was before it was extended. From the gift of love only enhancement is possible for all concerned.

In the practice of community neither geography, nationality, race or neighborhood defines community. During Jesus' life on earth people had a misunderstanding of who was a neighbor just as today many people have a misunderstanding of the meaning of community. In what is sometimes referred to as the Good Samaritan story in the Bible Jesus tells a parable that involves a certain man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. While on his journey he was attacked by robbers, beaten and left by the side of the road for dead. Alhough others of his Jewish descent saw him but did not help him, a Samaritan of non-Jewish descent had compassion and helped him. Jesus exclaimed: this Samaritan was a neighbor to the certain man from Jerusalem. Similarly, the person who practice community may not live in what is conventionally called his community.

The practice of community must begin with "community consciousness" which is recogntion by the individual that those in community can do for him what he cannot do for himself and that he can do more for himself and contribute best to the well-being of others regardless of their location, nationality, gender or race.

For many people who come from an egocentric-individualistic way of behaving it is not going to be easy for them to acquire community consciousness which in the truest sense is more of a discovery than a development. But anyone can acquire community consciousness. Discarding beliefs, many of which are religiously based, and knowing oneself are essentials in discovering community consciousness.

To reiterate, the practice of community extends beyond face-to-face encountering. It consists of an extrarsensory dimension, spirit, spiritual sensitivity, faith and virtual community which may include the social media, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and ESP, also called the sixth sense.

The practice of community may include obtaining and sharing informaion about the environment, in an ecological sense, that is apart from or beyond what is considered as normal or scientific channels. Intuition, revelation and other internal abilities, rather than awareness of the external are also ways of perceiving.

Community can be practiced when a person is alone just as a person can pray when alone for another person and have positive results. Of course, the practice of community is not limited to a person being alone. The community practitioner is involved in encouraging, touching, serving, sharing with others and receiving from others. He understands that he can give to others only that which he has received.

It takes time to practice community just as it takes time for a physican to practice medicine. A difference, however, is for the practice of community to be for the practitioner a lifestye rather than a profession.

To keep the practice of community utmost in consciousness just as a Catholic may say "Hail Mary!" let the community practitioner say aloud daily as an affirmation "Practice community!"

Copyright 2015 by Uriah J. Fields