In the spirit of a “gifting” or “sharing” economy, dozens of people gather regularly to offer their services, and make non-financial requests in a way that more closely resembles a natural ecosystem.
“I believe we can teach humanity to be peaceful, cooperative, and ecologically balanced. And we have to be those qualities ourselves to achieve those results”, explains Eric Baudry, co-founder of Upward Spirals. A think tank developing a variety of projects around Costa Rica, and creating a “mutually supportive, open-source, self-replicating team of passionate world changers.” Once a project is established with a stable support network, the team is quick to move on to the next one in their pursuit of creating more effective systems within their community, throughout the country, and the world.
Community Days, the most recent event brought to life by Upward Spirals, is a weekend festival at the Diamante Center. The Center is a community organization that hosts yoga retreats, weddings, sustainable living tours, wellness and educational workshops, and other such events.
At Community Days Gatherings, local practitioners offer their services, free of charge, and express their personal needs. As a result, participants who found the services valuable may assist the practitioners in various ways. The goal of the event is to outline the development of new, localized economic systems through which everyone can gain new knowledge, and benefit from helping one another. The new Community Days event facilitates more sustainable economics for its attendees, and fosters deeper relationships within the Diamante Valley community.
The latest Gathering took place over the second weekend of August this year. One of our staff members, Natashia, was fortunate to experience the weekend in the jungle. This was a free event that posted a bulletin board with a non-financial wish list for everyone to participate in giving and sharing. On Saturday evening, Eric Rivkin shared an inspiring Living Foods Demonstration that was followed by a potluck dinner and music jam. Sunday morning got off to a refreshing start with Respiration Yoga taught by Zander Hathaway, in the cold river right above the Baru (also known as “Nauyaca”) Waterfalls, which is less than a five minute walk from the yoga deck. Zander offers an integration of breathing techniques centered around Tibetan Tummo and other pranayama. This method has been proven to influence the autonomic nervous system, immune system, and endocrine system to bring greater balance to all systems of the body.
After the breathwork in the waterfall, Jenee Hallick guided Slow Flow Yoga on the yoga deck, in the middle of the jungle. Jenee takes you on a gentle journey inwards to a space where you connect with something greater, where you know anything is possible, with your body and breathe in a gentle loving flow. After breakfast, Russell Giles, offered a three-hour workshop on the Foundations of Rapport. Russell is a certified Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a lifelong student of psycholinguistics, and holds a Master’s Degree in philosophy. This interactive and experiential workshop was built around the foundations of rapport, and how to communicate more effectively by conveying safety and trust.
The afternoon was spent with friends and families at the river and under the trees. Natashia said she enjoyed connecting with new and old friends in nature, learning practical new skills, feeling rejuvenated, and the peace of “just being.”
Before launching the Diamante Center, Upward Spirals worked on a range of projects geared towards accelerating the development of regenerative communities and economies. The Organic Directory, for example, is a free online resource that provides the locations of over 70 organic food vendors throughout the small country of Costa Rica. Before this directory was available, finding organic foods was surprisingly difficult, even in the largest city of San Jose.
According to the founders of Upward Spirals, using our current economic model, our natural resources are being systematically converted into financial accumulations at increasing rates, and with worsening results. This seems to benefit just the financial elite – but even their benefits are greatly outweighed by the corresponding degradation to social systems and the environment. By sharing and expanding regenerative economic and ecological practices, Upward Spirals is contributing to a more sustainable future for all people and our beautiful planet.
Another offering from Upward Spirals is Regenerative Business Optimization, which assists other socially responsible entrepreneurs and organizations quickly achieve their financial, personal, and environmental goals.
By creating such a wide variety of services, Upward Spirals hopes to inspire, empower, and accelerate others in the co-creation of regenerative communities, making it easier to live in balance with nature.
To join or learn more about Community Days, please contact HappE at Upward Spirals.
For more information, feel free to email Natashia at The Costa Rica News.
Written by: Zander Hathaway