Black Bear Ranch

[H2O Man]

Last night I watched a fascinating documentary on IFC. It was "Commune," about the Black Bear Ranch in Siskiyou County, California. Here is part of a review:

Defining Freedom
by Jonathan W. Hickman
reviewed: 2005-02-20

Does anyone remember utopian dreams like "free love?" These days the concept of "free" has morphed into the Bush Administration's "liberty" mantra. But back during the radical fervor of the early 1970s a small group of Americans set out to create a community based on idealistic concepts. The result was the Black Bear Ranch, in Siskiyou County, California. And thriving remnants remain in place today.

Jonathan Berman's finely tuned documentary "Commune" tells the story of the origin of the Black Bear Ranch. Through the use of old video footage and new interviews with founding members of the commune, Berman spins an interesting tale mixing in some well-known folks along the way. Instead of a shameless loving tribute to all things hippie, "Commune" takes "a tell it like it is" approach. And we learn that free is relative and the path to Utopia might require structure.

Originally, the Black Bear Ranch was financed by contributions from groups like the Doors, the Monkees, and Antonioni. While this may have been a glamorous start, the execution was basic. Thoughts of the "Donner Party" enter the commune inhabitants minds during their first hard winter. But together they preserve ....

more at:

http://einsiders.com/reviews/archives/show_theatrical.php?review_theatricle=265


It's a wonderful film about a group of dedicated, insightful, talented human beings that gather together to try to find a way to reach "higher ground" as individuals within a community. In many ways, watching the film reminded me of the spirit that makes DU a community in search of ways to not only survive the dark ages of the Bush-Cheney years, but to improve the quality of life as individuals within our own communities. I wondered if any of the commune members might even post on DU. Stranger things have been known to happen.

One of those "stranger things" actually happened when a cult-like group of para-hippies invaded the commune. They called themselves the Shiva Lila, and while they weren't Young Republicans or the Manson Family, the film shows them to be disturbed people who were a disruptive influence. They remind me of some of the disturbed folks I've encountered on the internet. Eventually, the hippies at Black Bear Ranch ran them out.

The Black Bear Ranch apparently is still there today. I thought it was a fascinating prpgram. I've always been kind of interested in the history of communes in the 1960s and '70s. Did anyone else see the film? Or have any thoughts about Black Bear or related topics?

[Me.]

1. Wonderful Analogy

Another community sprang up in the 70's that remains today and has grown into a wonderful place. It started out with hippies living in trailers.

http://www.findhorn.org/

[H2O Man]

2. I was thinking

of it today, as I read through some of the threads on DU:GD. Some of the posts are outstanding, and provide valuable information on current events; others are parts of discussions and debates where people exchange points of view; and others are of a different type.

I was also reminded of a quote from Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons, which I have posted on DU a few other times:

"We must seek out the spiritual people because only that is going to help us survive. We have a great force -- a great brotherhood. This brotherhood involves all living things. And that, of course, includes us all. We are talking about the natural world, the natural force, all the trees, everything that grows, the water. That is part of our force.

"But when you gather spiritual force in one place, you also gather the negative force. We begin to perceive the enemy now, the power and presence of the negative force.

"There is a great battle coming."

[Me.]

3. The Last Few Days On DU

have been interesting and in many ways exciting. With the exception of those whose reason for being has been to apply pressure points, there have been some really good discussions. As to the evil, I think I am correct in my observation that Trollville has been sending out scouting parties, seeking to spread mayhem and confusion. The joke is on them. They've lost the was and now they're losing the skirmishes.

[Me.]

4. .

:kick:

[H2O Man]

5. There are some

interesting characters around, that's for sure.

[Me.]

6. Too Late To Edit & Change Word 'Was'

into war