The Practice of Belonging: Six Lessons from Vibrant Communities to Combat Loneliness, Foster Diversity, and Cultivate Caring Relationships

(Paperback)

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An inspirational guide to the 6 core qualities of healthy communities, for anyone looking to build community as a source of connection and a vehicle for social change After two years meeting with different communities in the US, psychologist Lisa Kentgen identified 6 key traits of vibrant, healthy communities that we can all apply to our own lives and networks- Commitment to careAcceptanceDiversitySkillful conflict resolutionBonding ritualsHospitality Each chapter focuses on one of these traits, highlighting a particular community as a case study of how it can be put into practice. You'll learn about a wide range of successful community models, including a tiny-home village for people who had been chronically houseless in Austin, Texas; a study circle to build connection between Native and non-Native people in a small town in South Dakota; a 500-member community choir in Columbus, Ohio; and a Buddhist center in Barre, Massachusetts committed to bringing greater diversity to the Dharma. Throughout the book, you'll reflect- How can we cultivate these traits of vibrant community in our own lives What would it look like to prioritize caring and acceptance in our interactions with others How can we create a climate of true inclusivity, one where our differences both challenge and strengthen us How can we learn to feel more comfortable with tension and acquire the skills to move through conflict toward creative solutions What would happen if we incorporated meaningful rituals into our communities and made a point of celebrating each other With intention and practice, we can transform our social relationships and build communities that appreciate difference, encourage authentic expression, and foster an environment of belonging and mutual care. This book will inspire you to make the transformative leap from "me" to "we," creating communal, loving spaces in which to connect--and thrive--together.

Reviews

Building sustainable justice in the world requires telescoping from the personal to the interpersonal to the systemic with such frequency it can feel impossible. What a gift that The Practice of Belonging helps us do exactly that in ways that become fluid and even joy filled instead of terrifying. Kentgens book put me in mind of Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinhas book Care Work, and . . . gives me hope for the possibility of communities that aren't only just but are also delightful.
Sandhya Jha, activist and author of Transforming Communities

The Practice of Belonging is a uniquely powerful book. The author speaks profoundly of community's meaning and tells us where this possibility is occurring in the world right now . . . making the world we want to inhabit accessible to us. The insight of one chapter title, The Vulnerable Help Us Shed Our Masks, is reason enough to embrace this book. There is a quiet and essentially unreported movement occurring in our local places, and this book and the way it is written hasten this along.
Peter Block, author of Community

This book is a powerful master class in how to set up vibrant communities at a time when connecting with each other has never been more important. We have a choice about the cultures we build. The Practice of Belonging offers a first-of-its-kind road map to build cultures of belonging, inclusion, and support so that we thrive.
Bethany Klynn, organizational psychologist and president of Insight Leadership Consulting

Given our current climate of political and social divide, The Practice of Belonging could not come at a more needed time. Dr. Kentgen explores how we can solve our crisis of belonging and heal our unprecedented social and emotional pain. While traveling across the country and meeting with people who shared their experiences of their healthy communities, she discovered six qualities that all vibrant communities share and invites us to use these same qualities to build our own shared spaces of healthy belonging.
Debra A. Harkins, professor of sociology and criminal justice at Suffolk University and author of Alongside Community

In this passionate book about vibrant community, Kentgen takes the reader on an unforgettable tour of sanctuaries where mutual care and the commitment to a shared way of life are alive and thriving. Heartful, intelligent, and deeply inspiring, this journey to visit the front lines of the belonging revolutionand to meet the extraordinary people who are making it happenoffers hope and vision for a more communal future. A cri de coeur against the epidemic of loneliness overwhelming our nation. I highly recommend it.
Mark Matousek, author of Ethical Wisdom

The Practice of Belonging is nourishment for the weary spirit. In a time of intensifying polarization, Dr. Kentgens book offers an accessible way to explore what it means to cultivate community and togetherness. Drawing on the collective expertise of vibrant communities across the United States, this book is a poignant reminder that relationships matter, and that we have the power to cultivate vibrancy in any community we belong to.
Kari Grain, PhD, author of Critical Hope

Author Bio

LISA KENTGEN is a psychologist with over three decades' experience as a clinician, educator, and speaker. She is the author of An Intentional Life- Five Foundations of Authenticity and Purpose. Dr. Kentgen has published scientific articles on the development of conscious awareness, biological correlates of depression and anxiety, and identifying emotional difficulties in children. She believes that creating vibrant communities is the path forward through the unprecedented social, psychological, and existential crises we face. Read more about her at www.drlisakentgen.com