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Formed: 1972 Established: 1972
Magic
Palo Alto, California,
United States
 Magic is a residential service-learning community. Some residents of Magic operate an educational, charitable organization by the same name.
We found the Magic community and the non-profit upon a yet to be widely recognized connection between science and value: ideas about value entail prediction, and science is the sole demonstrated means for making predictions better than can be made by chance. Magic residents and non-residents who sustain the non-profit are aiming to improve our own and others' lives by exploring the implications of this connection.
Readers who are wary of "science" may be reassured to learn that we are also deeply "religious" in the literal sense ("re-" = "again" and "lig-" = "connect"). We see the science of ecology as a basis for a broadly based religion by which people from diverse backgrounds can reconnect with other humans, other life, the earth, and the cosmos.
Core themes in our community life and in the services we offer the general public are: (1) clarify values; (2) improve health; (3) increase cooperation; and (4) steward the environment. We view our community as both laboratory and demonstration. We're aiming to ever more fully "walk our talk."
Our activities include lectures and seminars about the nature of value; life-planning workshops; swimming, running, bicycling, and hatha yoga instruction; youth mentoring; mediation; community organizing; planting and caring for trees and other vegetation; water- and land-management planning and advocacy; neighborhood design; and publishing.
We address diverse issues at many levels and in a coordinated way. We do groundbreaking research, results of which we've published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals. We also perform hands-on demonstration projects. For example we've established thousands of native oaks and tens of thousands of perennial understory plants on public access openspace nearby, and we've reconfigured streets in several neighborhoods to reduce short-cutting and to lower vehicle speeds. Our research and demonstration projects have received national and international recognition for excellence in fields ranging from environmental law to dispute resolution.
We aim to strike a balance between utilizing the diverse resources of our Stanford University/Silicon Valley surroundings and maintaining contemplative, modest lives. We welcome opportunities to meet new people and to explore how we may interact to mutual benefit. When writing us we request $1 or more to defray costs.
 
Website: http://www.ecomagic.org/
Contact:

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Last Updated:11/24/2007
 
Visitors Accepted
Population
Adult Members:
14
Child Members:
3
Open to new adults:
Yes
Open to new children:
Yes
Gender Balance:
50% M 50% F
Government
Decision Making:
By consensus
Identified Leader:
No
Leadership Core Group:
Yes
Labor and Money
Financial Style:
Other
(varies)
Labor Contribution:
Expected
(labor, $, or mix)
Join Fee:
No
Regular Fees:
Yes
($, labor, or mix)
Land and Buildings
Other
(urban/suburban)
Area:
0.5 acres (0.2 hectares)
Land Owned By:
Another form of Non-profit
Number of Residences:
3
Cohousing:
No
Food, etc.
Percentage of Food Grown:
1-5%
Share Community Meals:
Nearly all dinners
Dietary Choice or Restrictions:
Diet is up to each individual
Dietary Practice:
Primarily vegetarian
Alcohol Use:
Seldom used
Tobacco Use:
Seldom used
(specified outdoor area)
Social Factors
Open to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Transgender members:
Yes
Shared Spiritual Path:
Yes
Which Spiritual Path(s):
Other
 
 


Become an Editor Current editor(s): davidschrom
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