Stage II - Form the affinities

 
  final  
  tol  

Description:

These are the basic cells/leaves where actual people connect.

Stage II: Form the cells/leaves/affinity groups

Affinity Crystal
Affinity Crystal

As we build this network of connections, we group the members into cells, or affinity groups (af-groups), consisting of 10 people. This cell forms the basic unit of the Tree of Life, generally referred to as a leaf node or external node of the tree. All other nodes are called internal nodes, and their purpose is to support the leaf nodes. The people forming this cell must be geographically or physically close. If there are not sufficient people, they may be personally connected through some sort of physical (real, as opposed to virtual) connection. Their sponsor (referred to in point 2 of initial requirements, above) must be a member who personally knows them.

This group will then meet at least once a week to discuss any relevant issues or needs. It is estimated that approximately two hours per week will be sufficient. If there is interest, or research regarding a proposal that you want to present, more time or energy can be offered.

Each member of the group can collaborate with an individual, called his/her shadow, or partner. This member has equal status, but the two will always work in tandem. They can both attend meetings and be as active as they wish, but in the af-group meetings, they must only speak with one voice. This is in order to reduce the demands of the tree, so that it does not weigh too heavily on one person. If the member is busy or needs a break, their shadow can step in. This rule is designed to keep one’s spouse or partner in the loop, without them being required to fully participate. Thus the actual size of the cell may contain up to 20 people.
However, for clarity, we will refer to the af-group as having generally 10 members – which we can call “active” members.
The benefits of this format are:

  • To root the tree in the “real” world of people and their concerns.
  • To allow for personal ID verification.
  • To reduce the amount of extraneous “noise” on the tree.
  • To be able to contain erratic behaviour of individuals.
  • To deal with disputes – as the dispute mechanism will propagate the same way. {See Disputes}