|
The Brotherhood of the Spirit (renamed Renaissance Community in 1974) was one of the largest and most enduring communes in the northeast United States and as such was a distinct link between the commune phenomenon of the 1960s and the current New Age movement. In existence from 1968 through 1988, its rise and fall mirrored that of its charismatic and mercurial leader, Michael "Rapunzel" Metelica. The Brotherhood of the Spirit underwent several distinct identity changes during its 20-year history. == The Brotherhood of the Spirit: 1968–1973 == Michael Metelica was born in 1950 and grew up in the small rural town of Leyden, Massachusetts. At age 15, he dropped out of high school and, after intolerable beatings at home and reading an article about the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, moved to California to join them. Repelled by their violent nature, he was instead drawn to the 1967 hippie Summer of Love, returning to Leyden the following year. In May 1968, he asked a local blueberry farmer named Donnie Herron if he could build a treehouse on his land, and after receiving permission, lived there in solitary meditation, working for farmers for free and expecting nothing in return. In search of answers, in 1964 for his spiritual experiences, Metelica consulted Beth St. Clair, a psychologist, and her cousin Charles Hapgood, a professor at Keene State College and author of "Earth's Shifting Crust" the foreword of which was written by Albert Einstein. They in turn introduced him to a farmer named Elwood Babbitt, a trance-medium in the Edgar Cayce tradition. These people believed that the Earth was about to undergo cataclysmic changes in preparation of the Aquarian Age. Babbitt, in particular, said he was getting information through his spirit guides who warned that humanity’s selfish and self-destructive behavior would cause nature to literally rebel in such a way as to cause widespread death and destruction. These “Earth Changes” as they were called would be a precursor to the spiritual enlightenment of the Aquarian Age, supposedly the next step in the evolution of the human race. Metelica became something of a local sensation and attracted his first following from among his boyhood friends. After the treehouse was destroyed in late 1968 by suspicious locals, Metelica and his little band wandered around the many hill towns in the area, gaining more members, teaching their view of spirituality at area churches and schools until by early 1970, they numbered around 50. Rules were mandated banning drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and sexual promiscuity and members practiced to purge themselves of their imperfections through meditation and intense encounter-group confrontation tactics. By then, Metelica knew that he had the makings of a deliberate community that was based on spiritual beliefs and practice. According to Babbitt, groups like the Brotherhood would be the harbingers of a New Age, functioning as teachers of this higher wisdom to the shattered survivors of these worldwide cataclysms. In March 1970, The Brotherhood purchased a 25-acre property in Warwick, Mass and the group underwent the first of its many radical transformations. Their growth coincided with a counter-cultural migration as millions of young Americans, disenchanted with the “establishment” during the Vietnam War era, dropped out of universities and cities en masse and hit the road that summer looking for new venues. The membership skyrocketed to 150 leading to the acquisition of an additional house in nearby Northfield, the building of a dormitory in Warwick and more stringent membership rules. Metelica became less involved with the commune, devoting most of his energy to the commune’s band “Spirit in Flesh” whose mission was to bring about the message of spirituality through the medium of rock and roll. In late 1970, Spirit in Flesh signed a contract with Metromedia records and the commune’s focus began to shift into a full-time promotion of the band. Veterans of the Brotherhood of the Spirit consider the Warwick era as being the closest to their ideal of a spiritual community composed of independently inspired individuals. Their youthful enthusiasm allowed them to overcome the many hardships created by an insulated environment dedicated to personal growth and spiritual reflection. For the many that came from urban backgrounds, Warwick introduced the realities of self-sufficiency through logging, house building, the cultivating and canning of homegrown food, and the ability to enjoy life without the distractions of mainstream media. Their spiritual belief system was based on aspects of Buddhism and New Age thinking mixed with an enlightened, almost Gnostic form of Christianity. Reincarnation, meditation, and the power of positive thought were considered to be major doctrines. The years 1971-1972 were spent in frenzied activities surrounding Spirit in Flesh, including the printing of several thousand silk-screened posters that were placed all across the United States and even into parts of Europe. Because of the sluggish support from the record label, the commune devised its own guerilla tactics to promote the band which included marches in New York City, mass telephone call-ins to Metromedia, and infiltrating popular national TV talk shows to announce the band’s impending success. These tactics culminated in a concert at Carnegie Hall that was sparely attended. The first album, which featured the entire membership of the Brotherhood commune on its cover, sold less than 1000 copies. The Brotherhood had developed into an efficient entity aside from promotional activities for the band. An elaborate infrastructure including business management, child care, auto maintenance, farming and food production was created. New members signed over all their money and possessions, making a "lifetime commitment" to the commune. Controversy arose due to Brotherhood members being briefly on welfare while Metelica was gifted with a Rolls-Royce. There were also numerous run-ins with local selectmen about building code violations concerning the commune’s houses and septic systems. By late 1972, with membership at nearly 300, the commune's first public businesses were launched. A magazine, ''Free Spirit Press'', was sold along the East Coast from a rainbow-painted school bus. Also in late 1972, the commune bought the Shea Theater block in Turners Falls, a decaying working-class town next to Greenfield. Metelica issued an order that all members must find jobs outside the commune. By now, the Brotherhood of the Spirit had been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Look, Family Circle, and Mademoiselle magazines. They had also been featured on ''60 Minutes'' and the David Frost show.〔Jyotsna Sreenivasan, ''Utopias in American History'' (Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO 2008), pp. 330-334.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Renaissance Community」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|