A Shared Vision For The Future

As I found myself struggling with the desire to build a community, in October 2003 I signed up for a week-long silent meditation retreat at Sunrise Ranch, near Loveland, Colorado, where it is said John Galt, the protagonist of Ann Rand’s Atlas Shrugged allegedly took refuge.

One day on a long hike, I was caught in a rainstorm and took shelter in a small log cabin which happened to be the ranch library, featuring a modest bookshelf on each wall, four worn leather reading chairs arranged around a coffee table, on which lay a book at the center called A Cosmic View Of The Bible, by Grace Van Duzen.

Hours later I returned to the ranch, bought a copy of the book, and asked whether Grace would be willing to sign it. The next day, book in hand, I knocked on Grace’s door and was greeted by her secretary who led me to her office where a Margaret Thatcher-like figure sat, fully erect, hair perfectly coiffured, with full makeup, oxygen tube in each nostril. I had barely recovered from my shock when Grace asked, “What’s on your mind?” Unable to answer quickly, she asked again, so I mumbled something about wanting to build a community like Sunrise Ranch.

Thereupon Grace opened my newly purchased book and asked “What is your name?” So she proceeded to write, “To Sina.” Then she asked, “What’s the name of your community?” After a few seconds of hesitation, I said “Highland something.” So she wrote, “at Highland Community.” Then she asked, “how many members do you plan to have?” Unsure of the answer, I mumbled, “ A couple hundred.” Seemingly irritated, Grace looked up from the page and said, “if you want to make a difference, you need to attract 144,000 members.”

By that point I was not sure whether Grace was cosmic or crazy and was ready to leave when she asked, “So what’s holding you back? What are you afraid of?” Without missing a beat I said, “I am afraid if I build it, they will not come.” Grace shot back saying “I’ll tell you what you should be afraid of – that you build it and the wrong people come.”

At this point Grace closed the book, her secretary stood up, and I was ushered out of the room where I proceeded to open the book to see the following message:

To Sina, at Highland Community, with Love as we serve the Lord and let His Light reach all corners of the Earth.

Grace Van Duzen

Nov. 1, 2003

Since launching Highland City Club on March 21, 2005, Grace’s book has held a prominent place on my coffee table. Struggling to decode her message regarding the size of the community she had foreseen, for the longest time I was not sure whether she was a visionary or delusional.

After two decades and millions of dollars in construction and renovation, we now believe the historic Highland School could well serve a community of ~1200 local members. Mindful of Grace’s advice, we have been more focused on the need to develop the right culture than merely growing the community’s size, still numbering fewer than 300 members.

Grace’s challenge to build a community of 144,000 has led to an existential reckoning I have been pondering since we first met. Since then, I have learned that from the dawn of life on earth, the planet has operated with a natural pulsating frequency of 7.83 hertz and, further, that scientific studies show the human brain reaches its ultimate potential for health and wellness the closer it resonates with that same frequency.

There appears to be a similar correlation in societal health such that humanity’s optimal vibrational frequency is higher during periods of peace and prosperity, and less optimal during times of global wars, famine, economic depressions, and pandemics. From that, one might posit we may be able to change the collective vibrational frequency with the gathering of a critical mass of 144,000 people who exhibit a common purpose and intent. Moses understood this when he asked the twelve Jewish tribes to bring forth 12,000 members each in order to reach the Promised Land; Gandhi understood this when he initiated his Salt March towards freedom; Martin Luther King understood this when he shared his dream on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with over 200,000 supporters.

For the first time since I met with Grace and heard her then-outrageous advice to build a new community to attract 144,000 members, I believe we have the technology to achieve this objective. More specifically, technology now affords us the capability for virtual connection, as outlined in The Network State, and as discussed in our session of last September’s Member Monday discussion. Just as not every Muslim lives in Mecca nor every Christian in the Vatican, not every City Club member needs to live in Boulder to be an integral part of Highland Institute for the Advancement of Humanity.

My New Year’s resolution is to change our focus from building Highland as a physical facility, to growing Highland as a Securus Locus for dialog that may impact our global community. I realize the creation of a safe space that can attract ~1200 residential members and a network of 144,000 like-minded individuals might be a dream that may not manifest in my lifetime, but the enormity of such a BHAG is exciting in and of itself.

In the meantime, we are putting our resources behind our vision by continuing to build and renovate Highland, as we substantially expand our food program, all in the midst of a pandemic and a pending recession. Starting next week, we are bringing back our buffett lunch program, and launching a full menu allowing our members to order food from 9 am to 4 pm.

Let us come together in the New Year to nourish and grow our community, welcome new members, and build a global network to support the advancement of human potential.

— Sina.