Welcome to the Paths of Ishmael New and Ancient Ways of Living VCC. To learn about, understand, and be able to invent/ design new and ancient ways of living that are deeply satisfying and viable. This entails understanding the essential features of the the tribal lifestyles that were successful for thousands of years and being able to translate those essential features into a modern context. This does not mean foregoing all modern comforts, but it does mean developing ways of living that do not entail endemic crime, violence, mental illness, and unhappiness. Ancient tribes managed this so we should be able to do it also.