Hey all,

I’m a 36 year old man working as a clinical mental health counselor/expressive arts therapist, poet, wilderness guide, and I am an increasingly devoted Buddhist practitioner with a passion for ecological community living and the evolution of consciousness to meet the meta-crises of our times.

The vision is becoming clear, centering around the word “refuge.” As Ilya Prigogine, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist said, “When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.” Clearly, we are swimming in a sea of increasing chaos and the need for places of refuge, deep listening, and open-hearted willingness to encounter reality is becoming ever more apparent.

In collaboration with a few folks, I’ve been engaging in some preliminary conversations around establishing a land based community that aligns, at least somewhat, with principles of the New Monastic Movement. This essentially means living with contemplative spirituality as a central pillar of community life, while also engaging fully “in the world.” Along with my interest in Buddhism, I am an eager student of consciousness, transpersonal and depth psychology, earth-based spiritual practice, and emergent thinking/living. I and many of the folks I’m in conversation with have skills in building, farming, community-building, hunting, and all manner of embodied regenerative lifestyles. We also all have a silly side and want no part of a community that doesn’t make room for ease, play, and whimsy.

While many of us are particularly oriented to Buddhism/Dharma and Earth-based spiritualities, we’re open to folks of any spiritual tradition who live it in a sincere and dedicated way. We’re seeking people with a willingness to be in regular contemplative/relational dynamics of ongoing human development and be committed to both solitary and communal agreements around spiritual participation.

Location-wise, we live in Western North Carolina and enjoy the many opportunities that exist here to grow spiritually. Land is still somewhat affordable in certain pockets of this region, and it holds promise for a vision such as this. However, we are open to other possibilities – part of putting out a call such as this is allowing the flow of life to open doors in its own ways.

If this resonates, please reach out and share a bit about yourself and your vision.