We've decided to settle on a small but growing farm in the mountains within the rain-forest. We rest alongside a river and are surrounded by gorgeous growing things. I love every inch! The farm is founded upon biodynamic principals, which means that every action taken is in accordance with the cycles of nature, and with positive intentional ceremony. Doing less, allowing nature to be in control, and listening. Very Daoist, really. It's precisely something that I'd hoped for, and the guy running the farm is incredibly knowledgeable and hardworking. Awesome! The goal is to become completely self-sufficient. The food that comes out of the earth here is remarkable. We're designing the space around loving the plants and animals here, and you can spot the difference with a simple visual inspection.
(Did I mention that you can literally put a stick into the ground & it will sprout?)
There aren't many folks living here currently. The space was mostly built-up by volunteers and visiting experts who did some great work and then went back home. Thomas is an amazing guy who has lived an amazing life. He is willing to front his life-savings and social security to make a space possible for others. The plan is to design some sort of land-trust here in Tico, which will take some expertise. He is really careful about the folks he allows to come here, and is trying to craft an all-star gathering. Marina and I feel super lucky to have been accepted here. High quality locals make for a high quality community. Tom speaks often about creating a "field" which is filled with positive intention. Folks with destructive thoughts can spread that potential to the rest of the space. More importantly, the creative potential of a joyful & loving mind is tremendous! This is the most important gift I hope to bring to the world. :-)
By the way, our computer hasn't arrived yet. I'm slowly typing this on the iPhone, so this post won't be too long.
The space already has two happy dogs and grey cats. That's wonderful because we hope to make a space where our own pups can feel free to be themselves in a less restrictive atmosphere. We love our furry family!
Funny enough, we had only intended to visit CR for a couple weeks to check it out. But... When we got here it just seemed ...right. It helps that it's amazingly beautiful, temperate, filled with chilled out Ticos, has no military, a determination to be 100% green by 2020, and is #1 on the Happy Earth scale. We are only 30 miles or so from an incredible beach, and 20 minutes or so from a good sized city. The weather is always between 65 & 80 degrees, and gets a comfortable amount of rain in the evening for half of the year. Not too many mosquitoes, too much humidity, or scary tropical diseases. There is even a huge farmer's market nearby that we visit weekly. Many folks travel for over an hour to visit the market, but we only drive about 20 minutes. Perfect!
Each morning I rise at 3 to do some seated meditation in bed. Around 4 I walk 5 minutes across the farm under a gorgeous dark sky to do standing posture meditations near the river on our wooden practice platform. All year 'round the sun rises at 5:30, and we begin our qigong play. At 6:30 the sun is cresting Chiripo mountain and we start our Taiji Quan forms. 8 o'clock rolls around and it's time for a huge and tasty breakfast. I hope to share the table with my friends soon! The rest of my day is spent cleaning, gardening, giving treatments, studying Spanish, reading, and laughing. I spend at least one purposeful hour per day nourishing my relationship with Marina. (If I can spend so much time doing preventative practices for my health, how much more important are my relationships?)
There are still a few friends who we have a desire to live alongside. I really hope they choose to join us here! (You know who you are.) There is land and space available around, even next-door. Not a huge amount of room available on any one plot of land, if the desire is to not over-burden the earth. The spaces next-door are selling soon, so don't wait too long to jump into the mix! It would be tons of fun to expand this community without crowding together. Perhaps grants are available for fully natural farms, communal healing spaces, and a free-clinic for the locals? Many of my friends have mentioned that they feel a shift coming for the world. If that means a vibrational/spiritual transformation, a collapse of western society, the melting of the ice caps, the "rapture," or the coming of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who can say? Everyone has an opinion, and most think it would be good to move to a place like this. So why wait? Is there even time to wait?
One major change in my life has to do with my vegetarianism. I had a meditation which was a bit profound. It has changed the way in which I view plant-life. To shorten a very long discussion, I no longer consider plants less sentient than animals. So, why eat plants but not animals? Veganism has done wonders for my health. I guess suffering is the important piece I'd like to avoid; and I like that my sense of compassion is slowly expanding to include other beings. It wasn't so much my intellect as my heart which led me to a veggie lifestyle. Wouldn't it be funny if my heart led me back to eating animals? At this moment, I still eat like a vegan, ...but I'm not sure how these feelings will evolve. I'll wait for clarity before making a choice. Stillness is always the most useful tool in my arsenal.
Since arriving here, for the most part, I haven't spent any time indoors. Even our room is open to the evening air (and one visiting feline). This time spent in natural surroundings has really changed the way I see myself! Our environment alters our mind/body so enormously that it's important to flee the cities. We are not islands. There is no independent "self." We are transformed by our home, community, diet, actions, etc., and they must be chosen with love and guidance. What is the perfect space for you and your family? The more time I spent in unnatural surroundings, the more I craved unhealthy things. Power, attention, respect, luxury, etc. I considered studying higher-level martial skills (like the ability to throw people with only a light touch and tiny movement), only so that I could show-off and be considered "powerful." Otherwise it's a useless skill. Better to spend those hours cleaning house or strengthening relationships. Right? Which use of time actually improves my quality of life? It's hard to see clearly, though, when immersed within the madness of society.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this transition is my distance from Marina & the dogs. She went back to Tucson in order to tie up the loose strings of our former life. (She's really good at that.) With a little help from friends and family they'll return home to Gaiam with the new year. Fingers crossed! I remained here so that they had a home to come to; preparing the space for 2 gringos and 4 dogs, learning the way around, finding TCM clients, and generally getting the hang of a new culture. (I've discovered I'm good at that.) It's very convenient to have one person in each place. Quite practical, but ...I do miss my little family.
Not certain what will be happening next, but I have absolute faith in the universe. Life is amazing!
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"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx
