Download - Anthroposophical Society in America

Friendly Haven Rise Farm“Where spirit and nature meet”Would you enjoy shared farm projects, independent pursuits, inspired conversation andcommunity? We’re looking for a good-natured person or couple to purchase part of our landand co-farm alongside us, sharing the work and bounty of our spirit-filled ten acres. On ourbiodynamic farm we teach sustainable living skills and how to have a kind-hearted relationshipwith nature. We are in a quiet valley a half hour from Portland, OR. and the land has alwaysbeen organic. The farm is Certified Naturally Grown and on the WA Historic Register.Our tiny village of 3,000 has a general store, small church and historic community center. Wehave a roomy farm-house, workshop, guest cottage, farm buildings and large barn. Room foranother house, cottage and more farm buildings. We have orchards and forest, a milk cow, beefcattle, chickens, turkeys, honeybees, gardens, pasture and mild enough winters for a year roundgarden. Pristine well water, friendly neighbors, a wide Milky Way at night.Cost is $265,000. Partial owner contract possible.Read about the farm at www.FriendlyHaven.comJoseph & Jacqueline Freeman h Contact us at FriendlyHaven@gmail.com or 360-687-8384tion towns. For information online, go to transitionus.org.Our Own CommunityThis community (Chestnut Ridge/Spring Valley, NY; HungryHollow Road is pictured, right) is unique in several ways. Twovery rele vant things that have been cultivated here since the1920s are consciousness change on the one hand, and biodynamicagriculture on the other. If we look at all of the problemsmentioned, we can see that we are mainly dealing with a consciousnessproblem. Humanity at large has been living with theattitude: What can I do for myself? If everyone around the worldcould change that to: What can I do for the world? there is noproblem we couldn’t solve. We need to fundamentally shift frombeing con sumers to being caretakers of the earth. Anthroposophypro vides a powerful support for this shift in consciousnessand the inner growth needed to make it possible.That is a great plus, but there are also significant drawbacks.The anthroposophical community has not always been good atreaching beyond its boundaries, and often exhibits an introvertedgesture. We have created little islands in which we feelwe are cultivating something essen tial, and wonder why the restof the world doesn’t always find it as essential as we do. RudolfSteiner spoke of the many Michaelic souls in the world. Wehave shown a ten dency to devalue what they are doing if it isn’tanthroposophy.Ours is a community in a crisis. It displays more dying thanflourishing tendencies. If it stays as it is, it is hard to see howthat can be turned around.On the other hand, we can see Michaelic souls in the worlddoing things that have real vibrancy and future in them, thingsthat are urgently needed in our time, things that strike a powerfulchord in many people today. If we can begin to work togetherand join our strengths with theirs, a great revitalization andrenewed blossoming of the commu nity is very conceivable.The Local Transition InitiativeMany people have taken a great interest in this process.We are asking ourselves: What does this community need toachieve long-term health, viability, and resilience? (We consciouslyavoid defining the borders of “this commu nity,” andwould like to include anyone in the lower Hudson Valley whotakes an interest.) We see important eco nomic issues to workon, such as increasing local food pro duction, distribution,processing, and storage; developing alternative energy sources;developing green building tech niques, preferably with local materials;developing systems of reclamation and salvage to reusematerials already pres ent; and generally growing a local economy.We also see important social issues to work on, such ascreating networks to interact more strongly with our neighbors;creating systems to share resources and equipment; helpingthose in need; and facilitating communication. In the long term,we see cultural issues to work on. Who wouldn’t like to live ina community with a vibrant cultural life, with active dialog andexchange of thoughts, with artistic activities, and with spiritualnourish ment, especially as our reliance on electronic media forentertainment diminishes?Some of these things are already present or have at least begun.These are in need of support. Much of it has hardly begunto be envisioned, and there is plenty of room for creative, imaginativeengagement. How this moves forward depends uponthe initiative of each person involved. To get involved, visit thewebsite localtransition.ning.com where you can find all sorts ofinformation and join the email list. We are planning a series ofevents on food next, and after that renewable energy.Spring-Summer 200915