Ananda Laurelwood

xidai

Ananda Laurelwood

Located in Gaston, Oregon, United States

Mission Statement
Ananda Laurelwood offers the opportunity to live in community with other inspired, like-minded people who share a foundation in universal spiritual principles.

Community Description
Since 1968, Ananda has been a pioneer in small, conscious communities. Beginning with Ananda Village, this pattern of life has spread around the globe, with Ananda communities in Europe and India as well as here in the US. Ananda Portland has had a community in town since 1993, and it serves as a sister to Ananda Center at Laurelwood.

Building a small community is an art, born of experience, character development, time, commitment and joy. Using the resources at hand, an individual can have direct experience of every aspect of community life at Ananda Laurelwood while also developing the spiritual and character qualities which make for supportive leadership, creative management, dynamic involvement and a richly evolving community life. Situated in a beautiful pastoral valley, our surrounding farm, gardens, forest and wild-lands provide natural beauty, quiet, and a buffer from the conflicting vibrations of more urban environments. Yet when the world beckons, Portland is just a short drive away.

Our 55-acre educational campus hosts a Meditation and Yoga Retreat center, a growing organic farm with wwoof opportunities and weekly public volunteer projects, a fully residential internship program, and certification programs in vegetarian cooking and conscious compassion-based eldercare. Our center is a place of learning and connection, inwardly with the Divine through the practice of meditation and yoga, and then expressed outwardly in our shared activities: vegetarian meals, meditations, service, classes, and recreation. Students in our residential Cities of Light and Karma Yoga internship programs have a private room with bathrooms just down the hall and three vegetarian meals are served each day. We believe in serving food filled with prana – or life energy. Thus we source organically grown and local ingredients as much as possible.

You can begin your journey in conscious community living by participating in the residential Karma Yoga Internship Program for anywhere from 2 weeks to three months, which integrates spiritual practice, service, personal support, and study of the universal teachings of Self-realization. Visit our website at http://anandalaurelwood.org/spiritual-internships/ for more information. If at the end of your three-month internship, you’re interested in participating in the long-term Cities of Light residential program, you can apply and interview for acceptance. Costs and fees will be assessed at the time of the interview.

The long-term Cities of Light residential program is tailored to support those who seek to develop the understanding, the skills and the character that allow for the development of community wherever life might take them. Some members contribute their time in service to the center while others commute to nearby cities for work.

On the 175 acres surrounding our campus we are developing an intentional community, what Paramhansa Yogananda called a World Brotherhood Colony, where all of life can be together in one place. We are striving to create a community where the values of simple living and high thinking can be put into practice as an alternative way to live that is more sustainable, and ultimately more fulfilling, where people can find what they truly seek: happiness.

Housing
Status: We have land in the permitting or zoning stage
Area: 225 acres
Current Residence Types: Room(s) in a house or building
Current Number of Residences: 25
Planned number of residences: 85
Planned Residence Types: Room(s) in a house or building
Housing Provided: Purchase, Rental, Work-exchange
Land owned by: The entire community membership

Membership
Adult Members: 25
Percent Women: 31-40%
Percent Men: 51-60%
Percent Transgender: 0%
Visitors accepted: Yes
Visitor Process:
Send an email to efl@anandalaurelwood.org and schedule a visit and tour.
Open to new Members: Yes
Membership Process:
You can begin your journey in conscious community living by participating in the residential Karma Yoga Internship program for at least three months.

Economics
Dues, Fees, or Shared Expenses: Yes
Shared Income: None
Required Labor Contribution per Week: 4
Open to members with existing debt: Yes
Sustainability Practices
Energy Infrastructure: We are connected to the grid.
Current renewable energy generation: 0%, or close to 0%
Planned renewable energy generation: Almost All, around 90%
Current food produced: Up to 25%
Planned food produced: Almost All, around 90%
Food produced locally: Almost All, around 90%

Lifestyle
Common Facilities: Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Internet
Internet Available: Yes, community provides it
Internet Fast?: Yes, exceptionally.
Cell Phone Service: Good for most people.
Shared meals: Approximately all dinners
Dietary Practice: Local (food sourced within 150 miles), Organic (no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers), GMO Free (only non-genetically modified organisms), Vegetarian Only (no animal meat; dairy and eggs okay) – Please check this only if you are 100% Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Somewhat – there are some dietary restrictions or customs.
Special Diets OK: Yes
Alcohol Use: No, this community does not permit alcohol use.
Tobacco Use: No, this community does not permit tobacco use.
Common Spiritual Practice(s): Ecumenical (accepts all religions or spiritual practices), Ananda teachings brought by Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda
Spiritual Practice Expected?: No
Education Style(s): Home Schooling, Up to each family or individual
Healthcare Options: Up to each family or individual

Source: http://www.anandalaurelwood.org
           http://www.ic.org/directory/ananda-laurelwood/