Nourishing Aletheia Springs In 2018 ~ A Call & an Offer...

| February 20, 2018 |

WHAT WOULD GREATLY NOURISH ALETHEIA SPRINGS IN 2018 IS...

We are seeking:

• Those with strong building, construction/carpentry, electrical or plumbing skills

• Those with a love of all things water, springs & geothermal, who are strongly detail-oriented and would love to get deep into our springs systems (piping/plumbing, filtration, mineral chemistry, graywater)

• Those who thrive in tracking and big-picture operations & vision, who are strong/very comfortable working digitally & online

• Those who’s wheelhouse is in new storytelling, outreach, event planning & facilitation, and social capital/community building & networking

• Those versed in nonprofit, business and/or real estate law to help us with creative legal structuring & long-term strategic planning

• Anyone with experience in tax law or advanced accounting skills (CPA)

• Those with wild-tending & landscape-whispering skills (managing the landscape as both a fire & water ecology, creek habitat restoration, arborist skills/tending trees, natives, oak woodlands, etc.)

• Skilled farmers & gardeners (small-scale production farming, permaculture, low-to-no-till, soil rebuilding, organic & biodynamic, etc.)

• Child-whisperers versed in unschooling, Waldorf, etc. who long to be a part of creating immersive and educational outdoor experiences for small people.

• Skilled chef/baker/foodies, who are detail-oriented and would would love to be hands-on in our organic, farm-to-table cafe

• Those willing to become lifeguard-certified (strong swimmer, leaderful, team-oriented, loves people, and loves the jedi-ninja work of bridging culture and re-storying)

It’s important to also say that really anyone at a healthy level of capacity, self-awareness, physical health and the ability to live into the realness of our Aletheia vision (including when it’s most beautiful AND when it’s challenging) is going to be a great match for us! There’s so much to do here at our watering hole that, while we could always of course use certain specialized skills, we can plug capable and willing folks into lots of active spheres and edges we’re already working.

One last thing that someone would need to possess in order to be a good fit for the research edges Aletheia is powerfully working is the strong desire to either learn or deepen in your inner work -the work of psyche, soul & shadow -both inside oneself, as well as interpersonally. One of our chief learnings in the past few years of this project is that these dimensions (our inner motivations, imprints, ego structures, and soul nature), when left unworked or mostly in the shadows, tend to play an even larger staring role in blocking our most genuine efforts to be in service as the builders of new story culture and healing communities.

Yet the way that we work with this psychospiritual dimension of our human reality here at Aletheia is not just as a means to an end. Meaning, we’re not just working with these realms in order to clear them out so we can get to the “real work” of sociocultural transformation. We work with them also, and more fundamentally, because we have found that being continually in touch with our depths and the true presence of our soul’s life is a nourishment in-and-of-itself that provides a kind of intimacy, trust, guidance and resiliency like no other for this work.

It is, we feel, 'another way in' to connect with what Dieter Duhm (one of Tamera’s founders) calls the Sacred Matrix… only everyone has the ability to be in contact with this reality whenever it is needed and without necessarily having to be immersed in a pre-existing or powerful shared field, like folks are so beautifully supported to experience while at well-established places like Tamera. This capacity to connect with and be guided by the 'Sacred Matrix within,' let’s call it, no matter our location or circumstances, we see as critical for the work of establishing nodes of new healing culture and communities both locally and globally.

WHAT ALETHEIA SPRINGS CAN OFFER RIGHT NOW IS:

While we greatly welcome volunteers with any of the above skills at any point, perhaps for time-limited projects or on specific days someone may be available, this year we are also putting out an explicit call & an invitation to explore an initial deep dive live/work study immersion with us here in Glen Ellen at the Springs.

For those who may be a good fit, but who’ve not already been weaving deeply with us, we’re asking for a minimum of a 3-month seasonal commitment as either a residential “study/trial” Steward, or a non-residential “study/trial” Communitarian.

Currently, what we call a Steward is anyone who is in service roughly 20-30 hrs/week. A Communitarian is anyone here in service roughly 4-10 full days/month. For these commute-itarians 😉 there is a lot of flexibility to set and manage one’s own schedule, and we operate under a principle of self-organization and personal responsibility, rather than a tracking of hours.

Stewards also participate in an additional ~8-10 hrs/week of community practices (right now 3 mornings a week, one evening and once monthly as a weekend retreat). Communitarians mostly participate in these practices only on the days they’re onsite, and additional to that only as they desire.

Our Seasons are…

SPRING: March / April / May

SUMMER: June / July / August

FALL: Sept / Oct / November

WINTER: December / January / February

Personal Economy & Live/Work Accommodations:

Another important detail is that we can offer a small stipend for hours of service that any Steward works during our summer public guest season (May-Sept). For those who feel that this small amount of financial support is either negligible or not a real necessity, service hours can be volunteered, effectively gifting one’s time & love to the project (we’ve had the blessing of several Stewards and others with enough other reliable income/retirement income go this route and its been wonderful and of huge mutual support). We’re not yet able to offer study/trial Communitarians pay for hours worked in the guest season, unless they are here for the full 5-month season.

The way we’re doing the rest of the economy of this immersion offer would be that all other expenses for onsite Stewards are included/covered by Aletheia, with the exception of personal food and personal bills/expenses.

Accommodations would vary, from the possibility of the Community Barn bunkroom (which we expect to be available in the next month) to having a canvas tent or similar on a tent platform somewhere on the land here (we’re looking to build a few of these in the next months for just this purpose!). Kitchen, with fridge and dry storage, as well as bathroom/shower access would be mainly in our Community Barn, with auxiliary access in the meadow bathrooms and front pools facilities. All further details we’re working out individually with people, as it varies so much by the person and by which season someone would like to come!

The Process of Applying For A 2018 Trial/Study Immersion Position:

For those interested in applying, please contact us (at laurie@mortonswarmsprings.com) and share with us a little about your situation, the skills you may like to bring or offer, as well as your intention and interest in applying. Be sure to specify which immersion you’re interested in - residential trial/study Steward or non-residential trial/study Communitarian. From there we’ll schedule one or more sessions with you to explore and determine mutual fit and optimal timing!