Visions of Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat and CO-OP: Part 1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NjLQrly5RmZh1IhIQWpmmN5UF44OJFLgHamoohQus8Y/edit?usp=sharing

Google Link Above^^: Anyone with the link can view the document via their google email.

It’s also been posted in the text document below.

Cultural Awareness: What state are we in?

The way I see it there are 3 main aspects that contribute to the Culture of Breitenbush Hot Springs CO-OP. 1) Natural Environment 2) Environmental Stewardship 3) The Experience of Natural Communion. 4) Part 2!

All of these aspects (and more) need to be addressed as a functioning structure in order to move forward with a vision as to what Breitenbush Hot Springs CO-OP is and what it will be to future generations. The world is amuck, amidst a large transitional experience due to various factors such as the changing weather patterns, consumption of resources, COVID-19, and socio-economic circumstances. As we find ourselves looking to find clarity in what the future holds we can address these 3 points of culture for Breitenbush Hot Springs CO-OP while remaining focused on the small steps we can take towards a continued better future.

The natural environment of Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat and Conference Center is one of great splendor! With the majestic views of the trees, cascading river, deer frolicing in the meadows and hot geothermal springs that warm you deep down to your bones what’s not to love about this natural outdoor oasis?
Environmental Stewardship is a far reaching topic, one of continuity in our Breitenbush Credo as we promise, “safeguarding the earth and healing water, assuring their continued availability to all beings who respect them.” This leaves a large reaching scale of what safeguard and respect mean collectively and respectively to the current community which resides at the Hot Springs. Over the past 4 decades the Hot Springs have remained a CO-OPerative Corporation as seen in Oregon Statue. It has been our collective responsibility to keep the Hot Springs respectfully in use for the common use of all people, including those who have ailments, along the way this has also meant various aspects of environmental protection. As we currently see the old growth forest on all surrounding sides being logged we ask ourselves is this healthy? Is this natural? What are the lasting impacts this treatment of our environment will have on the land for years to come?
The Experience of Natural COmmunion can hardly be explained, but is best felt through direct experience. It is the feeling that some describe as peace, perhaps the tao, others may use the words serenity or tranquility. It’s that small warm buzzing feeling that you get when you see the beauty in nature reflected back at you. When you realize that water is rushing towards you, yet at the same time kept on course by the riverbed through various ecosystems and the rather obvious context of gravity. There is a connected feeling to things that are beyond your control yet they seem systemically in harmony. Though a moment may be short, it can have a far reaching ripple into the rest of your ‘extra’ordinary life.
How can we allow these communal values to navigate us through our fears around COVID-19, censorship, and distrust of authority? As a first small step, we must agree on a culture of mutual respect and reciprocity. For without core concepts or principles to which to hold ourselves in reflection to, we may not reach the civilization that we seek to acquire. As Socrates reflects it most notably, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”