It was early, cold, and we were heading into the mountains North of Taos to visit an intentional living community. I was nervous with anticipation about this unknown commune. Would everyone be sleepy-eyed and spacey and doing drugs? Would there be “free love” posters and used up, burned out hippies strolling around smoking?
We arrived at a parking lot at the end of a long dirt road and were greeted by Joe, a soft-spoken twenty-something year old man with a clean-shaven face and short hair, and my nerves were put at ease.
The day started with a 30-minute meditation inside a huge dome shaped building with a circular window overlooking the valley below and the mountains on the horizon. The only sounds we heard were wind chimes singing softly and the quiet footsteps of one of their cats circling us while we sat. I admit, I was uneasy about the whole situation, but Joe calmly relaxed our minds with an explanation of what the Lama Foundation was.
Founded in the 1967, the Lama Foundation was created to foster sustainability, community, and spirituality, and the cycling of “residents” over the years has carried on their traditions. Their spirituality is not focused in one certain direction, and they regularly practice the traditional ceremonies and dances of local native tribes, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism, to name a few.
Around every turn, there was something more wonderful to see. From their beautiful mess hall, complete with a covered porch overlooking the valley below, to their mud brick residences. Their entire 100+ acre compound is run off of a few solar panels, and they grow much of their food on site in their sprawling garden.
The music room, and private library on site aroused much excitement amongst the group, and the seemingly endless amount of shrines around the compound were a constant reminder of the diverse spiritual currents running through the residents
We took a group tour around the entire foundation, and helped ready campsites for the arrival of retreat groups in the summer months, and ended our day with a long hike through the mountains above the site. Along the way we discussed the fire that nearly destroyed the entire foundation in 1996, and witnessed the visible scars to the landscape that were caused by the fires destructive force.
As our day ended I couldn’t help but feel like I was waking up from a wonderful dream, like the joy and intrigue, love and happiness shared with the residences and fellow group members would not be the same once we left Lama. We parted with kind words, and as we hiked back down the mountain to the gravel roads and highways back to Taos, I vowed to come back to the Lama Foundation, no matter how and when, to share in their community and spirituality, and spread to others the same experiences that had been shared with me.
Connor Corley.
