Membership

In order to become an Inhabitant, you must first be a member of The Garden of Eden. Complete these 4 easy online steps to become a member! (See this page for more info on Membership.)

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#1 Membership Application​ 

Complete one online application for each Individual Adult or Family Membership. 

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​#2 ​ Membership Dues - payable online!

Check out the Dues page to select the membership level that's right for you. Every person in individual or family membership must fulfill the dues. Children can be added for only $5!​

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#3 Membership Agreement

Access the Membership Agreement here. This document can be downloaded, printed, signed, and notarized. Many banks offer notary services for free.

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#4 Pick up your Membership Card from The GOE at your next visit!

Membership cards will NOT be sent out via mail or online.

A New Zone of Comfort

We live much more at one with and in tune with nature than is typical in modern culture. Rather than running and sheltering ourselves from the elements, we embrace and enjoy the changes that each day and season bring. 

We rely first on our body's natural ability to gain or lose fat for more optimal seasonal thermoregulation. Most here actively enjoy the process of keeping warm in winter by consciously beefing up with extra comfort food, growing longer hair or a beard, and then cooling off in summer by wearing tiny clothing, and slimming down with delicious juice fasts and raw food cleanses. 

We utilize sustainable methods for dealing with the necessities of having a human body like cooking, bathing, and managing our waste. To minimize our use of gas and electricity, we shower, cook, and wash dishes with water heated by fire, or by water straight from the well. 

To thrive in this Garden of Eden, you must be prepared to leave behind your creature comforts and instead tune in to your own inner animal who is at one with nature and the elements.  

High Standards for Living

We live at standards which, relative to ordinary American culture, are very high. We are not talking about the typical "standard of living" which refers mainly to material comforts and stuff like fancy furnishings and exotic foods. Rather, we are talking about our collective and individual character, conduct and spiritual being. 

Here we consider the immaterial to be of far greater importance than the material, and our culture is based primarily on our ethical and spiritual values. Among our highest values are freedom, responsibility, truth, honor, integrity, authenticity, vulnerability and conscious awareness. 

We hold high standards for consciousness, conduct, and character. Every job, task or project is an opportunity to work thoughtfully, intelligently, thoroughly, sustainably and joyously. Whether one is emptying the pee buckets, washing the dishes, feeding the chickens, building a new website, giving a presentation, or rearranging the living room, the same principles apply. Every light that needs turning off after use or door that needs to be shut tightly to keep the bugs out is considered an opportunity for mastering our consciousness, for becoming more aware and more responsible. 

A Commitment to Conscious Evolution

We accept that everyone is wherever they are in terms of their personal evolution, and wherever they are is okay and not to be judged. 

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And at the same time, it is of critical importance that everyone here is willing to see themselves more clearly, to delve into their own darkness and unconscious patterns, and to accept full responsibility for ALL of their own feelings and experiences. Ideally one is also willing to at least hear out those who speak up on their behalf, when one cannot see their own folly. 

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Blame and denial are essentially not tolerated. Here we see blame and denial as the main barriers we face in evolving ourselves as individuals and our community as a whole. We are generally generous and patient, but a person who remains attached to a pattern of blame and/or denial is likely to be asked to leave. 

This is not to be confused with mistakes, which everyone makes from time to time. No one here is saying that we are perfect, nor do we expect perfection from anyone else. It is okay for people to mess up, to slip up, to just plain fuck up. It happens. What is important to us is that if/when it happens, that it is acknowledged that it was a slip up/mess up/fuck up, and that the person takes responsibility for that and for seeing that evolution takes place. 

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Sustainable Solutions

We use composting toilets for all of our human waste, and those facilities are located outside the living structures. We do not buy toilet paper! So we use a combination of other methods, each individual choosing which one they like best. Some use scrap paper like grocery store ads and phone books, moistened with a bit of water. Some use special poo rags, carefully washed after each use, and some just use their hand, which is also thoroughly washed after each use. It might sound weird or even gross, but for us, it would be FAR more disgusting to know that we were participating in mass deforestation and the rampant pollution of what precious fresh water we have, which is what the standard "solution" entails.

We have alternative solutions for bathing as well. In the warm seasons, we bathe outdoors. We have a lovely shower that delivers cool water straight from underground into our lovely outdoor shower area, nestled between a peach tree and a rose bush, with a graceful grapevine overhead. We also have plans for a lovely passive solar tub that uses water heated by the sun. The warm spring rains offer a lovely opportunity for a rain shower, a fun and invigorating way to get clean. In the winter, we have a system of heating our shower water with the wood burning stove that also is our only source of heat in the house. The indoor shower is located in an unheated part of the house, so freshly showered bathers commonly sprint back to the fireside in their towels and robes to stave off an encroaching chill. 

We don't use conventional heating in the cold, nor do we use conventional air conditioning in the heat. The winter months provide us an opportunity to beef up our body's natural insulation, aka fat, which we embrace as a natural asset and ability. We also love to sport our winter gear in layers to add extra insulation. In summer, our first strategy for keeping cool utilizes first the body's ability to adapt, sweating out those winter layers as we embrace the sun and warmth.  Next we run our house like a ship, closing up windows and doors when it is fairer inside than out, and opening them up when it shifts back, as it does just about every day in winter and summer. We also have some fans that we put on at certain times of the day to make the most of naturally cool air. For the hottest of months, we use wet towels placed on our bodies during sleep or work to assist with the body's natural cooling process.

Truth Be Told

Within this culture, we live by our words. We take clear, authentic communication very seriously. We mean what we say, and we say what we mean.

If we say we are going to do something, we do it - understanding that others are now counting on us to accomplish a task that supports and affects us all. If we are having a problem with something that is related to life in this community, we share it with the appropriate parties, knowing that we are here to help one another, and that truth and honesty are the only ways to really evolve. If we have failed to meet our agreements or to communicate honestly, we acknowledge that with humility and gratitude for the patience and understanding of the group. 

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If we see someone saying, doing or being unconscious in some way, it is more than just acceptable to point it out, it is considered the responsible thing to do! For example, if we see someone engaging in a destructive or wasteful behavior pattern, we consider that it is our responsibility to one another to mention what we see, as respectfully and lovingly as possible, remembering that the point is to facilitate positive growth and evolution.

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Here, you can expect that people will communicate with you honestly, openly, and directly. There are many that are not accustomed to such direct and candid communication, as this is not really the norm of American culture, which tends to sugar coat, to beat around the bush, to make insinuations, and to manipulate through lies and deception. That is not how we work, and we are not interested in having anyone here who wants to be like that. 

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We recognize that it takes a great deal of trust, humility and courage to be vulnerable with real feelings, especially when those feelings are uncomfortable or unpleasant. Yet that is when it is most important to reach for the evolutionary next step, because discomfort is often a sign the some evolution is needed, and the alternative is to repeatedly face the same problem. We encourage and even insist that those who inhabit The Garden of Eden accept and embody this practice of open and honest communication.