Beloved Ones,
I am writing to you from Southwest Sufi Community, where 14 of us dwell in the wild nature sanctuary founded by Pir Moineddin Jablonski in 1995, coalescing into reality Murshid Sam’s vision: Eat, Dance, and Pray Together. Since that time a committed core group of Sufis and the Board of Trustees have guided this community and retreat center toward the One, creating a place to gather and maintaining a wilderness homestead for the hearty in body, mind and spirit. I am writing you today to tell you of a unique opportunity for residency and the availability of a small permaculture homesite, complete with unfinished, and presently livable, 400 sq.ft. solar cabin and established gardens for only $15,000.
Visiting our website you takes you photos of our beautiful Land and retreat center, The Voice of the Turtle. There are photos of the surrounding wilderness, the Dargah Gardens, the year-round flowing Bear Creek, the unique dwellings we have built and live in, the lush gardens we maintain from waters that flow both on the surface and deeply below. We steward 1500 acres of pristine high desert, with 1450 acres in conservation for perpetuity, the Voice of the Turtle at the heart of it all, the Creek a treasure in the landscape. In these changing times, a place of refuge within the Ruhaniat Family could be the invitation you have yet to accept.
Why live at SSC?
To live in service to the Voice of The Turtle, the Land, the community, our wider Ruhaniat Family and beyond; and also in service to oneself by dropping deeply into the contemplative life. The surrounding landscape is a perfect backdrop of the Divine Manuscript of Nature, where we can immerse ourselves in our practices, meditation and service. The symphonic silence of this place is resounding! Thoughts can truly dissolve and we awaken in this field of pure stillness. Living in community offers a safe container for both the individual and the group to grow deeply through witnessing ourselves in any situation: growing and healing, forgiving and accepting; the living presence of Love, Harmony and Beauty.
The little homestead for sale was built by Bevan Williams, a former building contractor and permaculture visionary. He has left SSC due to age and mobility issues. The cabin is essentially one room, with a kitchen on the east side overlooking the creek watershed, a unique wood stove complete with oven, sleeping nook, closet, and unfinished bathroom. Outhouse is just, well, outside. The cabin is very well built with quality materials, insulated, south facing, and with some know-how and creativity it will be a lovely home for one or two, especially if expanded into the shed space. The shed is an uninsulated shelter attached to the main cabin that Bevan has used for building and gardening supplies. Combining the 2 would double the living area. The homesite has full irrigation to the numerous fruit trees, grapevines, and established garden beds. Please see the attached flyer for photos and more information.
The Residential Community is comprised of a diverse group who care for the Land, host the retreats, maintain the structures, and together we run the retreat center while maintaining separate households. We range in age from four months to 80 years old! To thrive here, an intrinsic enjoyment of rugged and rustic living is necessary, as well as being able to support oneself financially, and have a vehicle able to manage a rough road. Equally, a sense of adventure as well as a passion for wilderness is a common appreciation throughout the residents, each of us feeling very blessed to be a part of this wild sacred place.
Like Bevan’s, there are many thriving gardens on the Land at individual homesites: luscious vegetables, a wide variety of fruit trees, abundant flowers and herbs attracting birds and wildlife, and even a small permaculture farm complete with a goat herd and chickens!
The Community garden is presently asleep under three inches of snow, awaiting spring and the renewal of life. This garden is comprised of approximately an acre and a half of fertile ground along year-round Bear Creek, with irrigation from the spring and water rights from the Creek. There are many fruit trees, as well as heirloom apples in an abandoned orchard that produce abundantly every few years. Although these gardens once flourished in the past, they are waiting for the next wave of community gardeners to help grow more self-reliance in food production and sustainability.
At the Jamiat Khas, I made a slide presentation, and spoke of the renaissance at SSC over the last five years, when the Board and Residents worked together refurbishing the retreat center, building the Dance Pavilion, releasing all of our debt, clearing the way for a sustainable future. For SSC to have a future, we invite you to come and become part of the next wave of leaders, assuming an available cabin, renting one of the community spaces, or possibly building your own — finding a refuge in the atmosphere of pure air, abundant water, the wild surrounding landscape, and community life.
Silver City is a small university town in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico. This old fashioned, somewhat podunk town is a refreshing change from the hustles found in most US towns and cities today, and is the gateway to the Gila Wilderness and Continental Divide Trail. SSC is approximately 15 miles due north into the mountains on a dirt road, a trip that takes my breath away every time I head home from town.
If any of this interests you, please write to me directly. I will gladly host your visit come spring. Also, I encourage you to dream into a NextGen Retreat on the Land, where we can offer you a stunning gathering place and space for only the cost of food per person. I envision a caravan from all over the world to Southwest Sufi Community, keeping the fires of the Message alive and burning. We open our doors to the next generation of Sufis to carry the Message, the Mission, Vision and Purpose of the Southwest Sufi Community far and wide into the future. Please share with us how we can work together to make that happen.
On behalf or the Southwest Sufi Community Board & Residents
With Love, Bahaar
Bahaar, SSC President
