Seed of Life Essene Temple

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2012

What we do

The Seed of Life is an Essene Temple Retreat Center is in the heart of Central Texas Hill Country.
The Essene Way is Judeo-Christian (ala the documentary, Christpiracy) and peace-nature-oriented based on ancient scriptures including Canonical Gospel ‘red letter’ teachings of Yashua Hamashiach (Yeshua Ha Mashiakh – commonly known as Christ Jesus, the Nazarene). Our goal is to provide a sanctuary focused on Healthy Living, Sobriety and Recovery, Music, Dance, Praise, Animal Stewardship, Gardening, Zero-Point and Alternative Energy and Self Sufficiency.
* We follow Terrain Theory, which is a preventative approach to the well-being of our “Living Water” body temple. We are best served following G*D’S plan for us in Genesis 1:29.
* We are building a lifestyle-based intentional eco-community in alignment with Essene practices: strictly vegetarian and vegan, plant-based and holistic.
* Our unrestricted land allows us to bring innovative modern architecture and permaculture practices into reality and serve as a Holistic Business Incubator.

Our Mission

The Mission of the Seed of Life, is to supply a sacred safe space where we can bring together and heal, grow and create strong individuals with healthy bodies, healthy minds and healthy spirits. To facilitate this mission, The Seed of Life provides a facility, tools and a forum to learn and share beneficial information about:
* Detoxing fallacious beliefs, addictions and cultural mythology.
* Recovering and nurturing a pure body and mind.
* Reigniting Spiritual Connection beyond ‘denomination’ or dogma.
* Understanding a non-propaganda-driven view of financial and geo-political systems.
* Achieving success for one’s life goals.
* Building wealth for individual and community.
* Encouraging self-sustainability through agriculture and connection with the earth.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2012
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2012
  • Started living together
  • 2 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
2

How to join

#1. Have rigorous honesty.
#2. Once your “Expression of Interest” form is filled out, it is shared with our Advisory Board. Then come out for a short term visit and volunteer and see if the Seed is the right fit for you?

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Our official contact page with a link to an “Expression of Interest” form is here:
https://essene.church/contact/
Please send a message through this IC website. AND our Contact Page. PLEASE SHARE AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION and what you expect from the Seed Experience in your notes. Thank you!

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Labor: Yes (15 hrs/week)
We are seeking members who might conduct aligned businesses on church property. These would be run independently by the member. Pending approval, we would offer the land or resources for free for your business and we ask in return a tithe of gross profits back to support the church.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

  • These restrictions are throughout the community

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Baha'i Faith
  • Christian
  • Jewish
  • Sufi
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions
  • Unitarian Universalist

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Community Land Trust or some other kind of nonprofit

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

    Residential communities focused on providing space for meditation, spiritual practice, and personal growth retreats.

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar
  • Biomass (from wood or other organic materials)

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    5 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • Texas, United States

Seed of Life Essene Temple

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 days ago

Beautiful 3+ Bed, 2.5 Bath Townhome in Established West Emerald CoHousing, Seattle

A rare home is available at West Emerald Cohousing, an established all-ages intentional community in West Seattle. For those considering a move to the Pacific Northwest—or hoping to join a mature community rather than one still in the forming stages—West Emerald offers decades of community life, beautiful gardens, shared resources and a peaceful setting within the city in a convenient location since 1999. This unit has a unique floor plan that is ideal for co-buying, co-living, or for one household. The home itself offers a flexible 3+ bedroom, 2.5 bath layout: Garden-level room with a separate exterior entrance and half bath—ideal for a home office, studio, guest space or client-facing business Main-level bedroom and full bath, laundry, making one-level living possible Open great room with large windows overlooking gardens filled with birdsong Well-designed kitchen with generous storage and pantry Two additional light-filled spacious bedrooms and a full bath upstairs Thoughtfully maintained and updated Located at the end of a common pathway for added privacy and garden views, Just feet from parking, which is out of view West Emerald community amenities include: Common House with gathering and activity spaces Community meals and events Mature gardens and shared outdoor spaces Workshop/maker spaces and bike barn Exercise room EV charging opportunity Excellent Metro access to Downtown Seattle just minutes away Nestled into a dell, it’s Seattle’s best-kept secret South Seattle College and lifelong learning, NW Wine Academy, the Seattle Chinese Garden are nearby, with easy access to Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, magnet schools, ferries, and the shops and restaurants of the West Seattle Junction. 6000 17th Ave SW, Seattle, WA Is a wonderful opportunity to have your own comfortable, private home while becoming part of a vibrant and well-established Seattle all-ages cohousing community. For more information contact the friendly Realtor at 206-579-9066, or at ki**********@**********te.com who will be happy to meet you there or do a facetime tour.
Offer
Need
  • Communities with Openings
5 days ago

Looking for Founding Members to Join us

We are looking for someone who lives in Oregon or would like to live in Oregon who wants to help us clean up our new far, property and start building some off grid housing, compost toilets, fireplaces for cooking and building the farm out. We have about 10 acres and several barns, power on site for small wall tents for campers, solar panels we can setup and sooo soo much more to do.  Ideally this person would be around our age, late 20’s -early 30’s, family friendly as we have a daughter and family out sometimes. We are not looking for “anarchist” who see the glass half full and wants to ‘burn down the system’ as we farm and sell to the public, we rely on the system to pay our bills… that is really the only caveat. No hard drugs and no hard political opinions as we prefer to focus on our back-to-the-land culture, not the problem we cannot control outside the farm.  You tired of the noise and want some solitude? To get your hands dirty and build a farm from the ground up with a bunch of like minded people. All I want to do is feed people and have fun while we do it. I don’t want to try and fix the world, just rebuild the one directly around us into an oasis that we can enjoy each and everyday while keeping our moral compass pointing north. Some things to know – We do smoke pot. We like electronic and bass music sometimes and organize festivals and renegades, we still like to have fun, but when on farm, you would never know. We are super easy to be around and just want some friends who can enjoy this farm opportunity and make the most of it with us.  Kids are OK! Pets on a per person basis. Rent is negotiable ($100-300/month) with work trade being mandatory at 4 hours per week. Anything beyond that goes towards rent. Please reach out if interested or have any questions.    Kindest Regards, DJ & Reagan 
Need
Offer
  • Professional Services
2 days ago

Community Planning, Facilitation & Coaching for Intentional Communities

Through Radicle Collective, I support intentional communities and the people within them as they navigate the practical and relational work of building life together. My work can include visioning and community planning, facilitated conversations and retreats, decision-making and governance design, conflict transformation, establishing group agreements, culture-building, and individual or group coaching. I work with communities at many stages – whether it’s a few people exploring whether to live together, a fledgling community developing its foundations, or an established community in transition or conflict. I draw from training in psychology, coaching, urban and regional planning, facilitation, Nonviolent Communication, permaculture, and related practices to approach community as a living system – one shaped by individual needs, relationships, shared structures, place, and the connections between them. Rather than bringing a single model for how community should work, I help groups understand what is happening across those different layers, surface what matters, work honestly with difference, and create structures and practices that support connection, agency, belonging, and the values that brought them together in the first place. I’m based in Berlin and available to work online or in person, depending on location and scope. I offer sliding-scale pricing and am open to creative forms of exchange where appropriate. If your community is forming, stuck, changing, or simply wants some skilled outside support for an important conversation, I’d be glad to explore what might be useful. You can learn more about my work and get in touch at radiclecollective.com.
Offer
Need

Update to a Public Profile

  • Log in
  • Go to your profile page
  • Toggle on the "Add my profile to the directory"
  • Save your profile

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

Plus Community Membership

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

We’re introducing new Plus features — including community reviews, Profile Match, and unlimited Needs & Offers posts — while keeping most of FIC free for everyone. Membership costs less than two coffees a month. 

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Plus Member badge on your profile