The Myrahouse in Claremont, CA fosters a community committed to holistic care and meditation

Alex Scrivner | Contributing Writer

 

 

 

 

The tempo and cadence of a typical southern California lifestyle distilled as I walked onto the Myrahouse pathway. The sounds were no longer cars speeding by or radios blaring in and out, but instead the flowing of water from the pond that funnels through the garden and frogs croaking. The Myrahouse in Claremont, labels itself as a “co-operative, ecologically sustainable living environment with monastic rhythms” that provides holistic education, organic gardening and eco-spirituality to residents. Those who live in the house help sustain the property along with any community members who are interested in being involved with the house and/or what the house stands for. Eco-spirituality, though defined in a myriad of ways, can be understood as the pursuit of a personally experienced relationship between an individual and his or her environment throughout daily life.

APU alumna Natalie Kennedy, B.A. physics, moved into the Myrahouse in early February as she transitioned from university life into the “working world” or “real world” or whatever “they” are calling it these days.

“I was looking for a place where I could center myself,” Natalie said.

This centering of self Natalie desires is the exact intent that the co-founders of the Myrahouse had in mind when beginning their movement of upholding holistic principles in a shared living style. In 2001, Dr. Rev. Sung Sohn and his wife Myra Sohn built the 10-bedroom Myrahouse and surrounding garden grounds in hopes of supplementing the community with a resource for “raw” living and healing spiritual routines. The Sohns’ desire was for the residents of the house to incorporate these ethics and habits into their own lives during transition periods.

My visit to the Myrahouse began with putting my hands in the earth to make dinner. From the house garden, Natalie and I picked from the seasoned vegetables; our fresh picks included green onions, arugula, yellow and red swiss chard and collard greens. Naurally, the kitchen is outside and we took turns going in and out into the night to keep an eye on the vegetables. I was amazed at how satisfying it was to be so intimately connected to my own food source and to be involved from beginning to end in the process of making my meal (Natalie must have felt even that much more satisfied since she aided in growing the vegetables!). I found myself questioning why it seems everything is constantly so pressured against time in our culture, even the act of sharing a meal which is the most primordial of daily exercises.

For Natalie, the “monastic rhythms” instilled into life at the Myrahouse have been a critical part of understanding her place as part of Christ’s church and within the global community.

“I know that God is pleased when we live life more humbly and honestly with others and ultimately for God’s glory,” said Natalie. “There are many people in the world who have found this truth and seek to live among others of similar passions but vastly diverse backgrounds.”

Co-operative living is something found not only to be spiritually awakening but more valuable psychologically as well. The human being is proven to be healthier when it is in an environment where the motive is cooperation, in contrast to competition. In the article “The Psychology of Co-operation”, clinical psychologist and author Oliver James links co-operative living to the innate need to feel loved and as part of a group. “Co-operation is linked to the neuropeptide oxytocin which greatly increases feelings of love and affiliation … creating a sense of relaxation and a reduction in the tendency to interpret others as threatening,” James writes. A study done by The Human Genome Project found that a country’s rate of depression could be estimated through whether the society was generally more cooperative (collectivistic versus individualistic) or not. America as a nation is found to have one of the highest rates of mental illness at 26 percent.

For Natalie, she lives synchronically when assisting with her shared house responsibilities along with her work at Ecoterra compounding pharmacy operated by Myra Sohn. Working at the pharmacy is not a requirement for living at the Myrahouse but just another opportunity to actively engage in serving the surrounding community through holistic care.

“Practically and presently, this looks like listening to the hurts and pains of clients who are seeking healing at Ecoterra and exchanging a few words of hope as they come in and out on their journey towards health,” said Natalie.

Succeeding dinner at the Myrahouse, I was able to participate in their weekly Sunday night meditations which are open to the whole community. The meditation is a self-guided two hour period with two sessions of sitting and an intermission period of walking meditation. The last 20 minutes were spent with all the participants in a circle, facilitating a platform for the group to express their general gratitudes and insights in their lives which came from that week.

Everyone who participated in the meditation service (including Myrahouse members) have positions and roles of responsibility to balance in life. With a synthesis of a cooperative lifestyle to encompass these different positions and responsibilities, everyone I engaged with seemed to be aware of a deeper and bigger purpose to life, a life that is interwoven and cooperative versus polarized and competitive. I saw this in the way they approached their work and their studies. If there was a complication or challenge in their lives, they were thankful to experience growth from it, and if they had a life circumstance not going how they deemed best, it was never another person’s fault for putting them in that arduous situation.

Perhaps not everyone would be able to live a life as Natalie and other residents are living during their time at the Myrahouse, however, there is a challenge that others can engage in, one that I readily accepted and hope to adapt into my own life: the challenge to “practically and presently” live cooperatively with one’s own natural environment however and when- ever possible.

An Average Myrahouse Day:

Morning: Feed the chickens, collect the eggs and work in the garden to harvest fruits and vegetables for smoothies and salads. If there is time, go for a morning hike on a nearby trail close to the house.

Afternoon: Work at EcoTerra and work with clients seeking holistic methods to heal their bodies.

Evening: Free time, tea time with Dr. Sohn and other housemates and/ or meditation.