We don’t wear robes.
We don’t live in a monastery.
We live in the real world, just like you.
We just take our spiritual lives seriously.
WE ARE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY
Three Mountains is a diverse New Monastic Community of seekers and explorers, dedicated to spiritual practice, personal growth, and compassionate service in the world.
Intergenerational, interspiritual, international, and inclusive, each of us comes from our own spiritual traditions and practices (or none), with an openness to learning from one another, finding common ground, transforming spiritually and personally, and working for a better world. Like a mosaic, each of us brings our own color and shape to the whole.
WE ARE A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
We have no guru, no doctrine, no dogma, no sacred text, no ultimate goal, just a set of guidelines, or vows – We call them THE TEN WORDS – developed by our founder, Interfaith/Interspiritual minister Lauryn Axelrod, that guide us and that we each commit to in our own way.
While the Community engages in collective practices, celebrations, and projects, each Mountaineer has their own path. We are here to walk beside one another with common purpose, support and encouragement.
WE ARE A COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY
Non-hierarchical, we are all on the journey together. Members support the Community in different roles, as they are able. We share leadership roles. We have committed members who guide new members in their discernment process; members who play vital roles in the collective activities and support of the Community; and non-committed members who participate as they can. We maintain an open door for all those who feel called.
WE ARE A WELCOMING AND AFFIRMING COMMUNITY
Radically inclusive, we are single, married, partnered, with or without children, men, women, non-binary, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, young and older, from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, but share a deep desire to explore our paths and live spiritually engaged lives in today’s world. All are welcome.
WE ARE A GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Members of Three Mountains come from around the world. We are engaged in our local communities, but our vision is global. There are Three Mountains chapters located around the globe.
While we maintain the Three Mountains Farm and Retreat, where some members live, most Mountaineers continue with their lives in their own homes, families, jobs, and communities and join their local chapter or group — or the larger community virtually or in-person— for celebrations, learning, and projects. All members consider Three Mountains their spiritual home.
FAQ’S
WHAT IS A NEW MONASTIC?
Rooted in the gifts of traditional monasticism, but with a modern sensibility that takes our complex, changing world into account, New Monastics are dedicated to a spiritually focused life of contemplation and transformation, integrated with engaged action in the world.
New Monastics may live in intentional communities, or they may be “dispersed,” living in their own homes and communities, but share celebrations, practices, and projects. Three Mountains is a hybrid: some of us live at the Three Mountains Farm and Retreat, but most of us live, work and play in our own communities.
There are many new monastic communities: Some are social activist-oriented; some are environmentally or art-focused; some are specific to one faith tradition; others are non-denominational; and some, like Three Mountains, are interspiritual and inclusive.
No matter how we live our monasticism, New Monastics are Modern Monks, bringing our embodied, embedded, and engaged spirituality into the world in unique ways.
WHAT IS INTERSPIRITUALITY?
Christian/Hindu monk, Brother Wayne Teasdale, coined the term “interspiritual’ in his 1999 book, The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions, to express his understanding that beneath the diversity of theological beliefs, rites, and observances lies a deeper unity of experience that is our shared spiritual heritage. It is the mystical root of all religions: the common understanding of our Oneness and our relationship and responsibilities to the world around us. Every authentic spiritual path offers unique perspectives and rich insights into this deeper, direct experience of truth.
He further states:
“We are at the dawn of a new consciousness, a radically fresh approach to our life as the human family in a fragile world. This journey is what spirituality is really about. We are not meant to remain just where we are. We cannot depend on our culture either to guide and support us in our quest. We must do the hard work of clarification together ourselves. This revolution will be the task of the Interspiritual Age. The necessary shifts in consciousness require a new approach to spirituality that transcends past religious cultures of fragmentation and isolation. We need to understand, to really grasp at an elemental level that the definitive revolution is the spiritual awakening of humankind.”
At Three Mountains, we understand that all religions and perennial wisdom traditions —as well as literature, art, music, philosophy, nature, science, psychology, and especially self-inquiry— may have something of value for us, AND we know the desire for an authentic spiritual path within and beyond tradition that recognizes our common unity – not fragmentation - calls many.
Today, the wisdom and depth of all traditions are available to anyone who brings an open mind and a generous spirit and heart to the search with the desire to find and follow their own true spiritual path in a changing world.
DO I HAVE TO BECOME A MONK?
No. You do not have to wear robes, move to a monastery, or give up your life in the world to be a member of Three Mountains. You do, however, have to take your spiritual life seriously (we do have fun, too), and want to live and act from your spiritual center.
Mountaineers make this commitment to themselves and to the Community: Individually and together, we seek personal and spiritual growth integrated with contemplative action the world.
WHY THREE MOUNTAINS?
Mountains have always been a symbol of the spiritual path and its aspirations. We chose to call our community Three Mountains because:
1) Our diverse community includes members of many traditions and beliefs (or none) and mountains belong to no one tradition.
2) Many spiritual concepts come in threes, which is a number that symbolizes wholeness, strength and community.
3) Near the Three Mountains Farm, there are three important mountains - The Three Sisters - which were sacred to the Indigenous Abenaki people of this land. We honor them.