A place / a search for the meaning of life
On the Far South Coast of NSW, near Bega,
facing three bush covered hills
of the South East Forests National Park,
along a permanent creek,
a simple place in nature,
where contemplation,
contact with nature
and sharing can be experienced.
Prayer - Meditation - Community - Ecology - Psychology - Architecture

Desert Creek House


802 Desert Creek Road
NUMBUGGA - via BEGA NSW 2550 - AUSTRALIA
Phone 02 6492 8498 - E-mail: desertcreek(at)skymesh.com.au


In two words... what we believe and why we do what we do   How to participate in the activities at Desert Creek House (DCH)   Download / Télécharger

Last news - Page of DCH's Friends - Most recent documents
.
ABOUT DESERT CREEK HOUSE A PRACTICE OF HARMONY MY BOOKS + CLIMATE CHANGE + JUSTICE A SPIRITUAL SEARCH
About Desert Creek House How to get to DCH . Practical ecology Building:
a community house
. My published books: The solution is simple...but demanding
A Vision and Strategy for a Meaningful Life in a Fracturing World
. Next program Past sessions
Photos of DCH Our daily program . Our solar house:
how it works
Climatic architecture . My books on this website - A practical Manual about:
Community, Land and Nature, A new Economy, Femininity
. Meditation day A selection of texts
Et si vous parlez français, allez voir les rubriques suivantes:
Page d'accueil DCH Plus de détails sur DCH . Mes livres: Mode d'emploi pour un bonheur partagé . Commentaires des Evangiles

Print this page about how to participate at DCH (3x A4 - 78 kb)Print the map and instructions how to access DCH (A4 - 634 kb)

AT DESERT CREEK HOUSE YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
1) In sharing our everyday life, working on the building site, in the garden and learning practical skills about the practice of ecology, biologic gardening, self-limitation... 2) You can take also part in the regular practice of meditation, or in retreats organised about a given theme... 3) Or you can have your own time of personal recovery or silence... 4) You can participate in seminars about solar architecture, practical ecology, psychology... 5) You can also organise an exhibition, a tald, a concert...   More details...
WE BELIEVE THAT:
The cosmos is more than the material world we see; behind its appearances it is animated by a spiritual energy (invisible like the wind) which teaches us about the meaning of life (peace, justice, love) through its diverse expressions in matter; in order to find happiness we have to learn to recognise how the invisible dimensions of life forster our everyday life; in this sense we need to integrate into the laws of nature (ecology) and to live in peace with other human beings (community).    More details...


WE BELIEVE THAT

Our world is more than a heap of matter only governed by the laws of chemistry, physics and biology.
As human beings we are parts of nature, i.e. members of a wider body (the cosmos) to which we belong.
In the same way as the diversified organs of our own body form one body,
and contribute to its survival, or depend on it for their own life.

Our deep and true nature is mainly spiritual; it means that the most important dimension in our life is not directly visible.
Like the wind that is only visible in its effects, the Spirit who animates us becomes visible in his influences on our lives and surroundings.
It is why matter is our best teacher: it teaches us the laws of life,
if we dare to look at the true meaning of our experiences and to search behind the first appearances.


If our origin is of spiritual nature, it means that we have to focus our attention on the invisible dimensions of life.
It is how we can experience love, peace, justice, which cannot be reduced to material facts.

Because we believe that our world (our Earth) is lead by a loving spiritual energy to whom we can relate personally,
it has no meaning to lead our life in ignoring the main Source of Life.
We have to adapt our way of life to the laws of nature and to the laws of life.
We have to live in harmony with nature (ecology), and with other human beings (community).

The practice of ecology and of community is something very practical which fosters our everyday life.
Through our personal and practical experience of ecology and community, we learn more and more about the sacred meaning of life
and we transform slowly oursleves and our practice towards more truth.
It is the way to happiness and true joy (which is much deeper than simple pleasure).

The regular practice of meditation twice a day is our necessary exercise which helps us to become more aware, and to focus more on being than on doing and having.




Do not be surprised when I say: you must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
(Jn 3:7-8)




At Desert Creek House, you can participate in different ways:

PRACTISING ANOTHER WAY OF LIFE A SPIRITUAL SEARCH

1) WORK EXPERIENCE (for instance as a WWOOFER)
Work a few hours a day, for a week or more, against food and accommodation, and learn about many alternative techniques and ways of life: organic gardening, composting , recycling, ecological maintenance of the land, bioclimatic building, management of water (no wastes). With meals in common and many possibilities for sharing:
o See a description of a regular day
o See a description of the kind of work we do (photos)
o Look at the photos of the building process (our main activity today)


1) TIME OF SHARING
Take part in an afternoon of sharing, each first Saturday of the month (between 1pm and 5pm):
o See our program for the next months
o Have a look at the text of the past retreats
o Use our commentaries of the 3 synoptical Gospel for your personal study of the bible (in French)


2) COMMUNITY BUILDING
Take part in the building of the future community house:
o See what and why we are building (drawings and explanations)
o Look at the photos of the building process


2) SILENT MEDITATION
Take part in our regular meditation day, each second Saturday of the month (from Friday 6pm to Sunday 9am):
o See the description and the schedule for this meditation day
o See our program for the next months


3) NEW WAYS OF LIFE - NEW PRACTICES
Take part in our search for a new way of life which integrates our activities into natural cycles and brings real happiness through co-operation, self-limitation, community empowerment, practice of the power of truth; how to relate to money, work, subsistence, nature, ideals, etc:
o Read or download free a few extracts of our "Instruction manual for a shared happiness"   (2 first books - 5 more in preparation)
o Print the summary of the 8 volumes - 8 x 10 commitments for our daily life (4x A4 - 42 kb)


3) PERSONAL RECOLLECTION
Have a time of personal recollection or recovery, in silence or in interaction with other people present, according to a personal program to be agreed upon.
o See how the place looks like


4) SOLAR ARCHITECTURE / ECOLOGICAL WAYS OF LIFE
Take part in one of the programs which are in preparation, about solar architecture: the principles, the solutions, and many examples.
o Have a look at the kind of material we propose for our seminars about climatic and solar architecture (in preparation)


4) YOUR OWN SEMINAR / CONCERT / EXHIBITION
Organise by yourself a seminar, an exhibition, a retreat, a concert, etc... Take contact with us in order to discuss your project!




Download / Télécharger

PRACTISING ANOTHER WAY OF LIFE ABOUT DCH - A SPIRITUAL SEARCH

The books Yves wrote about new ways of life based on harmony with nature, self-limitation, equity, sharing, consensus:
"Instruction manual for a shared happiness".
Now available are volumes 0, 1, 2 and 3. Volumes 1 and 2 have been published.

o  0 - Community and self-limitation: starting a move towards change (700 kb)
o  1 - Effort and comfort: towards a reconciliation between nature and humanity (1300 kb)
o  2 - Vocation and subsistence: towards a reconciliation between simplicity and wealth (1500 kb)
o  3 - Recessive and dominant: towards a reconciliation between femininity and masculinity (766 kb)
o  "3 x 10 commitments for another way of life (64 kb)

Practical ecology: our own experience with solar electricity, solar hot water, composting toilets, bioclimatic building:
o  Solar electricity: how to design a solar electric system (1400 kb)
o  Rammed earth building: detailled instructions how to do it (4620 kb)

Seminar about solar architecture:
o  Solar architecture: basic principles (178 kb)
o  Basic notions of physics about the transfer of heat and the glasshouse effect (408 kb)
o  The main physical units used in solar architecture (17 kb)

IF YOU READ FRENCH: / SI VOUS LISEZ LE FRANCAIS
Mode d'emploi pour un bonheur partage: une introduction générale,
et 7 grands déséquilibre de notre temps.

o  0 - Communauté et autolimitation: une mise en mouvement du changement (669 kb)
o  1 - Confort et effort: une réconciliation entre nature et humanité (838 kb)
o  2 - Recessif et dominant: une réconciliation entre féminité et masculinité (547 kb)
o  3 - Simplicité et abondance: une réconciliation entre pauvretés et richesses (567 kb)
o  4 - Circulaire et lineaire: une réconciliation entre Sud et Nord (923 kb)
o  5 - Vocation et subsistance: une réconciliation entre idéaux, argent et marché (1011 kb)
o  6 - Connaissance et savoir: une réconciliation entre facultés subtiles et intellect (1132 kb)
o  7 - Esprit et matière: une réconciliation entre apparences et Réalité (852 kb)


A description of Desert Creek House:
o  What is Desert Creek House? What you can do here (107 kb)
o  How to get to Desert Creek House (634 kb)
o  The pamphlet about Desert Creek House (552 kb)
o  The constitution of the association "Desert Creek House Inc." (52 kb)
o  Our project: building a community house (73 kb)

The life at DCH and our program of retreats and meditation:
o  Our daily schedule (17 kb)
o  The program of retreats and seminars for the coming next months (30 kb)
o  The schedule for the days of intensive meditation (22 kb)
o  The pamphlet about intensive meditation (167 kb)

TRANSCRIPTS OF PAST RETREATS:
o  List of the themes since 2016 mentionned below (32 kb)
o  List of the themes 2006-2010 mentionned below (32 kb)

A) Transcripts: Architecture and spirituality
o  Churches: byzantine, romanesque, gothic (7'558 kb)

B) Transcripts: Most recent workshops (since 2016):
o  Search for meaning (main document) - 52 kb in pdf / All the documents - 418 kb in zip
o  New ways of living (main document) - 54.3 kb in pdf / All the documents - 1.06 Mb in zip
o  Pulling ourselves apart (main document) - 96.3 kb in pdf / All the documents - 2.3 Mb in zip

C) Transcripts: Inspiring people (2006-2010):
o  Charles de Foucauld (654 kb) / Textes (42 kb)
o  His Holiness the Dalai Lama (661 kb) / Textes (39 kb)
o  Hildegard von Bingen (659 kb) / Textes (33 kb)
o  Mary MacKillop (32 kb) / Her letters (62 kb)
o  St Augustine (653 kb)
o  St Francis and St Clare of Assisi (649 kb) / Textes (56 kb)
o  St Paul (647 kb)

D) Transcripts: About diverse themes (2006-2010):
o  Baptism (650 kb)
o  Contemplation (658 kb)
o  Detachment (643 kb)
o  Experience (70 kb) / texts by Fr John Main OSB (44 kb)
o  Faith (645 kb)
o  Glory (69 kb)
o  God is hiding! (657 kb)
o  Hope (647 kb)
o  Justice (302 kb)
o  Kingdom (197 kb)
o  Love (649 kb)
o  peace (187 kb)
o  Power (683 kb)
o  Reconciliation (40 kb)
o  Salvation (659 kb)
o  Spiritual Friendship (31 kb)
o  Unity (659 kb)
o  Wonder (652 kb)

IF YOU READ FRENCH: / SI VOUS LISEZ LE FRANCAIS
Commentaires des 3 Evangiles synoptiques (Mt, Mc, Lc):
o  Concordance des 3 Evangiles - ordre selon ordre des commentaires ci-dessous (30 kb)
o  Table des matières des commentaires ci-dessous (71 kb)
o  Concordance des 3 Evangiles - ordre selon St Matthieu (27 kb)
o  Concordance des 3 Evangiles - ordre selon St Marc (21 kb)
o  Concordance des 3 Evangiles - ordre selon St Luc (29 kb)
o  1) La source de nos origines (17 kb)
o  2) Notre incarnation et venue au monde (227 kb)
o  3) Les premiers pas de notre libération (304 kb)
o  4) Le mouvement des béatitudes (287 kb)
o  5) La Loi accomplie par le mouvement du coeur (228 kb)
o  6) Le chant du Notre Père (380 kb)
o  7) L'apprentissage de l'être (236 kb)
o  8) Notre guérison spirituelle (287 kb)
o  9) La mission, mise en mouvement (240 kb)
o  10) La nature du royaume (302 kb)
o  11) L'Eglise naissante (304 kb)


Contact Us: desertcreek(at)skymesh.com.au