{"id":31513,"date":"2023-09-22T23:35:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T05:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/serenity-festival-winds-up-with-pura-vida-for-good-meeting\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:42:12","slug":"serenity-festival-winds-up-with-pura-vida-for-good-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/serenity-festival-winds-up-with-pura-vida-for-good-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Serenity Festival winds up with Pura Vida for Good meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Robert
Robert Holmes (blue T-shirt) and Ryan Downey (plaid shirt) lead the community discussion at the Serenity Festival. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Serenity Festival, a four-day health and wellness event held at Tico Time River Resort, wound up Sunday with a community discussion of the recently established Pura Vida for Good nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n

Robert Holmes, founder of Tico Time, was joined by his Pura Vida for Good partner, Ryan Downey, for a community discussion held in the yoga tent. The large circle of interested people gathered for a sharing of ideas and commitment to the purposes outlined in the Pura Vida for Good <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

Holmes and Downey share philosophy<\/div>\n

Holmes began the discussion by stating that \u201cliving together and caring about one another\u201d is a better way to find a \u201cvalue-based\u201d economy as opposed to a \u201cprofit-based economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should allow yourself to be happy and find that world right now,\u201d he said, \u201cand understand that there\u2019s a bigger purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

We all have this \u201chidden fire\u201d that\u2019s in us and \u201call of this stuff is noise and distraction and one day we wake up and say (expletive), I was the one I was looking for this whole time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Coming to that realization, Downey started working with nonprofits, he said, \u201cJust like the people in this room that are ready to do something that\u2019s motivated by the value of what we can add to the community and to society, rather than how much society can add to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just a couple of dudes that are passionate about this human connection,\u201d Downey said, adding that\u2019s what drew the two of them together.<\/p>\n

He feels like this is a time in human history that \u201cwe are here to do something incredible and really to take back ownership and control of our own experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said they are \u201cbringing in more stakeholders to add value \u2026 we\u2019re so \u201cwired to think in terms of money, but money is just energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downey said, \u201cwhen Rob bought this place he had no idea that we\u2019d be sitting here today in this capacity \u2026 but what it showed, especially after COVID, was the absolute need for human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that by connecting \u201cwith the dirt, the water and yourself,\u201d the healing and recovery process begins.<\/p>\n

He credited Holmes for laying the groundwork for one of the most \u201cbeautiful business models there is, which is stakeholder focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shared vision for the future<\/div>\n

\u201cWorking together over the last year or so, it\u2019s like listening to stuff like that \u2013 and my mind\u2019s going to explode,\u201d Holmes said to the amused crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to collaborate \u2026 and figure out how to get this place in some sort of trust or owned by the community in some way.\u201d He said they want to connect with \u201ceach and everyone\u201d here and invite you to bring your passion, skills and talents \u201cto the table\u201d and \u201cuplift\u201d each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have a larger vision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Holmes said, \u201cI\u2019m so tired from building \u2026 then I go to the sweat lodge yesterday and I\u2019m so recharged, like, no, we\u2019re going to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holmes said he and his wife had to \u201cscrounge every penny\u201d to borrow as much as they could to keep \u201cbuying and building and buying and building \u2026 trying to do the right things, and it\u2019s just been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

They started with 40 acres and now have 82.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we just want to keep that going because it seems like it\u2019s doing a lot of good.\u201d Holmes said.<\/p>\n

Casa Pura Vida: an eco-village with recovery-sober living<\/div>\n

Holmes said they\u2019re looking at 100 to 2,500 acres for a \u201csmall city\u201d like others are doing around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be courageous in doing this \u2026 so that\u2019s why we\u2019re trying to make big moves and ask people to come with us,\u201d Holmes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are stepping into their own power and taking responsibility for their experience,\u201d Downey said. \u201cAs we step in and claim our birthright right and our inheritance as eternal beings \u2026 there\u2019s just no room for fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holmes continued with a brief prayer, asking that everyone feel as connected as possible, that fear be removed and resources be given, along with an abundance of love.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person on this earth is worthy of love, freedom and happiness, contentment. If we fight for each other we will come back into harmony with the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community input<\/div>\n

A woman spoke first, offering her commendation for what they\u2019re doing here and then stated that her personal experience with land trusts is that they still part of the \u201cnonprofit industrial complex.\u201d She asked if there was a possibility of donating the land to the Native community.<\/p>\n

Holmes said that\u2019s what \u201cwe\u2019re to here to discuss, but I don\u2019t know what that would look like, but we did talk to Teresa about the Mother Earth Restoration Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He said Native Americans fought with each other over resources and there\u2019s a \u201cpotential that even in a trust, there could be control issues.\u201d He said they do want to talk with the Native American community and \u201csee how we can come together and figure this out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downey and Holmes invited everyone to go to puravidaforgood.org and click on \u201cget involved\u201d to offer their skills, passions and interests.<\/p>\n

One man said the idea of ownership of the project sounds like the co-op, a model already established that could work along with a trust.<\/p>\n

Downey said the preliminary trust structure came to him in a meditation and at its \u201ccenter it\u2019s a cooperative trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

A man involved in ReCommon<\/a>, a regenerative community land trust in Paonia, Colorado, said they have \u201cethic templates for creating it as well as understanding the governance\u201d and questions about equity are addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to use the equity that we built here to empower others to do the same thing,\u201d such as Eco-Villages that would build something like Tico Time, but on a larger scale, Holmes said.<\/p>\n

He said the idea is to be able to use the equity, the \u201clittle golden nugget,\u201d established by Tico Time \u201cto be able to do more good,\u201d adding they want to \u201cempower other people to do the next development in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Robert
Robert Holmes is gifted a blanket at the Pura Vida for Good discussion at the Serenity Festival. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Making a point about tribes coming together to hunt, a man said, \u201cmodern-day hunting is what we are doing in the business world,\u201d adding that every person\u2019s business success or employment status determines their level of well-being. He said that land is the key for food and sustainability.<\/p>\n

A man named Andrew expressed his gratitude to Holmes for setting up an \u201cexperiential marketing platform.\u201d He said that his people (Native American) would support Holmes and Downey in their efforts.<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s a big vision with \u201ccomplexities\u201d to navigate, there\u2019s \u201cdefinitely a lot here,\u201d he said \u201cAll the blood, sweat and tears you put into this.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slender shirtless man who asked to speak said he\u2019s been on the journey of \u201cremembering who I am\u201d for a lifetime. He walked and talked as he circled the seated audience, relating how \u201ctrapped energy and throat chakra issues\u201d had transmuted into throat cancer.<\/p>\n

\"This
This man walked in a circle, addressing the audience at the Serenity Festival community discussion. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He said he had a conversation with Mother Earth, received a lot of information and learned that we came here to speak with the \u201cvoice that is within your heart, the spirit that you came on earth to surrender to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so blessed to be here in this place in this time, he said, adding \u201cI came on earth to be a guardian of mother \u2026 that\u2019s my first priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Native American woman bestowed a blanket upon Holmes to honor his \u201cincredible vision.\u201d \u201cWe don\u2019t even know how honored and privileged we are to have this opportunity right here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The audience joined in to sing a traditional Native American blessing song, as the meeting ended.<\/p>\n

On the main Tico Time stage, Tatiana Crespo, from Phoenix, played guitar, accordion and entertained with a beautifully, powerful voice.<\/p>\n

\"Tatiana
Tatiana Crespo filled the beautiful Tico Time venue with powerful singing, guitar and accordion playing. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

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Shareholder organizational structure sought for wide-ranging projects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-31513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31513"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81468,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31513\/revisions\/81468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31513"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=31513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}