Mission and Values
The mission of the Kalavan Retreat Center is to foster self-awareness, self-actualization, and durable cultural evolution. Humanity has no hope of achieving a socially sustainable future without cultivating these as widespread and permanent qualities.
Anyway, life is not really worth living if you cannot confidently live as yourself, rather than who the world around you pressures you to be. What prevents this from happening for almost everyone is not any kind of nefarious external force, antagonist, or enemy. It's nothing we can look outward to blame for our problems. It's our own emotional inhibitions that suppress us from realizing who we each really are and fully embodying that realization. When suppressive qualities proliferate in a culture, they become a pathological force that contributes to all other personal and social problems. By making more fully expressed and ethical individuals, we build a more peaceful and prosperous world.
We accomplish our work with those who come to spend time with us in a uniquely supportive environment, free from societal interference, and through indirect means, including leadership, inspiration, and education for even those who do not have the opportunity to visit Kalavan.
Values
The Kalavan Retreat Center is always seeking to collaborate with heroic and exceptional individuals who understand the purpose behind our work here. Here's where we stand on what's most important to uphold for humanity:
Value #1: Fullest, Authentic Self-Expression
Society is overrun with suppressive cultural, emotional, physical, and intellectual forces that prevent people from discovering and embodying themselves. Armenia, in particular, specializes in fear, shame, and insecurity as its tools to hinder young people's full emotional and intellectual development.
A key component of valuing self-expression is never inhibiting it in others. Any crime committed against another person could be seen as an attempt at stifling their will and consciousness. Anything forced onto another has robbed them of the opportunity to be themselves and make the best choices for who they are and what they value.
It's another way of saying that one person's rights end where another's begin, and vice versa. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. More importantly, do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you. Full self-expression, taken as a total concept, naturally leads to mutual respect.
Value #2: Mutual Respect
Expression is a two-way street called respect. If you value your own consciousness and self-expression, you don't want anyone intruding upon it. You don't want anyone to stop you from being who you really are.
Logically, you must extend the same courtesy to everyone around you. You cannot pressure others to live the way you want them to. You cannot shame them for choosing to do things differently from you. You have to respect their property and inherent rights. You also cannot break the agreements you make without appropriate recourse.
If mutual respect cannot be established and maintained, people cannot peacefully interact with one another.
Value #3: Radical Self-Inquiry
Every authentic choice stems from our awareness of who we are and what we want. Inauthentic choices are the result of not knowing ourselves. We default to the values, customs, and opinions of the people around us. In other words, you can't fully express yourself until you know who you are. There is no unilateral path to finding the answer, but you certainly can't give up easily or give in to dogma.
We embrace a variety of philosophical and scientific tools for uncovering self-knowledge. We don't define our community by adherence to a particular path or methodology. If it works, keep doing it so long as it works. If it stops, try something else. Self-discovery is a lengthy, challenging. The moment you start criticizing others for not following the same approach that worked for you is the moment you've started missing the point.
Value #4: Lifelong Learning and Teaching
Learning and adaptation are core strengths of humanity. No person is limited to their starting conditions in life, because consciousness invites growth. If we don't know how to do something that needs to be done, we can learn how to do it. We can adapt ourselves beyond our present comfort levels. We trust in our ability to learn as we go and pass on what we learn to others for everyone's benefit.
Everyone is both a teacher and a student, and one of the best ways to reinforce or improve your own knowledge is to pass it on to others. Everyone has the opportunity to improve their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. Our rural lifestyle basically guarantees that something will always need fixing, building, or solving, and it increases our appreciation for the physical processes upon which our comfort and survival depend.
Value #5: International Community Building
Community ceased to be a localized phenomenon as soon as it became feasible for people to traverse and communicate across great distances. In the modern technological age, we appreciate how convenient it is to share our values in a non-local way. Although our location makes it ideal for us to focus our efforts on the people who live in or visit Armenia, we are always looking to collaborate with like-minded individuals everywhere. Home is where you are most appreciated, and that shouldn't have to be a single location.
We are very open to the opportunities that international community building will bring us and others. Armenia, in particular, stands to gain from increased international influence and interaction with the rest of the world. Its exclusionary perspective does not serve the people's long-term interests. We hope to open the nation up a bit to the benefits of collaboration and diversification.