The project “Life in Transition” is a family community that exists in central Portugal, in the Serra do Açor.
At the moment we are 2 adults and 2 children with the purpose of creating a different culture, a more transparent, direct, positive and conscious culture. We want to create a safe place for our children, so we are changing the way we live and relate to one another; we want to be, be and create; we want to discover who we are, in the middle of it all, we want to discover the deep joy of being and living together. We do not intend to do this in isolation, so we hope that our project inspires you and that you inspire us by spending time with us.
Life in Transition aims at the practical and theoretical teaching of a conscious and evolutionary pedagogy and, for this, we promote conscious and evolutionary teaching actions; we organize cultural or recreational events for adults and children; we have developed intervention projects in the community – spiritual projects, permaculture, health and well-being, defence and preservation of the environment.
We want to change for us but also for our children, for our family, for nature, for the planet, and for life itself!
Inhabitants of the Village
Ricardo Gonçalves – Co-founder
“Who am I?”; “Why am I here?”; What can I do to fill the void I feel? “These were some of the questions I asked myself when dealing with a separation that made me feel truly only for the first time. I have lived a good life and with great comfort but nothing was enough to appease the emptiness that I felt. Although difficult, I realize today that it gave me the impetus to look for answers. I started by doing so through ancient religions and traditions and I ended up identifying myself a lot with Buddhism, which showed me the valuable practice of meditation. In the beginning it was not easy but, as my companion Teresa and I were allowed to hear our hearts more, the path became clearer and clearer.
Today we live in the countryside, with our 3 year old son Miguel and Clara, born in March 2017. We are ourselves rebuilding our house, doing the first experiments in the garden and orchard and contributing to the regeneration of surrounding forest. The daily reality is very different from the one I knew for more than 30 years in the city (11 of them working in a genetics laboratory), and for a moment I felt no nostalgia or remorse for choosing this change. The fact that I am the creator of this movement called “Projecto Vida Desperta”, means not only that I want to live a full and awakened life, but also that I want to contribute actively to a change of consciousness in Portugal and in the World, supporting all those who want to change and who seek a more conscious, simple and sustainable life.
Teresa Leite Gonçalves – Co-founder
I was born in Oporto, I have studied Communication and Marketing and I was educated to work and to be independent, especially in the financial level. Most of my life, I tried to find myself in the things I owned, I lived on the images I built to substantiate who I was, until one day, in a distant country, I was truly alone and realized that life had to be much more than what I have lived until then. From then on, a series of events occurred, such as finding my mate, the Awakened Life Project, leaving the city and going to live in the countryside, the birth of my two children at home in natural childbirth, and all that and more made it possible for this meeting with a new Teresa that I had no idea existed in me.
Today I am more “I”. I try to live without controlling what is around me, I try not to assume expectations about others, I try to live in the present, leaving aside the nostalgia of the past and the uncertainty of the future. I try to live my relationships with maximum openness and honesty, always giving space to what I do not know about the other, regardless of whether they are family, friends, companion, acquaintances or strangers. I am also much more serene. I live in the middle of the nature, with my husband and two children and I try to do only what makes me happy. I hope to be able to pass on to my children this experience of transformation, in a positive and motivating way. After all, life is beautiful and so am I!
Miguel Leite Gonçalves – the “All Terrain”
Hello, my name is Miguel and I chose this family to live in this life. I came by surprise and brought to my parents a sense of urgency of transformation in their lives. They were already planning to change their lives, leave the city and go to the countryside but they were undecided and when I announced, I left no room for doubt.
They left Oporto, bought land in the central of Portugal and moved 3 months after I was born. There are those who call me “all terrain” because, as I grew up in the country, I am strong and it is not the slopes that catch me. When I fall, I shake and get up and continue to play. Once I fell on a brown urchin and left my father stupefied because I am very determined and I know what I want. In 2016, I entered the kindergarten and began to see that there were other ways of being and living. I am very attentive to what surrounds me and I want to understand what is best for me, so I am adapting very well to my new friends and to school, which I like very much.
In March 2016 my sister Clara was born. I was the first one to tell my mom that it was going to be a girl. I like her very much and whenever I can, I fill her with kisses and pampering. I do not understand why she spends so much time sleeping, she could play with me a little more. When she grows up, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun together.
Activities
Your family will immerse themselves in an inspiring period as if they were part of our community. You will be able to participate in the daily activities of community life, whether to meditate, to exercise, to work on different projects on the ground, to prepare meals and to enjoy them together. Then we can delve into a deeper conversation where we question who we are and talk consciously, give presentations about the project and there will also be time to relax, play with the children and take walks in nature.
These are some of the activities you can enjoy:
- Daily Guided Meditations
- Participation in Conscious Conversations
- Chi Kung / Yoga Classes
- Permaculture, Agroforestry, Gardening
- Conscious parenting
- Learning about natural wastewater treatment
- Solar Energy Alternative Learning
- Learning about natural composting and fertilization
- Harvesting of Fruits of the Season and Edible Plants
- Preparation and tasting of mostly vegetarian and organic food
- Massage with Tibetan bowls
- Activities aimed at children and adolescents (History of the Universe)
