imported>Rbrwr: Adding local short description: "Spiritual community in California", overriding Wikidata description "spiritual community"

2026-02-21T18:09:46Z

Adding local short description: "Spiritual community in California", overriding Wikidata description "spiritual community"

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{{Short description|Spiritual community in California}}
{{promotional|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox organization
|name = Sunburst
|bgcolor =
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|image = Sunburst_Sanctuary_rainbow_view.jpg
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|caption = Sunburst Sanctuary
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|formation = 1969<ref name="Cusack 2021">{{cite book |author-last=Cusack |author-first=Carole M. |author-link=Carole M. Cusack |year=2021 |chapter=Norman Paulsen and the Brotherhood of the Sun / Sunburst |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkswEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA354 |editor-last=Zeller |editor-first=Ben |editor-link=Benjamin E. Zeller |title=Handbook of UFO Religions |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=20 |doi=10.1163/9789004435537_018 |isbn=978-90-04-43437-0 |issn=1874-6691 |pages=354–368}}</ref>
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|headquarters = [[Santa Barbara, California]]<ref name="Cusack 2021"/>
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|leader_title = Director
|leader_name = Patricia Paulsen<ref name="Cusack 2021"/>
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|leader_title4 =
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|key_people = Norman Paulsen<ref name="Cusack 2021"/>
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'''Sunburst''', also known as '''Brotherhood of the Sun''',<ref name="Cusack 2021"/> is an [[intentional community]] founded in 1969 by Norman Paulsen in [[Santa Barbara, California]].<ref name="Cusack 2021"/> Sunburst began in the late 1960s, inspired by an idea for self-sustaining [[World Brotherhood Colonies]] envisioned by [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], the Indian yogi and author of the 1946 book ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]'' and founder of [[Self-Realization Fellowship]].<ref name=Auto1951>Yogananda, Paramahansa, ''Autobiography of a Yogi''. Third edition, 1951.</ref><ref name="fellowship">{{cite book |last=Self-Realization Fellowship |date=November 1995 |title=Open Letter |publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship}}</ref> It was founded and led by Norman Paulsen, one of the direct disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda.<ref name="Cusack 2021"/><ref name="Spaulding">Spaulding, Allie Kay (October 12, 2008), "There's a Lot of Life in Them Thar Hills," Lompoc Record</ref> Paulsen's doctrine has been defined as a [[Syncretism|syncretic religion]] which incorporates [[Alternative spirituality|alternative spiritual beliefs]] and ideas brought form [[ufology]], [[theosophy]], [[esoteric Christianity]], [[Hopi mythology|Hopi traditions]], [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya yoga]], and [[meditation]].<ref name="Cusack 2021"/> Over a span of twenty-five years, Sunburst found its permanent home on the 4,000-acre Sunburst Sanctuary, approximately twenty minutes south of [[Lompoc, California]].<ref name="Andre">Andre, Lisa, "Sunburst Sanctuary: "The Central Coast Retreat," The Lompoc Vision</ref> Scattered throughout these hills are residences of members who live on the ranch. Norman Paulsen died in 2006.<ref name="Cusack 2021"/><ref name="Spaulding"/> After the founder's death, his widow Patricia Paulsen became the spiritual leader of Sunburst.<ref name="Cusack 2021"/>

== Early Sunburst ==
Norman Paulsen, who started the Sunburst community in the late 1960s as a small group, was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the 1946 spiritual classic, ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]''. Their teachings were described as a mixture of [[mysticism]], [[Christianity]], and the practice of [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya yoga]]. The group also incorporated [[Hopi]] symbolism into their ceremonies. The group met in a [[mobile home|trailer]] in Santa Barbara to practice meditation. When they outgrew that location, they moved to an old ice cream factory.

Paulsen's book, ''Life, Love, God: Story of a Soul Traveler'', explains his concept of Self-realization, his idea that at the core of every human being is a pure Self, a consciousness of Christ, and the realization of this Self is attained through the practice of meditation.<ref name="Andre"/>

In 1971, Sunburst bought 150 acres north of Santa Barbara on Gibraltar Road. There they began raising organic vegetables, the enterprise that would become their main source of revenue through the years. They operated a small café called Farmer and the Fisherman, a juice factory, a bakery, and a wholesale warehouse from which they shipped organic food all over the country.<ref name="Spaulding"/>

Also In 1971, the group bought the Ogilvy Ranch approximately {{convert|150|acre|km2}} north of Santa Barbara and renamed it [[Lemuria in popular culture|Lemuria]]. At one time, the ''Lemuria'' property grew wheat, corn, and vegetables. Sunburst members planted orchards and vineyards and used [[Percheron horse]]s to pull their plows. Goats provided milk and cheese; bee hives provided honey. Lemuria even had a blacksmith and a school for members’ children.<ref name="Beresford"/>

In 1974, the ''Los Angeles Times'' published a feature article about the founder and his organic farming business. The Times said the following about the community, ''the office, a converted ice cream factory, is headquarters for a unique brotherhood and business that includes four ranches, three organic food markets, a bakery, two restaurants, a trucking service, and a {{convert|158|ft|m|adj=on}} sailing-vessel being restored at San Pedro.''<ref>{{cite news|author=Russell Chandler|title=Sun Shines Bright on Brotherhood: 'Dream' Bears Fruit -- and Vegetables and Profits|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1974-02-03}}</ref>

During their early years, they referred to themselves as the “Brotherhood of the Sun.”<ref name="Beresford">Beresford, Hattie (July 5, 2007), "The Way It Was: The Many Faces of Ogilvy Ranch," Montecito Journal</ref>

Sunburst members practiced a holistic lifestyle based on [[meditation]], living from the land, [[organic farming]], and an eightfold path.<ref name="Weaver">Weaver, Dusk and Willow. (1982), ''Sunburst: A People, A Path, A Purpose: The Story of the Most Provocative Communal Group in America Today'', San Diego, California: Avant Books {{ISBN|0932238165}}</ref>

Part of this was documented by two members of the group, Dusk and Willow Weaver. The married couple's joint journal won the “Best Non-Fiction Award” at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and was later published by AVANT Books in 1982 with the title ''Sunburst: A People, A Path, A Purpose''.<ref name="Weaver"/>

By the late 1970s, internal disagreements led to the Sunburst community losing members. This in turn caused financial constraints that led to the California property being sold, and some members moved to Big Springs Ranch in Northeastern Nevada and later Salt Lake City, where they began natural foods businesses.<ref name="Beresford"/>

In 1996, Sunburst returned to California's central coast with the purchase of Sunburst Sanctuary.<ref name="Andre"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*Duquette, Susan. (1978), ''Sunburst Farm Family Cookbook'', Santa Barbara, CA: Woodbridge Press Publishing Company {{ISBN|0912800607}}
*Hansen-Gates, Jan (Winter 1975-76), "Growing Outdoors: The Brotherhood of the Sun," Santa Barbara Magazine 1, no. 3:64-71.
*Paulsen, Norman (2015), ''Life, Love, God: Story of a Soul Traveler'', Buellton, CA: Sunburst Publishing {{ISBN|9780941848008}}

== External links ==
*{{official website|http://www.sunburstonline.org/}}

[[Category:Agricultural cooperatives in the United States]]
[[Category:Intentional communities in California]]
[[Category:Organic farming in the United States]]
[[Category:Paramahansa Yogananda]]
[[Category:Santa Barbara County, California]]
[[Category:Cooperatives based in California]]
[[Category:UFO religions]]
[[Category:Esoteric Christianity]]

Sunburst (community) - Revision history

imported>Rbrwr: Adding local short description: "Spiritual community in California", overriding Wikidata description "spiritual community"