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About Us
History
Trellis House was purchased in February 2007 after a year of dreaming and searching by Marc and Rebekah Beneteau. Rebekah had been living for 5 years, and Marc 3 years, in the Yonkers Morehouse, and we both had taken a lot of courses with the Lafayette Morehouse (previously More University). The experience of living in the communal environment of Morehouse, and the courses, had inspired and fundamentally transformed both our relationship to each other and our world views, and led us into a kind of agreement, intimacy and enjoyable synergy that neither of us had experienced before in any kind of sexual or romantic partnership. ...
Since our founding, we have developed partnerships, and produce courses for, a number of schools of spiritual and social development, in addition to Morehouse (see our Partner's page). We continue to have a deep respect and appreciation for the lifestyle that was pioneered by the Lafayette Morehouse, and for the teachings of the late Victor Baranco, founder of Morehouse, in the areas of group living, sensuality, and communication. We live to the best of our understanding by the viewpoints and zest for life embodied by Vic and his wife Cindy Baranco, and we continue to study with, grow and learn from the Lafayette Morehouse.
Rebekah Beneteau
Rebekah is a coach and energy healer, whose passion is to empower her clients in the areas of relationships, sensuality, spirtuality, and professional fulfillment. She has worked as a waitress and restaurant manager, real-estate writer, stand-up comedian, clown, and most recently, office manager of a synagogue. ...
While studying energy healing at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing in 1996, she was introduced to the Yonkers Morehouse and started attending Mark Groups. That summer, she began taking courses with Lafayette Morehouse, an adventure that continues to this day. In 2001 she moved into the Yonkers Morehouse along with her daughters and then-husband. The husband left, but Rebekah felt she had discovered “the only way I want to live for the rest of my life.” An ordained non-denominational minister, Rebekah feels The Trellis Community is a ministry of love, fun and companionship. Her favorite things to do in life are sex, sitting around laughing with friends, singing, dancing, and working with groups and individuals to see “their lights go on, their passion get plugged in.” She is still active in her Professional Energy Healing Practice. Her primary mentors and inspiration come from Victor and Cindy Baranco of Lafayette Morehouse, Jerry Jud and Shalom Mountain, A Course in Miracles, Esther Hicks/Abraham, Conversations with God, Twelve Step programs and Barbara Brennan.
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Marc Beneteau
Marc started his communal living experience in a student housing co-operative in college. This house was the place where the best parties happened and the most interesting conversations were to be had - and his fundamental communal needs and instincts have changed very little over the years. His greatest turn-on nowadays is still those magical moments of deeper contact and understanding with people, whether it be a passing nod of friendship and complicity with a stranger, or an all-night merging of hearts and minds in a conversation in which time stops.
Marc runs Trellis House and works as a freelance Internet marketing & social media consultant and Lifestyle Design Coach. He is connected with / inspired by a wide range of human potentials and "new culture" movements, including the Lafayette Morehouse, Saniel Bonder / Waking Down in Mutuality, the Essential Experience Workshop, Pachamama Alliance, Shalom Mountain Retreat Center, Quakers, ZEGG / Network For a New Culture, David Deida / Tantra Sexuality, Ecology / Sustainability, Voluntary Simplicity, Non Violent Communication (NVC), Evolutionary Spirituality, Landmark Education, and others. ....
Mark Groups - Trellis House
Mark Groups
A Mark Group is an evening of social conversation games, designed for meeting people and having fun. Participants can get to know people from many walks of life in a relatively short time, within a safe and controlled environment.
Mark Groups are an opportunity to "know and be known" in a deeper way than in your typical cocktail party. They run the gamut from fun and light-hearted, to hilarious, to quiet and deeply intimate. A Mark Group is an enjoyable evening of surprising intimacy for less than the price of a movie and popcorn!
Mark Groups are scheduled regularly at Trellis and at other hosts throughout the city.
Cuddle Party - Trellis House [
cuddleparty.com]. Location: Trellis House, 16** Dekalb St, Norristown PA
Residential Program - Trellis House
Residential Program
After you have experienced Mark Groups, and/or courses and other gatherings, you may decide you want to try out living with us! We provide the opportunity to do this in a course called "A Taste of Trellis", which is a 12-day intensive in which you reside in our one-no-vote communal environment and get to experience the ins and outs of communal living. The course allows you to evalute our lifestyle for yourself and explore / experiment with your participation. This course is a prerequisite to living in our community house, however, above and beyond that, it is a stand-alone learning experience of living in a group, responsible hedonism, and conscious creation of your life.
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For more information please write or call us.
Essential Experience Workshop - Trellis House
From Thursday, 14 May 2009 - 19:00
To Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 22:00
Essential Experience Workshop (http://ee.org).
EE is a 3 1/2 day (Thursday night through Sunday night) transformational workshop. Some of us will be attending and others will be on team. This is an extremely rich environment for exploring and creating your life, I hope you will join us. It's also a home-based Philadelphia group so the opportunities for networking and community-building after the workshop are very real. The write up from the website below.
The workshop offers a safe place to explore feelings and experiment with changes in attitude and behavior. ...
After The Workshop
The Workshop is primarily a beginning. After graduation, the real work of making and sustaining lasting change begins in earnest. This ongoing work requires ongoing support.
While each graduate creates support in his or her own way, a number of structures have been created by the hundreds of people who have graduated from the workshop in Philadelphia since 1989. Each workshop goup meets for a reunion following the workshop, and many groups have continued to meet thereafter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do residents pay rent?
No. Residents pay tuition for a residential educational experience on group living, relationships, communication, and conscious creation of your life. Lodging is included in the tuition amount, which is currently $600.
Do you miss your privacy?
When we want our privacy, we put a sign on our door that says "Later Please," which is an inviolable request. The gift of living with a group is that you only have to be alone when you want to. A major premise of our lives together is that everyone is perfect, including the potential for change. In our experience, one's needs for privacy change when they live in an atmosphere of non-judgement.
What are the requirements for living at Trellis?
The main requirement for living here is a desire to have fun and to serve others. Beyond that, we require potential new residents to take our 12-day residential intensive course, and to commit to taking at least one Morehouse course in the upcoming year. To actually move-in and become a full community member, you must receive a "yes vote" from all all residents, which happens towards the end of your trial.
What is your governing structure?
Our governing structure is the "One No Vote," in which any member of the community can block any proposed new action, forever. The "One No Vote" is very rarely invoked, its purpose is mainly to ensure ongoing conversation on important issues. We believe that a win-win exists for every issue, and that "there is only one appetite" (meaning that everyone in a conversation tends to converge towards the same goal when the conversation is handled lovingly and respectfully by all).
Is the house under communal ownership?
Not currently, although that is a goal we are moving towards. The house is currently owned by the "Housemothers," Marc and Rebekah.
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What is your connection to the Lafayette Morehouse?
The Lafayette Morehouse originated the concept of One No Vote and has greatly inspired our lifestyle. Although we have tremendous respect for what they have done and continue to do, we do not have any formal affiliation. We are students of their material, have produced courses for them in the past and probably will in the future.
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Are you polyamorous?
No. However, we do respect people's right to enjoy whatever types of relationships bring them pleasure, within the law and within common-sense responsibility and ethics.
What charitable activities are you involved in?
We are involved in "food gleaning" (recycling surplus food from stores to those in need) and are building a transitional housing program. Our registered 501(c)3 charity, which is called the Stone Soup Collective, accepts donations for these purposes. We do charitable work because we believe that unselfish giving is a wonderful source of fun and personal transformation.
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