What We Do, Who We Are
To ensure our lives have purpose, one must be willing to reclaim their rightful post as a Soul-Filled Human. A good place to start is learning how to nourish a kinship with nature and all of her relations: animals, water, stone, trees, seasons, weather and wind. Michael and Mary Katherine are thrilled to be your guides in facilitating your journey back to Mother Earth’s loving embrace.
About Michael
Michael Levine is committed to sustainable living. One of the first orders of business at Avalon was to install an electric car charger and solar panels, bringing the 1830’s farmhouse into the 21st century. Among other passions, Michael is the founder and former Producing Director of Acorn Productions, a theatrical education company where he cultivated new works by up-and-coming Maine playwrights through the Maine Playwrights Festival, taught numerous acting classes and directed several productions over his twenty-plus year career with Acorn. He also co-founded and served as Artistic Director of the Naked Shakespeare series, inspiring and rekindling the community’s love and appreciation of the Bard. Currently, Michael is an English teacher at Windham High School and a board member of Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland. He is most passionate about living in harmony with the land he feels fortunate to steward in Hollis, Maine.
From Michael: “I find a remarkable peace working out in the garden as I am able to fully attune to the nature spirits and work with my hands, two gifts that are sometimes hard to come by in the rest of my working life, which is very intellectual and mind-based. The simplicity of the tasks of planting and weeding take my mind away from sometimes toxic thought patterns and allow me to mindfully connect with my body and the earth. I like to birth my plants from seeds so that I feel I have accompanied them on every stage of their life journey. The soil here is fecund and full of life which makes it yield particularly lush produce and herbs.”
About Mary Katherine
Originally from North Carolina, Mary Katherine Spain moved to Maine in 2001. She is the owner of Nine Pillars Healing, a healing and ceremony service which focuses on the energetic modalities of shamanic healing, reiki and the natural healing energy of the Earth itself. Inspired by the many teachers Mary Katherine has had the privilege of studying with, she regularly conducts teaching circles on and off line, offers sacred ceremony at Avalon and offers private healing sessions. She has studied with Animas Valley Institute in the Way of Council and Mirroring, teaches the 9 Pillars of the Divine Feminine and leads various fasting and non-fasting nature walks at Avalon. All of her work focuses on her ultimate mission: To bring the sacred back to the living consciousness of the planet and the people of the planet. In addition to her healing practice and post as Farm Administrator, Mary Katherine enjoys a thriving side hustle as a writing coach having received her MFA in Creative Writing from the prestigious Stonecoast MFA Program in 2016.
From Mary Katherine: “To my mind, there’s two contracts we need to honor as humans. It’s the reason we’re here, on the planet. We’re here to learn our lessons and to amplify the love that Creator made us with, the love that exists inside of us. Because we have free will, we do have a choice about how we show up in the world, and what we decide to cultivate. I am committed and also inspired to be the ‘wise-pointer’ for people who are seeking guidance in experiencing life from a soul level. Finding the ‘stage’ of Avalon has expanded my work and mission in innumerable ways. I’m discovering that the vitality ANY human hopes to have with their environment is one that ebbs and flows, that gives and takes. It is a privilege to take care of each other with the help and support of Gaia.”
