Fairfield, IA: Prasad Incense, Consciousness, Creativity, Culture and Quality of Life

Why Are We Selling Incense From Fairfield, Iowa, Land of Corn and Hogs? Read On For A Big Brag On Our Hometown!

A new blended culture is arising in Fairfield Iowa - Alien Gothic. And it definitely involves incense!

Fairfield, Iowa is a startling phenomenon. There's an astounding depth and breadth of spiritual and creative energy, excellent quality of life, first class culture, and we're known as the Enterpreneurial Capital of Iowa. There are many churches of every denomination. And 3000 practitioners of Transcendental Meditation. It's an interesting mixture, which sometimes feels like American Gothic meets Aliens From Another Planet. That intense spiritual energy, wherever it comes from, bursts forth in creative activity seldom seen in a town this size on any planet.

At first glance, there's nothing remarkable about Fairfield, Iowa. It seems to be a quiet, prosperous midwestern town of 10,000 in the south-east corner of Iowa. And it is. But there is almost nothing about Fairfield that isn't remarkable.

The Fairfield area has been a powerful magnet for spirituality, natural law, and culture, since long before the arrival of settlers in the 1800's. The untouched land of Iowa, with it's primeval forests and savannas, blooming native prairies, and network of sparklng clean rivers, was described as an earthly paradise by the first outsiders to see it. For Native American tribes, the Fairfield area, situated on a plateau, was a traditional gathering place for spiritual celebration, sharing knowledge, and trade. Fairfield has continued in the same vein. There is something deep within the structure of the land here which nurtures spiritual evolution, the creative spirit, individual enterprise, and personal growth.

Quality of Life: Fairfield is a great place to raise children, the public schools are excellent, home schooling is popular and well supported. There is little pollution, racial strife, or crime. It has an excellent public library, a great recreation system, including an indoor pool, many fine parks, 2 reservoirs, a county trail system, and a new civic center going up. The first Carnegie Library west of the Mississipi was built here, and is now a community college campus.

Fairfield was the first capital of Iowa, and became the county seat for Jefferson County. The historic courthouse is still in use, with a brand new steeple. Fairfield also has an award-winning, bustling, historic town square.

Fairfield is home to The Golden Domes, where group practice of Transcendental Meditation techniques happens daily. Maharishi University of Management has been established for over 25 years on the original Parson's College campus - founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who came from India in the mid fifties to teach Transcendental Meditation to the West. For the last five years, M.U.M. has been gradually tearing down a jumbled mishmash of buildings, and building a coherent campus according to Maharishi Stapatyaved principles of architecture. Maharishi Vedic City is an all Stapatyaved housing development 3 miles from Fairfield, right next door to The Raj Ayurvedic Health Spa.

Fairfield may have more artists, writers, musicians, actors and craftsmen per capita than any where else, and certainly more than any other city of 10,000 people! Most of these artists are professional, highly accomplished and successful. On any day of the year, there is a broad choice of theatre, music, dance, and art performances, exhibits, or classes to choose from, low cost or even free. You don't find that in many places. And all within walking distance.

A great diversity of health practitioners, entrepreneurs, web wizards, and consultants make a living from Fairfield. There is an abundance and variety of natural and organic products available, both locally produced and imported, which come from the desire to live a simpler, cleaner, more natural life. Even big cities can't support stores that only sell natural organic products. Yet stores like Natural Selections and Thymely Solutions thrive in this small town.

There are hundreds of home-based, mail-order and internet businesses, along with conventional industry. For example, Prasad Gifts, wholesaler of fine incense, has been successfully established here in Fairfield for almost twenty years. At Fairfield market, we retail their fine products online. There is a thriving alternative local economy, with organic agriculture, a busy farmer's market, a large natural food store, alternative medical practitioners everywhere, and a world class Ayurvedic health spa. There are an amazing number and variety of restaurants, many serving vegetarian food.

There is no great necessity to go out of town. In fact, it takes concerted effort to leave Fairfield, although there are excellent roads, and even an airport. Shopping online is a popular local pastime.

Is there a downside to Fairfield? Depends on your point of view. Fairfield is four or more hours from several major cities, thousands of miles from an ocean or high mountains, hundreds of miles from a large natural lake. It has no mall, and a small Walmart is the only major commercial store. And then there's the coal trains rolling through town - over 50 a day!

Iowa land is fertile, gently rolling, and lovely, but mostly given over to corn, soybeans, and hogs. Then there's the weather, which is often changeable and violent, sometimes perfect, and never boring. Other places have mountains - Fairfield has spectacular sky scapes.

It's rewarding to live in Fairfield. But not always easy, because of the isolation, and the challenging pace of personal growth, which apparently goes with lively spiritual and creative awareness (or consciousness)./p>

There's the previously mentioned division of the community: The meditators (gurus or 'rus) and the natives (townies). Or, Aliens From Another Planet meet American Gothic. The antipathy is mostly restrained and polite, but it's always there. There's a lot of harmonious coexistence, but there's also a vocal minority who feel that Fairfield would have been much better off without meditators, and a few who actively campaign to drive them out.

However, many of those who grow up here, of both persuasions, choose to stay. People continue to come visit or live here from all over the world. Odd bodies in other Iowa towns think this is an incredible place - they rave on and on! We've lived in a lot of different places, and there's no place on earth we'd rather be than Fairfield, IA.