Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashleigh Hakes.
Hi Ashleigh, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It’s been quite a journey to get here. There are many pieces and my story is one that’s woven with ceremony, community, and a deep calling to live in harmony with the Earth. My path began almost 2 decades ago, where I became immersed in the world of healing arts, breathwork, and sound alchemy, graduating with a BA in Human Development with a minor in Holistic Healing. I’ve always been passionate about transformation, helping people remember who they are beneath the noise of the world. Over time, that passion evolved into leading global retreats, facilitating medicine ceremonies, and creating experiences that bridge the mystical with the practical.
It wasn’t until I met Taelor that the vision of having a sustainable retreat center really started to take root in the physical.
Taelor’s story is rooted in the land. She has spent over 10 years in regenerative agriculture, permaculture design, and sustainable building both studying and teaching ways to live in deeper relationship with the natural world. She has always carried the dream of creating a living classroom, a place where people could come to remember ancient wisdom through hands-on learning and community all rooted in spirituality and sustainability.
When our paths first crossed, she told me her dream standing behind her first ever permaculture booth, and then I didn’t see her again for about a decade where we kept in contact. Eventually I invited her to my psychedelic mastermind where her and her partner Stew dreamed up their next chapter. It felt like two pieces of the same puzzle coming together. Where spirit and soil, structure and ceremony collided to make a dream reality.
That dream became Cosmos Ranch Foundation — a 41.5-acre regenerative sanctuary and creative retreat center just outside Austin, TX dedicated to turning cosmic dreams into tangible reality.
Both me and Taelor shared a vision of building a space where people could reconnect with the sacredness of life in every form, from the food they eat to the way they breathe, move, and gather. Today, I serve as the Operations Director, weaving the unseen – ceremony, community, and creative flow – with the seen – systems, programs, and structure. Taelor & Stew serves as the Founder and Visionary Steward, guiding the land’s development through permaculture principles and regenerative design with a master mechanic and speed shop onsite.
Together, we’re creating a space that blends art, ecology, and healing. where people can come to experience what it means to live in true reciprocity with the Earth, with one another, and with themselves. It’s been a wild, humbling, and beautiful evolution, one that keeps revealing new layers of purpose every day.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but it’s been a meaningful one.
Building something of this magnitude from the ground up requires a lot of patience, faith, and resilience. There’s a sacredness to the struggle, because every challenge has taught us something about trust, integrity, and alignment. In permaculture one of the core principles is the solution is always in the problem.
For me personally, one of the biggest lessons has been learning how to trust my vision, stay regulated in my nervous system, and stay devoted to embodying divine purpose even when things feel uncertain.
Balancing the spiritual and the structural is a journey in itself: holding the vision while navigating the very human layers of leadership and community building. There were times where we had to rebuild from nothing, moments when the path forward wasn’t clear, and seasons where I was being asked to expand beyond what felt comfortable.
For Taelor and Stew, stewarding the land has come with its own set of lessons that I can’t personally speak to from navigating zoning, infrastructure, and various other challenges to managing the physical demands of regenerative development, it all comes with bumpy roads along the way. Every system we build out here — water, power, gardens, community mirrors an inner system we’ve had to strengthen within ourselves.
There have been moments of deep uncertainty, but also moments of pure magic like when our new Zome structure finally came to life, or when a community gathering reminds us why we’re doing this. The road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been divinely guided. Every obstacle has been an initiation that’s brought us closer to our purpose and deepened our devotion to this vision.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At Cosmos Ranch Foundation, we’re cultivating more than just a piece of land, we’re building a living ecosystem for regeneration, creativity, and community. Our 41.5-acre sanctuary just outside of Austin serves as both a retreat center and a living classroom, where people can come to reconnect with the Earth, themselves, and one another through experiences that blend permaculture, art, and ceremony.
We specialize in hosting transformative gatherings, educational workshops, and immersive retreats that integrate wellness, sustainability, and creative expression. Our spaces include our newly built geodesic Zome temple, outdoor pavilion, gardens, cosmic casita airbnb, and natural landscapes, with 7 more Zomes, an art gallery, and community kitchen on the way. Each space is designed intentionally to foster connection and remembrance. Whether someone comes for a sound healing, to get married, a permaculture class, or a week long retreat, they leave feeling more rooted, inspired, and in harmony with life.
What we’re most proud of is the way we’re bridging worlds by merging spirituality with sustainability, ceremony with systems, and heart-centered living with grounded infrastructure. We’re not just talking about change; we’re demonstrating what regenerative culture looks like in real time.
What truly sets Cosmos Ranch apart is the frequency behind it. Every element on this land from the earthen floors in the Zome to the goats, donkey, gardens, and bees all carries intentional energy. We operate as a 508(c)1(a) non-profit PMA, which allows us to build community rooted in sovereignty, reciprocity, and shared values rather than hierarchy.
At its core, Cosmos Ranch Foundation is a movement to turn cosmic dreams into tangible reality. We’re here to remind people that the new world isn’t coming, we’re building it now, together, in harmony.
What does success mean to you?
For me, success isn’t about how much you achieve, it’s about how deeply you align. It’s the feeling of being rooted in integrity with your purpose, your community, and the Earth.
I define success as waking up inspired, regulated in my body, surrounded by people who care, and doing meaningful work that serves something larger than myself. It’s being able to live in ceremony with life where even the challenges are seen as sacred teachers.
At Cosmos Ranch, success looks like seeing people light up when they arrive here , when they feel the land, breathe deeper, and remember what it feels like to belong. It’s witnessing transformation happen naturally through connection, art, and nature, building skills, and manifesting your dream life with community by your side.
To me, success is not a finish line, it’s a state of embodiment. It’s living my values every day and co-creating a world that feels more harmonious, intentional, and alive.
Pricing:
- Zome rental is $80/hour while we are still building the retreat center
- Airbnb rental is $295/night on average
- All classes are sliding scale, no one turned away
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cosmosranch.love
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmosranch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmosRanchFoundation
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosmos-ranch/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/CosmosRanch
Image Credits
Ashleigh Hakes & Taelor Monroe
