An Expression of the Heart

Sean Fennel Finds his Calling at Sunburst Sanctuary

“It was like my heart burst open,” Sean Fennel recalls as he describes the permaculture class that he attended shortly after moving from New York to California in 2013.

“The course at Quail Springs in the Cuyama Valley, an educational permaculture site, changed my whole life. It was a revelation. It was all about being in harmony with nature; bringing together land, resources, people and earth in a sustainable way. It was then that I understood what I’m supposed to be doing with my life,” Sean says while strolling through his garden at Sunburst Sanctuary outside of Lompoc.

Sean grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York, but he had other plans following high school. He was awarded a scholarship in painting and drawing at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Advertising and graphic design soon caught his attention, and he switched majors.

Sean was promptly hired by a top ad agency in New York City and handed the creative reins of several high-profile accounts. It was on one of those jobs that he met his wife, Ischa, a copywriter on the same account as Sean.

Like-minded on many levels, both Sean and Ischa were involved in a meditation study group. Though early in their careers, they were inspired to take a year off to focus on their spiritual selves. And that’s when they discovered Sunburst Sanctuary, a community dedicated to spirituality, a holistic lifestyle and the practice of meditation

What permaculture teaches us is that what we’re doing today is for the future.

“That first year spent at Sunburst was exhilarating in so many ways,” Sean says. “A part of me wanted to stay, but it wasn’t the right time for me to leave my career when there was so much more I wanted to do in advertising.”

And so Sean and Ischa returned to New York City and to their careers. Sean rose quickly through the ranks of the advertising world, his creativity and smarts recognized by agencies and clients alike as he applied his talents to the campaigns behind some of the most recognizable brands in the world. He was on top of his game and still growing.

But that didn’t mean he put his spiritual self aside. He and Ischa continued to visit Sunburst for a couple of weeks each year over the course of 17 years.

“My thought was that I’d eventually retire at Sunburst, but not yet,” Sean says. “I loved what I was doing. I was very secure in New York and in my career.

“But something changed when we came out to Sunburst for a wedding in December of 2012. Something in my heart was telling me that Sunburst is where I now should be, that the only way to get out here was to let go of the lamppost and take a chance. I had done everything possible that I could imagine in advertising. It was time for something different.”

If he had any hesitation about walking away from his stellar career, there was the possibility of overseeing advertising for the 13 Sunburst-owned natural food markets across Utah, Arizona and California. In moving to Sunburst, it seemed Sean could keep one hand busy putting his advertising experience to practice while leading a more spiritual lifestyle.

Sean made the move to Sunburst on Saturday March 28, 2013, and on Monday, March 30, Whole Foods purchased all of Sunburst’s markets with the exception of New Frontiers Market in Solvang. So much for that opportunity! But when one door closes….

“Sunburst asked if I’d be interested in attending a permaculture workshop. Those two weeks changed the course of my life,” Sean says.

“What permaculture teaches us is that what we’re doing today is for the future. It’ll take a few months before we see the rewards of what we’re planting today. If we’re not looking at the future, we’re not sustainable. I’m not just farming; I’m growing food to feed and nourish people. All of the investments we make on this property—people, food, compost, water—are for the good of the whole,” Sean continues as we walk through the garden and orchard, the take-home from his permaculture education.

Having invested a number of years in turning dirt and weeds into rich soil and produce, much of it by his hands alone, Sean faced another turning point in his life: a stroke. As he tells it, he was up early that Tuesday morning in 2020 and spent the day seeding, planting, composting and readying the fields for the heavy rain that was expected. Five inches of rain fell the night that Sean suffered a serious stroke.

“That kinda changed everything,” he says with a sigh. “But no regrets. It became my aha! moment. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was tending to others along with my farm. I wasn’t in balance. I had to learn that lesson so that I could be the person I am today physically, as well as mentally and spiritually. The garden is more alive now than before my stroke, because there are others finally working with me.

“It took six months of therapy before I could return to my garden. I couldn’t initially walk, but I didn’t come out here to be a retiree sitting in a chair and watching others do what I wanted to be doing. That’s not me. I’m in this until the end. I want to be someone who is carrying the vision forward and sharing what I’ve learned.”

That vision gave birth to Sean’s weekly Wednesday Garden Party when anyone can join Sean at Sunburst and work the garden. Sean promises that no one goes home empty handed, whether it be with produce, a bag of seeds or, most valuable, the fact that they learned something new. I’m one of those people.

As Sean and I leave the farm, my arms cradling freshly picked fruit and vegetables, he stops to point out the row of beets and another of carrots surrounding the cabbage, the beets and carrots acting as a method of natural pest control. Practicing permaculture creates a self-sufficient ecosystem that respects the earth and works with nature rather than trying to tame nature.

“I have so much,” Sean gushes. “I don’t desire anything more. I’m just doing it for the sake of creating a community. Everything I do is from the heart. This is my gift, my expression of the heart. Creativity is not a mind process. It’s a heart process.”

Sean has been following his heart from the start. That’s love.