Mission Statement
Her name is The Sacred Sanctuary. In a meditation of deep connection and listening, the land gifted both her name and mission statement in 2019.
Nestled in the foothills of Boulder and held by a sacred mountain and river, The Sacred Sanctuary has a deep connection to the divine white light of the selenite and to the energy of the 4 pillars of light. It has dedicated itself to help humanity anchor love, compassion, peace and harmony as the foundation for the new paradigm.
This is a space where all life on the planet is considered sacred and where the interconnectedness of life on our planet is felt and honored.
It is a space where the inter tribal altar can network as a means to bring together the ancient and indigenous wisdoms from around the world. We deeply understand that these wisdoms and earth honoring ways hold the codes of the divine intelligence of our planet and will help the Earth and humanity find balance and harmony. This land wants to nurture the seeds of divine intelligence to grow and expand wisdom practices as means to benefit all life and all beings on the planet and in the universe.
The Sacred Sanctuary is also committed to making decisions that support the environment and the balance of the ecosystem and our natural resources. We are committed to the environment and to creating a model where our financial sustainability is aligned with environmental health.
May The Sacred Sanctuary serve as a place of peace, compassion, harmony, love, healing, and abundance in community for all that come.
Land Guardians
My name is Rāćhel (Raquel). I am a healer, wisdom keeper, meditation practitioner and teacher, sacred space Cocreator, channel for divine love and devoted student/listener of Mother Earth and Spirit. I serve humbly as gate keeper/visionary of this sacred space and am in service to creating Heaven on Mother Earth.
My son, Namaste, is almost 9. He is such a bright light and sweet boy who brings his own wisdom to the world. He is funny, playful, sweet and kind. He brings the childlike wonder to the land and is deeply connected to the forest and nature. He has truly loved the heart connections with our fellow land stewards and been nurtured by these relationships. He is a blessing to my life and to our sacred land
Michael is partner and cofounder of the santuary. He is a gift to this vision . He is a tender hearted joyous man who has ample building experience (he truly can build anything). Its has been his hands that have created much of the infrastructure here. Michael has also worked with land and plants for the past 30 years creating beauty. He can literally move mountains. He is a driving force of the dream here . He truly has a service oriented heart and meets people in a space of acceptance. He splits time on the land with time in his community house in northeast Boulder.
We have one domestic kitty who helps keep the mice populations in balance and a new puppy who is very smart and just learning her place here. These are all the domestic animals the land can hold.
We also have many wild animals with whom we share the space. We have a land bear, fox, bobcat, occasional cougar, deer, winged allies and many woodland creatures. We have many plant allies, a grandmother tree, mother and father tree, a sacred mountain and wisdom whispers of our stream.
Life at The Sacred Sanctuary
She is a very sweet, intimate space of healing, regeneration and relaxation. We have identified many wild and edible plants. We have plentiful gardens and have a strong call to making it more sustainable and regenerative. This is really at the heart of our intention, so to live here one must feel inspired by living green and being in harmony with the divine intelligence of Mother Nature. We are looking for beings who feel aligned with the mission and want to support it! We have been tending the vision here for 6 years and deeply appreciate the heart family who have come and shared the land. We wish to attract more support and those who honor this work.
Intention in this now: Moving forward easily with development of the Sacred Sanctuary in the creation of spaces of peace, compassion, harmony, love, healing, and abundance in community for all that come.
Are you interested in visiting The Sacred Sanctuary? Review our current event offerings.
Are you interested in land stewardship at The Sacred Sanctuary? Keep reading this page!
Current Projects
These projects are moving at spirit speed.
The Temple of the Hearth
We are so incredibly excited that our temple space was completed June of 2023!
The Temple of the Hearth is located in a very sacred meadow with deep healing energies. This 20ft yurt was a culmination of 2 years of work. Before building her foundation, we meditated with the land and received guidance on a crystal mandala to burry in the ground as a foundation to anchor healing energy and wisdom. We procured the crystals and then created a handmade round mandala box to center under the structure exactly where the dome is located to create a channel of divine energy. To hold the crystals in an exact position, we used sand from our river and from my sons childhood sandbox. This combination represents the energies of the divine intelligence of mother earth and our pure innocent true nature. Before being buried we charged the crystal mandala in the full moon light and held several ceremonies to bless the crystals and the land. From this center point in a 12 pointed star we laid selenite directly in the ground around the perimeter of the yurt. As we built the structure we held ceremony to bless the temple and used sacred sound and mantra throughout the process.
It is truly a dream come true to see this space come into reality and for the benefit of all beings. The Temple of the Hearth serves as my healing space where I offer private sessions, shamanic journeys, intimate retreats, workshops and sacred circle. Please click here for more information on my one-on-one sessions. Please click here for more information on our sacred sisterhood. Please click here for more upcoming events.
Outside of my sessions, the Temple of the Hearth is a community space on the land and is open for fellow land stewards and retreat guests for practice and meditation. It is intended to be a space where we can connect with spirit, practice together or singularly and where wisdom keepers can share gifts, blessings and knowledge. A deep intention of the land is to honor wisdom traditions and to be a space where ancient wisdom can be shared and cultivated. If you are a wisdom keeper or master teacher with an intimate gathering, please reach out using our contact form with detailed information about your offerings . We will consider your proposal and its fit for the sanctuary.
The Tiny Temple
After receiving a vision of a healing hut for the land , in 2020 Fransisca came to the sanctuary. She is a tiny home who is totally spacious and empty inside. Since her arrival, she has held so many of our projects and allowed us the storage space to work on the Temple of the Hearth. With many projects going, we are always prioritizing our energy on what serves the highest for all. We are slowly making our way to Fransisca to complete flooring, internal paint, and an electrical box. As she comes to completion, we will be listening to sprit for her highest purpose! In the meantime she is supporting the needs of the land as a holder of many projects!
Structure Improvements
One intention held on the land is continuous improvement of existing structures to make them more suitable and homey living spaces.
Our Gardens
Last year we put 350 food plants in the ground and want to expand these offerings as more land stewards join the sanctuary. We want to have an abundance of food growing. We have had success in growing a huge array of produce that truly sustained those living here. We even had enough one year to participate in the small local farmers market and share our produce locally. One aspect that really helped at a high mountain climate, was the addition of hoop houses. This was very beneficial to extending our growing season and allowing us to create micro climates for different plants. So now we can sustain cool weather and hot weather crops.
On a mind, body and spirt level, we have found that the food we grow here tastes more tender and vibrant than anywhere else on the planet. I believe this to be true for everyone growing their own food in a connected, symbiotic way with Mother Nature. There is a really special relationship that is cultivated when we connect with the soils, the seeds and the plants. Here at the sanctuary, we actually infuse the seeds with our saliva before planting them in the ground. This means our DNA is imprinted on the seeds and allows Mother Nature to incorporate our body’s chemistry into the plants and food.
This year we envision the following additions to our gardens:
- More garden planning and companion planting
- Increase and deepen food preservation knowledge to allow sustainability through the winter
- Addition of a green house or solarium to allow for fresh greens throughout the winter.
- Addition of a garden irrigation system to preserve water and allow for more time to tend
Wild Medicinal and Edible Plants
It has been said that all the medicine we need grows with in one mile of our house. Nature truly gives us what we need if we have the knowledge and awareness to connect with this intelligence. Part of living sustainably and regeneratively is knowing the plant allies that grow among us. Tapping into natures pharmacy is a part of indigenous wisdom and healing traditions from around the world. Preserving this wisdom is essential to humanities health and to the health of our ecosystem and environment.
We were honored to host 3 land walks with Bridgette Mars that identified 70 wild edible and medicinal plants growing within our 6 acres of forest. We have digitally catalogued these plants and created our own digital library for the sanctuary. We want to continue this study, expand our knowledge of each plant in the library, catalogue additional plants on the land, learn their uses and then create tinctures and medicines. We look forward to hosting more land walks and deepening this wisdom. You can check in on our upcoming offerings here.
Permaculture
“Permaculture is a holistic, living-in-harmony-with-nature worldview, as well as technical approach for how to do so.“ (Modern Farmer). Nature is amazingly wise and when we use her as a blueprint for how we grow food and build structures, we as humans can live in a sustainable, regenerative and supportive way with our natural resources. Basically permaculture creates closed loop systems that work with nature and her elements. Rather than creating waste we use the resources in the loop to give back to the land. For example, instead of throwing away food scraps and human waste, we can create composting systems that use heat to transform this bio matter into healthy soil. The permaculture perspective allows humans to be a part of regenerating and sustaining the ecosystem rather than draining and damaging it.
Here on the land, we have tracked the sun for 6 years, tuned into the animal life and listened deeply to nature. We really ask the land what she needs and what is in balance. We feel this is a big part of living in harmony and giving back. In our modern world we have forgotten that the land has intelligence and can guide us. We feel this is at the base of our permaculture model and practice so far.
We do not yet have permaculture training, but I have spent time at Permaculture healing retreat centers and see how amazingly regenerative the principals are and feel very called to incorporating them more and more into the infrastructure here. We are ecstatic to be hosting a permaculture retreat with Jerome Osentowski (CRMPI) and Kareen Erbe (Brokenground) in September of 2023! Click here for more info. We truly welcome permaculture knowledge and systems that give back to the land and humanity.
In 2023 we envision:
- Filling our Permaculture retreat by Sept 1, 2023
- Bringing solar power to the two wells on the land
- Making the smaller structures power sustainable
- Upgrading the land composing system. Adding to our existing tumbler system in way that is also in balance with the land bears.
- Add one composting toilet for the Temple space
- Setting up a composting system for humaure
Chicken Coops
We have Coops and no chickens! We would love to add these lovely beings to the land, along with support and help to care for them.
Places to Live on the Land
What does it take to live here?
Honor and respect for the land and of the work that has gone into this space so far. Desire to live in harmony with nature and Mother Earth. Understanding of the vision / mission and inspiration to support it. Desire and inspiration to live on land and to work the land. Desire and inspiration to live sustainably and to grow food. Desire and inspiration to support or cocreate occasional retreats and a nourishing healing space. Desire and inspiration to share occasional meals and create a supportive environment and community. Desire and inspiration to self realize, meditate and hold a space of silence, heart, joy and presence. Desire and inspiration to share your gifts to the mission of the land, with one another and humanity.
We ask that all land mates be open to attending between 2 and 4 land meetings a month. Be willing to contribute 16 hours of land service per month. We ask that land mates have financial stability to uphold financial agreements.
Previous Land Family and what has worked well
We have shared this space with amazing heart centered humans. The relationships we have cultivated are truly soul family. While bonds cannot be forced we wish to continue attracting this sweet vibe of support and care.
Our previous landmates were super dedicated to giving to the land and really getting to know her. They really felt the vision here. They connected with her and helped hold such a beautiful space. Their practices and connection to spirit helped hold harmony. They also deeply cared for and loved Namaste. We had a wonderful balance between community and solitude.
As far as long term landmates, we had two healers and one yogi preschool teacher. One thing that worked really well was that their actual healing practices and work (seeing clients in person physically ) were held in town and not focused on the land. While there is space for cocreation of retreats, having daily clients for multiple healers could stretch traffic beyond a harmonious level.
We have neighbors to consider and need to find a good balance between rest/rejuvenation and community.
Questions to Consider
Please feel into these questions and share from your heart:
- What is your lifestyle?
- What are your greatest inspirations in life?
- What inspires you about the mission of the land?
- What are your gifts/talents and how do they align with the vision here?
- How do you see contributing to the vision, the land and its projects?
- What does it mean to you to live sustainably and in a regenerative way?
- How do you personally listen and receive wisdom from land and nature?
- What are your challenges and opportunities for growth?
- How do you live in community and what does that mean to you?
- What practices do you use to center and self realize?
If you’re hearing the call to explore land stewardship at The Sacred Sanctuary, please reach out to us!