Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

When the road ends, and the magic begins.

The Sanctuary is just like a visit to the Mother. You may not want some of what it offers, but you receive the teaching as it is. For the last few years, I've been able to observe the fascinating human ability to adapt and thrive.

When you allow yourself and your body to be challenged enough to see what more it can do, what more it can get, until it reaches its actual breaking point... or if there ever is one?

When you step onto this mountain, there will be bugs and shared bathrooms (we do have some rooms with private bathrooms jeje). We even have some dry bathrooms if you want to experience it all (like knowing your waste becomes one of the most epic fertilizers ever months later!!!). Now I'm just joking around.

I've seen almost every kind of small detail become a huge obstacle, just like the anxiety it gives some people not being able to open the fridge door and close it right away... you just start contemplating your own complex existence in a very deep and even fun way! I always say the best spiritual practice is the ability to laugh about anything!!

The mountain's weather quickly changes once the sun is out. It can get super warm, and it's pretty normal to get dehydrated at the top, which is why we always have natural electrolytes for our guests. Then, at night, it can get extremely cold. It's an interesting humid cold, but we solve it with a lot of blankets in the rooms and extra layers in the shared areas. Bring as many sweaters as you want! I'm sure at some point you will be using them all at once!

The main wall that most people face is right at the beginning... when they need to walk up the mountain for the first time. It can get very mystical, fast. There are people who arrive in 10 minutes, but there are others who can take even an hour, contemplating and feeling the volcanic soil for the first time.

The challenge of going up is more mental than physical. You get to experience the friction point of "perhaps I'm not fit enough..." or "I'm too old for this..." or even "I don't want to go up, I don't know how to go down." But in my experience, the worst happens when you try to compete or compare yourself with others (as usual in life, that is when the dark side arrives). Just go at your own rhythm; that is the medicine. You are you, and that is perfect.

Then something amazing happens the first time you go down. You realize that it wasn't as steep or long as you remembered, and you start wondering if all your memories are doing the same?

What a beauty, the gift of the present moment.
That is one of the gifts from the Mother.

I could write for hours here about the pros and cons of living on a mountain, but in my journey, each person will experience this in a very different way... so what better way to know than just coming to the mountain!

We would love to have you here!

Hugs and Blessings,

Arco FAM