The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Rumi

Welcome to

The Sanctuary Vision

We are a mindful vegan community and retreat center creating space for visitors to focus on their
health and spiritual growth while living in nature in kind open-hearted community. Our mission is to
create a peaceful loving environment to support the needs of Guests from all over the world who
come to The Sanctuary to heal themselves spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Welcome
We are delighted you have decided to spend time with us. We hope you benefit from our sacred
space and experience growth and healing during your stay. These guidelines will help you to
understand and participate in our community. Please read this entire Guest Welcome Guide and do
not hesitate to ask any questions. Meditations, workshops and meals are three of the main ways our
community comes together. You are invited to join our morning meditations, yoga sessions and
evening sharing circles and activities as often as you wish. We strongly suggest attending as many of
these as you can during your stay here.

Heart Sharing
As part of our community life, we offer the opportunity to do a heart sharing every day after
breakfast & usually during our evening sessions. It is a special moment when everybody who wants to
share feelings or thoughts can do so, but sharing is not required.
A few guidelines for Heart Sharing:
1. We do our best to only share our feelings and thoughts and don't discuss communal issues.
2. This is not the time for telling stories about our day.
3. We talk one after the other without interrupting, and can offer a kind thank you or appropriate
gesture after each share...Please save conversation, responses and personal stories for later :)
4. What is shared during this time remains private and confidential.

Sleeping & Silence Time

To support healing during sleep and ensure sufficient rest for early morning meditation, the house is
locked at 10:30 PM, WiFi is turned off, and silence is maintained thereafter until after meditation (7:45
AM) the following morning. Please only enter the sacred space we create for morning meditation & our

evening satsang if you are joining us. If you are a night reader, please make sure the light is not
bothering anybody sharing the room. No computer use in bedrooms after 9pm.

The Sanctuary Schedule

6:45-7:35

Meditation and Chanting

7:45-9:00

Yoga

9:15-9:45

Breakfast and Heart Sharing

10:00-13:00

Rest, OR Custom Retreat Session (if included in your

package) OR Work Time if applicable

13:00-14:00

Lunch & Cleanup

14:00-18:30

Rest, OR Custom Retreat Session (if included in your

package) OR Work Time if applicable

18:30-19:30

Dinner & clean up

20:00-21:30

Evening Program

22:30

Silence and Bedtime -- Lights and Wifi Out

Sundays
Sunday is a day off without scheduled meals, or yoga. Feel free to still come downstairs to meditate at
6.45 or any other time, but there may not be anyone setting the space for meditation on Sundays.
For spiritual and health reasons, everyone is encouraged (but not required) to fast from food on
Sundays. Coconut water fasting or water fasting with support of live supplements such as ginger,
turmeric, aloe vera and lemon are possibilities. Those preferring not to fast may eat fruit (or any
leftovers) but no food preparation is done in the kitchen on Sundays. We provide up to 4 coconuts for
each person. Please let us know Saturday morning if you require coconuts.

Food, Meals, Kitchen use.

The Sanctuary food is completely plant-based. The Sanctuary staff prepare community meals for
everyone staying here. Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements and we will
advise if we can accommodate your needs. If you intend to be away during meal times, please write
your requirements on the whiteboard so we can save the appropriate amount of food. If you will be
late but are sure you will be back, we may be able to save the meal for you.
We do not offer kitchen access to Guests or staff except for preparation of community food at
authorized times. During cooking time, only those who cook are allowed in the kitchen. Consider
asking the chefs if they would like help before giving a hand.
If you do use the kitchen for making tea, please clear up after yourself. Wash your cups and tidy up.
Please also wash your glass after breakfast smoothie and place it upside down on the table beside the
water filter. After meals please bring your used dishes to the kitchen. If you have come late for a meal
and dishwashing has already been completed, please wash your own dishes.
Please keep the bedrooms rooms stay completely free from food. There is a small fridge outside the
kitchen where you can store a small amount of personal items. Please label your food so people know
it is yours. Fruits for snacks are available in a cloth covered bowl on the table with water and glasses.

Still, Quiet Space

Many of our Guests and staff choose to stay at The Sanctuary because we offer a quiet space for
introspection, relaxation and spiritual growth. We therefore ask everybody staying with us to be aware

of and sensitive to the needs of others. Some Guests & staff may sometimes want to be quiet and
alone so we do whatever we can to respect their desires. Please therefore be very aware of the others
receptivity to being involved in conversations. There may be other spaces and times to get to know
one another and have fun. If you wish to be in silence you may wear an In Silence badge so others
know & do not interact with you.
In general, our staff should only be approached for questions in the morning work period as they are
not usually on duty in the afternoons/evenings. To be clear, Staff are usually only available in the
mornings. Please only approach our staff in the afternoon/evenings if you have an issue, which
cannot wait until the morning.

Locking Gates, Closing Screens

Please firmly close the gate behind you EVERY TIME you come in or out, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. If
you do not know the code to enter, please ask. Do not give the gate password to anyone.
If you are the last one going to bed, make sure the back and front doors on the ground floor and the
door on the upper floor are locked, all the inside and outside lights are turned off, fans are off and
candles blown out. Please also follow these guidelines during the yoga sessions and other activities
on the roof, if no one is remaining downstairs. The upstairs door should also be closed and locked at
night.
We encourage coming back to The Sanctuary before 10:30 PM so you can be fresh for meditation and
yoga in the morning. The doors to the house will be locked at 10:30 PM. If on occasion you plan to
return late, please let us know so we can make arrangements for a key to the door to be left out for
you. Please be very mindful not to wake others upon your return.

Happy Feet

Before entering, please rinse any sand off your feet in the bowl provided at the entrance. This is
especially important when coming back from the beach to avoid plumbing issues with the showers. If
you happen to get lots of sand on the floor of the shower, please scoop it out and put it outside or in
the garbage. If the foot bowl is dirty, please tip in the garden, wash and refill it.

Bathrooms
There are six bathrooms in The Sanctuary -- one on each floor, one in the Mandala room on the
second floor, one outside the front entrance just before the stairs to palapa, one in the Love casita in
the back garden and one next door in the Annexe (Karma and Seva rooms). There is space for
toiletries for each guest in the bathroom on your floor. Please label your shelf with your name. Flushing
toilets takes a lot of water so if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down. All paper goes in
the bathroom bin, not down the toilet to avoid drainage issues. This is the general rule in Mexico.

Towels can be hung to dry on the clothes line outside the kitchen. Please avoid hanging clothes on the
railing outside on the first floor.

Washing/Room Cleaning
We do our best as a community to conserve water and protect the environment. Please put bed
sheets and towels to wash only once a week. We provide only one bath towel which is not for beach
use. Please bring a beach towel with you, or buy one locally & launder it yourself. We don't wash
mattress coverings or bedspreads every week, just the bed sheets. With personal laundry, we advise
you to go to Lavanderia Burbujas, Hotel San Martin or the Eco Lavanderia just off Calle Heroes Nios.
The price is about 15 pesos per kilogram of washed and dried laundry. We may be able to offer an in
house service for 50 pesos per kilogram. Please ask if you would like this.
Rooms are cleaned before you arrive and after you leave and at least once per week.. You are
responsible for keeping your own space clean during your stay (we do not usually offer maid service,
but for additional cost we can arrange this).

The Palapa
We use the space under the rooftop palapa for yoga, some workshops and occasionally evening
activities like dancing. Please therefore do not come to the palapa during Yoga classes or workshops
(unless you are joining them) or when an individual healing therapy is taking place there, as it can be
disturbing for the teacher and the people attending.

Internet & Phone Use

The internet here can be very slow at times. While its obvious our modern world is very connected
through the internet, and we may think it impossible to live without it, The Sanctuary is in part a place
to disconnect from machines and reconnect with our true nature.
Additionally, in order to keep The Sanctuary running smoothly, we need to keep the wireless networks
as clear as possible for important administrative tasks and we ask for your cooperation in observing
the following guidelines:
1. Please turn your phones off or to airplane mode when you are not making or awaiting an
important call.
2. If you do need to make or answer an important call, please go outside the gates to chat.
3. Please limit social network browsing to the bare minimum. This means only using
facebook/twitter/whatsapp etc. only for important and specific contact with family and friends.
4. Please turn your internet off when you are not using it.
5. Please do not use internet or phones in bedrooms after 9pm.
There are two wireless networks that you can join in the Sanctuary:
The Sanctuary Wi-Fi Network (password: ___________________________________________)
The Sanctuary2 network is connected to automatically if you sign into the above network
The Internet is automatically turned off at 10:30 PM to ensure sufficient rest and a peaceful night for
you and your roommates. Internet comes back on at 7:30 AM approx.

We ask you not to stream music and movies, as it slows down the Internet for
all.
Be eco-friendly
Help us to bring peace and harmony within our blue planet by doing little things:
Unplug any unused electrical appliances, especially don't leave chargers plugged in when not
used.

Make sure lights & fans are off when you leave a room.

Please use eco-friendly soaps, shampoos, and other personal products.

Many Guests who come to stay here for healing are sensitive and allergic to perfumes and
colognes, so please take this into consideration and perhaps use essential oils instead. Moringa
shop in La Punta has many lovely natural products that can be purchased, or please ask us for
other ideas.

Drinking Water
We have a drinking water system which filters the water three times and energizes the water in several
different ways. Please help us keep this water available by re-filling the jug and the water filter when
you drink from it. Thank you
We sincerely Thank You for joining our community! Please let us know if there is anything we can do
to make your stay more pleasant and enjoyable.