Supporting Inner Depth... and Mystic Community Sanctuary House is a religious/educational non-profit dedicated to silence, retreat, meditation and prayer, and exploration into the nature of true inner and outer sanctuary Sanctuary House exists to realize and serve the Mystery— your mystery—and all that emerges to guide, guard and guarantee. Life is unlimited wholeness—and the whole of life is sanctuary.  Such wisdom underlies the consciousness that moves heaven to earth and earth to heaven. ‘Heaven on Earth’ begins and is first announced within us.               The truth of Sanctuary cannot be easily explained, nor is its power made real in explanation. Finding sanctuary is a grace that rests in the mystery of the journey each of us is making. Even in a world that seems convincing in its fear, loneliness and violence—yet we all long for sanctuary, which is why Sanctuary House serves the truth within each of us, inseparable from our own nature.                The 40 years of our journey has been informed by deep interest and practice in several modalities of meditation, in inter-religious dialogue and in the great spiritual traditions of our planet. We have inquired into the original teachings and energies of the Vedas, the writings of the Buddha, the Judaic path, Christianity and Islam, as well as shamanic dedications.               After hosting retreatants for 8 years in Snowmass, and then for 12 years here in Crestone in a multi-religious retreat in the round—we felt directed to let go of the strawbale facility it had taken us a decade to build.  In that way, we moved beyond the form of sanctuary.               Sanctuary House is still in Crestone in a modest facility where its founders reside and offer satsang and day-long retreats.               We present the natural state of meditation and the natural state of health. Meditation, sought after by tens of millions and the backbone of virtually every religio-spiritual path, is now effortlessly available to everyone! And so is the natural state of health is available to everyone! Spontaneous Meditation comes as a gift via one of the greatest yogi saints of this or any day. The natural state of health comes via Siddha Vaidya, the oldest medical system on the planet.              We also support the Crestone End-of-Life Project in its education about death and dying, open-air cremation, and making your end-of-life choices known to yourself and significant others. It is a volunteer project that serves Death itself—that is, Death in truth, which is not separate from Life, as that who we truly are can never die, was never born, and is the Reality behind each thought, action, situation and experience.               The door of our heart remains open to your unique call and the way you are hearing it and the source of that poetry arising from the nature of Life itself.  If you are moved, call or email us.             Peace to us all,                                                                                        William and Barbara Howell, Founders           (719) 256.4420 / (719) 588.4258 [cell]  / email: baladevim@yahoo.com / vishnudatta108@yahoo.com  Spontaneous Meditation          Nature mirrors human nature.  The Tree of Life shows us that all we see arises from all that is unseen, that the root must  be watered and that it is the root which is responsible for the trunk, limbs, branches, twigs, leaves, fruits and seeds. Meditation is the way to water our root, the root of all our attitudes, intelligence, behaviors and interests.      In 1975, at the foot of Mount Girnar in India, Lord Datta, the Guru of Gurus, gave to Bapu the most potent, effective and effortless spiritual tool specifically for this very time in which we live.  What did the Guru of Gurus give?  A great mantra - - Hari Om Tatsat Jai Guru Datta -- a ‘hotline’ to the fullness of life and human potential.  Its blessings, presented in From the Mouth of the Supreme, are many and constant, the most notable being the gift of sahaj dhyan, the Yoga of Spontaneous Meditation.      If you have ever had interest in meditation, no matter whether you consider yourself an expert or a beginner, chanting this mantra for 5-10 minutes and then sitting with eyes closed for at least 20 minutes brings the coveted state of meditation automatically, naturally and spontaneously.      Try it and let us know your experience, and do ask any questions which may arise.                   Siddha Vaidya     The most natural medical system on Earth is also its oldest. Siddha Vaidya is all about cure, so much so that merely to contribute to improving a condition is still considered a failure by Siddha physicians. There are 4448 diseases identified by this system, each ailment having at least 64 approaches. There are said to be no new diseases, such that whatever the illness, it can be cured. William and Barbara, who are benefiting from this treatment, will gladly provide you with information; answer your specific questions, put you in contact with Santhigiri Siddha Medical College and Hospital in Trivandramin, capital of the State of Kerala in southern India; give you precise travel directions, share their experience and the experiences of others, as well as something of the principals, history and applications of this amazing health system. Santhigiri grows its own herbs (530 varities) and the excellent meals you’ll enjoy are from its gardens. The cost of room, board and treatment is a fraction of the cost of Western medicine which, despite fine emergency medicine and surgical talents, is still not yet oriented to cure. You can even add in the cost of your airline ticket as still be amazed at what you will receive for your modest investment..       Read as much as you wish and, if your interest continues, contact us so that your India medical tourism experience can begin. THE DEATH THAT CONTINUES LIFE     As the great certainty for all humanity is death, how we prepare for this event can determine the dignity of our passing and its legacy for others.†     Making informed, clearly defined end-of-life choices endows those who love and wish to care for us to do so with confidence. In describing this work, its essence often gets left out, for it is not obvious nor easily set to words. Were such service a tree, its visible branches would be the tangible services of the Crestone End-of-Life Project, each performed by a trained team of volunteers. *Supporting these branches would be the four limbs of possible end-of-life choices: burial (traditional & green) and cremation (traditional & open-air). *The trunk would be end-of-life values and attitudes that reveal what is what. Seeing death as a gate, a doorway, a sacred open space, is to feel that this transition holds great opportunity and sees death, regardless of external circumstances, to be possibility. Here is where the strength of clarity and respect works with families, silently, if need be, always honoring their experience and degree of desired participation. *The roots of this work, as death itself, rest out of sight. Claiming no knowledge of death and willing to assist in all religious traditions, the Crestone End-of-Life Project serves this mystery: What looks like an end is also a beginning, perhaps the most important time of life…its final gift.                   Visit www.crestoneendoflifeproject.org © 2011 Sanctuaryhouse