Review 2025
"Red Earth Sanctuary is truly the most magical and non-ordinary place I have ever been. The land, the people, the wisdom, the dance, the food, the pulse of presence and communal healing. Oya and Michael are stewards of a most sacred container for beauty, connection, and soulful embodiment to naturally unfold. The fluid structure that they provide for ritual and reflection allowed me to feel deeply embraced by myself and effortlessly connected with the people around me, despite our first time meeting. And, months after my first visit, I am still unearthing some of the insights I gained from my time there. Oya's wisdom and teachings are ancient, alive, radiant, and a true breath of fresh air. Michael's support and vital offerings are infused with endless love. For anyone who is considering making the pilgrimage to Red Earth... the journey is well worth it" - Maria, Colorado, US
Please scroll down for info on the February Retreat
Living Wide Awake
verus
Sleep Walking
implies breaking habits that lead to "sleepwalking" through daily routines, resulting in deeper awareness of one's surroundings, values, and actions. This state implies being fully present and authentic.
Living wide awake is a return to the body, the shadow, and the difficult terrain of relational conflict, where our love, compassion, and wisdom get tested. We explore what embodied living actually demands: not to transcend the human condition, but a deeper, more honest, heartfelt inhabitation of "what is".
Living wide awake in the kitchen, the argument with your partner, the ongoing catastrophe of the news?
"Living wide awake" means intentionally engaging with life, rather than operating on autopilot, by cultivating presence, mindfulness, and active choice. It implies breaking habits that lead to "sleepwalking" through daily routines, resulting in deeper awareness of one's surroundings, values, and actions. This state implies being fully present and authentic.
Perspective Shift:
- The body isn’t what you transcend — it’s what you return to.
The deeper truth is that awakening without embodiment isn’t liberation — it’s dissociation wearing liberation’s clothes. The real journey isn’t just up the mountain. It’s coming back down and re-inhabiting life in all its colours, everything you left behind.
- Conflict isn’t the obstacle to awakening. It’s the curriculum. Every developmental transition — every move up the spiral — is itself a form of conflict: two perspectives trying to occupy the same space at the same time. The friction isn’t a problem to eliminate. It’s the intelligence of evolution pressing for a greater integration.
- Zero-sum conflict is a developmental stage, not a moral failing. When people can only see enemies, it’s not because they’re bad — it’s because they’re operating from a developmental altitude where no other response is available. The polarization tearing the world apart isn’t a values problem. It’s a developmental emergency. And it can’t be solved at the same level of consciousness that created it.
- Nobody is smart enough to be 100% wrong. Every perspective, including the ones you find most repugnant, holds a piece of the truth. This isn’t relativism — it’s the antidote to the moral superiority that makes genuine dialogue impossible. Self-righteousness presumes I am morally superior to you. And the moment I do that, I’ve stopped learning, I’ve stopped evolving, and I’ve become part of the problem I think I’m solving.
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