1. Agreement to Participation - It is okay if you feel intuitively that you would not like to participate in a particular Ceremony, but once you have agreed to participate, and have consumed the medicine you agree that you will absolutely NOT leave the space. Once the Ceremony has begun, and the medicine has been consumed, you must sit through the entire Ceremony until the end. If the Ceremonial setting brings up too much emotion or intensity and you need some fresh air and alone time, you may only leave the space with the EXPRESSED PERMISSION and SUPERVISION of a facilitator to ensure your safety. You are absolutely NOT allowed to wander off out of the Ceremony space after it has begun. Doing so can be a danger to you and can be grounds for an immediate discharge from the Retreat. By sitting in Ceremony after the space has been opened, you agree to participate and to stay in Ceremony until the Ceremony closes unless you have the direct permission and supervision of a facilitator.

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2. Agreement to Sovereignty of Space - Sacred Pathways Spiritual Retreats absolutely understands the importance of physical touch, connection, and community. However, once the Ceremony has begun, it is very important to be incredibly respectful to the boundaries of other participants. Absolutely no touching is allowed between participants during Ceremony. Earth Medicines can often impair judgment and people who may usually be comfortable with physical touch may become very uncomfortable. Also, those who are normally uncomfortable with touch may become overly comfortable with physical touch. For this reason, to hold the safest space possible, it is against the rules to touch another participant during the Ceremony. This also helps deepen the effects of the medicine as the use of Earth Medicine in our Ceremony is used specifically to help participants connect deeper to themselves, and to go inward. Acts of touch can pull the participant out of their own inner world and cause them to focus more on other people, the outer world, and external stimuli. Once a Ceremonial space has been opened, you must absolutely agree to sovereignty of space, and agree not to touch any other participant. Even if they are your best friend or romantic partner, you do not know where they are mentally, emotionally or spiritually in the altered state of mind that earth medicines induce. For the safety of all participants on their journey inward, you must not enter each other's physical space. Any breach of this agreement will be treated seriously and can be grounds for a discharge from the Retreat.

 

3. Agreement to Noble Silence - The inner-evolution of each participant is our utmost priority. For this reason, talking and music is not allowed during Ceremony. Once Ceremony opens, participants must remain silent and allow for the medicine to open up their own inner dimensions for expansion, self-awareness and healing. Talking during Ceremony pulls you out of your inner world and towards external, worldly stimulus. It not only hurts you but pulls you out of your inner-exploration; it can also disrupt the healing process of others during the ceremony. Talking or being noisy can cause other participants to become irritated, uncomfortable, nauseous, or make it difficult to do their own inner work. A very beautiful, magical, and special quality happens when you sit in silence during Ceremony and allow yourself to connect with your own body, mind and soul without the distraction of others. During Ceremony, the facilitators may play some healing music or even some live instruments and medicine songs to guide you on your healing. There will also be periods of silence as well. However, guiding the musical aspect of Ceremony is the job of the facilitators and not of participants.

 

4. Agreement to Respect The Facilitators - It is very important to respect the authority of the facilitators. The facilitators are there to keep you safe and to guide you on your journey. Certain protocols are put in place to help create the best space for healing and to maximize the benefits of the earth medicines - and also to keep you safe. The facilitators only want the best for you. Please respect the wisdom and guidance of our facilitators, and if they suggest that you do or not do something during Ceremony, please honor their guidance. It is important to us that you always listen to your own inner guidance, but it is very important that the facilitators have your trust and respect. Disrespecting facilitators, breaking rules, and blatant disregard for Ceremonial protocols can be grounds for immediate discharge.

 

5. Agreement to Come As A Student - We understand that many people who like to attend spiritual retreats may have their own healing practices or even facilitate retreats or ceremonies of their own. However, when you are attending our Retreat, please be advised that it is not your job to facilitate. We ask that participants who do their own healing work or host ceremonies do not try to offer their services or try to facilitate during our Ceremonies. We trust that you are great at what you do, but our job is to hold a safe container with our own skill sets and other participants may be weary about receiving energetic work or healing from someone who does not have expressed consent from Sacred Pathways Spiritual Retreats. Similar to sovereignty of physical boundaries, it is very important that participants have sovereignty also to energetic boundaries and do not receive any type of healing work from other participants without the expressed consent of Sacred Pathways Spiritual Retreats.

 

6. Agreement To Decency - We understand the importance of sexuality and freedom of expression. However, at Sacred Pathways Spiritual Retreats we ask that you please refrain from wearing overly revealing clothing or taking clothing off during Ceremony. Please wear clothing that is Ceremonial, and that is weather appropriate. Depending on the time of day, you may want to wear less as it gets hotter or wear fewer layers as it gets cooler. However, nudity is not permitted during Ceremony. We understand it is the natural state, but in Ceremony not everyone may appreciate it, so it is strictly against the rules. Also, this Retreat is designed to help spiritually advance participants and allow attendees to go deep within themselves. Please understand that this is not a ‘singles’ retreat nor a place for hooking up. Although it would be an amazing celebration for someone to find real love and partnership at our Retreats, this is not the place to make romantic gestures or sexual advances towards other participants. Any such acts are deemed inappropriate and may result in an immediate discharge.

 

7. Agreement To Respect The Medicine - Earth Medicine, when used correctly, can be an absolutely mind blowing and transformative experience. When used incorrectly, it can be nothing more than a cheap experience of intoxication. At our Retreats, you are only to use earth medicine with the same respect and reverence that you would approach a master teacher or realized guru. We ask that you treat the medicine as a spiritual guide and approach it with only the best of intentions. During the Retreat, YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO USE THE MEDICINES OFFERED BY SACRED PATHWAYS SPIRITUAL RETREATS on specific ceremony days. It is absolutely prohibited to take any other earth medicine and/or other intoxicants or to combine substances on ceremony days. This includes cannabis. The only exception to this rule is that it IS permitted for you to bring and use your own sacred tobacco during Ceremony Time. Secretly taking other earth medicines during Ceremony (even cannabis) is grounds for immediate discharge. Another very important practice of honoring the medicine is respecting the dietary and lifestyle requirements prior to partaking in Ceremony - this is known as the “dieta”. It is also important to note that cellphones and the use of electronic devices such as laptops, kindles, ipads, etc are prohibited during ceremony hours.

 

8. Agreement to Participate in Dieta - By participating in Ceremony, you agree to do your best to refrain from salt, sugar, spice, alcohol, pork, yeast, recreational drugs including cannabis and from any sexual activity. It is recommended you start your dieta at least 3 days prior to the Retreat. We understand the dieta can be difficult - especially if your flying long distances to come to our Retreats and staying at hostels or airports. It is forgivable if you come to Ceremony and your dieta has not been perfect, but we ask that you atleast put in a concerted effort to meet the dieta requirements. The most important guidelines are avoiding all alcohol, recreational drugs, sexual activity and consumption of pork - these should be easily observed by all regardless of the circumstances. Sacred Pathways Spiritual Retreats wants you to have an amazing stay and to feel comfortable. We ask for a little bit of sacrifice but also realize the importance for you to have a comfortable stay and a great time while you're on retreat with us. For this reason, we will still be permitting (and providing) caffeine in the mornings, amazing dieta friendly meals for the first half of the retreat - and after the main earth medicine Ceremonies have passed we will be cooking incredibly tasty and healthy meals that would otherwise not be permitted on dieta - which may include salt, sugar, spice, wheat, etc. You will only be required to stay on a strict dieta for a few days - this means it should be possible for everyone to follow guidelines, to honor the medicine, to make small sacrifices for the medicine and for the greater good. However, this should not feel like a big chore and you will still be able to enjoy some amazingly authentic and tasty meals and comfort foods during the second half of the retreat.