9/28/2024

Bendiciones de Colombia!

It is with a heart full of joy that I share the good news that our brother Paulo Nacua and his lovely family have found a new home nestled upon Montaña Agua Clara in the high Andes of Nariño, Colombia. This land which Paulo’s family is currently leasing holds promising potential to become the location of the Sanctuary of Heaven on Earth, Paulo’s long-cultivated vision for a retreat center that would serve as a beacon of healing and hope for people from all walks of life seeking a more harmonious way of connecting with themselves, each other, and the natural world. This verdant land is located approximately fifteen miles from the base of the great volcano known by the ancestors as Urkunina or “Mountain of Fire,” modernly known as Volcan Galeras de Pasto. It is from the name of this massive volcanic mountain in conjunction with Mount Shasta, volcanic majesty of the Cascade Range in California, which our family name Urku Shasta was derived, symbolizing the powerful weaving of the northern and southern territories as foretold by the Eagle Condor Prophecy.

A momentous flow is well underway towards the manifestation of the Sanctuary of Heaven on Earth; many synchronicities seem to be guiding the way, heartfelt support is arriving from all directions, and miraculous blessings seem to be carrying the mission forward on angel’s wings!  I have been incredibly honored to witness the process of this vision becoming manifest since meeting Paulo and his wife Diana nearly two years ago, and I became inspired to be in support of this prayer in a more personal way after I began working with Paulo through one-on-one online consultations earlier this year.

 And so it is that I heeded the call to journey south and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Accompanied by two other U.S. citizens, Paulo’s dear friends Carl and Liz, we ventured to offer our blessings to this land and to support Paulo and Diana’s prayer, and to learn how we might be of service there.  

Seated at a lofty 8500’ elevation just twenty minutes from the airport in Pasto, Montaña Agua Clara enjoys a temperate year-round climate despite its proximity to the equator. The gated rural property is adorned with multiple cozy casitas, vibrant gardens, and meandering pathways. This living gem - 11.11 acres, to be exact - of pristine Andean wilderness is abundantly blessed by fresh mountain springs, crystalline streams, and lavish waterfalls. It is here you can truly feel that water is life ; the hillsides are bursting with orchids, oak groves, butterflies, mushrooms, and songbirds. The land and the life that thrives upon it are powerful medicines all their own.  Something about being here feels like home, feels like a remembering. 

We took long walks through the dense forest and sat upon soft earth at the edge of flowing water for long talks; in this way we anchored our dreams for the Sanctuary of Heaven on Earth and envisioned how we could be in service to our collective healing and awakening. We worked together to renovate and decorate the ceremonial maloca and then gathered for mambeaderos and profound prayer ceremonies within its walls. We shared delicious, nourishing meals together prepared with love by Paulo’s wife Diana and Paulo’s father, Leo. We sang old traditional songs and spoke of a new story for humanity. We placed our prayers and poured our hearts into a clay pot along with medicinal herbs, master plants, offerings from our homelands, and pinecones for our loved ones, and buried it beneath a mighty pine tree near the mountaintop; our pagamento, or land offering, to this sacred place. 

Graced by the company of heart-centered humans on a beautiful mission, I released into a deep peace - a way of simply being - in the course of the short week I spent there.  Deeply immersed in those magical mountains, laden with heritage and seeped in simpler ways, I shed old skins and let my masks fall away; I may have even buried some old ancestral bones and scattered some age-old ashes. This is one of those trips from which you never entirely return; part of you is lost, some part of you is found. I came home a week ago, and as I piece my day-to-day reality back together, it is looking different than before; I’m seeing new possibilities and reimagining my potential. I’m telling myself some different stories about my past and about my future.  I am rearranging the mosaic.  

As I process the shifts and digest the gifts that I received, it’s quite surreal to be returning to Reality with a capital R – all of its tension, turmoil, and density during this time when the world is seemingly on the brink of collapse. Yet within me there is a slowness, a peace, a patience… and most curiously - an infallible sense of hope. Having been gifted a glimpse of what is possible, I now cannot turn my eyes from the beauty of this wild and wonderful world. What could be built as old systems crumble? What are we learning from our mistakes? What beauty could emerge from the horror? What could rise from the ashes of so many inharmonious patterns that are coming to an inevitable end?  

As our brother Paulo says “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

This dream’s weaving will be a work in progress, but it is fortunate that so many facilities and amenities are already in place. The Sanctuary of Heaven on Earth is ready and eager to welcome small groups for private retreats guided by Paulo’s transmissions of Amazonian, Andean, and Eastern Yogic wisdom traditions, with option for prayer and communion with master Amazonian and Andean plant teachers.  If one is not ready to make the venture south but is intrigued to soak up some up Paulo’s wisdom without renewing their passport, he is also available for remote personal consultations in which he transmits teachings from his deep knowledge of various ancient wisdom traditions and the shamanic arts to support healing, empowerment, and heart-centered living.  Planning is well underway for other exciting offerings to be available in the coming months including scheduled group retreats, non-psychotropic plant dietas, vision quests, permaculture gardening, children’s workshops, veteran’s programs, bee-keeping, and cold-water plunges - au naturel - in La Agua Clara. 

I hope many of you will join us as we endeavor to create something truly beautiful that will positively impact many, many generations to come. If you would like to learn more about our mission or are hearing the call to visit Montaña Agua Clara, please visit: About — Prayer of Heaven on Earth (urkushasta.org)

May the waters of Montana Agua Clara bless you across time & space!  

Jen Gleason