Madre Grande Monastery
GUEST THE PARACELSIAN ORDER
|
REGISTRATION -- All guests must sign our guest register before hiking, camping, or using any of the facilities at Madre Grande. A reception area is set up inside the Sun Center for this purpose. All guests are here under a license for limited use, which is revocable at any time. This license is posted in the Sun Center at the reception area.DONATIONS -- We are wholly supported by your generous donations. A donation jar is at the reception area for your contributions. We sincerely thank you.PARKING -- We strive to maintain a park-like atmosphere in the valley; therefore, parking is allowed only in designated areas (see map). Temporary parking on roads or beside buildings is allowed for loading and unloading purposes only and must be approved first. Parking or driving off roads is strictly prohibited! Hot engines and dry grass start fires.CAMPING -- Overnight camping is allowed in the meadow retreat area only (see map). Campers must park in the meadow parking lot and walk to their campsite.NO FIRES! -- Always be conscious of fire safety! This is an extreme fire hazard area. No open fires are allowed. Do not let candles or incense burn unattended. Glass bottles can start fires if left exposed to sunlight.SMOKING -- Smoking is allowed only on roadbeds or in the parking lots. Never smoke indoors, on trails, under trees, or in the meadows. Make sure that all cigarettes are put out, and take the butts with you for disposal in a trash can.HIKING -- Please stay on the trails. This will minimize erosion damage. If you plan on taking a hike, you must notify us before you begin.WHOLENESS -- We are a center for wholeness. Do not bring alcohol, drugs, soaps or toxic substances onto monastery grounds. |
CHILDREN
-- Note: There will be no children permitted on the monastery grounds during this retreat. PETS -- Guests’ pets are not allowed on monastery grounds. NATURAL PRESERVE -- We are a nature preserve. Guns and hunting are never allowed. Please be respectful of the plants and creatures that live here. Do not harass the animals or pick the vegetation. Always remember that there are rattlesnakes in the brush. Please do not harm them.SPEED LIMIT -- Speed limit on all roads is 15 MPH. Children and wildlife are using the roads, so please drive carefully.SUN CENTER KITCHEN -- Guests may not use the kitchen or the refrigerators.RESIDENT AREAS -- All of the residents at Madre Grande are on spiritual retreat, and wish to have their privacy respected. Resident areas are private and may be entered by permission only.LIBRARY -- The library is open for guest use daily, but it is not a lending library. Do not reshelve books, and do not remove any book from the building.TRASH -- Please remove all trash to the recycling center behind the Sun Center. When you leave an area, leave behind only your footprints.WATER CONSCIOUSNESS -- Water is a precious resource at Madre Grande. The water we drink, bathe in, and raise our food with comes from our wells and springs and has not been polluted. Please do not pollute our water with any toxic substances. Because the water that goes down the drain is recycled, please use only the soaps and shampoos provided in the showers. Do not leave water running unnecessarily. If you take a shower, turn off the water while soaping and shampooing. Do not use soap in the lakes or at any of the springs.SWIMMING -- There is no lifeguard on duty. The lake shores drop off steeply, so do not let children play unattended. |
| MADRE
GRANDE means "Great Mother"-- as in Mother Earth or Mother
Nature. Nearly all world religions have special regard and reverence for a Mother figure.
This land is regarded by the monks -- as well as people of myriad spiritual expressions --
as holy, sacred land; a special place where the Mother’s love is ample and evident.
A HISTORIC SITE The land is the site of a pre-historic camp for the original human inhabitants of the area, evidenced by dozens of metates (acorn grinding holes) worn into many of the large boulders that distinguish the area. The local Indians were migratory, traveling between the ocean in summer and the desert in winter. Madre Grande was a stopover between the two. The natives found its virtues quite attractive. Its natural springs flow year-round. The oak meadows produce an ample harvest of acorns in the fall. Spring is characterized by lush meadows and hillsides filled with berries, wild grasses and greens. The monumental boulders that litter the mountainsides give one a feeling of great antiquity. And no wonder--the mountain has been above water for 170 million years--more than four times as long as the Himalayas! The countless winds and rains over the years have worn it down, washed away the soil and created these magnificent rock bones. P ILGRIMAGES TO MADRE GRANDEMadre Grande Monastery and its spiritual retreat center is not open to the public, although our gate is open by invitation to those who feel called here to receive the blessings of the Great Mother. We are a place of pilgrimage to monks and friars of the Order. We allow camping by those on religious exercises and spiritual retreat and we have beds available in our private home most of the time. Please call for an invitation. We honor the land here as holy and sacred, and dedicate all or our work and energy to our healing and teaching purposes. Guests coming to Madre Grande are asked to respect our home, this land, our Great Mother Earth, at all times. |
|
|
G UEST CHECK IN
P LEASE SUPPORT US
|
||
