Sacred Passage Retreat

Crestone, CO USA

May 20 - 31, 2021

Our Sacred Passage Retreat is the foundational program for Way of Nature. This program offers you a unique opportunity to explore your intrinsic spiritual connection to all of Nature, and to the ultimate Source of all Being.

Journey to one of North America's most powerful and ancient sacred places, Crestone and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  You and your fellow "Passagers," a group of three to twelve like-minded individuals, will come together at the Sacred Land Sanctuary in Crestone. The base camp and solo sites are very easy to access, with a short hike at 8500 feet. Towering above our solo camps are five 14,000-foot summits that watch over you with majestic grace. Lovely groves of large ponderosas, aspen and cottonwood line the mountain streams, with neighboring forests of juniper and pinyon pine. 

During your Awareness Training and 'AllOne' nature solo, you share the land with mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, pronghorn antelope and beautiful black fox squirrels. Bird life abounds and Eagles circle above. A large, beautiful stream flows for more than a mile across our private, protected land where we do Sacred Passage. The stream flows crystal clear and provides superb, revitalizing drinking water for all of us.

Native peoples trace back their vision quests and sacred ceremonies here for over 15,000 years.  In the late 1970's, WoN founder John P. Milton moved to Crestone and was the initial discoverer of an estimated 2,000 ancient stone meditation seats scattered among the Sacred Land Sanctuary.  These special sites continue to be used for vision questing, ceremony and prayer.  Those who journey here feel the powerful joy and opening of Spirit that these cherished surroundings offer. 

When you do Sacred Passage, you join those who have entered the Sacred Way on this land over many thousands of years... you become part of that great lineage of the Land!

“Attune the inner pace of your life with Nature's rhythms through ancient principles and teachings. Imagine yourself alone, deep in a beautiful, pristine wilderness. No distractions, nothing to disturb the tranquility. Alone. All One.”

Surrounded by the transporting beauty of your environment, John P. Milton provides an Awareness Training to prepare you for your solitary AllOne time, and to help you reintegrate upon your return. The core of these teachings are based on WoN's Twelve Guiding Principles of Natural Liberation, which are essentialized spiritual teachings inspired by many Earth-honoring lineages.

Some of the practices you will learn are: Various Meditation techniques, Shamanic traditions, Qi Gong, GaiaFlow, wilderness skills, overtoning, techniques for clearing and transmuting emotional and energetic blockages, and the Eleven Directions Ceremony.

These methods from the Awareness Training portion of your Sacred Passage retreat will come into play during your wilderness solo, known as AllOne Time.  The depth of integration between inner and outer Nature that can be achieved is solely up to your commitment and openness to the experience.

Many Sacred Passage Participants report a greatly enhanced ability to handle stress, a substantial increase in creativity and mental clarity, feelings of deep peace and harmony, sensory refinement, heightened awareness, and a renewed discovery of the basic joy of life. The profound healing that emerges from this experience increases your capacity for focused engagement in day to day activities and healthy processing of life's challenges.

Your safety and well-being is of our utmost concern; in fact, participating in a Passage is as safe as going camping. For Covid-19 protocols we be 100% outdoors, provide hand sanitizer and soap & water, wear face coverings when in groups, and social distance. A uniquely designed "buddy system" with daily checkpoints allows you, your fellow Passagers, and your Guide to verify the safety of everyone involved, while still honoring your solitude. In addition, a base camp is located nearby, and a whistle call brings an adjoining Passager or Guide into your site within a few minutes.

While you're in your AllOne Time, electronics and campfires are not permitted.  Also, reading and writing are limited to your notes from Awareness Training and the books Cultivating Natural Liberation and Sky Above, Earth Below by John P. Milton. You may eat simple, preferably organic, foods of your preference and enjoy the comforts of your own tent.  Simplification during your AllOne Time is essential.  Eliminating the trappings of everyday life assists in unleashing your true essence, allowing the qi energy you gather from Gaia to permeate your body without being drained.

Schedule:

(Exact days of training and AllOne time are subject to change due to weather and preparedness of participants)

May 20: Arrival/Travel Day (If possible, please plan on arriving sometime in the afternoon so that you may have adequate daylight to settle in and set up your camping gear at Base Camp.  We will also be joining John for dinner at 6:30pm that evening.)

May 21 - 23: Awareness Training to prepare you for your AllOne time

May 23 - 29: AllOne Time wilderness solo at chosen site within Sacred Land Sanctuary

May 29 - 30: Group sharing and Reintegration Training

May 31: Departure/Travel Day

Location: Sacred Land Sanctuary • Crestone, CO

Teacher: John P. Milton

Assistant Guide: Brad Kahland

Program Cost: $2,250 USD 

50% deposit due at time of online registration • Price only includes Passage program fee

Can't afford the full price right now?  Reserve your spot by paying a 50% deposit online!  Just choose 'Deposit Payment' on the 'Payment Type' drop down menu during checkout.  The remaining amount will be due 30 days prior to the start of the event.

Required Reading (Before you Arrive):

• "Sky Above, Earth Below: Spiritual Practice in Nature" by John P. Milton.

Optional Supportive Reading:

• "Cultivating Natural Liberation: Teachings on Reconnecting with the 3 Natures, vol 1" by John P. Milton

Both books can be helpful during your passage.

Lodging: 

Participants are encouraged to camp at the Sacred Land Sanctuary base camp during the Awareness and Reintegration training. There are also several AirBnB options available in Crestone.

Travel to Crestone:  click here for details.

Special Travel Note:  

We are closely monitoring the changing covid-19 situation.  Since we reserve the potential action of possibly limiting participant arrival to "travel by car" only, we ask you to delay purchasing airline tickets until you have confirmation from us that both air travel and car travel are acceptable.  

For questions about travel, or any questions about this Sacred Passage program, please email Senior Guide Brad Kahland at   Thank you.

View WoN's Cancellation and Return Policy and ask about modifications due to covid-19.

If you have a large group, please contact us directly to explore the options available to you.  In many cases, we may be able to arrange a custom retreat that meets the requirements needed to accommodate your group.  If you are a business owner who would like to learn more about group retreats for your employees, and the benefits that reflect on your business as a result of such a program,  please visit the Organizational and Leadership Development section of this website.

If you choose to trust, the natural world will bring you profound peace, self-respect and revelation.