Core Identity

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​Our Team and Community of Rainbow Guardians

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We are a diverse tribe of guardians, facilitators, doctors, nurses, community leaders, and musicians, united by prayer with a shared commitment to the sacred. Each member carries unique gifts, lineages, and training that contribute to the whole. Together, we weave spaces where remembrance, transformation, and love can flourish, tending to the living altar of Somos and walking in service to the Earth and all our relations.

The Rainbow Guardianship Path

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At Somos Sanctuary, guardianship is the sacred art of devotion - caring for oneself, one’s home, one’s community, and the Earth with love, humility, and integrity. As Rainbow Guardians, we walk with the eyes of a student, receiving life’s lessons with openness and weaving them into embodied action that nourishes the greater whole.

We honor the full spectrum of being human - diverse in our backgrounds, unique in our gifts, and free to express ourselves in the ways that feel true and alive. In this way, queerness is naturally included and celebrated as part of the rainbow of life, a reminder that every expression belongs.

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Guardianship is a path of tending to the inner landscape so that our light may shine outward in service. Together, we form constellations of empowered stewards of the Earth - devoted to walking in beauty, remembrance, and love, as students and guardians of the living altar.

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Q: What makes Somos Sanctuary unique?

 

“Somos” means "we are” in Spanish. Somos Sanctuary is a living altar - a church that is forging a new religious path based on the teachings directly informed by Mother Earth. A sentient guiding spirit, born from initiations, blessings from our elders, and the activation of ancient technologies of prayer. This living altar holds a field, a frequency of coherence - created and sustained through ongoing prayer, devotion, guardianship, and training.

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When you enter this field, you step into a resonance that naturally supports your body, heart, mind, and spirit to return to equilibrium. Like a tuning fork bringing an instrument back into harmony, the altar helps each person attune to their highest potential and remember their inherent sovereignty and sacred gifts. Here, the work is to listen, surrender, and allow the natural order within to awaken.

As a church, we are reestablishing what religion can be. The root of the word religion means “to bind together,” and we take this to mean gathering as a community to support one another’s expansion, wellbeing, and remembrance of the sacred. We are building a model of spiritual community that uplifts freedom, coherence, and collective care, where devotion, unconditional love, and guardianship becomes a way of life.

 

Ceremonial Integrity​

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Q: How do you honor lineages and traditions?

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Through Ayni - sacred reciprocity - we maintain right-relationship with the elders and lineages who have shared these ways with us. We give offerings, provide financial support, protect sacred medicines, and steward the land and the communities we serve with reverence. Each year, we make pilgrimages to visit our teachers and ancestral territories, carrying prayers, offerings, and resources. These pilgrimages allow us to connect communities across geographies, give back in meaningful ways, and ensure that the roots of our work remain nourished and alive with renewed energy.

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Q: How do you work with the territories you serve?

 

In every territory we visit, we arrive as humble listeners and students, attuning deeply to what the land, waters, and spirits reveal. We follow the ways shown to us by our elders, making offerings of gratitude, planting crystals and sacred gifts into the earth as prayers of respect and reciprocity. After each ceremony, we return the prayers and intentions of our participants back to the land, weaving them into the living fabric that spans the globe. We honor and walk alongside the Indigenous elders and wisdom keepers of each territory, receiving guidance and learning from their ancestral knowledge, so that the work we do is rooted in integrity, humility, and reverence for the lands and peoples who carry its medicines.

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Q: What is the Path of the Guardian?

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The path of the Guardian is our initiation process for those called to live a life of service. It is a school of love, humility, safety, and devotion - a journey of remembering what it truly means to be a guardian: a person who protects, guides and cares. Along this path, participants learn to walk in integrity with themselves, with their community, and with the sacred. It is both training and transformation, cultivating the capacity to hold space with courage, clarity, and care for all beings.

 

Safety & Ethics

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Q: How do you prepare participants?

We begin with a confidential intake and personal conversation with each participant. This ensures each participant is ready and supported.We offer preparation guidance so that the work is entered into with clarity and care.

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Q: How are the ceremonies held safely?

Ceremony is a sacred container that aligns body, mind, and spirit. Through prayer, song, and ritual, it creates a field of protection and guidance, allowing each participant to move through transformation with clarity, grounding, and support.​

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Safety is woven into every layer of our work - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our facilitators are trained in CPR, first aid, and trauma-informed care, and we maintain clear emergency protocols. Safety guardians are present throughout every ceremony to ensure each participant is cared for. Our work is guided by spiritual jurisdictional counsel, protections, and best practices for sacred medicine traditions, honoring both legal and spiritual responsibilities. Just as importantly, we carry the altar with great reverence, upholding spiritual integrity, hygiene, and coherence so that the space itself is a sanctuary of protection and trust.

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Q: Do you have a Code of Ethics?

Yes. Our Code of Ethics protects boundaries, confidentiality, and the sacred trust of this work. Every guardian is trained to uphold it.

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Q: Will I feel welcomed if I identify as non-binary, queer, gay, etc?

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Yes! You will feel deeply welcomed here. Inclusivity is at the very heart of our sanctuary - we honor and celebrate every being in their truest expression, whether non-binary, queer, gay, trans, straight, or anywhere along the beautiful spectrum of identity. Our altar is a rainbow, woven by many of us who also identify as queer, and who walk this path with pride, tenderness, and authenticity. We believe that diversity is sacred, that queerness is medicine, and that each unique expression strengthens the collective prayer. In our School of Love, you are celebrated as part of our tribe, however you identify! 

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Q: How do you address harm or conflict?

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We follow a transparent accountability process rooted in listening, restoration, and repair. Conflict is welcomed as an opportunity for growth and deeper understanding. We seek counsel from our elders and alliances, and remain accountable through these mentorships, including the Sacred Plant Alliance (SPA), ensuring that our resolutions are guided by wisdom and integrity.

 

Integration Support

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Q: What is integration?

Integration = into-grateness: an opportunity to ground the insights gained in ceremony into our daily lives. We guide participants to anchor their prayers into action, turning transformation into a living practice where life becomes a devotional prayer and act or self love. 

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Q: What support do you offer for integration?

We offer group integration circles, one-on-one guidance, and recommended practices and readings. We also connect participants with trusted integration specialists and resources such as ICEERS.

Q: How do we stay connected?

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Our connection doesn’t end after the ceremony - it’s only the beginning. Each participant becomes part of our living altar, our growing tribe, and the global weaving we are creating together. We offer ongoing community spaces, both online and in person, where you can continue to learn, serve, and deepen your path. You’ll be invited into private community chat groups for continued dialogue and support, and we regularly host concerts, panels, and mentorship opportunities. We are currently developing additional integration tools and programs to help us carry the insights of ceremony,  into our everyday lives.

 

Community & Lineage

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Q: Who are your elders and allies?

We are blessed to walk with medicine carriers and teachers from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, USA and beyond. Their counsel guides our work and keeps us rooted in prayer and tradition. We are honored to have the permission to share many of our teachers and elders bios here on our site.

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Q: What does collective Guardianship mean?

Somos is a shared altar - shaped by all who pray, serve, and tend to it. Guardianship means actively participating in one’s personal work, sharing in ceremony, caring for oneself, one’s home, one another, and Mother Earth with humility, love, respect, reverence, and devotion. 

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Q: Can I read stories from the community?

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Yes. We share real stories from our community - honest accounts of challenge, growth, and transformation. These testimonials are living prayers that remind us what is possible when we walk this path together and honestly. They offer inspiration, courage, and a glimpse into the profound possibilities and beauty of a life devoted to the sacred.

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Educational Initiatives

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Q: What trainings do you offer?

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Our Guardian Training is not a course in the traditional sense - it is a living school of love and remembrance that unfolds through the experience of ceremony itself. By stepping into the ceremonial field, participants learn directly through practice and presence, embodying the teachings rather than studying them from afar. Within this sacred container, guardianship comes alive as we explore ethics, medicine stewardship, safety, and leadership - not as abstract concepts, but as lived principles that guide our actions, words, and ways of being. In community, we witness, support, and reflect one another, allowing the training to root deeply into daily life so that guardians emerge not only with knowledge, but with embodied wisdom and devotion.

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Q: Do you share public education?

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Yes. We offer public education through our retreats, panels, and facilitator apprenticeships, sharing wisdom in ways that are accessible and grounded. We are also developing our Guardianship Online Training, with the intention to launch by 2027, making these teachings available to a wider global community.

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Q: Are you involved in research?

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Yes. We actively bridge ancestral wisdom with modern science through collaborations, including doctoral research on ceremony, preparation, transformation, and integration. We are committed to deepening this work by building new alliances and securing resources that allow us to expand research and share its insights with the wider world.

 

Transparency & Reciprocity

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Q: How do you approach money and exchange?

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We approach money as sacred energy and practice ayni - balanced reciprocity - in all our exchanges. We work with abundance agreements (work exchange opportunities)  and sliding-scale contributions to keep this work accessible while honoring the true value of ceremony and those who carry it. Offerings directly support to our elders, tribal and medicine alliances, land stewardship, and the ongoing care of our community. All financial investments made to the church are guided through counsel, with a clear focus on research, education, and the long-term sustainability of our mission.

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Q: Do you offer Scholarships for BIPOC or marginalized groups?

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Yes, we offer scholarships for BIPOC and marginalized groups as part of our commitment to accessibility, reciprocity, and diversity. Rooted in the principle of Ayni (sacred reciprocity), these scholarships help remove financial barriers so that all beings may feel welcomed, seen, and celebrated at our altar. In this way, we honor the wisdom and resilience of underrepresented communities while ensuring our School of Love reflects the true rainbow of humanity.

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Q: Is my donation tax deductible?

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Yes. Somos Sanctuary is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. Please retain your donation receipt for your records and consult with your tax advisor regarding the deductibility of your contribution.​​​

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Q: How do you give back to the wider world?

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Our work extends beyond individuals - we are in relationship with the lands, territories, and sentient beings that host us. Each person’s transformation nourishes a field of coherence that ripples outward, contributing to global balance and harmony. We give back by protecting sacred medicines, supporting Indigenous communities, and educating about cultural respect and reciprocity. In every territory, we make offerings and ensure right relationship, honoring all beings - seen and unseen - who are part of this work.

 

 

Spiritual

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​Q: What roles do prayer and ritual play?

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Prayer and ritual are the heart of Somos. Every gathering is a living prayer - a call for balance, remembrance, and alignment with life.

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Q: What is the Living Altar Egregore?

It is the spirit of Somos itself - a guiding presence born of collective devotion. It teaches, protects, and reflects each person’s medicine back to them.

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Q: How do you care for the land?

We follow regenerative and leave-no-trace practices, tending to the land as a living being and restoring what we use.

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Getting Involved
 

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Q: How can I collaborate with Somos Sanctuary?

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Participation is an invitation into a relationship - with yourself, with community, and with the living altar. It is a commitment to walk with reverence and mutual respect. Collaboration opportunities include participation in ceremonies or retreats, co-hosting events, apprenticeship pathways, and participating in community projects. If you feel called to collaborate or have questions about getting involved, please reach out to us at info@somossanctuary.org.