Meet Your Host, Michael Lightweaver

Welcome To Mountain Light Sanctuary. I am Michael Lightweaver, your host. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit to the Sanctuary. I have traveled a fair bit around the planet and the Sanctuary is the closest thing to Shangri-La that I have discovered. In fact, when I first found it, through a set of synchronicities, I knew I had discovered the end of my rainbow here in the high mountains north of Asheville.

I first discovered this secluded cove in 1993. Two years later, in the autumn of 1995, I was fortunate to buy a piece of property here next to the national forest with a small cottage on it that needed a lot of work. Thus the adventure began.
My personal story, this time around, begins in a small town in southern Kentucky - in the last century. That's where I was born, was blessed with a great family, and did my initial university work. The next phase took me to Nashville, Tennessee, where I finished my BA & MA degrees, married and raised a very fine family.

In 1992, having completed primary family responsibilities, I moved to Asheville, knowing in the deepest part of my soul that my real home was in these mountains. Initially I was to be a part of an intentional community that was forming. However, I soon discovered that this wasn't my path. My preference was really to be alone in the forest. I love people and my family, but the siren call of the mountains and forest had touched my Elfin and Native American soul. The mountains, the trees, the streams and clouds, were all a part of my family.

OK, I'll admit it. That is a bit weird for most people. But from my earliest memories, I can remember seeing the world a bit differently than my peers. For one thing, I had a global perspective that was not limited by national, religious or ethnic boundaries. Narrowness of any flavor simply didn't make sense to me. This of course was a bit strange to small town thinking. It wasn't until college that I discovered others who shared my worldview, and it wasn't until much later that I also came to see how my thoughts and attitude created my reality. Along the way, I came to realize that these understandings were as ancient as they were profound.

Over the course of the years I have walked many paths, both professionally and spiritually. Most of my professional work has been in some area of service; community organizing, executive director of a nonprofit agency, owner of an international tour company, organizer of holistic festivals, clinical hypnotherapist, counselor, and workshop leader in the areas of creativity, brain dominance, stress management, dreamwork, etc.

My spiritual path began in the Methodist church as a youth in small town Kentucky and continued on in college with my involvement with the Society of Friends (Quakers). Years later I discovered my Native American as well as my Celtic spiritual roots which helped to reconnect me with the spirit of nature. My philosophical bent also drew me to studying Taoism, Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies. I have gain a great deal from many sources but ultimately have found that the human heart is the true temple of Divine Presence and love is the expression of that Presence which can best be accessed directly through inner guidance.

In a place such as this, it's almost guaranteed that you won't be alone for long. From the very beginning there was a stream of visitors; mostly friends and family. Finally, at the urging of Guidance I decided to open it up to other visitors and gradually it became the retreat center that it is today. It has seen many changes, both physically and in the number and nature of residents.

In the summer of 2000 I offered temporary lodging to two young friends in their early 20's who were into organic gardening & living close to nature. Then two of their friends moved in, and by the winter of 2002 there were seven living here. We called it an 'unintentional community.' Each of them received whatever they needed and eventually moved on, heeding the call of cupid, returning to school, the demands of jobs in town or having old cars that could no longer take our dirt road.

Life here at the Sanctuary is simple and a lot of hard work, but it is also a dream fulfilled. We heat with wood from the forest, our water comes from a spring on the mountain. We have no television and cell phones don't work here. And for ten years now I have been sleeping outdoors, year round. It's an Elfin thing. Actually the bedroom is quite nice; a normal bedroom with a big four poster bed, polished wooden floors, an oriental carpet, and pictures on the wall -- all three of them. OK, so there is only three walls. The fourth is open to the deck so sometimes I do have leaves, rain or snow blowing into my bedroom. And of course, I sleep under plenty of cover in the winter. But the view of the mountains from my bedroom is a little glimpse of heaven -- and it's worth a cold nose on a January night or sweeping snow off the floor in the morning.

In addition to hosting the many interesting guests from all over the world who find their way to the Sanctuary, I am also the director of the International Institute For Global Leadership, an internet based project I initiated in 2002 which provides a curriculum in consciousness designed to assist our students in becoming consciously aware, high-integrity and heart-centered leaders in their communities and the world. (Go to: International Institute For Global Leadership) Also, I maintain a private practice offering personal guidance to those who are seeking a deeper understanding of life and relationships.

Perhaps I will also have a chance to get to know you; as an overnight guest, a day visitor for tea or for a Guidance session.. I look forward to sharing the Sanctuary with you.