Your Inner Sanctuary

Book Your Stay Talk to Cyril Online

“There can only be one solution to any problem: a change in attitude and a change in consciousness.”

— Gregg Braden

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The Sanctuary

A living sanctuary, shaped slowly over thirty years.

A quiet garden in Sarawak. Water, fruit trees, herbs, and rainforest all around. No fixed timetable, no curated wellness theater — just a place where you can soften, rest, and remember a slower rhythm.

Three Ways To Come

Choose your sanctuary experience.

Pick what fits where you are now — or message us and we'll help you decide.

Staycation

From RM150 / night

A quiet nature-based stay for travelers, couples, friends, or locals who want rest, privacy, simple food, water, garden atmosphere, and a break from the noise.

Book Your Stay

Welcoming retreat entrance with wooden signs

1:1 Online

Start with a private online conversation with Cyril to explore what you need, whether it is clarity, emotional reset, nervous system support, or a personalized retreat plan.

Talk to Cyril Online

Art + Nervous System Reset

A private or small-group retreat for writing, music, art, movement, rest, regulation, and reconnecting with your authentic expression.

Plan Your Retreat

The Shrine

念 — Mindfulness

The character 念 is made of two parts: 今 (now) and 心 (heart/mind). It reminds us to bring our heart fully into this present moment.

The shrine at night — lantern-lit teahouse in the woods

This humble hut marks the entrance to The Secret Sanctuary Shrine, where we honour the spirit of 念 — mindfulness.

“Mindfulness is the quality of mind that is aware of what’s happening — without judgment or interference.”

It is like a mirror, simply reflecting whatever comes before it — brushing your teeth, sipping tea, walking in silence, or sharing a moment with another. In the rush of modern life, mindfulness gently brings us back — to ourselves, to each other, to now.

We begin by breathing.
Breathing in, we know we are breathing in.
Breathing out, we know we are breathing out.

Simple, yet powerful.
Again and again, we return to this moment.
To this breath. To this heart.

As the mind settles, we begin to glimpse a quiet stillness within — a space where thoughts and emotions soften, and we can see their true nature. Thoughts, once overwhelming, begin to lose their grip. We wake up from their stories — like stepping out of a dream.

As Joseph Goldstein reminds us:

“Some of the worst things in my life never happened.”
“Notice the difference between being lost in a thought and being mindful that we’re thinking. Through mindfulness, we gradually awaken from the movies of our minds.”

Here at The Secret Sanctuary Shrine, may you find a moment of stillness.
A breath. A remembering. A return to now.

A Day Here

The rhythm is slow on purpose.

There is no fixed timetable. This is one shape a day might take — yours can take any shape you need.

Morning

Quiet light

Wake slowly. Tea on the verandah. Birdsong, water, and the garden beginning its day. No alarms, no schedule.

Midday

Garden & water

A slow walk through the garden. Fresh herbs and fruit. Time by the pool. A long, simple meal made from the land.

Afternoon

Rest, art, conversation

Read. Write. Make something. Talk to Cyril if you wish. Or simply nap — the sanctuary supports whatever you need most.

Evening

Lanterns & stillness

Lanterns warm the path. Slow food, slow company. The forest settles. You settle. Sleep comes easily.

Why Here

What else is possible?

Being aware that the question can change the energy of any situation. You begin to see that it is always a question that has opened up a different possibility.

A living sanctuary, not a hotel

Built and tended by hand over 30 years. Every path, garden, pool, and pavilion has been shaped slowly. The place itself is the experience.

Garden, water, and silence

Surrounded by herbs, fruit trees, water, and rainforest. Real silence, real food from the land — not curated wellness theater.

Private and intimate

Not a mass retreat center. Small, personal, and quiet. You won't share the space with a hundred strangers — most stays are private or in very small groups.

Personal care, not a program

No fixed timetable, no packaged protocol. Your stay is shaped around what you actually need — rest, creative space, deep guidance, or simply time off the grid.

Reservations

Book Your Stay

For simple staycation bookings, reserve through our listing partners or message us directly for availability.

From RM150 / night

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Cyril Lim

Your Host

Meet Cyril

Founder & Caretaker of The Secret Sanctuary

Cyril Lim is the founder and living caretaker of The Secret Sanctuary, a quiet sanctuary in Sarawak where nature, ancestral wisdom, and a modern understanding of wellbeing meet.

What began over 30 years ago as a personal garden, created out of devotion to care for his mother, has slowly become a living sanctuary. Today, people come here not only to rest, but to reconnect with something deeper within themselves.

Cyril does not position himself as a conventional healer or teacher. His role is to hold space, listen deeply, and guide guests back toward their own inner intelligence.

Through herbal food, intuitive conversation, Qi-based healing, Access Bars, and shared stillness, Cyril supports what he calls a root-cause reset: a return to balance in body, mind, and spirit.

Surrounded by medicinal herbs, fruit trees, water, and rainforest energy, the sanctuary naturally slows the mind and softens the body. Many guests describe it as 世外桃源 — a hidden paradise.

“The sanctuary is not outside. It is something you remember within.”

Talk to Cyril Online

Inspiration

Voices that shape the way we hold space.

“The best way to predict your future is to create it from the unknown.”

Joe Dispenza

“When we change the way we see the world, we change the world we see.”

Bruce Lipton

“We are limited only by our beliefs about who we are.”

Gregg Braden

A guest's reflection

Thirty years of care can be felt the moment you arrive. The Secret Sanctuary is not just a place to stay — it is a place that has been lived, grown, and held with heart.
Pat
Long-time guest

Questions