A Sacred Journey

practicing pilgrimage at home and abroad

Intentional Living Archives

Living like a pilgrim at home is a daily practice, and when we begin to infuse everyday life with spirituality and intention, what once was ordinary becomes extraordinary. Find posts on intentional living below, explore specific practices for intentional living on the resources page, and sign up here to receive updates on new posts directly in your inbox.

Behind the Scenes of “Pilgrim Principles” (part 1)

Behind the Scenes of Pilgrim Principles (part one) » asacredjourney.net

So this is really more of an interview than a tell-all, but I thought the phrase “tell-all” seemed a lot more exciting. Still, I do share a lot of my process behind writing my new book Pilgrim Principles: Journeying with Intention in Everyday Life in a two-part interview I gave with our January Pilgrim in Residence, Kayce Hughlett over at her own blog, Diamonds in the Sky with Lucy. I had such a fun time looking back on my process and answering Kayce’s questions, and I hope you enjoy seeing behind the curtain a bit!

Read a preview below, and then click over to read the rest of part one of the interview and enter for another chance to win a copy of Pilgrim Principles!

Kayce: One of my favorite quotes in your new book is, “Without curiosity, the pilgrimage would never begin.” As a writer, I’m always curious to know what compels other authors to put in the time and effort to bring a book to fruition. Can you share how, when, or why you knew you wanted to write Pilgrim Principles?

Me: Pilgrim Principles was birthed out of two things: 1. I had been developing A Sacred Journey for six months and was ready to offer something more, and 2. in the six months of exploring the practice of pilgrimage on A Sacred Journey, I kept hearing the same question from readers: “What does this mean for me in my everyday life?”

While in graduate school, I wrote a Rule of Life for pilgrims and called it Pilgrim Principles (you can get a free copy of the Rule of Life when you subscribe to A Sacred Journey), and so in response to this question from readers, I decided to develop the Rule of Life further and turn it into an online course. That’s right—a course! In fact, I didn’t even know I would turn it into a book until I finished the first draft and realized that what I’d written could be a book. But once I came to this realization, I knew that turning Pilgrim Principles into a book, instead of a course, was the best step for me and A Sacred Journey. And who knows? Perhaps Pilgrim Principles wouldn’t be available today if I had sat down last year and said, “Okay, now it’s time to write a book. Go.” I always joke that the online course was my Trojan Horse—a necessary deception that was just what I needed to get the real work done.

Kayce: Chapter 5 is dedicated to daily rhythms of grounding. Did you establish your own sacred rhythms during the writing process and, if so, could you please share what they were and how they worked?

Me: I definitely developed some rhythms in my writing process that helped get the initial words onto the page. They weren’t necessarily overtly sacred in the spiritual sense, but I would still describe them as sacred rhythms in that they were the perfect formula for me to start writing, and it was no doubt through being faithful to these rhythms that something sacred emerged…

Read the rest of part one of the interview and enter to win a copy of Pilgrim Principles at Diamonds in the Sky with Lucy »

Why I’m Putting Success to Rest (my un-word for 2014)

Today I’m linking up with The Nester and sharing my un-word: the word I’m going to leave behind in 2014.

Why I'm Putting Success to Rest » asacredjourney.net

Two weeks ago I shared my word (phrase) for 2014: sink in. Apparently I’m not the only one with a word for 2014. Whether they’ve chosen the word or allowed the word to choose them, people all over the blogosphere have been sharing their words for 2014. This is my first year to determine a word, and I love the idea. Already it’s serving as a North Star as I navigate daily life and make plans for things to come (and also as I learn to plan a little less—all a part of sinking in for this wanderer who is always ready for what’s next). Additionally, as I said to Dan in the comments of my 2014 word post, I’m hoping that my word will not only continue guide me this year, but also be a promise of things to come.

However, as much as I am grateful for my 2014 word, I was intrigued last week when I stumbled upon this invitation from The Nester last week: choose an un-word for the year—a word you’d like to leave behind.

Already totally in love with my word for the year, sink in, I began to wonder what word I’d like to leave behind—to say “no” to, at least for a little while. It didn’t take too long to realize the little word wrapped up in big expectations that had driven me crazy all of 2013: success.

I’ve already shared with you how difficult it’s been to find my way over this past year with A Sacred Journey—to follow my path, to find my voice, to determine what I have to give. I spent a portion of the year caught up in the sizzling world of online entrepreneurs, influenced by posts about “My First Five Figure Launch” and courses claiming to teach me “How to Get 1,000 subscribers in 30 days.” I learned a lot of valuable things about running a blog and using Social Media during that season, certainly. But I was also left with a great sense of lack.

When I finally realized my goal wasn’t really to have a five figure launch and that I was only feeling the need to grow my subscriber list because that’s what they were telling me to do, I left my unnecessary (and unhelpful) number-oriented ambitions behind and began to focus more on the content that I wanted to offer. I started writing my first e-course, Pilgrim Principles (which you won’t find anywhere in this form because it doesn’t exist), and made plans for a library of other courses and offerings related to the 10 types of pilgrimage, because that’s what people I admired were doing.

But when I finished my first draft of Pilgrim Principles, the thought of selling it as an e-course felt constricting, and I wasn’t excited about any of the other offerings I’d dutifully added to my list of “shoulds” and “to-dos.” Even though I was told that high-priced courses would solidify the value of my work and be the path to success, it wasn’t a path I felt comfortable taking. It is a great direction for many, but it wasn’t mine—at least not yet.

And so I turned the material I’d written for my Pilgrim Principles e-course into my first book, and made changes to A Sacred Journey that were less oriented toward offerings and more oriented toward what I love: regular posts on the topics of spirituality and intention in travels and everyday life. I decided to slow down on my drive toward stability and certainly and decided to instead enjoy and be present for the journey.

And most important, I decided to leave success behind.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t want my book to sell well (you can buy your copy on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com), and that doesn’t mean I don’t want to grow my audience, either. I’m passionate about viewing travels and daily life through the lenses of pilgrimage and journey and am so eager to have conversations about spirituality and intention. But I’m not going to let numbers determine the worth of my words anymore. And I’m not going to let money or missed milestones define the value of what I have to offer.

And so, in 2014, I’m saying “no” to striving for success, letting go of ideals that so often distract me from staying in the present and delighting in my questions, my passions, and my desires. Call my un-word “unsuccess,” if you’d like, but I have no plans for sabotage. Instead, this year I’m releasing my preoccupation with success, letting A Sacred Journey guide me wherever it leads, and learning more and more to sink in.

GO FURTHER…

What about you? What’s your “un-word” for the year ahead?

The Un-Word of the YearRead the rest of the posts in the
“Un-Word of the Year” linkup
at thenester.com.

My Word for 2014

sink-in

It’s been less than a month since I gave this site a new look, a week since we’ve started a new year, and just a couple of days since I officially launched my book and began celebrating my new blog format with giveaways (enter Monday’s here and Tuesday’s here). And while I’ve only known my word (or phrase, really) for 2014 for just over a week, I can already feel its significance in this season, begging me to surrender—to sink in.

At the end of each year, Christine Valters Paintner, the online Abbess at Abbey of the Arts (who also wrote the foreword for my book and shared with us about planning a personal retreat last May), runs a free online course for her subscribers called “Give Me a Word.” Instead of choosing a word for your year, Christine leads readers on a process in which the word chooses them, which is to say the word is given by the Sacred Guide, the Holy Spirit, the One who knows the path to our truest selves.

Though I’ve been following Christine for many years, this was the first time I set out to “receive” my word for the upcoming year, and while Christine offers many practices to bring inspiration as you wait attentively for your word to choose you, my word arrived surprisingly quickly, as if it were waiting in the wings. The word that chose me? Sink in. (Okay, I know it’s two words, but I’m just going to keep referring to it as my “word” anyway.)

It’s a word that will play less of a starring role in 2014 and more of a supportive one, but one that, if I am attentive to its gentle whisper, will alter my very way of being. And while it seems so subtle, it just so happens that the word sink in is the antithesis of the word that so often subconsciously drives me: grasp.

Grasp is a word and a feeling I am quite familiar with, and one that was woven throughout 2013 (and, indeed, my life thus far). 2013 was a year of courage for me, yes, and I don’t want to discount that. I started A Sacred Journey and I wrote my first book, the latter an achievement I never would have imagined I would accomplish—not yet, anyway. But 2013 was also a year of wrestling—to find my voice, to find my vocation, to find my own trajectory. And with wrestling often comes its dark side, uncertainty, which isn’t necessarily dark, per se, but in times of doubt always leaves me grasping.

As I enter 2014 things are looking a lot clearer. I’m settling into my voice, discerning my vocation (more on what’s in the works soon!), and feeling better aligned with my path. I’m excited to be sharing and journeying here with you on a more regular basis. Now that my book is done, I’m also starting to do design work again, and I’m making plans to incorporating my design work with my work here at A Sacred Journey (be on the lookout for a shop with inspirational prints in the coming months!). And in the spring we’ll be moving back to Seattle, a place we love with people we love, and a location we hope to settle in. With all of these exciting things ahead, it feels like I’ll have many opportunities to sink in.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the year won’t also have moments and seasons of uncertainty and doubt, leaving me grasping. In fact, I had those feelings about 15 times on Monday, the day of my book launch, and I expect they’ll keep up their regular appearances (they’re always so dependable—how kind). The reality is, it is especially in such moments that my word for 2014 will be so important to bring to my attention, a whisper in my ear like the still, small voice of God amidst the chatter in my mind, calling me once more to sink in—sink into the tension, sink into the doubt, sink into my hopes, my fears, my desires—sink in.

Interested in “receiving” your word for 2014? There’s one week left to participate in Christine Valters Paintner’s free e-course when you subscribe here.

GO FURTHER…

What word is choosing you in 2014?

TODAY’S GIVEAWAY

The Desire MapOne of my greatest tools as I’ve sought more clarity over the past year has been Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map and determining my Core Desired Feelings. (Mine? Freedom, fulfilled, centered, refreshed, and empowered, which I originally shared here and hope to write about in more detail someday soon.) Danielle’s just recently re-launched The Desire Map à la carte-style, and it’s better than ever. Today I’m giving away a copy of The Desire Map book so you can start determining your own Core Desired Feelings as you begin the New Year. To enter, follow the instructions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

other giveaways you can still enter

TUESDAY’S GIVEAWAY

pilgrim-principles

Yesterday I shared on my friend Ashley’s blog, The Cream to My Coffee. Head on over to enter to win a copy of Pilgrim Principles: Journeying with Intention in everyday life. This giveaway is only happening at The Cream to My Coffee, so you must enter there to win. Click here to go to the guest post to enter. All entries must be made by Monday, January 13 at midnight PST. The winner will be contacted by Ashley of The Cream to My Coffee.

MONDAY’S GIVEAWAY

The WayYou still have time to enter for a chance to win a copy of the pilgrim-favorite, The Way, about a father’s journey along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela after the loss of his son. Click here to go to Monday’s post to enter. All entries must be made by Sunday, January 12 at midnight PST. The winner will be announced right here on A Sacred Journey on Monday, January 13.

O Pioneers! (or, when uncertainty is good in your journey)

pioneers-post

As the sun was setting this past Monday, we pulled into San Diego after a three day drive west (read what I’m doing in San Diego here). It was a drive I wasn’t particularly looking forward to. After weeks of slowly moving the majority of our belongings to our parents’ houses that ended with a few days of frantic packing and more than one exclamation of “I’m going to go insane!” (me, not Kyle), a three day drive in a full car with a dog who won’t move on a leash was the last thing I wanted to do. I was tired, and I wanted to be in our new (well, not really ours) beach house, lounging on the patio and listening to the waves as I waxed philosophical about pilgrimage and life’s journeys (that’s how it always looks in my head, but strangely it never quite turns out that way). But that didn’t matter, because we had to do the drive anyway, and in the end, I’m so glad we did.

It’s easy to take planes these days, and in some situations, it can even be cheaper than the alternatives. Each time I’ve visited San Diego before I’ve always flown, getting on a plane in rainy Seattle or humid Missouri and getting off the plane in absolute perfection (that would be San Diego, of course). But in all the time I’ve spent soaring high above the clouds, I’ve missed the landscape that lies between there and here, along with the climate, the culture, the people, and the journey that stands between what was and what will be.

The landscape between southwest Missouri and San Diego is particularly beautiful. Passing through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and skirting Mexico at the US border in California, we traveled through Ozark hills, desert plains, canyons, and mountains. There were piles of red rock the color of clay, sand dunes smooth as silk, and cacti as far as the eye could see. It was a land so barren and yet unique and beautiful, teaming with life and waiting to be discovered.

Because of its vast expanse, each time I travel through the West I can’t help but think of the Pioneers. As I zoom along in my car, gazing out at the endless desert with mountains looming in the distance, I wonder about the caravans of families traveling in covered wagons in centuries past. I wonder about how they got beyond that canyon that the Interstate just carried me over, or that rocky mountain range that, even on paved roads, seemed to never end. The endless hours in my childhood spent playing Oregon Trail fuel my imagination as I picture what it might look like to set up camp for the night without my 4 person tent and the campsite bathrooms a hundred yards away–or what breakfast, lunch, and dinner looked like without the convenience of diners and drive-thrus. (Personally, I know they were eating a lot of biscuits, because that’s what I was always buying at the trading posts on the game, but really that’s just because I love biscuits.)

In 2013, with cell phone towers providing Internet access all along the way and Siri spouting out directions, I might only be able to imagine what it’s like to be a Pioneer, but I do know what it feels like. If you’re here, the Path of the Pilgrim written on your heart, you probably know, too.

The pioneer is not so different from the pilgrim, really. In setting out, both the pioneer and the pilgrim leave what is known behind and journey with the hope of discovering something more. Though both the pioneer and the pilgrim have a destination in mind, the journey is often long and arduous, and you can never quite predict just what will happen and how things will play out.

The greatest significance in the connection between the pioneer and the pilgrim, however, is in the courage required to set out and blaze new trails, journeying through territory unknown. Whether on the Road to Santiago, navigating through a new season of life, or even in the day to day, the pilgrim is called to leave the comfort and safety of things known and forge new paths, journeying to the edge.

“The pioneer is not so different from the pilgrim, really…
the pilgrim is [also] called to leave the comfort and safety
of things known and forge new paths, journeying to the edge.”

I feel like a pioneer more than ever these days, which is to say that I am often filled with uncertainty, unable to see what’s ahead, lost in the brush that surrounds me. I feel this in the my vocation as I pursue my passion, in my marriage as we build a relationship of equality for ourselves and future children, and in my lifestyle as I seek to silence the “shoulds” and cultivate a life of meaning. This is all new territory in my book, and for someone who would rather follow a list of things to do, it’s frightening.

And yet my desires and yearnings have compelled me to leave home and journey West, both metaphorically and now, for a time, literally. My instinct speaks of the promise of gold on the other side–in the form of genuine relationship, arresting love, self discovery, and daily Sacred Encounter. And so each day I pioneer, continuing to forge a path through the unknown toward that gold that is rumored to be at the edge, fueled by my desire for the Sacred and for that something more.

As we practice pilgrimage in our daily lives, the image of the pioneer can help us to identify what journeys we are on right now. The journeys we’re on are the places where we’ve already taken a step into the unknown, or are feeling compelled to do so. They’re the areas in our lives where we keep walking (like Katie said last week), continually seeking goodness and meaning despite our uncertainty. These journeys require our full selves and take us to our edges, and when we begin to see ourselves of pioneers of this new territory, it makes sense that the journey is hard, and it’s no wonder we’re filled with doubt. We’re pioneers after all, blazing a trail–but if we stay the course, we’ll no doubt find our form of gold.

“As we practice pilgrimage in our daily lives, the image
of the pioneer can help us to identify what journeys we are on right now.”
GO FURTHER…

Where do you feel like a pioneer in your journey?

What I Did This Summer and Where I’m Headed Next

It’s already the end of August – can you believe it? Which means for many of us the end of summer is near. It’s been a long and full summer for my husband Kyle and me, beginning with our extended trip to Seattle in June. While there, we watched a dear friend become an Iron(wo)man and many others close to our hearts graduate from The Seattle School with their Master’s degrees in Counseling Psychology, Theology and Culture, Divinity, and some might argue the art of journeying through life with intention and guiding others to do the same.

Many in the graduating class were a part of my cohort when I began studying at The Seattle School in the fall of 2010, and as we began to celebrate their achievements as final papers were turned in, capstone presentations were given, and family rolled into town, I realized that I had something to celebrate as well.

presentations

Some of this year’s presenters and graduates. This is where I stood last year, sharing my work and about my new vocational path — A Sacred Journey. 

Just a year ago I was the one turning in final papers (mine were for philosophy – eek!), with my own family driving out to Seattle to see me address my fellow graduates and walk across the stage, receiving a degree that was never a part of my life plan five years ago. This summer, as I stood watching friends give their own presentations, sharing both where their time at The Seattle School has brought them and what it calls them toward in the future, I couldn’t help but remember my own. It had been one year since I shared my research, my message, my passion – one year since I first introduced A Sacred Journey, inviting people to follow along on my journey and more intentionally invest in their own. And it hasn’t always been easy.

To continually bring myself to this work, stretching toward my edges and mining the caverns of my soul for words to describe what I feel can be difficult. And to do that alongside building a website, learning about marketing, analytics, conversions, SEO (what?), and figuring out how to monetize these intuitive senses about pilgrimage (that I’m still trying to put into words) in order to make a living? For a recovering approval addict like me, at times it can be excruciating.

And yet, alongside this struggle, this vocational path that I’ve chosen has continued to reward me in unexpected ways over the past year. To gather together a community of seekers around the practice of pilgrimage and exploration of the journeys in life has been a great gift. As A Sacred Journey continues to grow in contributors and readers, so do my visions for what the future holds. And just as much as the site has been shaped by me as founder and curator, it is also shaped by you all as readers – through your comments, questions, insight, encouragement, and support. Thank you, thank you for joining me here.

In fact, over the past year – from its introduction last June to its launch this past January – I’ve come to discover that creating and cultivating A Sacred Journey is an organic process and a journey within itself. It’s ironic, isn’t it? A site about journeys has itself become a vocational journey for me  – one that has only just begun and will forever be. However, I’m starting to think that meaningful work shouldn’t be any other way.

What I’m really getting at is this: As much as I spent my summer struggling with whatever inevitably comes with entrepreneurship, building an online presence, and pushing my edges, attempting to translate passion and intuition onto the page, I’ve also been able to celebrate. It’s now been over a year since I turned in my last paper, gave my capstone presentation, addressed my peers and walked across that stage, and I’m doing it. One year later I’m still following my passion, committed to the journey. In the end, despite the trials and uncertainty, that’s what matters most.

san-diego
MY NEXT JOURNEY

This next year brings even more uncertainty and surprises, continuing to shape my journey in ways I never could have imagined. My uncle and his partner live in San Diego and have invited us to come live in a vacation home they’ve just bought next door for the next six months or so as we help them to renovate it. Since Kyle and I both work online, nothing was holding us back (I’ll take the complexities of SEO any day for that), and we jumped at the opportunity. To live in a house a few minutes’ walk from the beach with an ocean view? And to spend winter in the sunshine wearing no more than light layers? Alright, alright. You’ve convinced me.

Since this is a finite and unique opportunity for us, we’ve decided to view it as an opportunity to commit to new practices and be intentional in ways that are sometimes difficult in everyday life. We’re considering this an opportunity for a walkabout – a journey brought about in life by surprise – and we’re treating it as such. This is especially significant because we don’t really know what’s next for us, and we hope to get a little guidance on that during our time in San Diego.

visionboard

A vision board I created last week to remind me of my intention during my San Diego walkabout. The words are my core desired feelings (freedom, refreshed, empowered, centered, and fulfilled) discovered through Danielle LaPorte’s “The Desire Map.” Highly recommended as a guide on your journey. Check it out here.

One thing we do know we want to do after our time in San Diego, though, is walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain (tune in during the month of October for a Pilgrim in Residence series on the subject!). That’s why one of the practices we’re committing to do while in San Diego is learning Spanish. I’ve always wanted to become fluent in a language and spent a few years in high school and college taking both Spanish and French, but in order to fully commit I feel like I needed to fully immerse myself and never took the opportunity to do so. Now the only foreign language I can claim is a combination of basic Spanish and French, which really means nothing at all. What better place and time to finally commit to learning Spanish than six months near the border of Mexico as our pilgrimage to walk the Camino draws near?

And get this – as I began to research options for learning Spanish in San Diego, I learned where San Diego gets its name: San Diego > Sant Iago > Santiago. That’s right – both San Diego and Santiago get their names from St. James. The very place we will be preparing for the Camino shares the name of the ancient pilgrimage’s destination! That’s synchronicity at its finest, my friends, and I can’t shake its significance.

As we prepare for the Camino and commit to engage this season of walkabout with intention, here are two other practices I’m beginning once we reach the west coast: leaving TV behind and writing Morning Pages once more. There are a handful of shows I follow faithfully and they’ll be missed, but I’d rather miss them than miss daily walks on the beach or evenings spent watching the sun set, listening to the sound of the waves. However, I know that at the end of a busy day I’m often tempted to escape into a story that’s not my own, and so to avoid this temptation altogether during my walkabout I’m cutting TV out and adding presence in. At times it will be hard, but living near the beach is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I know I won’t regret giving up TV one bit.

notebooks

The notebooks I’ve reserved for my Morning Pages. I picked them up in the gift section at Target, in case you’re wondering, but you can get them here too.

And then there’s writing Morning Pages. The concept of Morning Pages comes from Julia Cameron’s well-known book The Artist’s Way, and I did them for a term in graduate school when taking a class of the same name. Morning Pages are meant to help you bring anything and everything to the page, and it’s my hope that writing these three pages a day while in San Diego will be another way to help me to remain present during my walkabout and teach me about parts of myself that often are neglected or unknown in everyday life. I’ve got three beautiful journals waiting for equally worthy thoughts, questions, struggles, and realizations, and I’m excited to see what’s birthed out of this practice.

We’ll be packing up over the next month and leaving Springfield for San Diego in late September and I’ll be sure to keep you updated along the way. Until then, I’d love to hear about your journeys in the comments below.

GO FURTHER…

What journeys are you on – or find yourself invited to take – in your own life? Where are you facing your edges? What’s worth celebrating in your journey?

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