blog - A Sacred Journey

5 Steps to Engage the Interior Journey

When we think of pilgrimage, journeys to far-off lands often come to mind, right?

Perhaps you get an image of a medieval pilgrim walking the long road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a bundle of belongings thrown over his back and a staff in hand. Or maybe you think of the large groups of people who journey to places like Lourdes in France each year in search of healing. Perhaps it’s the multi-step journey to Iona in Scotland that comes to mind, which begins with a ferry from the west coast of Scotland, a drive across the Isle of Mull, and another ferry before you reach the Holy Isle (not to mention whatever is required just to get you to the west coast of Scotland).

All of these journeys are adventures, no doubt, and opportunities to encounter new cultures and learn about new ways of encountering God. But for a journey to be a true pilgrimage, there must be an interior journey, too. In the end, that’s why we leave home, after all—because the journey out can always lead to a journey in. It’s the interior journey that makes an ordinary trip into a pilgrimage and transforms a tourist into a pilgrim. And while an exterior journey or traditional pilgrimage is certainly a valuable practice for initiating an interior journey, you don’t have to leave home to begin an interior journey—you just need to be willing to engage the journey within.

Here are 5 steps for engaging the interior journey to help lead you along the path:

1. name your question

Every journey begins with a question, and in The Art of Pilgrimage, author Phil Cousineau tells us that it is our questions that lead us to our quest. To discern your question, listen to your longing—What is it that brings you to the interior journey? What do you hope to encounter and discover? Like the pilgrim, approach this step with curiosity, allowing the question to unfold along the way if it isn’t clear from the beginning. (Sometimes this can even be the most authentic form of journeying, as we can be certain that we’re not trying to control the journey and force the outcome, but instead allowing the Sacred Guide to lead.)

2. enter in

When you begin a journey, you cross a threshold. On an exterior journey, the shift is obvious, because the world around you is different—you have left home and entered into foreign territory. This shift in the interior journey is more difficult to notice, however, because we’re often still embedded in everyday life. To fully enter in, establish regular spiritual practices that can help you shift from the outer world to the inner one as you set aside what’s happening in everyday life for a time to focus on what’s happening within. Contemplative practices and the postures of silence, stillness, and solitude are excellent tools for this. Learn how to practice 7 forms of contemplative prayer here.

3. find a guide

Whether it’s a spiritual director, pastor, trusted friend, or favorite author, find a guide to keep you accountable to your commitment and accompany you along the way. Find a spiritual director in your area at sdiworld.org.

4. bring the whole self

This is easier with a traditional pilgrimage, as it’s more obvious that your whole self is joining you on the journey. Life at home, however, can be compartmentalized, and if we’re not intentional, we might end up thinking the interior journey is just about the mind rather than the body and soul. To round out the journey and bring your whole self, incorporate movement into your practice. Emulate the pilgrim by taking long walks or walking a labyrinth, letting your feet do the praying for a change. Creative practice is another way to bring the whole self, allowing the images held deep within the soul to come to the surface and serve as waymarkers along the path.

5. prepare an altar

Most pilgrimages involve a journey to a Sacred site, and just because your journey is an interior one, it doesn’t mean you can’t create a Sacred site of your own. Do so right at home by creating an altar on a side table, shelf, or in a vacant corner. Visit this place to renew your intention, just as you would any other Sacred site, and add elements that reflect your quest and intention as the journey unfolds, allowing it to become an outer representation of the journey you are taking within.

(PS: Setting out on an outer journey? Because all types of pilgrimage involve an interior journey, these steps apply for journeys both near and far.)

Pilgrim Podcast 08: Silence + The Contemplative Path with Rich Lewis

Silence, solitude, stillness—these postures are tools for the pilgrim and markers of the Contemplative Path.

Rich Lewis of silenceteaches.com has been entering silence daily for years through the practice of Centering Prayer and believes that silence can teach us both more of ourselves and of God. In today’s conversation, we talk about contemplation and the Contemplative Path and explore how the silence experienced in Centering Prayer can make the practice so transformative.

Have the itch to set out on a meaningful journey?

Sure, we’d all like to travel on pilgrimage to far-off places. After all, there’s a reason that some of the pilgrim archetypes include the Nomad, Seeker, and Sojourner. However, because of life’s limitations, this can’t always be a reality. That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t follow the longing of your heart and set out on a “mini-pilgrimage” right at home or even next door.

To create a mini-pilgrimage right at home, you simply need to apply the 3 elements of pilgrimage: a journey (an intention or desire and time set apart), engagement with the True Self (connecting with you), and Sacred Encounter (connecting with God). Retreats are one of many types of pilgrimage and can serve as mini-pilgrimages during which we are invited to leave our everyday lives, if even for a moment, and learn from wise teachers, ask difficult questions, and try new things, all the while being reminded of what it means to take care of ourselves—mind, body, and soul.

Whether you have a week, a weekend, an hour, or simply a stolen moment after breakfast, here are 9 steps to creating a mini-pilgrimage right at home:

What do you feel “called” to do?

The New Year often has us contemplating how we can pursue more meaning in our everyday lives, and in my conversation today with Dan Cumberland of themeaningmovement.com we explore how to discern our vocation and find meaning in our work.

LISTEN

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SUPPORT

This episode is brought to you by my 2018 Creation Pilgrimage. Join me on pilgrimage May 19-25 in the beautiful Pacific Northwest as we seek to know more of the Divine and ourselves through God’s first revelation: Creation. Inspired by the seven days of the Creation Narrative, we will draw from creation as our text and the creative impulse as our guide, listening for the gentle stirrings of the Sacred and the True Self each step of the way.

New: A limited number of partial scholarship opportunities are now available for those requiring financial assistance who might not be able to join us on pilgrimage otherwise. You can also donate to the Pilgrimage Scholarship Fund to support the journey of another. Scholarship applications are due by February 9, 2018. Learn more about the Creation Pilgrimage and how to register, apply for a scholarship, or make a donation here.

SHOW NOTES

themeaningmovement.com
Free Mini-Course: 5 Clues to Your Calling
Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer

Plus, more resources on vocation and posts from Dan in the archives »

Which Type of Pilgrim Are You?

Pilgrimage is a Sacred journey—a movement that brings us toward the Divine.

While pilgrims have set out on soul-stirring journeys in search of transformation and Sacred Encounter for thousands of years, the pilgrim isn’t simply a person on a physical journey. The pilgrim lives within each one of us and accompanies us on our journeys at home, too.

Which type of pilgrim are you, and where is the Sacred Guide leading? Begin your exploration by seeing if you align with one of these seven pilgrim archetypes:

the nomad

A pilgrim with no destination in mind, the Nomad is a wanderer, compelled to leave what is known behind even if it means there’s no clear path ahead.

the seeker

Fueled by a certainty that something more awaits just beyond the horizon, the Seeker’s quest is to follow the Light, knowing that it always leads to Life.

the wayfarer

Rooted in the Old English word fær, meaning “journey” or “passage,” the Wayfarer is the traditional pilgrim following the well-worn path of those who have gone before him.

the pioneer

A pilgrim in spirit and a visionary at heart, the Pioneer sets off down unmarked paths and blazes new trails, unafraid to encounter the wilderness of the unknown on his search for the Sacred.

the sojourner

A sojourn is a temporary stay, and the Sojourner is a pilgrim in a liminal place—a traveler in between one season of life and the next.

the voyager

The Voyager is one who, as the Celtic tradition of peregrinatio tells us, wanders for the love of God, setting out into life’s tumultuous seas, like St. Brendan the Navigator and St. Columba of Iona, with faith as his guide.

GO FURTHER

Learn more about these pilgrim archetypes and incorporate them into your daily pilgrimage practice with the Pilgrim Archetype Deck in the Journey Shop. Along with an archetypal image, each card contains a guiding quote, a description, a shadow side, and rich symbolism to further unveil the journey’s invitation. In addition, each card provides invitations for spiritual practice, with unique breath prayers and opportunities for imagery work through the practice of visio divina. Use these cards as icons, meditations, and guides to summon your inner pilgrim, uncover your current journey, or discern the path ahead. Visit the Journey Shop »

Pilgrim Podcast 06: The Liturgical Year with Jenn Giles Kemper

The holiday season is here. Are you counting down the days?

With Advent nearly upon us and Christmas festivities around us in full swing, Jenn Giles Kemper of Sacred Ordinary Days shares with us how we can infuse spirituality and intention into this season and the seasons to come through following the Liturgical Year.

Be sure to listen all the way to the end—we’re giving away a new Sacred Ordinary Days Liturgical Day Planner to a lucky winner!
read more »

5 Creative Ways to Fund a Pilgrimage

There’s no denying it: Going on pilgrimage can be pricey.

With travel and accommodations, facilitator fees, and more, costs can quickly add up. I often hear from seekers who are longing to go on pilgrimage—whether it’s a trip I’m leading, a journey led by another, or a pilgrimage of their own design—and yet the reality of finances stands in the way of their desires.

I’m always excited to tell them, though, that their circumstance doesn’t equal the end of the road. Just like a pastor following a call to the pulpit or a missionary responding through a life of service, your “yes” to pilgrimage is a “yes” to the invitation of the Sacred Guide, and when you apply some intention and even invite others to join you in your calling and on your quest, you’ll be surprised by how quickly generous and enthusiastic support—financial and otherwise—falls into place.

Are you longing to go on pilgrimage but need some ideas to make it happen financially?

How has nature been a teacher on your spiritual journey?

Eco-theologian and pilgrimage guide Mary DeJong of Waymarkers answers this question in today’s new episode of Pilgrim Podcast and offers inspiration and suggestions for how we, too, can begin to journey with nature through her practice of Rewilding.
read more »

The 3 Elements Required for Any Pilgrimage

What makes a pilgrimage a pilgrimage?

The spiritual practice of pilgrimage is as ancient as they come. For thousands of years, pilgrims have set out on soul-stirring journeys to Sacred sites. Some of these pilgrimages were a religious requirement—a pillar of faith, as with the Hajj in Islam. Other journeys were taken as a gesture of penance, as with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, where upon completion of the journey it was declared that your sins were forgiven. Others were undertaken in pursuit of healing, as with Lourdes, or simply because of the pilgrim’s desire to encounter the Holy in tangible ways, such as pilgrimages taken to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Christ.

While these journeys differ in purpose and pursuit, they each share one thing in common: they’re tied to a destination. In fact, the practice of pilgrimage has been tied to a destination for most of its existence, always thought to be a journey to a place of significance.

To many, it seems as if this is the main requirement. But I’m here to tell you that pilgrimage is not as much about the destination as it might seem—at least the traditional ones often thought of when the practice of pilgrimage comes to mind. While many might define a pilgrimage as a journey to a Sacred site, I like to put more emphasis on the entirety of the journey rather than just the destination.

It’s All Saints’ Day and the start of the season of remembrance!

To celebrate, in today’s new Pilgrim Podcast Episode I’m talking with Christine Valters Painter of Abbey of the Arts about one of her favorite spiritual practices—ancestral pilgrimage. In it, we discuss her own journey to uncover her ancestry, how she’s experienced healing in her relationship with her father even though he passed long ago, practices to honor and connect with ancestors in this liminal season, and more.

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