I call myself a spiritual nomad because, at the end of the day, I’m less interested in a coherent creed or tradition than I am in being intimate with the Divine. To quote Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love, “I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water.” That’s my goal, too, and my practice changes along with my experience and my understanding.
In my time I’ve attended Catholic mass, sat in gathered silence with Quakers, meditated with Buddhists, reverenced the directions and the seasons with Wiccans and other earth-religious people, and celebrated the Sabbath in synagogue. I’ve sung to the moon from an oak grove on top of a hill, I’ve breathed into uncomfortable yoga poses, and I’ve journalled the permutations of my poor, benighted ego. I’ve had years upon years of feeling alienate
d from the Divine, and every time I get to a new understanding, I face new challenges.
There were times when I despaired, but from where I sit now, I can see the glory of all of it — even the difficult parts.
Today I attend a Unitarian Universalist church (my wife is becoming a UU minister), I do my own version of daily Morning Pages (thank you, Julia Cameron), I dance Shiva Nata, I take pictures, I have a haphazard yoga practice, I collage, I pay attention to the fixated patterns of my Enneatype, I swear and stomp around, I try to meditate even when the cat crawls into my lap and the dogs decide to lick my face at the same time, and I approach it all with a perspective of curious inquiry.
I’ve been blessed to work with T. Thorn Coyle, Jessica Dibb, and Russ Hudson in person and Tara Brach, Eckhart Tolle, Julie Cameron, and Martha Beck virtually through their published works.
That’s the short version of the story. If you want the long version of the journey, well, it’s coming soon.