Going on Some Sacred Journeys

Friends, these next two weeks will differ from the routine: I will be going on some sacred journeys.

Traveling gives you a different perspective, gets you out of your routine, and makes you think differently.

–Cynthia Sageleaf

My husby has been building a camper (to start a business) and we thought a good “test drive” was in order. I’ve been in the process of building him a website (it’s still under construction) so that he can build and sell more of them.

But, it’s spring, and where I work, spring break happens the first week of April. I have an ailing family member who lives in Tucson, AZ. I also have an aunt/godmother who lives in Santa Fe, NM, and my immediate family all live in Colorado Springs, CO. There’s no time like the present to try to visit and see folks. We decided to turn it into an epic road trip since I already have the time off.

Itinerary

We’ll head south through Texas into New Mexico and stay for a day or two in the White Sands region. We hope to explore nearby areas like Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell. From there, we’ll drive into Tucson to see a family member I haven’t seen in a long, long time. He’s not well, and lives in a nursing home. It’ll be a little difficult to see him because I haven’t seen him in so long, but I’m also looking forward to it.

Next, we’ll head northeast towards Santa Fe. My mother has 12 brothers and sisters and when I was growing up in Colorado, I spent at least one weekend a month down in Santa Fe and stayed with my grandmother. She has since passed away, and I haven’t been back since. We’ll get a chance to spend an evening with my relatives there and poke around the city for a night or two. Then, we’ll take the scenic route up to Colorado Springs, possibly staying at a hot springs resort before arriving in town.

We’ll visit my family in Colorado for a few days before heading back to North Carolina. The whole journey will take about 14 days.

 

Out With the Old, In With the New

I realize that we’re going to be covering ground in a lot of sacred places where our indigenous brothers and sisters once (and still) walked. Because I’m on a powerful spiritual journey, I expect to have some insights and thoughts come to me about my path.

The desert sunrises and sunsets, and the time in open spaces will be incredible. I’m sure I’ll be out of my comfort zone on at least some parts of this journey: I’m not one for being cold, and it’s only April. We’ll be in the mountains and it still can get quite chilly at night. I know that getting out of your comfort zone, however, is a great way to broaden the mind and give you new perspectives.

This journey is also already symbolic. I have completed the LIFE Project and I’ll write up a proper reflection upon my return. The timing of this trip serves as a transition from one experience to another. And, as an interesting side note, Mercury is in retrograde and the past week since that started happening on the 22nd has been…interesting.

 

Meditation Teacher Training

As I wrap up and reflect on the past year of my intentions, I marvel at starting another segment in my life’s journey: becoming a meditation teacher. I have been accepted into the Meditation Teacher Academy as part of the McLean Meditation Institute. As soon as I return from my travels, my course materials will be waiting for me and I will begin 150 hours of coursework.

I will need to complete these hours of study, which does not include meditation time, before July 7, 2018. Then, after 21 days have passed, I will participate in a 50-hour meditation intensive retreat in Sedona, AZ at the end of the month.

Never at any other point in my life have I felt so…connected, so spiritual. I am so, so grateful for this journey. From here, I will be able to confidently teach and coach others, including here on this website. In fact, that was the primary reason for starting Intuitive and Spiritual. It was to serve as a hub for teaching others: meditation, mindfulness, and to be a place where people could come to feel some love, learn about meditation, and have a little creativity on the side.

 

Retreats and Meditation

Furthermore, I am doing this so that eventually I can lead retreats. As part of my teaching training, I will also learn how to conduct retreats. This was another intention as I started this site. The meditation retreat I went on the summer before last was so powerful and life-changing and want to do the same for others. I am so grateful to you: for sticking with me, for being there, for witnessing this path upon which I find myself. It is nothing short of incredible.

As I’ve been writing all this, I’ve felt like I’ve been in an almost meditative state. I’ve been listening to a powerful soundtrack by Dean Evenson called, “Om Mane Padme Hum.” It is a mantra of compassion and about sending love into the world:

Inspirational Haiku Book

As part of my LIFE Project, I had intended to write a book of poetry (this is the 3rd of the 5 I hope to publish!). To commemorate the ending of this project, I have compiled 250 haikus that I have written throughout the course of the year. I will release it upon my return. I’m thrilled to share it with all of you. It will go into the free resource library here on the website.

Next Week and Posting:

As I embark upon my travels, I’m not entirely sure how much access I will have to the internet. We’ll be going through some pretty rural areas.

To that end, I wanted to take the pressure off myself to feel obligated to post. I may or may not post next week. I’m bringing my camera, tripod, and recording equipment. I think it would be fun to do videos like I did on the sacred travels voyage I did last year. Those would go on my YouTube channel. Though I often post mandala-related items, I also love to talk about my travels and insights. I’ve scheduled out some new haikus and tweets on Twitter, but not the 100 daily posts I usually do – just a few a day while I’m traveling.

For this post, I likely won’t be able to visit other blogs to comment. If you leave a comment, please know I will catch up with you upon returning.

Until next time!