 What is Spiritual Geography and how does it work?
Spiritual Geography is a healing system that transforms the universally difficult experiences of divorce and separation into a meaningful, seven-part, spiritual pilgrimage. It was developed to help people access internal divine guidance through the imagery of the seven countries on the map, the practice of sacred journaling, and the development of personal prayer.
Using the Spiritual Geography system helps pilgrims three ways:
- The Spiritual Geography system teaches people how to build and maintain a regular spiritual practice that includes sacred journaling, a practice that numerous authors and spiritual teachers have touted for its healing and transformational power.
- As pilgrims travel through each country, the focused personal-prayer development exercises assist them in exploring their feelings and experiences fully, mining each experience for all its rich, healing potential.
- Each prayer exercise guides pilgrims to evaluate their current thoughts and behaviors around a specific issue and either release them or shift them to a different and higher consciousness. Consistent repetition of this mental/emotional practice breaks down long-standing, toxic habits and, over time, rewires the mind, creating the capacity and ability to build and live a conscious, fulfilling, authentic life.
How do I know where to start?
Whether you are the betrayer or the betrayed, everyone’s journey begins in Betrayal with the realization that, ready or not, life is changing. Some pilgrims stay in Betrayal for a long time. (Especially those who move into the Hotel Denial in the District of Denial.) Others move to Pain, and still others to War. Pilgrims who have been on their journey for awhile and have undergone some spiritual change, may be in Illusion, Surrender, or Choice. To determine where you are, study the information about each country in “The Map” on the main navigation bar and take the abbreviated Locator in “Where Am I?” Each Spiritual Geography book begins with a full-length Locator for the country that book covers and ends with Locators for the surrounding countries, so a pilgrim can determine where he or she is headed.
Who or what is God in Spiritual Geography?
Because Spiritual Geography is a universal, non-denominational, healing system, open and beneficial to all, there can be no predetermined or limited definition of God. God in Spiritual Geography is much like God in AA, often referred to as “the God of your understanding.” You are invited to bring your concept or beliefs about God to the process of Spiritual Geography, or, if your existing experience of God is not one of openness, warmth, and love, you may be more comfortable starting with a new, more expansive view of God as the “all-accepting listener.” That is God’s primary role in Spiritual Geography: to listen completely, to attend fully, and then, to gently guide.
What religion is Spiritual Geography based on?
One answer to this question is none. But a more correct answer might be all. The author attended Catholic school through college, so there are many Old and New Testament stories and quotations in the seven books of Spiritual Geography, but the spiritual exercises are not limited to the Judeo-Christian tradition. In all Spiritual Geography materials, travelers are encouraged to study sacred texts of their own tradition, and explore other spiritual and secular sources of information that seem valuable. To encourage exploration and stimulate thinking, stories and ideas from a wide variety of spiritual traditions are interspersed throughout the personal-prayer exercises in the Spiritual Geography books.
Is Spiritual Geography just for people going through divorce?
No. Although a large percentage of people gravitating to the healing pilgrimage of Spiritual Geography are experiencing divorce, the principles apply to everyone going through any kind of relationship trauma from an unmarried couple breaking up to parent-child estrangement. Some people use the metaphor of the map and the exercises in Spiritual Geography as a form of couples’ self-discovery with the intent of strengthening the marriage.
It also has been suggested that the pilgrimage through the seven countries of spiritual healing is applicable to other forms of trauma such as illness, job loss, and death of a loved one. The personal prayers in this website and in the seven books of Spiritual Geography are about healing relationship trauma. In the future, prayers healing other kinds of trauma can be included if people request them.
Why are people going through the map called pilgrims?
Because we are all pilgrims. The definition of pilgrim is: a person who wanders from place to place…journeys to a sacred place…and journeys through life, traveling in quest of something. When we experience relationship trauma, we lose our bearings and our ties to whatever normal was, and find ourselves emotionally and mentally wandering toward something, some purpose, some place—even though we don’t know what, or where, that is. The map shows us that, whether we know it or not, we are on a pilgrimage in search of Peace.
A pilgrimage is defined as: a journey made by a pilgrim to a sacred place or future state of blessedness. “A future state of blessedness.” That’s a beautiful—and perfect—description of what happens when we complete the journey and receive all seven spiritual gifts. (Definitions abbreviated from the Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition)
What does S.E. mean?
S.E. stands for Spiritual Explorer. When pilgrims reach the Country of Peace and submit their prayer of forgiveness, they can request their Spiritual Explorer certificate. Janet Conner created the S.E. designation to honor her own pilgrimage through the seven countries, and to offer hard-working pilgrims something tangible to mark and celebrate their life-transforming journey to wholeness.
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