(Abbreviated excerpt from Spiritual Geography: The Country of Peace)

Welcome, Pilgrim, to the most important spot on the map: the entrance to the Country of Peace. Peace is an island, separated from the rest of the continent by a gap, a big gap, “Forgiveness Gap.” Look down into the gap and you’ll see the painful experiences, ugly words, and bitter memories that separate you from your ex and separate you from Peace. Would you like to live in Peace? There is only one way to get there: fill the void with forgiveness and walk across. You can do it. You’re ready. You’ve suffered the betrayals, cried the tears, and fought the wars. You’ve looked in the mirror and given up the illusions you saw there. You’ve relinquished control and asked God to lead the way. You’ve even created a new kind of life, a life that fits you and feels good. You’ve done massive amounts of deep and important work, Pilgrim, and now you’re almost there. Once you cross the gap, you’ll see what it’s all about—what it’s really all about. Welcome, Pilgrim, you’re almost home.

Physical Terrain: The Country of Peace is gorgeous. Once you cross “Forgiveness Gap,” you will find wide, smooth roads that spiral gently upward, leading to the radiant light of God.

Weather: The weather in Peace is perfect. There are gentle breezes and Mediterranean temperatures. The light is like nowhere else: a pinkish glow, representing the peace and love of God, compelling you forward, comforting and reassuring you every step of the way.

Emotional Landscape: There are many astonishing, emotional discoveries in Peace. The first and foremost is the miracle of forgiveness, which releases both you and your ex from the bondage of the past, and frees you both to love again. Forgiveness alone would make your entire pilgrimage worthwhile, but you will experience other astonishing emotions in Peace as well, including reawakening to positive feelings about your relationship with your ex, and realizing that the whole journey, no matter how hard, has been, and is, good.

Landmarks: As you enter Peace, you will experience the miraculous, and often tangible, consequences of complete and total forgiveness. At some point, probably when you least expect it, you will come full circle to the realization that your love for your ex was real and good in its time. When you are ready, you can submit your prayer of forgiveness and receive your Spiritual Explorer certificate.

Life is not always peaceful in Peace. Upsetting things still can, and will, happen. But when something happens that would have thrown you for a loop in the past, you will amaze yourself (and your family and friends) by facing it with grace and dignity, knowing deep inside that Spirit is in charge and all is well. Fortified and blessed by the six essential gifts you have received thus far, you will claim the seventh—your whole and holy heart—and when you do, you will begin again, knowing you have all you need to live a whole and holy life.

Road Signs

Prayer Ticket: In every other country, your prayer ticket was there to assuage your fears and keep you going. In Peace, one of your great discoveries is that there is nothing to fear. Like Dorothy, you always had the tools to get home; you just didn’t know you had them. Dorothy had her red shoes and could always have clicked them, if she’d just known they had the power. You always had grace and you always had God. You just didn’t know how to connect. Now, you do. Now, you have the essential spiritual gifts of sight, feeling, wisdom, freedom, trust, conscious living, and—your great reward—your whole and holy heart. Now, you know how to live. So, there is only one thing to do: Be grateful. Say this prayer of gratefulness every day for the rest of your life.

Passport Entry Stamp: Every great spiritual tradition teaches what the map portrays: You cannot experience peace until you forgive. Your spiritual task in Peace is to become the loving being you are here to be. But you can’t become that without first forgiving. So, the visa stamp to enter the Country of Peace is a picture of “Forgiveness Gap” still a void, waiting for you to fill it with forgiveness and step across. Welcome, Pilgrim, to the loving phase of your pilgrimage.

Exit: You don’t have to leave the Country of Peace, but at some point you probably will. There is an angel hovering over Peace, whispering, “Begin again,” and that angel knows that life can bring fresh betrayals. But, when something hurtful happens, you will go through the experience differently, because you are a different person—a whole and holy person. This time, you have the gift of sight you earned in Betrayal, the feeling heart you opened in Pain, the wisdom you acquired in War, the freedom you earned in Illusion, the trust you forged with Spirit in Surrender, and the new life you built in Choice to help you respond. This time, you know you walk in the peace and strength of God. This time, you know that Spirit is in charge and all is well. So, you see, Pilgrim, you are ready for whatever life has in store for you. Go in peace, Pilgrim. The journey has been good—very good.