Our Story
The place where travel journaling falls short is when we stumble home to our lodgings simply too tuckered out from adventure to dive into the page and relive it all over again in juicy detail.
The beauty of the Illuminated Journey approach is this: we’re asking the body for its memories rather than the brain. And making it as easy as possible. (There may also be a little bit of benevolent psychological trickery involved as well!) If you want all those deets tout de suite, click here. If you'd like to get into the spiritual and artistic DNA of Illuminated Journey first, carry on.
I am creative
And so are you. We ALL feel more alive when we're creating - whether from bliss at dancing in the arms of our muse or adrenaline-laced terror at trying something new.
Here are four nuggets of truth from creativity guru Elizabeth Gilbert:
1. If you're alive, you'e a creative person.
2. Make something, do something, do anything.
3. Let go of your fantasy of perfection.
4. Curiosity is the truth and the way of creative living.
I value efficiency
That’s why everything fits together in one compact, easy-to-grab bundle. Kind of like airplane meals - I’m always a bit amazed how much food they can fit on those teensy trays, aren't you?
Also: order/efficiency = peace. Who knew you could BUY PEACE?!
I value community
Whenever possible, our supplies are sourced or created locally. Currently this includes printing, both leather & vegan covers and several of the art supplies.
I am deeply committed to my spiritual life
and have experienced travel as a powerful vehicle of transformation and renewal, particularly when I can process and record it on the page. In the process of developing and using this journal system, I came to the following realization:
👁️Connecting to our senses grounds us in the present moment
🪴Being grounded in the present moment = MINDFULNESS
🌺 Mindfulness connects us to Spirit/ Higher Power
🙌🏽 Tah-dah! And you thought there were no spiritual short cuts…
(In this photo I've just reached the end of a 1,317 km foot pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.)
I ADORE having *just* the right tool for the job
But not as much as I adore having my dad help me with projects around the farm!
Broadforks, Gorilla Carts (pictured here with Dad & Huey) and my red VitaMix blender all qualify in this category of Perfect Tool.
The best possible version of this Perfect Tool Experience is when the tool in question is high quality, beautiful, durable and won't break the bank. These values have been first and foremost in the selection of each item in our inventory. I have personally used and approved of everything we sell. If it doesn’t sing to me, it’s not included.
Period.
I am a writer
I have been keeping journals since I could write and have spent several years in a weekly writing group led by ground-breaking author Laura Davis, (The Courage to Heal) who underlined for us (among many other things) the critical importance of including sensory details in our writing.
The tactile experience of putting pen to paper is grounding in a way that typing on a computer can never hope to be.
I am a traveler
I've gone on 50+ international trips in the past 30 years and have journaled my way through all of them. For the past 7 years, I've played with prototypes of this journal + art supplies, seeking the sweet spot between too much and not enough. I think perhaps I've found it, because I'm finding difficulty in restraining myself from thrusting these journals into people's hands and saying "You gotta read this!"
I am a teacher
¡Buenos días! That's me on the right. For 9 years, I taught high school Spanish and had a collection of lucha libre masks pinned over the whiteboard. (My fallen enemies, naturally.) I told students that I spent several years of pre-teacher life as a professional wrestler. And furthermore, if they didn't behave, I'd break them in half and make them cry in front of their classmates. They never quite knew if I was telling the truth or not, but it was delightful fun to pretend.
What I'm really trying to say is that high schoolers can be tough customers! This job/ministry required ALL my focus and creativity. Now that I'm no longer in the classroom, Illuminated Journey and YOU get the full benefit of my creative teaching juices. <3.
¡De nada! ¡Hasta luego!