Introduction

The Calm Way

a small Portuguese village I recently walked through on the Camino de Santiago.

Welcome to a serialized version of The Calm Way: 365-Day Journey Out of the Weeds & Into the Wilds of True Inner Freedom.

You’ll find 7 daily passages in each weekly section.

You are welcome to leave comments and questions.

---

The Invitation

The day I realized I was to write this book I was hanging out for a day of writing with my great friend and sometimes editor, Leah Salyer. We were in the café area of the farmer’s market in downtown Nashville, diving into our projects. The title had arrived months earlier, but I thought it was for a rebrand of Unwinding Anxiety. When I saw the cover mockup, my soul lit up and I said, “There’s a second book.” And I started to cry. I’m so grateful Leah was with me. Who else would understand why I was happy-ugly crying?

I cried because when The Calm Way arrived, it came with what I call a cosmic map showing me I had been building connection points for years. It invited me to find out where the map led. A vast constellation of completions and new beginnings starts with this book.

As the year went on, I would write and then set it aside as I wandered through the weeds of my inner landscape. I did my best to let the true message arise. Many days I wanted to dump the whole thing. Yet, I could not.

Now I see it with clear vision. For whatever we create, rarely is it for the reasons we first had. This book would not let me walk away. This inner adventure would not be paused. And that is how I know my Higher aspects, my Soul, Spirit, Mystery, Divine Wholeness has a plan and why I was compelled to share my devotion to the Calm Way.

Your Invitation

Years ago, I found the ancient practice called Lectio Divina. It’s probably as old as the written language. Look upon a passage of writing, or listen to a song, and without agenda, let it unfurl within you. See what rises up. If only a single word or syllable stirs inside you, go with it. Stay with it. What can it shake loose inside you? The answer to everything. Follow it. See where it leads.

The invitation within these pages is to spend time with yourself. Connect, reflect, experience yourself through each passage.

You can approach The Calm Way anyway you like. Read a page a day from Day 1 to Day 365. Divine a personal message with the Divine Flip by asking for guidance for the day. Then open at random or as your intuition prompts you. Read the whole thing in one sitting. Live for 365 years and practice with one page a year. Have fun with it! Follow your inner guidance, and you’ll never go wrong.

It’s all up to you.

I encourage you to slow down, give yourself well-deserved moments of sinking into the words and rhythms of each passage. Notice what cream rises to the top. Enjoy sitting quietly with whatever comes through. Jump up in ecstatic dance and song. Ski across the country with joy. It’s all up to you. Jot down your in-sights and capture your immediate experience of images, sounds, smells, and other sensations.

Meet the reflection of your wisdom as you nestle into the field of your curiosity. Whatever is stirring in you will keep rippling through.

In meeting yourself this way, you affirm you are worthy of unlocking the mysteries and qualities of inner peace.

Arise now as the author of thy life, and make way for a new dawn,

a new way together.

Let inspiration move through you unimpeded.

To keep reading The Calm Way in weekly editions, become a monthly or annual subscriber. Or enjoy occasional postings from it as a free subscriber.

You can also purchase the paperbook or ebook on Amazon.