Earlier this fall, I thought our ship might be sailing into the pleasant waters of unity, community, and sanity. Instead, it turns out we’re heading into the teeth of a storm. What a shift in course! To integrate the shock, I had to withdraw from news and social media. I needed a break. I needed to re-connect with my spiritual GPS.

I fantasized about going for a month to an ashram in India or on a pilgrimage to Machu Picchu, but those are out of my range in both time and finances. Earlier this spring, I had been hired to facilitate a 3-day retreat in rural Minnesota, and that fit the bill perfectly. Although I was in charge of the itinerary, the retreat was also the kind of get-away that I needed––quiet space removed from daily responsibilities. It was an invitation to connect with and expand my inner space.

This is something we could all use in today’s busy world. It started me thinking about all the ways we can reset our spiritual GPS. “Retreat” just means that we retreat, that we withdraw or step away.  It can be any amount of time that unplugs us from daily life, allowing the divine to move through us.

Regular repetition of any activity over time, especially when we do it alone, builds our body’s recognition of its vibrational qualities. Then it can easily bring us to awareness, to the retreat state of alert relaxation, in any moment.

We can create retreat space at home, and also in other spaces. We can pull our car over in a park, roll down the windows, and sit with the engine and all devices turned off for 15 minutes. Or get out and connect with Nature. We can visit a museum or an art gallery during their quiet hours and explore our vibration with created objects.

We can connect through any of our senses. Listening to the tone of a chime or bell or singing bowl. Humming or moaning or laughing for no reason. Listening to the wind. Listening to the birds. Stopping to take deep cleansing breaths. Staring at a lit candle, or a feather in your hand. Stopping to breathe in a bent balsam needle or essential oil. Yoga or Chi Gong. Intuitive dancing. Meditation. Journaling.

You can carry something in your pocket, something meaningful like a stone or shell or bead, and come back to center every time you touch it. You can wear it on your body (keeping it out of view to reduce other’s energy effects on it).

It doesn’t really matter exactly what it is, but it should reconnect us with the present and our center. I encourage you to develop your own small, repetitive ritual. Attend to your consciousness. Reset your spiritual GPS.