Aim for True North
Your internal compass awaits.
“Not all who wander are lost”.
(From J.R.R. Tolkien’s poem, "The Riddle of Strider", from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)“Not all who wander are lost”.
Welcome to An Uncharted Path.
The online community I envision here is one I wish had existed when I was a young woman. Raised without formal religious foundation, I yearned for a spiritual home. I craved a life of meaning and connection to “something out there”. But I kept bumping into religious “boxes” -- seemingly prescribed sets of beliefs that were pre-qualifiers for belonging.
Never able to neatly squeeze myself into those small containers, I began to sense my internal compass — which set me free. After spending years in a spiritual desert, I was able to discern what I needed and could give to a spiritual community, if I was to be part of one. I needed a community that could accommodate my evolving sense of Truth in life (truth with a capital T). I recognized that this was to be a perpetual work in progress.
Following a career in education, I took a pause — to deeply explore questions that nurtured my own development. Questions such as:
What does it mean to be “spiritually independent”?
What exactly am I seeking?
What do I genuinely believe (or hope) is true?
Is spiritual pluralism possible -- or even desirable?
Through what avenues does my spirituality emerge most authentically?
How can I connect with something larger than myself?
Where can I find a sense of spiritual community?
Who can provide support when I have questions and challenges?
How can my spiritual life serve needs beyond my own?
I eventually became certified in spiritual direction (aka spiritual guidance, mentoring, coaching, or companioning) and soon found myself as a guide to others around their spiritual needs and pursuits.
An Uncharted Path began to take shape in my heart and mind, as a way to reach out more widely. I offer this newsletter as a means for readers to contemplate and engage with topics, perspectives, and questions of potential significance to their spiritual lives -- and to form their own conclusions – conclusions that may very well change over time.
What is Spirituality?
Before I continue, I need to offer a working definition of that term, because you’ll see it mentioned here frequently. What is suggested when we hear that word? While it can be debated, a definition that rang true for me is one provided in the opening of the article, “What Is Spirituality?” by author, Louise Delagran. She writes:
“Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all.
People may describe a spiritual experience as sacred or transcendent or simply a deep sense of aliveness and interconnectedness.”
Delagran continues by saying that the spiritual lives of some are perceived to be strongly intertwined with formal religious communities (e.g., churches, temples, mosques, or synagogues). Others may establish connections with God, or a higher power, without such affiliations.
Alternatively, some find connections to something larger than themselves through other means (in concert with or separate from religion) such as immersions into nature or through artistic pursuits. And, finally, some connect to something larger like humanity itself, rather than to any kind of higher power or force.
Why this newsletter? Why now?
As many sources communicate these days, the spiritually independent — some of whom may also be described as spiritual “nones”, the spiritually fluid, or the spiritual-but-not-religious — make up the fastest-growing religious category in the U.S.
While some who fit this description forge healthy, satisfying, independent spiritual lives, others may find themselves confused, vulnerable to corrupt or immature teachers, or without an anchor during life’s most difficult periods.
The intention behind An Uncharted Path is to offer support and food for thought for persons serious about creating an authentic spiritual life, with or without the context of formal religion. The goal is to help make this process more deliberate and individualized. It is also to help spiritual travelers become aware of and side-step common pitfalls they may encounter.
Who are the readers of An Uncharted Path?
As I’ve imagined the readers of this newsletter, my impressions are shaped largely from data gathered by the Pew Research Center. This nonpartisan, nonadvocacy organization, established in 1990, produces publicly accessible information about issues, attitudes, and trends in the United States – including those related to religion.
Specifically, my attention rests on the Pew Center survey respondents who identify with the term, Spiritual but Not Religious (otherwise known as SBNR). My attention is also drawn to those who consider themselves spiritual and religious.
In the most recent Pew survey of 2023, 22% of respondents (more than one fifth) identified themselves as SBNR, presumably because they consider spirituality important in their lives. Conversely, this group wouldn’t describe themselves as religious, nor do they claim religion as very important to them.
Another group of respondents (48%) identify themselves as both spiritual and religious. The fast-growing SBNR group, coupled with the spiritual and religious, form a significant portion of the U.S. population (70%). It is within these groups, particularly the former (the SBNRs), where I anticipate some of the most likely readers of An Uncharted Path will surface.
Other Pew Center data help me gain clarity about probable readers. For instance, the report’s identified SBNRs are relatively young as a group — 58% of adult SBNRs are under age 50. They are also more likely to identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning Independents (60% and 39% respectively). A slight majority of SBNRs, similar to self-identified religious Americans, are women.
When it comes to religious identification, SBNRs appear to be divided between those who affiliate with a religion (45% of them) and those who do not (54%). This affirms for me the importance of addressing both SBNRs who do and do not continue to affiliate with religious traditions because, in reality, a segment of the former may feel spiritually adrift within them.
Of that segment of SBNRs who did affiliate with religion, most (38% of this subgroup) specified that they identified with “nothing in particular”. About one-fifth identified as Protestant, and a little over a tenth as Catholic. What the PEW data doesn’t tell us about those who remain linked to a religion is what percentage are immersed in critically examining their previously held belief systems (a process called “deconstruction”).
Widening the circle
Others who will likely be interested in the content of An Uncharted Path are those whose role is to provide spiritual support to the individuals I’ve described. They include spiritual directors like me, as well as chaplains and other faith leaders, counselors, psychologists, life coaches, social workers, and teachers of spiritual or religious content.
Whether or not those professionals are affiliated with specific traditions, my sense is that most would welcome a resource that spotlights the needs of those “out-of-the-box” spiritual seekers who reside among them. I hope they, too, will find a welcoming and beneficial community here.
In gratitude,
Anna