All by Elyn Aviva
In a serendipitous twist of fate, a dream from the past and a series of uncanny synchronicities lead Elyn Aviva and her husband, Gary, back to Girona, Spain. Amidst the charming medieval streets, they feel at home in ways they don’t quite understand. The journey rekindles Elyn's passion for a long-abandoned novel, and though it remains unfinished, they trust that life's purpose will be revealed.
When Elyn Aviva and her husband traveled to Ireland to walk Brigid’s Way Celtic Pilgrimage, nothing went as planned. A friend who agreed to meet them couldn’t. Hotel reservations were canceled. Car rides along country roads and unexpected encounters with friends supplanted long solitary walks in nature. Yet, the journey was every bit a pilgrimage.
It can be tempting to avoid popular tourism attractions when we travel. And yet, as Elyn Aviva shares in this essay, with the right intention and an open mind, it’s still possible to experience the magic that made a place special in the first place.
When a fear of heights threatens to derail Elyn Aviva from reaching the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Peninha, a place of miracles situated atop a rocky coastal outcrop in Portugal, a stranger appears to help, again and again, at precisely the moments assistance is needed most.
A personal tour of the Monastery of Santa Maria Scala Coeli, the Cartuxa de Évora, provides a rare opportunity for Elyn Aviva to discover, and share, a place of great spiritual and cultural significance, unique in Portugal.
Acquisition and release are a necessary part of moving. For Elyn Aviva, who, together with her husband Gary, has relocated from Iowa to Colorado. Colorado to New Mexico. New Mexico to Spain. Spain to Arizona. and now from Arizona to Portugal, the process of adaption has become an exercise akin to breathing: Breathe in, expand, acquire. Breathe out, contract, detach, release.
For many, knowing where they come from can provide a deep sense of community. For Elyn Aviva, however, this period of global political chaos and pandemic has revealed an ancestral history of seeking refuge from war, oppression, and persecution. Could this explain the innate terror and compulsion to flee she experiences in times of crisis?
Elyn Aviva decided that culling her computer contact list would be a productive Corona project. Easy, right? In theory perhaps, but the reality wasn’t quite the cleanup she’d anticipated.
Elyn Aviva has spent more than half of her life going on, studying, or writing about pilgrimage—specifically, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Today, as she adjusts to the disorientation of isolation, she poses the question: Could it be that like a pilgrimage, this pandemic offers an opportunity to journey inward and engage in deep self-exploration?
After eleven happy years as American expats in Spain, Elyn Aviva, and her husband Gary White, made the unexpected decision to return to the United States to make a new home in a new place.
Elyn Aviva traveled to Malta to experience sunrise at the 5,500-year-old Mnajdra Temple on the day of spring equinox. Unexpected insights are revealed when the event wasn’t the sacred experience she’d anticipated.
When American expat Elyn Aviva and her husband relocated to Asturias, Spain, after seven years in Catelonia, the safety net of knowing how to do things and where to go was suddenly gone and their spirits soon matched the region’s dismal winter weather.
Inspired by a visionary encounter with the goddess Elen of the Ways, author Elyn Aviva and her husband set off on a spiritual trek across Wales with little more than synchronicity, symbols, and signs to guide their way.
Frequent contributor Elyn Aviva shares the opening chapter of her newest book.
For Elyn Aviva, an American expat living in Catalonia, the Spanish government's heavy-handed response to the October 1st Catalan independence referendum ignited a complex emotional turbulence and the decision to temporarily flee Catalonia.
A visit to a mineral-springs health spa in southern Spain results in a mysterious sense of relaxation and well-being for Elyn Aviva.
A winter adventure to view the Aurora Borealis in Finland revealed uncomfortable emotions for author Elyn Aviva when nature’s most spectacular light show wasn’t quite what she’d expected.
All Elyn Aviva wanted was a quiet, peaceful vacation in a rented cottage in Penzance, Cornwall. Noise, traffic, and a lack of privacy was what she got instead. Ready to call it quits and return home, she creates a mental trick that helps her to endure. Until it doesn't.
Not every trip goes as planned. When writer Elyn Aviva and her husband embark on a pilgrimage of gratitude, unexpected obstacles reveal even more reasons to be grateful.
