Spiritual Wayfinding: 33 Walking Meditations for Navigating Life with Embodied Wisdom

by Deborah Gregory

Publisher:

IVP Formatio

, 2026

Overview

Step into God’s Presence with Spiritual Walking Meditations

From biblical times and throughout the ages, people of faith have walked and prayed. There’s something profoundly reorienting about integrating prayer with our embodied experience of forward movement. We engage our senses, breathe deeply, quiet our minds, and center our hearts. It’s a multisensory journey that integrates mind, body, and spirit as we notice God’s gentle leading, one step at a time.

In Spiritual Wayfinding, spiritual director Deborah Gregory invites you on a pilgrimage through thirty-three unique walking meditations exploring the core questions Where am I? and Where am I going? Each experience in this easy-to-use guide offers a creative approach to walking, specific prompts for reflection and prayer, and Ignatian contemplation of Scripture.

Walking practices in Spiritual Wayfinding include:

• Walking a labyrinth
• Night walking
• Collecting nature items to create outdoor art
• Using tree-growth patterns to navigate
• Walking barefoot
• And many more!

Through these prayerful walks—which can be completed alone or with a friend—you’ll deepen your discernment of God’s presence, God’s voice, God’s leading, and God’s all-encompassing love. Awaken to God’s presence, step by step, as you discover who you are—and who you are becoming.

Contents

Introduction: Finding Our Way

Pre-Amble: Put on Your Shoes
Walk 1: Right Shoe: Walk in Love
Walk 2: Left Shoe: Walk with Humility

Part 1: Sensory Awareness
Walk 3: Horizon-Gazing Walk: Sight
Walk 4: Listening Walk: Sound
Walk 5: Picnic: Taste and Smell
Walk 6: Forest Bathing: Touch
Walk 7: Breath Walking: Interoception (Internal Sensations)
Walk 8: Silly Walk: Proprioception and Balance

Part 2: Exploring Your Emotions
Walk 9: Awe Walking: Exploring Joy
Walk 10: Blueway Walking: Exploring Sadness
Walk 11: Stomp Walking: Exploring Anger
Walk 12: Yuck Walking: Exploring Disgust
Walk 13: Walk Before Dawn: Exploring Surprise
Walk 14: Walk in the Park: Exploring Fear

Part 3: Becoming Aware of Your Thoughts
Walk 15: PoohSticks: Releasing Sticky Thoughts
Walk 16: Labyrinth Walking: Untangling Fantasy and Rumination
Walk 17: Creative Imagination: Making Nature Art
Walk 18: Collecting Memory Stones: Recollecting Grace
Walk 19: Getting Lost: Discovering the Prayer of Examen

Part 4: Spiritual Orienteering
Walk 20: Navigating with Trees: Orienting to Divine Love
Walk 21: Pattern Spotting: Finding Signs of God Everywhere
Walk 22: Tree-Eyes Trek: Pruning Attachments
Walk 23: Windflüchter Walk: Navigating with Wind-Shaped Trees
Walk 24: Desire Paths: Noticing the Way of the Heart

Part 5: Exercising Discernment
Walk 25: Bushwalking: The Courage to Want
Walk 26: Walking with Prayer Pebbles: Discovering What’s Important
Walk 27: Birdwatching: Rewilding Faith
Walk 28: Walking Barefoot: Grounding in Hope
Walk 29: Labyrinth Dancing: Restorative Play

Part 6: The Pilgrim’s Way
Walk 30: Rucking: What to Carry and What to Leave Behind
Walk 31: Japanese Interval Walking: Cultivating Inner Strength
Walk 32: Rogation: Beating the Bounds
Walk 33: Walk Together: Uniting Steps, Awakening Joy

Acknowledgments
Notes

Praise for Spiritual Wayfinding

"As a pilgrimage leader and spiritual director, I found Spiritual Wayfinding both practically grounding and spiritually transformative. Deborah Gregory’s rare gift lies in making every practice genuinely inclusive for all abilities and neurotypes while honoring walking as one of our most essential spiritual disciplines. This is a book that will accompany me both in ministry and personal journey—each reflection bridges the practical and profound, inviting authentic encounters with God."

"In Spiritual Wayfinding, Deborah Gregory has managed to write a book that is a bit memoirish, creatively instructive, and oh-so-livable! This book provides thirty-three doses of pure goodness in each meditation, helping readers (literally) walk out their faith in surprising, playful, and inventive ways. I think its special appeal is for those who long to experience more of God and haven’t found the traditional models helpful. I truly enjoyed Spiritual Wayfinding and highly recommend you read it, get on your sneakers, and practice it!"

"Deborah Gregory is a wise and tender guide. In Spiritual Wayfinding, she helps us remember that the discernment of God’s presence begins in our bodies and unfolds as we move through the world with attention and care. She leads us into an on-the-ground life rooted in creation and helps us open our eyes to the grandeur of God along the way. Life with God is relational and communal, and Deborah is writing to help us remember that we never walk alone."

"Spiritual Wayfinding invites you to drink deeply from God’s life-giving water in your daily life! Deborah Gregory is a trusted guide and spiritual companion on a journey of spiritual respite and renewal. This book holds powerful meditations, ponderings, and spiritual practices that invite a renewal of mind, body, and spirit."

Product Details

• Title: Spiritual Wayfinding: 33 Walking Meditations for Navigating Life with Embodied Wisdom
• Author: Deborah Gregory
• Publisher: IVP Formatio
• Print Publication Date: 2026
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 168
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781514011973, 9781514011966, 1514011964, 1514011972
• Resource ID: LLS:9781514011973
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-08-20T03:01:02Z

About Deborah Gregory

Deborah Gregory was born in Brooklyn, New York. When she was only three years old, her mother was institutionalized, and young Deborah was put into foster care. As a teenager, she started designing her own clothes and fantasized about a singing career. At the age of eighteen, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. She graduated in 1986 with a BS in cultural studies from Empire State College. After graduation, she found success as a model in Europe.

Gregory has written for various magazines including Essence, More, Us Weekly, and Entertainment Weekly. In 1999 she penned the book series the Cheetah Girls. The books were adapted into a series of original movies by Disney Channel starting in 2003. She also wrote Catwalk and Catwalk: Strike a Pose.