Loto Journal
An evolving exploration of consciousness, spirituality, relationship, and what it means to flourish together.
Through personal storytelling and curious inquiry, we explore consciousness and the Self, contemplative spirituality and mysticism, psychology and somatic healing, creativity and relationship, and our connection with nature and the living world. Along the way, our Founder, Jennifer, shares letters from her travels as a digital nomad, exploring the people, places, traditions, and sacred landscapes that continue to shape her journey.
Reader’s Note: In an attempt to bring a conscious sense of responsibility to our language (where inclusivity and equality matter), in our Loto Wellness Collective blog content, except for direct quotes, the pronouns often used for God are They/Them in reference to Great Spirit, the I AM, the Universe. Also, we have taken the liberty of capitalizing the term “True Self” or “Self” so you will know that we are not referring to the “false self” (psychological egoic self), but the foundational Self that we are in God, Imago Dei.
The Returning: The Way of the Mirror
The Returning: The Way of the Explorer
Rather than seeking God “out there,” the Explorer turns inward—not in self-absorption, but in humility—trusting that deeper awareness does not lead away from God, but into God.
The Returning: The Way of the Intellectual
The Intellectual encounters the Divine through reading, theology, history, philosophy, scripture, and sacred inquiry. Their devotion looks like open books, marked pages, late-night questions, and the holy insistence that truth matters.
The Returning: The Way of the Enthusiast
Enthusiasts live with a holy expectancy that God is always up to something — always revealing, always surprising, always moving. They feel God in music, worship, dance, creativity, synchronicity, and divine interruptions.
To the Enthusiast, life is a sacrament. Everything is pulsing with potential and shimmering with Presence.
The Returning: The Way of the Caregiver
Caregivers meet God not in grand missions, but in small mercies. In washing a sink full of dishes for someone who’s overwhelmed. In sitting beside a friend who has no words left. In showing up when it would be easier to turn away.
The Returning: The Way of the Activist
For the Activist, compassion is not a concept — it is a calling. Justice is not ideology — it is worship. Action is not distraction — it is prayer embodied. This pathway is where the heart of God touches the wounds of the world. Where faith becomes flesh and love becomes action.
The Returning: The Way of the Contemplative
The Contemplative pathway is less about what you do and more about who you are becoming. It is the slow, steady descent from the mind into the heart — the place where God speaks in silence, and where the soul finally remembers the sound of its own name.
For the Contemplative, prayer is less about speech and more about presence. Less about effort and more about surrender. It is the practice of resting in Love, rather than performing for it.
The Slow Path Back to God: Why Contemplation Still Matters
Contemplative prayer flips that whole dynamic. It’s less “Lord, do something” and more “Lord, show me what is already true.” It’s less striving, more surrender. Less performance, more Presence. Less noise, more spaciousness.
The Returning: The Way of the Ascetic
The Ascetic pathway is for those who encounter the Divine not through abundance, but through simplicity. Not through stimulation, but through stillness. Not through addition, but through the sacred work of subtraction.
The Returning: The Way of the Sensate
The Sensate meets God through the senses — through color and fragrance, through texture, taste, and sound. For them, beauty is not ornamentation; it is revelation.
The Returning: The Way of the Naturalist
For the Naturalist, creation itself is the sanctuary. The forest becomes the temple, the tide becomes the hymn, and the rustling leaves become the voice of God. It’s not that nature points to God — it’s that nature reveals God. Every living thing becomes a verse in an unending psalm.
The Returning: The Way of the Traditionalist
For the Traditionalist, ritual is not an empty formality — it is the rhythm of divine remembrance. Within sacred structure, the Traditionalist finds a steady heartbeat, an embodied language of devotion that anchors the soul when the world feels unmoored.
Returning to Oneness: Christian Nondualism
Nondualism is the remembrance that God is not somewhere far beyond us, but within us and around us, breathing through every cell of creation. We are not apart from God—we are expressions of God. Each of us, a reflection of YHWH in flesh, just as Jesus revealed.
The Returning: An Introduction to Sacred Pathways
This is not a map for finding God. It's an invitation to remember. To return.
Julian of Norwich: The Mystic Who Saw Love at the Center of It All
Julian of Norwich—a voice of profound hope, sacred vision, and tender intimacy with God.
Hildegard of Bingen: The Mystic Who Sang the Cosmos Awake
Hildegard of Bingen—the fierce visionary and endlessly creative.
Mary Magdalene: Apostle to The Apostles
Clare of Assisi: The Mystic of Radical Simplicity and Fierce Love
Clare of Assisi—the quiet strength and holy devotion of a woman who renounced the world to fall completely into the arms of God.
Margery Kempe: The Mystic Who Refused to Stay Silent
Margery Kempe’s story echoes through the centuries, especially for modern women who feel the pull to more. More intimacy with God. More honesty in their spiritual walk. More embodiment of their faith—unapologetically emotional, deeply sensory, and uncontainably alive.
Teresa of Ávila: The Mystic Who Made Prayer a Palace
Teresa of Ávila—Carmelite reformer, contemplative firebrand, and one of Christianity’s most beloved mystics.
Contributors & Collaborators
Loto Living and Loto Journal, would not be possible without the ongoing support and generous contributions from an incredible team of contributors, collaborators, and our Desert Mothers.