Evolution of the Project

by Richard Dealler

For a number of years I worked with male perpetrators of Domestic Violence, supporting men to change patterns of destructive and abusive behaviour. A common pattern with clients was of disconnection, with energy concentrated in the head,  predominantly negative, self centred thinking leading to resentful, irritated and frustrated states of mind. During one group session we reflected on experiences in life when men had felt most attuned to themselves and how this had influenced their responses to other people and the world around them. As a consequence of this discussion I thought about my own experiences and vividly remembered walking for a month to Santiago de Compostela many years before, an experience which had been influential in shaping my subsequent life.

Several months elapsed, then at Christmas 2009, I sat late one evening in St Michael the Archangel Church in Chagford. There before the nativity scene I had a moment of insight (I hesitate to call it revelation!) the need to establish a walking pilgrimage route across England from Cornwall to Norfolk associated with the Michael and Mary Earth energy currents. I very nearly talked myself out of the idea during the restless night that followed, judging it as grandiose and impractical but fortunately the first response from a friend the next day was hugely encouraging. From there the momentum built over the next few years. At times the challenges seemed daunting, but at each turn along the way there has been just enough encouragement, just enough money and just enough of the right people with the necessary skills for another step to be taken.

More recently there has been a period when the pilgrimage has been dormant, my attention focused on other priorities, but with some persuasive encouragement from Dr. Guy Hayward, director and co-founder of The British Pilgrimage Trust who has convinced me that there is a wider interest in this particular pilgrimage, I am looking at ways to reinvigorate the project, and make available the resources already gathered in developing the route.