Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of “Eat, Pray and Love”, a book that documents her unconventional physical and emotional journey towards spiritual understanding. Her journey took her to various parts of the world including India. Recently, she participated in a Q & A with some of her readers. I wanted to share one of the questions and her response:

Q: How can I possibly go on a journey like yours, given that I have a busy, busy life of marriage, kids and work responsibilities?

A: The last thing I ever want to become is the Poster Child for “Everyone Must Leave Their Husband and Move to India In Order To Find God.” My path is hardly a universal prescription. It was my path – that is all it ever was. I drew up my journey as a personal prescription for solving my life.

Transformative journeys come in many forms, though, and often happen without people ever leaving home. Divinity is available everywhere, at all times. People find their way to God during wars, in the middle of traffic jams and in small prison cells. (Though I would submit it's easier for a prisoner to find time to meditate in a jail cell than it is for many of my working-mom friends with young children to create time for contemplation.)

The first question you can begin to ask yourself, though, is: “Where can I find a small corner of stillness?” Because that’s where it all begins and ends. God resides in these pockets of silence. So where in your day, where in your home, where in your mind, is there some opportunity for a moment of silence? Or maybe even a few moments, during which you can start asking the questions you need to ask in order to find what you need to learn. Can you find the time to get out of your own way and try to step into your own light? As a dear friend of mine put it: "To change your life, the important thing is not necessarily to travel; the important thing is to SHIFT.”

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