Jeffrey | Educational Consultant & EcoSpiritual Guide
@jeffreykeefer.bsky.social
5x Camino Pilgrim | Guiding seekers from overwhelm to grounded presence through contemplative walking
In this video, I discussed my upcoming 2026 Contemplative Walking Retreat along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in France, including answering some questions.
The full video is available here: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/contemplative-walking-retreat-along
The full video is available here: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/contemplative-walking-retreat-along
November 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
In this video, I discussed my upcoming 2026 Contemplative Walking Retreat along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in France, including answering some questions.
The full video is available here: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/contemplative-walking-retreat-along
The full video is available here: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/contemplative-walking-retreat-along
Registration open: Sept 2026 Le Puy Camino retreat. 7 days, 4 spots, contemplative walking as kinship, not mindfulness. I've walked Camino 5x—path teaches what books can't. I'll walk regardless, but the invitation is real. walkingthroughnature.com (10% off til Jan 1, code Camino10)
November 5, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Registration open: Sept 2026 Le Puy Camino retreat. 7 days, 4 spots, contemplative walking as kinship, not mindfulness. I've walked Camino 5x—path teaches what books can't. I'll walk regardless, but the invitation is real. walkingthroughnature.com (10% off til Jan 1, code Camino10)
Samhain Eve storm. Power out. Darkness in daytime. Tomorrow, the threshold crosses. Honoring the dark half doesn't mean loving it—it means adapting. Morning walks Saturday. Nightlights on. You don't need it figured out.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/entering-the-dark-half-without-pretending
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/entering-the-dark-half-without-pretending
October 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Samhain Eve storm. Power out. Darkness in daytime. Tomorrow, the threshold crosses. Honoring the dark half doesn't mean loving it—it means adapting. Morning walks Saturday. Nightlights on. You don't need it figured out.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/entering-the-dark-half-without-pretending
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/entering-the-dark-half-without-pretending
The challenge ended Friday. This morning, I woke up to find the structure gone. Learning what I can actually control: my practices, my pace, and showing up. Not outcomes.
The morning after is harder than any challenge.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-the-structure-disappears
The morning after is harder than any challenge.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-the-structure-disappears
October 26, 2025 at 2:51 PM
The challenge ended Friday. This morning, I woke up to find the structure gone. Learning what I can actually control: my practices, my pace, and showing up. Not outcomes.
The morning after is harder than any challenge.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-the-structure-disappears
The morning after is harder than any challenge.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-to-do-when-the-structure-disappears
The 13-day challenge ended yesterday. Today, the prompts are gone. Samhain approaches—the Celtic New Year, teaching me what to release next. The Ancestors knew rest isn't the opposite of commitment.
Full post: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/samhain-isnt-halloween-its-the-celtic
Full post: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/samhain-isnt-halloween-its-the-celtic
October 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
The 13-day challenge ended yesterday. Today, the prompts are gone. Samhain approaches—the Celtic New Year, teaching me what to release next. The Ancestors knew rest isn't the opposite of commitment.
Full post: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/samhain-isnt-halloween-its-the-celtic
Full post: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/samhain-isnt-halloween-its-the-celtic
Small actions regularly beat waiting for perfect ones.
My commitments: Continue Substack, two pilgrimages in 2026, launch Rewilding the Soul Certificate, hold space for others.
Start where you are. What's your commitment?
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/small-actions-for-the-natural-world
My commitments: Continue Substack, two pilgrimages in 2026, launch Rewilding the Soul Certificate, hold space for others.
Start where you are. What's your commitment?
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/small-actions-for-the-natural-world
October 24, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Small actions regularly beat waiting for perfect ones.
My commitments: Continue Substack, two pilgrimages in 2026, launch Rewilding the Soul Certificate, hold space for others.
Start where you are. What's your commitment?
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/small-actions-for-the-natural-world
My commitments: Continue Substack, two pilgrimages in 2026, launch Rewilding the Soul Certificate, hold space for others.
Start where you are. What's your commitment?
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/small-actions-for-the-natural-world
My deep connection to Earth began just 5 years ago, during my first Camino walk in France in 2022. The Aubrac Plateau stunned me—vast sky, grazing cows, endless views.
It's not too late for your connection to begin.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/my-deep-connection-to-earth-started
It's not too late for your connection to begin.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/my-deep-connection-to-earth-started
October 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
My deep connection to Earth began just 5 years ago, during my first Camino walk in France in 2022. The Aubrac Plateau stunned me—vast sky, grazing cows, endless views.
It's not too late for your connection to begin.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/my-deep-connection-to-earth-started
It's not too late for your connection to begin.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/my-deep-connection-to-earth-started
Hermann, the tree I sat with in Luxembourg Garden, has been completely removed. No trace of his existence remains.
This is the grief I carry. But Joanna Macy's Active Hope taught me: we don't need optimism to act. We need intention.
Feel the grief. Then move forward anyway.
This is the grief I carry. But Joanna Macy's Active Hope taught me: we don't need optimism to act. We need intention.
Feel the grief. Then move forward anyway.
October 20, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Hermann, the tree I sat with in Luxembourg Garden, has been completely removed. No trace of his existence remains.
This is the grief I carry. But Joanna Macy's Active Hope taught me: we don't need optimism to act. We need intention.
Feel the grief. Then move forward anyway.
This is the grief I carry. But Joanna Macy's Active Hope taught me: we don't need optimism to act. We need intention.
Feel the grief. Then move forward anyway.
I asked a houseplant for permission before touching its leaves. After re potting, we're finding balance together—he has new growth, I learned his specific needs.
Neighbor means kin with own lives we're connected to, not property we own.
That changes everything about how we share space.
Neighbor means kin with own lives we're connected to, not property we own.
That changes everything about how we share space.
October 17, 2025 at 12:41 AM
I asked a houseplant for permission before touching its leaves. After re potting, we're finding balance together—he has new growth, I learned his specific needs.
Neighbor means kin with own lives we're connected to, not property we own.
That changes everything about how we share space.
Neighbor means kin with own lives we're connected to, not property we own.
That changes everything about how we share space.
Pruned a houseplant this morning while breathing with her. Speaking with her. Explaining what I was doing. She creates oxygen I breathe. I create carbon dioxide she needs.
Not a meditation technique, but a recognition of kinship.
What relationships are you breathing through unconsciously?
Not a meditation technique, but a recognition of kinship.
What relationships are you breathing through unconsciously?
October 15, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Pruned a houseplant this morning while breathing with her. Speaking with her. Explaining what I was doing. She creates oxygen I breathe. I create carbon dioxide she needs.
Not a meditation technique, but a recognition of kinship.
What relationships are you breathing through unconsciously?
Not a meditation technique, but a recognition of kinship.
What relationships are you breathing through unconsciously?
I found two dead red squirrels in a rain bucket this morning. Not the water practice I planned, but they taught me that following water means witnessing the whole cycle of life death. Their fight for life deserved acknowledgment.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-two-dead-squirrels-in-a-rain
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-two-dead-squirrels-in-a-rain
October 14, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I found two dead red squirrels in a rain bucket this morning. Not the water practice I planned, but they taught me that following water means witnessing the whole cycle of life death. Their fight for life deserved acknowledgment.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-two-dead-squirrels-in-a-rain
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/what-two-dead-squirrels-in-a-rain
After a storm, I noticed fallen branches—but the tree still stood.
Resilience isn’t perfection. It’s rooted relationship.
Walk with nature, not just through it.
Read the full reflection on Where Insight Meets Earth.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-difference-between-being-in-nature
Resilience isn’t perfection. It’s rooted relationship.
Walk with nature, not just through it.
Read the full reflection on Where Insight Meets Earth.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-difference-between-being-in-nature
October 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
After a storm, I noticed fallen branches—but the tree still stood.
Resilience isn’t perfection. It’s rooted relationship.
Walk with nature, not just through it.
Read the full reflection on Where Insight Meets Earth.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-difference-between-being-in-nature
Resilience isn’t perfection. It’s rooted relationship.
Walk with nature, not just through it.
Read the full reflection on Where Insight Meets Earth.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-difference-between-being-in-nature
This March, I'm launching the Rewilding the Soul EcoSpirituality Certificate that guides participants from spiritual disconnection to grounded earth practices through direct relationships with the living world.
More info: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/rewilding-the-soul-a-new-certificate
More info: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/rewilding-the-soul-a-new-certificate
October 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
This March, I'm launching the Rewilding the Soul EcoSpirituality Certificate that guides participants from spiritual disconnection to grounded earth practices through direct relationships with the living world.
More info: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/rewilding-the-soul-a-new-certificate
More info: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/rewilding-the-soul-a-new-certificate
After eleven miles on the Camino, I stepped onto a crowded Paris train, and the peace seemed to slip away. You can't maintain nature's stillness, but you can practice nature's wisdom. The walk ends. The practice continues.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-walk-ends-the-practice-continues
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-walk-ends-the-practice-continues
October 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
After eleven miles on the Camino, I stepped onto a crowded Paris train, and the peace seemed to slip away. You can't maintain nature's stillness, but you can practice nature's wisdom. The walk ends. The practice continues.
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-walk-ends-the-practice-continues
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/the-walk-ends-the-practice-continues
I used to think spiritual walking required perfect settings, until imperfect walks taught me otherwise.
Three beliefs about walking I had to unlearn: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/3-beliefs-about-walking-i-had-to
Three beliefs about walking I had to unlearn: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/3-beliefs-about-walking-i-had-to
October 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I used to think spiritual walking required perfect settings, until imperfect walks taught me otherwise.
Three beliefs about walking I had to unlearn: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/3-beliefs-about-walking-i-had-to
Three beliefs about walking I had to unlearn: https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/3-beliefs-about-walking-i-had-to
Can a sidewalk be as sacred as a forest trail? You probably can't get to a forest today, but you can still practice sacred walking.
My essay exploring what urban chaos and natural silence each teach the seeker about presence:
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/city-walk-vs-forest-trail-for-inner
My essay exploring what urban chaos and natural silence each teach the seeker about presence:
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/city-walk-vs-forest-trail-for-inner
October 2, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Can a sidewalk be as sacred as a forest trail? You probably can't get to a forest today, but you can still practice sacred walking.
My essay exploring what urban chaos and natural silence each teach the seeker about presence:
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/city-walk-vs-forest-trail-for-inner
My essay exploring what urban chaos and natural silence each teach the seeker about presence:
https://jeffreykeefer.substack.com/p/city-walk-vs-forest-trail-for-inner
Urban pilgrimage through Paris next week—walking the medieval Via Touronensis from Tour Saint-Jacques to Antony.
Sacred space isn't separate from ordinary space. It's ordinary space approached with sacred attention.
#urbanpilgrimage
Sacred space isn't separate from ordinary space. It's ordinary space approached with sacred attention.
#urbanpilgrimage
September 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Urban pilgrimage through Paris next week—walking the medieval Via Touronensis from Tour Saint-Jacques to Antony.
Sacred space isn't separate from ordinary space. It's ordinary space approached with sacred attention.
#urbanpilgrimage
Sacred space isn't separate from ordinary space. It's ordinary space approached with sacred attention.
#urbanpilgrimage
Every trail starts as disturbance—crushed vegetation, broken branches, scars.
Time transforms wounds into pathways. Earth turns damage into direction.
What damage wants to become a path for others?
#contemplativewalking
Time transforms wounds into pathways. Earth turns damage into direction.
What damage wants to become a path for others?
#contemplativewalking
September 24, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Every trail starts as disturbance—crushed vegetation, broken branches, scars.
Time transforms wounds into pathways. Earth turns damage into direction.
What damage wants to become a path for others?
#contemplativewalking
Time transforms wounds into pathways. Earth turns damage into direction.
What damage wants to become a path for others?
#contemplativewalking
Productivity culture says doing more leads to being more.
Walking French countryside taught me the opposite: doing less reveals who you actually are.
I forget this the moment I get home.
#contemplativewalking
Walking French countryside taught me the opposite: doing less reveals who you actually are.
I forget this the moment I get home.
#contemplativewalking
September 23, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Productivity culture says doing more leads to being more.
Walking French countryside taught me the opposite: doing less reveals who you actually are.
I forget this the moment I get home.
#contemplativewalking
Walking French countryside taught me the opposite: doing less reveals who you actually are.
I forget this the moment I get home.
#contemplativewalking
Every May, I walk different sections of the same French pilgrimage route. Four years in, same path keeps teaching new lessons.
Real change comes from committed return, not constant reinvention.
What practice calls you back each year?
#contemplativewalking
Real change comes from committed return, not constant reinvention.
What practice calls you back each year?
#contemplativewalking
September 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Every May, I walk different sections of the same French pilgrimage route. Four years in, same path keeps teaching new lessons.
Real change comes from committed return, not constant reinvention.
What practice calls you back each year?
#contemplativewalking
Real change comes from committed return, not constant reinvention.
What practice calls you back each year?
#contemplativewalking
The Earth never rushes the fall. Autumn teaches: let go without drama. Trust stillness.
Softness isn’t failure.
Softness is strength, turned inward.
🌿 What in you wants to loosen quietly this season?
#LettingGo #SeasonalWisdom #WalkingWithNature
Softness isn’t failure.
Softness is strength, turned inward.
🌿 What in you wants to loosen quietly this season?
#LettingGo #SeasonalWisdom #WalkingWithNature
September 12, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The Earth never rushes the fall. Autumn teaches: let go without drama. Trust stillness.
Softness isn’t failure.
Softness is strength, turned inward.
🌿 What in you wants to loosen quietly this season?
#LettingGo #SeasonalWisdom #WalkingWithNature
Softness isn’t failure.
Softness is strength, turned inward.
🌿 What in you wants to loosen quietly this season?
#LettingGo #SeasonalWisdom #WalkingWithNature
I stopped treating walking like performance and everything softened. Distance mattered less. Attention mattered more. Pilgrimage turned out to be a way of walking, not a place.
What could shift if you walked more slowly this week?
#PresenceOverMiles #SeasonalWisdom
What could shift if you walked more slowly this week?
#PresenceOverMiles #SeasonalWisdom
September 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I stopped treating walking like performance and everything softened. Distance mattered less. Attention mattered more. Pilgrimage turned out to be a way of walking, not a place.
What could shift if you walked more slowly this week?
#PresenceOverMiles #SeasonalWisdom
What could shift if you walked more slowly this week?
#PresenceOverMiles #SeasonalWisdom
The Earth shifts its rhythm. We’re invited to begin again.
You don’t need a classroom. Only presence. Only willingness. 🌿
#BeginAgain #SeasonalTurning
You don’t need a classroom. Only presence. Only willingness. 🌿
#BeginAgain #SeasonalTurning
September 5, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The Earth shifts its rhythm. We’re invited to begin again.
You don’t need a classroom. Only presence. Only willingness. 🌿
#BeginAgain #SeasonalTurning
You don’t need a classroom. Only presence. Only willingness. 🌿
#BeginAgain #SeasonalTurning
Even the tree doesn’t mind turning.
Even the river knows how to begin again.
So can you. You don’t have to get it right.
You just have to begin. 🌿
Even the river knows how to begin again.
So can you. You don’t have to get it right.
You just have to begin. 🌿
September 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Even the tree doesn’t mind turning.
Even the river knows how to begin again.
So can you. You don’t have to get it right.
You just have to begin. 🌿
Even the river knows how to begin again.
So can you. You don’t have to get it right.
You just have to begin. 🌿
Take a walk without a goal.
No playlist. No tracking. No step targets. No breaths to count. No pressure to clear your thoughts or your mind.
Just notice:
What do the trees know that you’ve forgotten?
Walk Like You Belong to the Earth
No playlist. No tracking. No step targets. No breaths to count. No pressure to clear your thoughts or your mind.
Just notice:
What do the trees know that you’ve forgotten?
Walk Like You Belong to the Earth
September 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Take a walk without a goal.
No playlist. No tracking. No step targets. No breaths to count. No pressure to clear your thoughts or your mind.
Just notice:
What do the trees know that you’ve forgotten?
Walk Like You Belong to the Earth
No playlist. No tracking. No step targets. No breaths to count. No pressure to clear your thoughts or your mind.
Just notice:
What do the trees know that you’ve forgotten?
Walk Like You Belong to the Earth