(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) Using as reference points Mary Oliver's poem, "The Journey", the story of the Buddha's life, and our own experiences, we outline the archetypal stages of the spiritual journey from the taken-for-granted habitual life, to receiving "heavenly messengers" putting that life in question, to shifting our core life intentions, to working with challenges, to awakening, and, finally, to a return to the "ordinary" world.