There is a spiritual poverty that threatens to rob us of the very things 

that make being human most worthwhile.

To quote poet Mary Oliver, what are you doing 

with your "one wild and precious life?"

Go deep or go home is a movement that invites us to live with more awareness and meaning. It recognizes the human need for deep connection with self, others, and that "something bigger" than all of us. It is not sectarian but rather, can apply to many things… various spiritual traditions, businesses, families, groups of friends and individuals.

Go deep or go home affirms our human history of creating connection through ritual, art, fellowship and learning. Intellect and spirit are not dichotomous but rather dance partners in taking us deeper and higher. This is not a new concept. This movement seeks to reclaim and offer the ancient wisdom of many of humanity’s traditions and practices but also connect it to new research, teachings and insight that is illuminating and evolving our understanding of what it means to be human in our time.

Go deep or go home is more than the seemingly elusive concept of “happiness.” Different cultures in history have described depth and connection in different ways. The ancient Celts called it “thin places” where the ordinary and mystical are particularly close and permeable. We put ourselves in an environment where we lose our bearings–perhaps our assumptions–and we make discoveries previously hidden from us. The Africans speak of a bond of connection called “ubuntu” in which we understand our identity as closely connected to all others. The Danes hold dear a sense of “hygge,” the art of creating intimate time and space for yourself or with your friends. Ritual scholars like myself talk of “liminality”–times of transition in which we are hyper-aware of the journey of life and we are simply more awake. 

Go deep or go home is not to say that you can’t have depth “at home." But it does say that when we extend ourselves beyond our isolated four walls to gather and share experiences (physically or virtually)–whether around a meal, learning experience, ritual, concert, art installation, poetry jam or silent candlelit walk down the streets of a city with other people, something magical and mystical happens. And life feels, even for a moment, like “more” than the eye can see or words can articulate. What we might just discover, is that to "go deep" is "to go home" to our very selves.

Go deep or go home says that at this moment in history when so much is at stake for the human family and this world we inhabit, now is the time to create experiences that take us to the core of our collective and individual yearning. To look around, see one another in new ways, and envision purposeful and intentional ways of living, working, playing and connecting. 

 - Marcia McFee, PhD 

Find out more about Dr. McFee's work