Author’s Page
Elyn Aviva
A pilgrim at heart, Elyn Aviva is happiest when she is doing research on and writing about sacred sites and spiritual quest.
Elyn earned a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Princeton University (1985), where her dissertation focused on the modern-day pilgrimage on the 500-mile-long Camino de Santiago in Spain. It was the first anthropological dissertation on the Camino, and Following the Milky Way, her travel narrative based on her experiences and research, was the first contemporary American account of the pilgrimage.
Elyn has traveled the Camino a number of times, including three times on foot (1982, 1997, and 2000). In 2002, 2003, and 2004, she and her husband, Gary White, walked one of the French Chemins de St. Jacques (Roads of St. James), the route that begins in Le Puy-en-Velay. She has also traveled the Camino by car, exploring its hidden esoteric dimensions, and has written a number of books and articles about pilgrimage and the Camino.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Elyn also earned a Master of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado (1997). While completing the degree, she spent a summer training to be a hospital chaplain and served First Universalist Church of Denver as an intern minister for over a year, during which she gave various sermons that drew on her background in comparative religion.
Her professional experience has included working as a tribal planner for the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, a health planner for the State of Kansas, and a science writer for the Department of Energy. She established and ran the Department of Energy's High-Temperature Superconductivity Information Center at the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University. She has also taught Introduction to Religious Studies and led various adult religious-education courses.
Elyn has established herself as a fiber artist who creates pieces that, like her writing, are expressions of her spiritual life. She is a labyrinth builder, an Usui Reiki and Angelic Reiki practitioner, a student of Kabbalah and the Western Mystery Traditions, a perpetually curious explorer of the Imaginal Realms, and a not-very-effective dowser. She also publishes articles on several websites, including YourLifeIsATrip.com, Ancient Origins, and Ancient Origins Premium.
She currently lives in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, with her husband, Gary White. Together, they travel to sacred sites and powerful places and are co-authors of the Powerful Places Guidebooks, a series focused on transformational travel: how to experience a place, not simply visit it. The series currently includes nine guidebooks.
Elyn also has a true story included in Lifetimes: Spiritual Exploration of Earth and Galactic Past Lives, edited by Adam Apollo (originally scheduled for release in Fall 2025).
In 2000, Gary launched Pilgrims Process Publishing, where he is responsible for the design, production, and distribution of all titles published by the company. He is also an established author in his own right, having written his memoir, Pebbles: Memories of a Small-Town Kansas Boy. With his wife, Elyn Aviva, he has co-authored the Powerful Places Guidebooks, based on their travels to sacred sites and powerful places. The series focuses on transformational travel: how to experience a place, not simply visit it.
Gary currently lives in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, with Elyn, where he continues to pursue his writing, publishing, and explorations of the many paths that inspire him.
Gary White
After his retirement from Iowa State University as a Distinguished Professor of Music, Gary White was just getting started. It didn't matter that he had composed over fifty published musical compositions, developed the music theory curriculum for the university, or authored numerous textbooks on music theory — this man had not even begun to scratch the surface of what he wanted to do!
Gary holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Michigan State University. At the time of his retirement in 1994, he was Distinguished Professor of Music at Iowa State University, where he had taught for twenty-eight years. He developed and administered the music theory curriculum, established the electronic and computer music studio, and was also in charge of music listening courses for non-music majors.
In his thirty-five years as a professional composer, Gary received numerous awards and distinctions. He was awarded the U.C. Berkeley Medal by the University of California at Berkeley, named a National Arts Associate by Sigma Alpha Iota, and held a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. His compositions won many prizes and awards, including the Toon van Balkom Prize and the Shenandoah / Percussion Plus Prize.
Since retiring, Gary has devoted his time to the pursuit of his varied interests. He received training in labyrinth facilitation with Lauren Artress at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and, with his wife, Elyn Aviva, has led labyrinth workshops and built a number of portable and permanent labyrinths. He has also trained in Healing Touch, Usui and Angelic Reiki healing, Swedish massage, Phenomenal Touch, and hot stone massage. A trained dowser, Gary has walked the Camino de Santiago across Spain and to Finisterre, as well as the French Chemin de St-Jacques from Le Puy-en-Velay to the Pyrenees.