An Inspired Chat with Greg Cochran of Lutherville, MD

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Greg Cochran. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Greg, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Yes…
I have quote up in my office from J.R.R. Tolkien’s poem “All That is Gold Does Not Glitter,” found in The Fellowship of the Ring: “not all who wander are lost.” So the question arises within me is wandering the path? Do I wander with purpose? I believe so.

As a contemplative, and I know that this word may conjure up certain images (Actually a line from the movie Princess Bride comes to mind, “I don’t think this word means what you think it means”)…as a contemplative, inward listening is the life-giving heartbeat for me. People may name this listening in many ways – intuition, Foundational Truths, the Divine/God, etc. I personally like to think of it as a deep conversation between my spirit and the Spirit, always going on even when I am not aware. If I can trust and live out of this conversation, I can sense direction without having to know it in full, and all I really need is to take the next step I need to take. So, this not knowing…this wandering, is purposeful. The wandering is the path for me.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Greg Cochran and am the executive director for a spiritual wellness center, Well for the Journey. I am also a spiritual companion/director and am on staff for Shalem Instute’s Spiritual Guidance Program in D.C. and Paseo’s Spiritual Guidance Program in Idaho. Prior to this, I served as an associate pastor at a Baptist church in Baltimore,

Well for the Journey is located in Lutherville, MD on Seminary Avenue and will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2027. We believe that we are whole individuals with many parts that make us who we are: mental, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual. The Well’s focus is on the spiritual aspect of who we are – that part which makes us unique, knowing that what happens to one part of who we are will effect the other aspects of our being. So through creative programming, the Well provides a safe, sacred space for people to come, wherever they are on their journey, to find community and connection and to move toward spiritual wellness.

Our programming is unique and varied – in-person and online, from traditional small groups, to creative/art center, to nature-based, to contemplative, to programs incorporating other faith traditions. We also take our programming out into the community – Mobile Well – including partners such as St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Marian House, various congregations and retirement communities, Nature Worx, MedStar, New Castle Delaware Prebytery, Maryland Presbytery, Kol HaLev, and a Franciscan Spirituality Center in Iowa to name a few.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
It’s the moments that add up to who we are. And it can only be a moment that can change the trajectory of who you are becoming. It was such a moment for me the summer between my junior and senior year at Clemson University, My favorite uncle, Dwight, had taken me under his wings and I worked with him for Southeastern Sprinkler Systems. It was hard work – but worth being with Uncle Dwight as he taught me so much about doing a job well, but more so about integrity, kindness, how to do relationships, and instilling confidence within myself.

The moment came on July 15, 1981, My uncle and I stepped into the waist high “cage”/cherry picker and our co-worker, lifted us once again 30 feet into the rafters of the building where we were installing a sprinkler piping system. We had a rhythm – install a six-footlong pipe between a set of steel ceiling joists; Terry (driving the forklift that held the “cage”) would lower us enough to make it under a steel beam over to the next “bay” where we would install the next pipe. It was a good rhythm.

I do not know why (it is a question I could let haunt me if I would allow), but at one point my uncle yelled down to Terry, “I believe we can make it to the next bay without letting us down.” For once, I did not emulate my uncle’s action – this would save my life. While he leaned over the top of the metal cage, I squatted down, and as we went under the next steel beam, my uncle became caught between the beam and the top of the cage. What I remember vividly is the strange, distant look within Uncle Dwight’s eyes. In almost a panic, I yelled to Terry to drop the cage down. My uncle would not make it. He took his last breaths on the warehouse floor,

At this moment, what I was taught in my conservative faith tradition and the rules of what life is “supposed” to be like came crashing down. It was a moment that birthed darkness within the core of my being – a darkness which eventually led to Light. Through years of asking questions I was talk not to ask as a child and expressing feelings I was told I was not supposed to feel as a child…a greater depth of “seeing” was born and a deeper intimacy with the Divine flowered. This has shaped who I am and how I see the world – each moment…each individual is precious…life is a gift.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
The natural world!
I spent my childhood among the trees and along the creek behind my house in Six Mile, South Carolina, the Appalachian Mountains shouldering the horizon. To me, the woods were just an extension of my house – just another big room. As a child, I could not name it with words, but I knew deep in the core of my being, creation nourished my spirit.
And if I am honest, these woods were also my sanctuary – they provided protection.

It was forests and rivers that also “saved” me after my experience with my uncle’s death. They guided me home – to that Spirit to spirit conversation deep within me.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I believe that within each living being there is, what Thomas Merton, called, a “Divine Spark”. Others may give it a different name. I believe it is the innermost, authentic, point of pure truth and Presence. The image that comes for me is a continual deep conversation between my spirit and what I would name as the Spirit. Again, others would name it differently – intuition for example.

My desire is to listen to and live from this deep conversation whether I am walking in the woods, driving my car, sitting in a finance committee meeting, facilitating a workshop, or typing the answer to this question. In doing so, I live and move toward deeper unity and love – with myself, with others, with creation, and with Spirit.

I desire is to help others discover, know and experience this part that dwells within, helping others move toward Wholeness and Love….unity and peace – both inward and within the world. I try and help by my own personal living and through the non-profit where I work, Well for the Journey.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
Oooo…I like this question and have thought about this somewhat.
What would remain, I believe, is what many within the contemplative wandering would name as my True Self my most true identity free from expectations, conditioning, my learned thought patterns of who I am “supposed” to be. In my faith/spirituality tradition, I would name it as my soul, eternal essence, or Love.

Not that my name, my roles, or possessions are bad within themselves. My faith…my spirituality, would invite me not to become too attached to these. These are identities given from outside myself and at some point be “laid down” for me because I am mortal. And I have learned, and see the truth that In the Buddhist tradition, once you start labeling, naming, or categorizing you reduce or begin to limit the thing or person. I know we need words to communicate, yet, being aware of the possibility of “reducing” allows me to live out loud in the world from within.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wellforthejourney.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WellfortheJourney