Michael Cunningham

Sometimes the most profound journeys begin in the most ordinary places. Mine began in the borderlands—born of Irish parents in rural Wales, raised in England, now rooted in the hills and coast of Northern California. I’ve discovered that living between worlds teaches you to notice what I might have missed earlier: the way morning light filters through oak trees, the silence between spoken words, the presence that fills what seems like empty space.

A Path of Discovery

After years in business, I was drawn towards something deeper. That calling led me through doctoral studies in ministry and spirituality at The Catholic University of America, where I began to understand that the sacred isn’t something we have to find—it’s something we learn to notice. It was there in front of me all the time.

Celtic Roots, Franciscan Spirit

My Celtic heritage taught me to see creation as God’s first scripture, full of wisdom and wonder. When I became a member of the Order of Franciscan Seculars (OFS), I found a spiritual family that shared St. Francis’s love for creation and simple, authentic faith. This combination—Celtic mysticism and Franciscan simplicity—shapes everything I do. Whether I’m leading retreats, writing reflections, or capturing contemplative images, I’m always asking the same question: How do we notice the sacred that’s been around us all along?

At San Damiano Retreat

For the past four years, as I’ve served as Executive Director of San Damiano Retreat in Danville, California, and before that, five years at beautiful Mater Dolorosa near Los Angeles, I have been blessed with nature. Here, surrounded by 55 acres of contemplative beauty, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside thousands of people as they discover their own capacity for sacred noticing. The retreat centers have become a laboratory for the practices I write about—a place where people slow down enough to see what’s always been there, where ancient wisdom meets contemporary seeking, where the ordinary world reveals its extraordinary depths.

Writing, Photography, and Sacred Seeing

My book, “Awakening to the Spiritual Path Around Us,” grew out of years of retreat conversations and daily practice. It’s not a how-to manual but an invitation—gentle reflections and poetry that help readers discover contemplative awareness in their everyday lives.

Photography has become a form of prayer for me. When I’m behind the camera, I’m practicing the same sacred noticing I write about—slowing down enough to really see, finding God in the details most people miss, letting visual attention become a form of contemplation.

Sacred Noticing: Life Awakened

What I’ve learned through decades of seeking is beautifully simple: we don’t need dramatic spiritual experiences to encounter the divine. We need eyes to see what’s already here.

Sacred noticing isn’t a technique—it’s a way of being awake to the life we’re actually living. It’s discovering that our morning coffee can be communion, that our evening walk can be pilgrimage, that even difficult conversations can become encounters with grace.

This is what I mean by “life awakened”—not a life of constant spiritual highs, but a life of constant spiritual availability. A life where we notice the sacred thread running through everything, connecting us to God, to each other, and to the beautiful, broken world we’re called to love.

Beyond San Damiano

When I’m not at the retreat center, you might find me leading workshops on contemplative prayer, photography, speaking at events about sacred noticing, or writing the weekly reflections that have become “Spiritual Daybreak”—contemplative guidance for many around the world.

I believe deeply in the power of community. The spiritual journey isn’t meant to be walked alone, and sacred noticing becomes richer when we share what we see with others who are learning to see with the same wondering eyes.

An Invitation

Whether you’ve stumbled onto this site by accident or you’ve been seeking contemplative wisdom for years, you’re welcome here. The sacred noticing I write about isn’t advanced spirituality—it’s the most basic human capacity there is.

You already know how to notice. You already have everything you need to begin seeing your ordinary life as the spiritual path it’s always been. I’m simply here to remind you, to offer gentle guidance, and to walk alongside you as you discover what’s been waiting for your attention all along.

The path is beneath your feet. The sacred is around you now. Life awakened is as close as your next breath, your next step, your next moment of really paying attention.

Welcome to the journey of sacred noticing.

Blessings on the path,

Michael