ready to be inspired

About Us

GOODWORLD JOURNEYS ARE FOR THOSE SEEKING A TRAVEL EXPERIENCE THAT RESTS THE BODY, ENRICHES THE MIND & FEEDS THE SOUL

“It’s only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.”

Pico Iyer
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Our hectic and hyper-connected lives leave many of us seeking quiet and transformative places to pause, reflect & learn anew along life's path.

We offer Salon-like experiential retreats on the isle of Patmos, Greece and in the mountain town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, that feature laid-back explorations of life journey, deep listening conversations and engaged learning on creativity & artistic craft, restorative wanderings and festive meals.

Soak-up curated conversations with refreshing minds on a range of topics including writing, literature, poetry, film, music, global good, social innovation and human well-being.


The GoodWorld Journeys Experience


"The Journey Is Your Story"
• The Participant Experience •
"Greek Island Dream Story Dance Party"
• The Teacher Experience •


Participant Testimonials



"GoodWorld Journeys is like coming home. Summing up the experience is both exciting and impossible—building a community, finding my tribe, and having the experience of a lifetime, all packaged into 10 beautiful days on Patmos. I loved it so much."

Chloe Elgar - Dubai, UAE

"GoodWorld Journeys is a life feeding event that can also change one's life. This Salon was a huge gift to myself and one I would recommend to anyone that is wanting an extraordinary adventure while learning about their own creative process."

Andrea Willets - North Stonington, Connecticut USA

"I would recommend a GoodWorld Journeys to anyone that is looking to live a richer life through art and creativity and have those experiences influence the quality of other aspects of your life and relationships."


Jamie Powter - Brisbane, Australia


"An amazing week of opening. Life-shifting lessons, loving audiences,
the perfect stage for personal transformation in paradise."

Samantha Grant - San Francisco, California USA

"I attended the gathering with Judy Collins, Shawn Colvin & Patty Griffin and it was a life-changing experience. Jenny & Dan are amazing — smart, knowledgeable, caring & run a very efficient, transformative experience.
Get quiet, get creative, get connected to yourself & an amazing community."

Melissa Hoffman - New York, New York USA

"I have never had an experience like this. I feel so encouraged
to pursue my art. I feel connected to new inspiring people.
I feel I am a better person for having risked this adventure."


Saul Lyons - Brooklyn, New York USA

"I've now made the long and worthwhile journey to Patmos, Greece
two years in a row to bare witness and participate in the life-changing, dynamic, rich and diverse temporary community that Dan and Jenny
create on the island of Revelations."

Cassandra Smolcic - Greensburg, Pennsylvania USA

"The Salon experience was intimate, and structured in a relaxed
and informal way but also enabled me to gain valuable writing knowledge, skills, and affirmation. Yes, a life changing experience!
Thank you GoodWorld Journeys."

Josephine Dempsey - Victoria, Australia

"GoodWorld Journeys changed my life. Jenny and Dan are so kind and professional and create a safe space to explore our creativity. The setting
is amazing. I am leaving a better writer and changed person."


Keith Hoffman - Brooklyn, New York USA

"What an amazing ten days filled with heartfelt inspiration,
creativity, music, and friendship! Exceeded all expectations.
Dan and Jenny are superb organizers."


Lori Horvitz - Asheville, North Carolina USA


"Get here. Any way you can. It is the best thing you will do
for your creative life all year!"


Rebekah Gainsley - Austin, Texas USA

"Great value. Great scenery. Great food. Great people.
The workshops & evening salon discussions were interesting and
engaging and the teachers & presenters were accessible."


Reade Brower - Portland, Maine USA

"Travel for travel at this point in my life is a waste of time.
Traveling with the purpose of elevating my spirit, have some insights
into my life and a better understanding of the world is what I am looking for.
GoodWorld Journeys has truly helped me find my tribe."

Josefina Longoria - San Antonio, Texas USA

"Our hosts, Jenny and Dan, created a magical and amazing environment
for our journey. Their organization ensured a smooth experience.
I definitely plan to take another Journey soon."


Jennifer Margiotta - Washington, D.C. USA


"The Patmos Salons were excellent and insightful. The entire GoodWorld Journeys trip was life changing. I would definitely do it again!!"

Megan Larkin - Washington, D.C. USA

"Spending time in the presence of great artists I admire — where else
could something like that happen? You guys are really doing something
good in the world! Thank you.

Mike Kaufmann - Ontario, Canada

"This Salon (Cheryl Strayed & Friends) was one of the most significant events of my life. Jenny and Dan, Weezie and Satchel and staff were wonderful. They created the perfect atmosphere for the love, laughter and learning that occurred here. Thank you for a life-altering experience."

Donna Mitchell - Roanoke, Virginia USA

"If you are seeking a stronger link to your own spiritual and creative nature, and are looking for a journey that provides something more satisfying than two weeks of lying on the beach, look no further. GoodWorld Journeys will send you home not only rested and refreshed, but inspired and enriched."

Patrice Buford - Decatur, Georgia USA


"Mind-blowing, transcendental, life-altering, relaxing, the best thing
I've ever done, hands-down."

Sheree Joseph - Sydney, Australia

"The Yancey-Siegel's are expert at providing an enriching, nourishing, carefree experience for body, mind and soul. In their care you will feel
"at home" wherever you may be sojourning."


Donna Petraits - Brownsburg, Indiana USA


"Go on this Journey. If you are called, go.
Nothing will ever be the same."

Rebekah Chee - Portland, Oregon USA

Teacher Testimonials


cheryl strayed

“ My time leading the workshop for GoodWorld Journeys on the magical island of Patmos was among the best teaching experiences of my life. Gathering in a place of such beauty with so many open-hearted people heightened the already inspiring exploration of writing, storytelling, and creative expression. Patmos is famous for being a place of revelation and that history permeated everything my co-leaders, the workshop participants, and I did during our illuminating time together on the island.

Dan, Jenny, Satchel, and Weezie were the most gracious and helpful hosts, who made the experience a true pleasure and one I’ll never forget. ”

Cheryl Strayed

Bestselling writer & podcast host.
Author of Wild & Tiny Beautiful Things.
mary karr

“Seldom have I had a more creative time than during the three weeks I spent on the gorgeous, inspiring island of Patmos, Greece, including the ten days the Salon put me before so many curious, open-hearted students. The ability to teach in the morning and write in the afternoon, with a handful of Salons in the evenings made an artist's paradise for all of us.

Jenny and Dan are masterful hosts and have created a mobile university in one of the planet's most glorious landscapes. A lifetime highlight as a teaching experience and as a writer's retreat.

I'd go back in a heartbeat.”

Mary Karr

Award-winning poet & bestselling memoirist.
Author of The Liar’s Club  and The Art of Memoir.
george saunders

"One of the most memorable teaching experiences of my life. The deeply spiritual, beautiful, and gloriously under-touristed Greek island of Patmos seemed to both relax and inspire people (including Mary Karr and me). Our hosts, Jenny Yancey and Dan Siegel, have been doing this a long time and know just how to arrange things so that the artistic development of the participants is foregrounded. The format serves to give an aspiring artist a chance to really look at what might be obstructing her, and what real growth might look like and feel like—it’s something about the beauty and peacefulness of the setting and, if I can say it this way, the purity of intention that surrounds the Salon, which is designed for artists, by artists. I’ve taught in a lot of places and settings and I have to say that the bonds that came of out our 2018 experience were extraordinary—Mary and I are still in touch with many of our students. It was really something special.”

George Saunders

Booker Prize & MacArthur Genius Winner.
Author of Lincoln in the Bardo & Tenth of December.
krista tippett

“ This is an extraordinary program in an extraordinarily gorgeous and calming place — you are truly away from hurried, scheduled time and from travel as tourism. The ten days of Salon are structured spaciously — a wonderful mix of conversation and concentration and learning, and exploring and resting and play. The food and wine are fresh and lovely. The waters of the Aegean are indescribably lovely to gaze at and swim in. And the ancient speaks audibly to the present in the everyday — Greek mythology embodied and alive alongside the sacred Christian significance of the island.

The Salon became a singular space for both finding replenishment and pondering a world that calls us to so much. I am very glad that Dan and Jenny made this island their home so many years ago, and grateful to them for opening it to others in this way. ”

Krista Tippett

Award-winning radio host.
Founder of the OnBeing podcast.
Padraig O Tuama

“ Being at a Salon in Patmos with fifty people — all of whom wanted to be in conversation, in relaxation, in engagement with the world and art and language and possibility — was a balm.

The setting was a consolation, and the pace of this salon was just right: plenty of time to get to know each other, plenty of time to be alone. The food is gorgeous, the water is a constant invitation, and the light itself is a healing thing. I met people on this retreat that I’ll be in touch with for years. I was moved to be one of the instructors and remain full of gratitude for the time. ”

Pádraig Ó Tuama

Poet and theologian.
Podcast host of Poetry Unbound.
joe henry

“ My time in Patmos proved one of the most extraordinary teaching opportunities into which I’ve ever been invited; and as such, one of the great learning experiences of my life. I was unprepared for just how open, passionate, and vulnerable the participants were prepared to be — with the instructors, and with each other; and I marveled at how quickly such a relatively large group of strangers turned themselves into a community. I witnessed friendships being forged there that I am sure will sustain for years to come. And I was terrifically moved by the quality of the conversations — both formal and casual — as the ten days wore on. I was truly grateful for the opportunity & remain so. ”

Joe Henry

Singer-songwriter & Grammy-winning music producer.
patty griffin

“ I think some places in the world make it easier to do creative work. You get there and you just feel like it's easier to find an opening, easier to dare to get closer to the things behind the veil. I found Patmos to be highly charged this way. Many lovely and hospitable locals ... warm-hearted beyond belief.

I was incredibly moved by the Salon attendees and the work they did. My one problem with the place is that swimming in the Aegean has spoiled me for all other oceans.

Thank you all! ”

Patty Griffin

Grammy award winning singer-songwriter.

Rachel DeWoskin

“ Teaching for GoodWorld Journeys was like stepping into a fantasy classroom, one shimmering with intellectual and emotional energy, one already a community. The participants made up the most curious, engaged and fiery group of humans I've ever seen assembled. We met in many places on the island of Patmos — in caves, under the salty Mediterranean, in sunlit classrooms, and in the countless books we were all reading and writing. Together, we investigated our own stories and revelations, as well as the myths & histories that run under all of us. To do that work in one of the most poetic and antique places on earth was an inimitable experience, one for which I'll always be grateful.”

Rachel DeWoskin

Novelist, poet, memoirist and essayist.
Fiction faculty, University of Chicago.
Zayd Dohrn




“ Being in Patmos was a profound experience, for teachers as well as students. GoodWorld Journeys built an environment of shared curiosity, creativity, and community, allowing us to learn about each other and about ourselves, all on one of the most beautiful and mysterious islands on earth — the perfect place to read, write, think, and be inspired. ”


Zayd Ayers Dohrn

Award-winning playwright & screenwriter.
MFA Director, Northwestern University.
judy collins

"I’m so happy that I was invited to participate in the 2017 Salon event with Shawn Colvin & Patty Griffin. I have never done a workshop before and I found the experience of sharing music, memories, both personal & professional — an inspiration in every way. I feel lifted & inspired by hearing the work of our participants and my fellow artists.

Patmos Island was an inspiration in itself. Having never been to Greece, it was a revelation for me. This experience of being together with these amazing artists & participants was an important step in my own development and I thank everyone involved with GoodWorld Journeys. Love & gratitude.”

Judy Collins

Award-winning singer-songwriter, record producer, author & social activist.
Rodney Crowell

“At the behest of Jenny Yancey and Dan Siegel of GoodWorld Journeys, Mary Karr and I taught a memoir workshop on the Greek Island of Patmos. Those ten days stand out as one of the most creative adventures I’ve ever been on.

The Island is beautiful, the people generous and fun loving. Great food. Superb accommodations. Dan and Jenny provide the perfect setting for group interaction in service of singular artistic pursuit. It is said that the island of Patmos will change your life. It changed mine.”

Rodney Crowell

Multi-Grammy award winning songwriter.
Author of memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks.
brian lindstrom

“ GoodWorld Journeys' Salon on Patmos was a transformative experience for me both as a teacher and a student of storytelling.

The level of engagement with which the students approached the lectures and writing prompts created an atmosphere of personal, in-depth exploration that instilled in all of us a sense of community that didn't seem possible given our relatively short time together — and all of this in the mystical, magical environs of Patmos which is the perfect backdrop for revelatory journeys both inward and outward.

I am deeply grateful. ”

Brian Lindstrom

Award-winning documentary filmmaker.


Who We Are

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The Team

jenny

My journey as a global traveler to sacred places was launched early in life. I first visited the isle of Iona when I was six while living with my family in Edinburgh. Later at fifteen, I visited Patmos as part of my studies attending a school on another nearby Greek isle.

I learned first-hand, and in the years ever since, that islands are ideal learning labs to help one to step off the grid, reflect & reimagine the world (and one’s role in it). It is also a wondrous way to meet kindred spirits along life’s path!

Jenny Yancey

Navigator of Strategy & Story
dan

As a writer and occasional poet, the light and spirit of the Aegean has served to renew & guide my life. Landing on the Greek isles in 1987 (during our honeymoon), I quickly found a second home in the world.

The nine muses of Greek mythology seem ever alive in a place like Patmos & Iona, inspiring endless artists, poets, writers and musicians to voyage to each isle. Few things are more rewarding to me than opening the gateway to these islands for others to discover — and return!

Dan Siegel

Navigator of Purpose & Prose
dan

Growing up, I've always loved watching films and learning about the world through a visual medium. This passion led me to study Visual Media Arts/Post Production at Emerson College and to have recently interned with Participant Media in Los Angeles. The art of storytelling is at the core of many GoodWorld Journeys’ experiences, and this is the art and skill I bring to our mission.

I work to document GoodWorld’s Journeys via photo and film for participants to remember their powerful learning experiences and to provide an intimate glimpse of Salons to come.

Satchel Yancey-Siegel

Navigator of Vision & Videography
weezie

Having first visited Patmos in my mother's womb and traveling to the island at least ​every other year of my life ever since, I've developed a deep appreciation for the balance of land & sea, as well as being on "Greek Time." Returning year after year for reflection and creativity has been something I'll always be grateful for and am excited to share with others making the journey.

I find purpose in designing and facilitating transformative experiences for people and communities around the world, and am so fortunate to contribute this passion and skillset
to GoodWorld Journeys.

Weezie Yancey-Siegel

Navigator of Experience & Engagement

Destinations

2026 Journeys

Common Good Salon
Voyages Visions Voices Salon
Fall San Miguel Salon
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Our Journeys to Patmos and San Miguel de Allende are unique Salon-like experiential retreats that offer relaxed days in beautiful settings, casual social time, meaningful conversations, serendipitous connections and local excursions that slow the pace of life and soothe the soul.

Contact Us

Receive updates & ask us questions here.