Sacred Journeys: Spiritual and Pilgrimage Travel

There are of course different types of spiritual journeys. Some people head off to explore ancient historical sites or to have an experience with others seeking some sort of spiritual enlightenment. Others are looking for answers or at personal direction. There is another group seeking more knowledge of a certain religion or spiritual path. These are the pilgrimage travellers. Here is a great article about these sites with suggestions about how to best benefit from these journeys as well as some recommended spiritual tour companies. The article, "In Search of Sacred Places: Spiritual and Pilgrimage Travel" is written by Peter Scheer, himself a tour company director, and is posted on the website Travel with a Challenge.

First, let's look at the suggestions to help the traveller get the most benefit from the journey. First, prepare yourself mentally and physically. Many of these places are not easy to reach and it's a good idea to do some research about the site as well how best to arrive there. In times past, people fasted for days or even took hallucinagenic herbs before approaching these sites. It's important to approach with reverence and respect for local customs. They are places that are very important some people.

 In the European Middle Ages, most pilgrims to Canterbury, Santiago de Compostela and other Christian sites went there on foot which allows one plenty of time to prepare mentally. Travel to sacred sites required planning, persistence and often great sacrifices. No wonder arrival created such excitement!

The second suggestion is to leave room in your travel schedule for unexpected events to happen or time to visit with people you meet. This will leave you time also to just stop and soak up the incredible energy of these places that has built up over the centuries. There is not only the energy of the place itself but layered on top is the energy of all the other pilgrims who have come and gone away again over the centuries.

In ancient Greece, sages built an Earth Goddess shrine at Delphi because of the abundance of plenum, an energy they believed bubbled out of the slopes of Mount Parnassus. In the Chinese tradition there is a similar life force called chi. Sufis call it baraka and Hindus know it as prana. If this invisible energy seems fanciful to you, don't forget that is how people felt about radio waves a mere 100 years ago. Perhaps 21st century establishment scientists will verify earth energies, but regardless of official endorsement, many travelers are creating their vacations around visiting places of power and spirituality.

American folklorist and mythology expert, Joseph Campbell once met a woman going to Greece to discover the spirit of the Goddess. After she showed him her elaborate, highly-detailed itinerary, Campbell said, "Dear lady, I sincerely hope that all does not go as planned." He explained, "Unless you leave room for serendipity, how can the divine enter in? The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself is to lose your way."

Lastly, Mr. Scheer suggests that you decide why you are going. What is your goal? What do you want to find or experience? Of course the answer may change during your journey. Are just looking for a special experience or are you wanting to explore religious connections? People will ask you why you are going and also why you are there, so it's a good idea to have some answer in mind. It will help you get more out of an experience that can end up being life-changing.

To read the original article and check out the spiritual tour companies listed at the end of the article, click here.

In sum then, it's best to loosely plan your trip, find out more about the place, don't cram in too much and be open to whatever happens. Remember that teachers come in all forms. The person living on the street might be one of them.

Red rocks of Sedona, Arizona

Stonehenge Mt. Kailash, Tibet. Pilgrimage site for 15,000 years.

What Happens with Spiritual Awakening?

For some decades now people have been talking about "raising your awareness" and "higher vibrations". However, there are now an increasing number of people who are experiencing physical symptoms that are linked to what is called Spiritual Awakening. Actually, this is nothing new. People throughout history have had religious experiences in which they saw visions, heard voices or at least felt different. What is different now is the number of people who are experiencing these states. Perhaps you are one of them. According to Wikipedia, there have been some common threads to these experiences.

• Transient — the experience is temporary; the individual soon returns to a "normal" frame of mind. It is outside our normal perception of space and time.

• Ineffable — the experience cannot be adequately put into words.

• Noetic — the individual feels that he or she has learned something valuable from the experience. Gives us knowledge that is normally hidden from human understanding.

• Passive — the experience happens to the individual, largely without conscious control. Although there are activities, such as meditation (see below), that can make religious experience more likely, it is not something that can be turned on and off at will.

Read the original here.

Now let's jump to the present and look at what people are experiencing in often less clear terms. Arlene Rich has described 10 common "symptoms" of spiritual awakening. While some of them may of course come from other sources, together they do form a nucleus for what people are going through. It's a kind of human evolutionary process.  Here is part of what Arlene has said.

• An increase in occurrences - (there aren't any coincidences) An increase in psychic, mediumistic, clairvoyant, and intuitive skills.

• Acute sensitivity to negative energy around specific people or environments.

• A desire to "find yourself", change your social group, behavior, job etc. Sudden extreme sensitivity to people or crowds. You may find that your once sociable nature suddenly disappears and you simply cannot bear to be with certain friends, family members, colleagues, or coworkers.

• Sudden awareness of recurring patterns or relationships- A noticeable inability to tolerate someone with whom you have had a previously close relationship.

• Sudden inexplicable panic or anxiety attacks occurring at any time with no valid reason. A feeling that something has changed within you.

• Acute sensitivity to shopping malls or crowded environments such as restaurants, clubs, festivals, and so on.

• Extreme sensitivity to mobile and digital phones, laptops, computers, wireless routers, and all microwave technology, as well as certain types of lighting.

• Falling asleep and then waking in the middle of the night at or around the same time, feeling wide awake and needing to be up, and oddly not being tired the next day as expected. (This is a sign of your consciousness adapting to new cycles of activity.)

• Strange electrical energy coursing through the body or body parts like legs or arms. (This is caused by the raised frequencies from the Galactic centre flooding the planet. These energies assist in the process of rewiring the physical and Light-Body in order to carry higher vibrating energies.)

• A whole range of physical experiences caused by detoxification as the body continues to release years of physical, karmic, emotional, and mental toxic waste, producing symptoms including: fatigue and exhaustion;excess thirst; stomach upsets, including cramps, headaches, especially at the base of the skull and migraines with pains over the crown and in one or both eyes; muscle, neck, and shoulder pains.

• Dizziness, balance problems, and feeling spacey (triggered by being in higher states of consciousness).

To read the complete list click here.

If you or someone you know can relate to some of these symptoms or phenomena, you are not alone. I suspect there will be counsellors and support groups  in the future specializing in helping people go through versions of spiritual awakening. It makes places such as retreat centers and monasteries even more valuable as centers to experience spiritual changes without the interference of modern life. And it is important  to remember that the end result of whatever mental and physical changes occur should be better - healthier and happier people and hopefully a more peaceful world.