Pilgrimages are probably as old as the human race. A pilgrimage is just a journey undertaken for a sacred or spiritual purpose. If you are participating in a course on ecotherapy, you are on a pilgrimage of a sort. Undertaking a pilgrimage has socially, psychologically, and spiritually therapeutic values, can lead to relief of anxiety and anger, and has been associated with decrease in psychiatric disorders (Moaven, 2017).
This pilgrimage activity is a way to create Second Order Change in your own life. In order to do it, you must have access to some sort of hiking trail. This should be a trail that you can walk comfortably in a single day or less, unless you feel ambitious enough to make it a weekend backpacking and camping trip.
The purpose of this pilgrimage is to spend at least a half a day journeying in a natural setting while contemplating your own spiritual path. Be sure to take enough food and water for the journey!
If possible, set out at dawn and return at dusk. If that much time is not available, try to do your pilgrimage for at least half a day, from dawn to noon or noon to dusk. As you walk the trail, engage in mindful breathing and mindful walking as much as possible while remaining open to everything the trail has to show you and tell you. As you walk, contemplate these six questions:
- Who am I?
- Who do I want to be?
- What is my mission or purpose in life?
- How am I living that purpose?
- How am I not living that purpose?
- What would I have to change about myself in order to accomplish my life’s mission?
You may wish to take a journal with you. If any insights come to you as you walk, stop to write them down.
If you find any place that calls to you, stop there and meditate for a while, after asking permission and giving thanks.
Try asking the questions above before you set out on your pilgrimage, and again after you return.
Did your answers change? How?
Moaven, Zahra & Movahed, Majid & Iman, Mohammad & Tabiee, Mansour. (2017). Spiritual Health through Pilgrimage Therapy: A Qualitative Study. Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics. 4.
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