Seeking Renewal? Plan a Spiritual Pilgrimage

If you’re seeking renewal, growth, and change, then a spiritual pilgrimage may be just what you’ve been looking for. A spiritual pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place. Or, in other words, a physical journey that yields spiritual results. The element of awe, the greatest component of spiritual transformation, can be experienced through a variety of different experiences but the most common are through the powerful beauty of nature, visiting a well known religious shrine, or visiting some other faraway place.

The concept of spiritual travel is present in nearly every world religion. Buddhists’ spiritual journey usually takes them to Tibet, while Jews typically travel to Jerusalem and Hindus travel to Benares. In the Middle Ages, Catholic pilgrims established a rich history of spiritual pilgrimage visiting ancient churches and sites where saints performed miracles. What a lot of people have missed in learning about the history of pilgrimage, however, is that many of the people who embarked on pilgrimage in history weren’t necessarily on a spiritual journey…they were being punished. In fact, in the Middle Ages pilgrimage was sometimes forced for the purpose of civil or religious penance. This is certainly contrary to much of the romanticism that typically surrounds the modern day ideas of a pilgrimage.

Today spiritual pilgrimage is even more common with the prevalence of “sacred travel” agencies that offer guided trips and tours of places of physical and spiritual importance. Those wishing to take a spiritual journey have a variety of motives, whether it be for personal development, healing, or even those seeking to become pregnant. The concept of a spiritual journey has also evolved over time in that a person no longer necessarily visits locations specific to their particular religion. For example, Catholics may travel to Mecca or Muslims may take a spiritual journey to Jerusalem. Spirituality is certainly subjective and hard to define, which is why someone may take a spiritual journey whose significance may be only true for them.

The travel industry has responded to those who seek travel that is meaningful and transformative. Many people today are interested in purposeful travel, and opportunities for spiritual journeys include diverse sites such as Ireland, which can be of interest to both nature-based Pagan and Celtic Christians or to one of the last Buddhist kingdoms in the world, in Bhutan. Whether in search of a personal need, spiritual awakening, healing, or some other positive desire, spiritual travel opportunities are vast.

Written by Sarah Myers. Journey2theheart.com offers personal development tools and workshops including spiritual travel and spiritual pilgrimage to India. Discover your own spiritual journey.

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

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