Spiritual Travelling

we all have baggage!

There are two kinds of spiritual travelling so I shall define them both and then tell you which one I am interested in, which I am not, and why.

The two kinds of spiritual travelling are similar in many ways to geographical travelling. You can be a tourist and visit a country to enjoy its highlights or you can spend more time there, nearer to the basics of life whilst investing energy digging into and participating in the deeper culture and experience of a place.

The same with a spiritual life.

There are many who find a comfortable place in something that suits and then just stop at that. Or there are those who dig deeply, explore the inner world within the context of that spiritual tradition, and allow themselves to be challenged and transformed through their journey.

Some people will start out with the former approach until something hits them hard and forces them to go deeper anyway, or we can choose that option and cause ourselves less suffering in the process of course.

But many remain a tourist, avoiding any deep self examination, any soul searching, believing that if they just trust in their routines and rituals they will be OK in the end. Some people would not even question this being the only option.

But it isn’t, and although the deeper journey is more demanding, it is equally more rewarding and liberating.

I must state here that I do not believe there is right or wrong way to live spiritually, each to their own. Who knows where it all ends up anyway! So not my issue, but simply an observation.

Some of those people even believe themselves to have looked deeply but still cannot apply their espoused teachings completely to themselves and thus appear superficially at least to be hypocrites even.

Some people cannot get past their fear of the inner deep journey and thus never set sail. They are the people who go to spain and are pleased to find fish and chips and burgers on sale, and they stick with what they are accustomed to, what makes them feel safe. Again nothing wrong with that.

But I was always hungry for deeper transformation, for deeper knowledge and insight.