I was initially drawn to my first
pilgrimage over two decades ago when a friend sent me a photo
postcard of Machu Picchu, Peru. In that moment something uncanny happened, I experienced
a place recognition at a soul level.
It would take 12 more years before I was able to travel there in person, then
the journey changed me in ways I couldn't have imagined at the time.
I don't
think it's possible to fully comprehend the enormity of a pilgrimage, unless you've actually
taken one. It's a living experience. No amount of words can adequately convey this. So I
encourage anyone who deeply desires to journey to a sacred place, to simply go.
Long before the first step was taken I was given subtle messages, synchronicities,
alerting me to the possibility that I might not be returning from this quest, in fact,
I was told, it might challenge me in ways incomprehensible, that I might even die.
This caused me no small amount of consternation. At that time but not now, Peru was
in the middle of a cultural and political upheavel. My decision to take the journey culminated
in a telephone call from a friend who worked in Peru, and knew the country well.
My friend confided that during a pre-dawn hike up Huayna Picchu mountain
(Machu Picchu), he'd felt closer to God then at any other time in his life, he'd found the experience to be
of profound importance and it renewed his faith. He encouraged me to follow my heart,
and to use common sense. His matter-of-fact groundedness, helped me reclaim my own. It was
shortly after this conversation that I vowed to take the journey. At this point I realized
that the death, that kept coming up for me, might well be
a metaphor, although the people around me didn't think so. There was much pressure from
loved ones NOT to take the journey. I have come to realize
that others will often mirror their fear back to you, prepare to be tested.
In order to overcome
these obstacles it was necessary for me to stand firmly in my inner knowingness. This is a singular
path and it is not an easy journey. Therefore it's important
from the very beginning to realize that a pilgrimage is NOT a vacation, nor is it for the
faint of heart -- it is the process of actualizing a spiritual transformation, inner resolution
is absolutely necessary if you are to gain the gifts you seek.
I had voiced my intent to take the journey, this was a major decision for me,as I had long
known that I didn't want to continue my life in the same manner I'd been living. Spirit had
gently begun my wake-up. I didn't know at the time, but I had already taken my first step.
The pilgrimage had begun simply with the intent to do so.
I would in fact die a spiritual death on that journey. The "small death" is the releasing of
the outer life to make way for an internal transformation. My intuitive senses had been
right. Following the pilgrimage the process of undoing lasted several months, allowing
a new life to come forth. In releasing the old I was able to make a profound leap into the
new. At a soul level I was in agreement with the process.
It is said that when the student is ready, the master will appear. Although I had
no living mentor or guru to facilitate the journey, the process was
lovingly guided entirely by Spirit. I was deeply aware of this gentle force sustaining
me throughout the transformation. I was only given what I was ready for, a classic
awakening guided entirely by one's connection to Source. A spiritual teacher, or
guru, may help you avoid many pitfalls, but ultimately it is a singular journey.
There are many fine books written on pilgrimage and the awakening process, including
the rising of the kundalini. Throughout the ages ordinary people have encountered
different levels of kundalini rising as their experience spontaneously unfolds.
When this energy rises it activates our inherit light codes and the abilities associated with them. The kundalini is not a mysterious force,
although it may seem so at the time, but quite simply our life force connection to
the Divne.
If you seek true enlightenment you must take the inner journey, however, you
need not experience the utter and complete unfolding of the kundalini to come away with inner
gifts, it's what you bring to the moment that's important. You can make giant leaps or
take small baby steps in your unfolding, this is
your special gift to you, when you are ready for it. The sacred place is, of course, within,
but it is the magic of these outer places that can facilitate years of questing, into single
moments of pure illumination, and that is why we go.
