Spiritual Portal

its hit me now... some point in my life... i want to go on a pilgrimage...
i would love living amongst a tribal community... the means to find a loving ancient tribe go beyond me right now... i just know its something i want to do... these things will be very fulfilling and a true privilege

so... why not start now?
if anyone here has experience i am grateful for any helpful advice...
first.
what is a pilgrimage- really?
a quick search in google

a journey to a sacred place

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

i'd have to start small if i(realistically speaking) wish to get started
i guess now is the time to start asking myself- what do i wish to accomplish out of all this?
i am going in hopes to raise vibration and send/receive love with nature.
i am going for something very personal yet universal.
for the long term i wish to achieve the same thing but also an awareness through variety in life.
also... living with a spiritual peoples for a brief amount of time- very in tune with the earth... the guardians.
Love and friendship.

i know these are practices we should include in our daily lives but the act of going out seems really beneficial. hopefully i can use what i learn properly.

i'm thinking of going on a camping trip for 4 days. we're going somewhere woodsy and clean- still a work in progress as far as finding an ideal condition but this is all a great start.
i'm going with two friends... i've told them i want to make this sacred and have invited them to do the same... to do what their Soul wants while we're out there.(it was actually my friends idea a while back... i think they like to hunt im not sure i will do that... but i will honor what it is they're their to do)
sure there will be moments of personal introspection and private commune with the earth but there will be moments where we are together- and despite our differences- hopefully the energy we share with one another will be both healing and rewarding for not only ourselves but the earth.
i want to go where there is a natural pond... yes i want to feel the water! i want to meditate.. im thinking of bringing my crystals and practicing in things like prayer around the fire. sending/receiving energies.
i want to hug tree's and do what feels right to me.
i would also like to be able and REALLY slow down... humble myself... draw deep focus on will


so... aside from proper camping material/equipment- do you have anything to add to this?
in much gratitude

<3 thx
 :)

Ramkrishna has suggested to look for god at three places

mane, vane, kone
(in mind, in forest, in the corner of own room)

prabhat

hey moose ! Kool idea this pilgrimage !  8)

woodsy area, river or lake nearby, my choice - so much nature surrounding you
just don't come back and tell me your friends hunt squirrel ! :o

things to bring:
spiritual attitude open to possibilities of experiences
peace of mind
trail snacks
good book

hey prabhat ! 8)  I like your answer !

no need to wander too far from home (especially as forest is my home ! )  ;D
how do I find a corner in the forest ?

get lost in the forest

prabhat thank you for your interest and reply <3

and thank you squirrel- yes we are thinking somewhere woodsy
preferably nothing tourist-filled
i'd like to minimize the amount of contact with other folks(aside from the people joining me) for this specific trip

 
thx

 ;D   :D

Hi all i have been on many pilgrimages in my life. Good idea. There are variations on how much time you spend with civilization and how much time you spend in nature or around spiritual centers and spiritual people. Namaste2All and i were recently on a pilgrimage. A bonding for friends. Hope you tell us about your experiences.....

Steve

sure steve
it's still a making in the procesess
 :) ty all for your helpful advice and interest

hey prabhat !  8) 

did that already, you wouldn't believe how many trees were in that forest !! ;D 8)

I must have seen all of them
all trees looked the same, yet different

ahh....pilgrimage...

i wanna go to india..... :'(    cali....atlanta G....

i wanna get lost in woods....

i just wanna be with others like me...

(((Hugs)))

 :) it looks like i've been given the time and space to see this thought manifest, our trip begins dec. 17th- going to be a cold one! :) the forest awaits.  :) maybe pictures to come?

hi openroad,

so your wish is granted, I hope you enjoy your pilgrimage !  :) dress warm !

and of course, pictures are welcome

Into Blue  

hi jitendra
life is anything but routine  :D we bumped the trip to dec. 16th

i have an idea of what it is i want from this but am curious if you have any suggestions for me or if i should keep anything in mind?

thanks    :)

the beauty of this trip is we all want to be there... thanks for your reply, i will keep this in mind
we have a special spot just waiting for our arrival  :)

peace

hi all  :) im back!  :D

we left friday morning and i got back not to long ago. we had planned for 4 days but one of my friends couldn't get another day off work so we came back today. this is fine.
no pictures! sorry :( many memories and much adventure!
i got to pray and meditate, jump over the fire, sleep under the stars, listen and talk to the animals/trees
and so much more :'D
i'm glad i could do this

thanks for all the helpful replies

peace  :) +

During my trip through Russia I intend to hit all the major places in Leo Tolstoy's works - Siberian exile, society in Moscow & St. Petersburg, war in the Caucasus, etc. He's my favorite author and his works inspire me, so of course I'm also planning to spend some time in Yasnaya Polyana at his estate, and visit the train station where he died.

Through Europe, it's World War II history: Versailles (WWI, but highly related!), the Ardennes, Volgograd/Stalingrad, the Dneiper, most everywhere in the Ukraine, Normandy, Berlin & Dresden, to name a few. I would also love to follow the North Africa campaign, but that may not be so easy! I really want to hike through many of these areas, not just see buildings and monuments.

I also start planning for a trip by researching UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I don't limit myself to them, but they're a great way to get interested in seeing a country, and it just grows from there.

Anyone else have pilgrimages, patterns or themes to share?

Nomaste Sofia You r in good company since so many people have been influenced by Tolstoy not the least of which was Gandhi; http://www.sgiquarterly.org/feature2010Jan-9.html

i can not even begin to imagine the suffering involved in the period u speak of and u will walk in the footsteps of Napoleon and Hitler's armies. Those of whom would slice your head off as u practiced nonviolence. Tolstoy's message awaits a higher age that started with India's Gandhi and carried thru with Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. Yet it makes me wonder about your connection to this time and these places. Is it like going back and reliving it all? Like u want to know what u learned from it all? As if u r wondering what place does it have in your current life and conditions? This is often my questions when going over past life sequences.

Often pilgrimages bring us back to places, times and people that we have been with before. Often to tie up some of the loose ends we have left with them. In this sense it can be heart wrenching or inspiring and full of love. It all depends on the karma involved and how we have progressed since then and to what extent others have. Yet none of these life experiences can b described as casual. These people and places r our road to the future. They represent turning points in our lives. They r like bridges from the past to the future.... and along the way... along the way u may meet others who have traveled these roads with u...

Jitendra



lyrics Al Stewart
"Roads To Moscow"
Roads To Moscow lyrics

Referring to the great battle of Germany's WW ll invasion of Russia, the great will of the Russian people and the winter that drove the Nazis back......

They crossed over the border the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood - word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and our knees
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolyensk and Viyasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come - riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow,
Standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know
Which way to turn, which way to look, you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night
[. From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/al-stewart-lyrics/roads-to-moscow-lyrics.html .]
You'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning road leads to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it'll almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening now it's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time
That I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break", I say;
They turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know
Why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers
"Never"
And the evening sighs and the steely Russian skies go on forever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDy91DCQ8JI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7E38I1ISKw&feature=related

I read over your first post here Eric. I remember being introduced to the northern peninsula of Michigan by my friend Shirley it was quite an event and meditating at sable falls rite near Lake Superior was very special. I have enjoyed many pilgrimages to master’s crypt at forest lawn and Paramahansa Yogananda healed me there. There are many places here in Michigan in and near the Manistee Forest and Lake Michigan that have a specific buzz that brings an expanded awareness. I also find that the combined energies associated  with certain friends brings spiritual awareness and renewed vigor. Nomaste and I have had such experiences. So people, places and certain times are important to be aware of and their affects on conscious awareness. I say times because planets and their movement with one another and dates of the birth and transitions of saints are among the times to watch for when it comes to acccentuated blessings and  spiritual awareness increasing.

I have had made a conscious effort to visit such places as Sedona, the Redwoods and certain places where saints have inhabited....some of them have had a very lasting impression on me. There is really nothing like being in the presence of a spiritual magnet like a saint or guru...u are literally pulled into a higher state of awareness and can be transforming...an awesome experience that u will remember for your life and realize just what u are and not what u had thought all your life.

One lasting point here: I have found that divine providence can lead us into relationships and associations to help us recognize our own abilities thru the help of others who come into our lives. If we are receptive it becomes amazing what can happen thru our association with people who are placed into our lives and what that can bring. I have often noticed that synergy on the site here with Eric.

thank you steve for your wisdom and bringing this thread back. i too can attest to our synchronicities... it seems i am noticing more of this synergy in others around me as well... a thought just occurred to me

if a pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place, perhaps we are doing this every attempt we make to meditate?

i had Chinese for dinner with dad and my fortune cookie read, you will soon be surprised by a unique gift

something like that...

well i find your words a gift to me now and those relationships shared with spiritually tuned peoples... i was thinking the fortune is relating to my upcoming trip to see amma, after you so diligently convinced me to consider

Even a short pilgrimage lasting a day or two can change the personality from restlessness to receptivity and more tranquility while getting back in touch with practicing the presence and listening to that silent voice within.