Walking the Camino in Spain is a profound experience and many pilgrims have turned their daily journals into books. Why another Camino book? It was a question I also asked myself before starting my second book on the Camino.
It is almost three decades ago that the actress Shirley Maclean chronicled her pilgrimage in “The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit.” For Maclean, who was in her 60s at the time, the Camino was an intense spiritual and physical challenge with her journey also taking her back to past lives.
Paulo Coelho, one of the world’s most influential authors, wrote “The Pilgrimage” in 1986 after walking to Santiago, inspiring numerous people to walk the Camino. German comedian Harpe Kerkeling’s “I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago followed with his bestseller in 2006.
Some of the world’s greatest artists found inspiration on long walks
After walking my twelfth Camino in 2017, I delved into more research and was surprised to find that some of the world’s most creative and talented artists, including Johann Christian Bach, William Blake, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau explored their inner worlds on long walks.
When a hike turns into a pilgrimage
Several of the many pilgrims I met during my walks said that they started their journey on the Camino as a hike and ended it as a pilgrimage.
In a world of constant digital distraction, the search for new spiritual meaning by “knowing and embracing the true self has become a matter of survival.” I hope to inspire people to explore their inner world while deep walking in nature.
Walking “things off” in releasing the shadow and hurts of the past, gradually opens the cracks to the soul. By healing the inner we heal the outer. Walking is not only the most effective and underrated form of exercise but can be a real walk to spiritual renewal.
When nature whispers to the soul
Deep Walking on a pilgrimage is not just a walk. Walking on paths where pilgrims have walked for centuries works on many subtle levels.
A pilgrimage walk is a mindful becoming aware of the simplicity with which nature can heal and whisper to the soul.
Reino Gevers – Author, Mentor, and Consultant
(Read more on this topic in my new book “Deep Walking for Body Mind and Soul” Ebook scheduled for publication by Morgan James in New York on May 5th, 2020. Printed edition scheduled for the major outlets in August 2020)
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