Non-Christian pilgrim experiences

[Elyn Aviva]

I guess I'll throw caution to the winds and jump in on this. I am a
non-Christian--raised a humanist, agnostic Unitarian-Universalist, later
transformed into a person who follows (stumbles along) a Sufi path in the
Sufi Order International, an order that honors ALL world religions (I look at
it as the spiritual counterpart/counterpoint to my UU upbringing), and,
finally, someone who has rediscovered her Jewish roots.... I can only say
that for me the Camino has been a source of continuous fascination and
inspiration since I first experienced it in 1981 when I was looking for a
topic for my PhD fieldwork in anthropology. I have been "grabbed" by the
Camino and shaken and lifted and tossed and brought to my knees. I have felt
the vibrations of faith and the faithful, and been honored to do so, even if
I am not Christian.

For me, the Camino is an archetypal experience, a sacred, ritual process that
enables me to move into a spiritual space that fills me with awe. I am moved
by the faith of millions who have walked the Camino and built the churches; I
long to be in those sacred places even though I am not Christian because of
what I am able to experience in them. I also know that in the Middle Ages
many people of many faiths met on the Camino, including Muslim Sufis, Jewish
Kabbalists, Christian alchemists--and many others.

I like to think that the Camino is big enough for all of us.

Buen Camino,
Elyn