[Gocamino] Pondering...

[claire bangasser]

Hi, Kathy,
I would be very happy to have an exchange on this level. It just does  
not seem acceptable to many folks.

I went on our first camino to thank Godde for my being alive. I had  
come out of breast cancer.
St James... I found the way a spiritual adventure first, bizarrely,  
because of all the thousands of people who for the past eleven  
centuries have gone there. There were places where I could 'feel'  
their presence.
It was also a psychological experience, in the sense that I faced  
some of my own demons.
I have seen people doing the Camino for a 'physical' adventure (how  
far they could go in one day) and falling into a spiritual adventure.
It seems to me that leaving out the spiritual dimension of the Camino  
is missing out a big chunk of it.
To find a place where this could be explored would be fantastic.

claire


On Feb 19, 2007, at 5:17 PM, Kathy Gower wrote:

> Greetings, all,
>
> I am seriously wondering if one's feelings of spirituality  
> connected with
> their pilgrimage experiences have  a direct correlation to their  
> spiritual
> path pre-pilgrimage.  In other words, does one's sympathy or  
> antipathy or
> even apathy for organized religion have any affect on what they may  
> have
> gained as far as personal spiritual insight. (not religious insight).
>
> I know that there were many reasons why individuals chose to make the
> pilgrimage and not all of them had to do with the religious  
> veneration of
> the bones of St. James, witness to the Transfiguration, apostle,  
> and so on.
> I personally came across Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, and people  
> who had no
> obvious religious reason for undertaking such a pilgrimage.
>
> Is is possible to have a deep spiritual experience with no prior  
> connection
> to the tradition of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James).
>
> This is a serious inquiry and if you'd rather, I'd love to hear  
> from you on
> or off the list-serve.
>
> Thank you,
> Kathy
>