In most every culture we find stories of the individual who sets out on a call to adventure that mythologist Joseph Campbell described as a heroic quest. The traveler sets aside the safe and predictable to embrace new places, people, and situations. As obstacles and adversity are faced, the hero is transformed.

Travel alters our reality. It suggests awakening, surrender, self-discovery, enlightenment, renewal, expansion, and inspiration. Our experiences may trigger diverse emotions as we discover that "greater forces are at play in the universe." Travel has been called the ultimate teacher.

• Look at situations as metaphors for what is happening in your inner world
• Remain open to the mystery
• Release preconceived ideas
• Accept the gift of the experience
• Encounter new people and ideas
• Experiment with new lifestyles
• Test physical stamina
• Investigate a spiritual discipline
• Increase understanding of other cultures
• Heighten awareness of the natural world
• Challenge preconceptions
• Face obstacles far from the comforts of home

Intention

When you have a clear intent your travels will take on greater depth and richness. Things will happen such as:

Sacred Sites

Nearly 100,000 mystical, mysterious, or supernatural sites are located along mathematically correlated grid patterns and ley lines. These sites might include sacred wells, rivers, pools, lakes, springs, waterfalls, forests, mountains, hills, valleys, monolithic rocks, gardens, or caves. These are places where UFO sightings, electromagnetic activity, electrical disturbances, turbulent weather patterns, frequent changes in barometric pressure, or high levels of ionization are common.

Explorer and anthropologist Martin Gray (author of Places of Peace and Power) says visiting sacred sites heals the body, contributes to enlightenment, increases creativity, develops psychic abilities, and awakens the soul. Some people experience mood swings, dynamic energy shifts, disorientation, heightened sensitivity, and enhanced sensory awareness that may be followed by flu-like symptoms, nausea, headaches, sinus congestion, ringing in the ears, buzzing sensations, sore throat, tingling skin, and body temperature changes.

The increased energy one feels at these places of power should not be suppressed with drugs, alcohol, compulsive eating, shopping, or sex. Rest, eat healthy foods, breathe deeply, shower often, and walk in nature. Resistance and fear interferes with potential transformation.

Absorb the myths, mystical traditions, and stories about sacred sites. If you are not able to visit a sacred site, expose yourself to materials and artifacts because they carry a frequency that contributes to transformation.

The Spirit of Retreat

Many demands are placed on the traveler’s time and energy. A retreat disengages one from distractions (people, events, drama) and offers time for reflection, solitude, self-nurturing, renewal, contemplation, and meditation.

A retreat might take place in the mountains, woods, wilderness area, or by the ocean. It might be long (two days or more), short (one day or less), shared (with a friend or group), or in the world (partially or completely in public places).

Jennifer Louden (A Woman’s Retreat Book) identifies four steps: preparation (setting the intention), symbolic action (physically and/or emotionally creating a safe place), being in sacred space (away from work, TV, daily responsibilities), and re-emergence (the return to daily life).

Responsible Travel

Guidebook author Arthur Frommer noticed that most people take trivial, bland, and cheaply commercial holidays whereas the socially conscious traveler seeks genuine exchanges with those whom she encounters and is concerned with the impact on the places and people visited. She travels with humility and intellectual curiosity, determined to return home broadened by the experience.

Responsible travel respects the natural, social, and cultural environment. It challenges the traveler’s preconceptions and assumptions about life and causes one to become more broad-minded and understanding.

The Center for Responsible Tourism proclaims that "Responsible travel provides positive cultural interactions, benefits both host and guest (harms neither), respects indigenous cultures and local environments, includes local people in decision making (while benefiting them financially), and is culturally sensitive and environmentally sustainable."

Explore retreats, work holidays, summer camps, homestays, spiritual quests, bed & breakfasts, health resorts, political quests, eco-tours, pilgrimages, volunteer work projects, fitness vacations, and international service.

Credo of the Peaceful Traveler

Grateful for the opportunity to travel and experience the world and because peace begins with the individual, I affirm my personal responsibility and commitment to:

• Journey with an open mind and gentle heart,
• Accept with grace and gratitude the diversity I encounter,
• Revere and protect the natural environment which sustains all life,
• Appreciate all cultures I discover,
• Respect and thank my hosts for their welcome,
• Offer my hand in friendship to everyone I meet,
• Support travel services that share these views and act upon them, and
• By my spirit, words, and actions encourage others to travel the world in peace.

-International Institute of Peace Through Tourism

The above is an excerpt from Karyn Alexander’s book, The Healing Journey. Karyn is a former certified travel counselor with 25 years travel industry experience. She lives a holistic lifestyle in Edmonton, Alberta, and facilitates aromatherapy healing sessions with clients and conducts workshops on the use of therapeutic grade essential oils. She can be contacted at (780) 721- 9284 or email: healthy_alternatives@hotmail.com.