In Search of Enlightenment, Will Travel.

By Holly LaBerge

Taking a break from habit in order to administer the medicine of change may require some kind of travel.

Whether this travel involves an airline ticket, or a turn inward for meditative travel, resistance can lurk. In order to embrace needed change, I first need to acknowledge any protesters to it. These mind critics sound much like the weather channel reporting on an event, “Stay safe, don’t travel unless absolutely necessary.”

If it didn’t feel absolutely necessary for optimal spiritual, emotional and physical health, I probably wouldn’t travel outside of known comforts.

A change of scenery can be as simple as taking a walk through an unfamiliar town, or finding a new tree to lean against for a while. One thing is for sure, fresh eyes awaken when our routines are shaken. Even our brains work differently when we step outside of our usual patterns. We become more engaged, creative and interested in our surroundings.

Mood is often lifted.

If traditional ideas of travel are not practical or accessible (or even if they are), we can always rely on a change of scenery through inner body travel. Inner modes of travel such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture or massage are excellent ways to break up our habit patterns. There is no Rough Guide for inner body travel, which make it particularly adventurous. Sensing and feeling our way through embodied practices, we get a needed break from the deep grooves of habit.

Whatever the mode of travel, curiosity and non-judgment might be the most important qualities to pack. Since the depth of open minded travel is uncharted, staying curious to whatever is happening (both inside and outside the body) will make any journey worthwhile.

It’s said that an enlightened being would know freshness in all moments, no matter how mundane or redundant. Perhaps the Enlightened One has cultivated a traveler’s mind in all circumstances?

Whether traveling existentially, by train, plane or yoga pose, you’ll know you’re experiencing a traveler’s mindset when the moment at hand has the fullness of your loving attention and interest.

 

Holly LaBerge is a lover of community acupuncture, sitting Vipassana, giving and receiving massage, teaching and learning yoga, and being with people of all generations, especially her grandparents & spirit grandma. She enjoys bringing therapeutic yoga and meditation with her on the road to anywhere. Read more about yoga in daily life on her blog.

 

 

 

Photo: (source)

Editor: Dana Gornall

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