The camino has been full of spiritually, magic and miracles. I’ve seen spirituality to some extent in most of the pilgrims walking alongside me. Whether they are walking this as a Catholic pilgrimage to see the destination of Saint James, or walking it as a Grandpa; retired, bored, and looking to find the fire in life again- bringing questions of beliefs and faith to the young people on the trail. Or walking it as a young person; just graduated from college and trying to figure out themself, hoping they’ll get a hint out here. It seems that doing this kind of thing makes most people think about questions like, “Where did I come from?”, “Where do I go after this life?” or “Does it really matter if I don’t pay for this ice cream?” And maybe for some it may just be a passing thought, but others spend weeks of walking dissecting these questions. I tumble questions like these through my head quite regularly, and I believe that talking to other people about them helps. So naturally, I had conversations with other pilgrims about these subjects. These are some of the most influential for me;
Paul, from Great Britain, walks two weeks of the camino every year. I mentioned a meditation practice and he excitedly told me that he has been practicing transcendental meditation (silent, sitting meditation) since 1976. He started meditating on a trip to India with his girlfriend, who ended up leaving him on the trip. He found meditation to be an outlet for stress and and a way to interact more consciously and calmly with the world. When I asked about the label of ‘religious or ‘spiritual’ and asked if he considered himself spiritual because of his meditation practice, he answered, “I wouldn’t be so presumptuous to say I’m spiritual.”
His walking parter, Gray, also had things to say on the subject. Gray practices transcendental meditation as well, but not on a daily basis. He first tried it with a guide because he wanted to become more grounded and says that during his first session, “I completely left myself.” He told me how he can see that it’s so difficult for people today to take even a two minute break for their mind. He says the point of meditation is to stop the chatter so that you can be open to experiencing the present moment. Our conversation turned into philosophy and questions like “What is the point of life?” and “What do you believe happens after you die?” Gray reasoned with me saying that if I didn’t want to know things like what day I would die or how my whole life would play out, why would I want to know what happens after we die or what the point of living is. He talked about how there is wisdom in living with uncertainty; the past and the future are irrelevant to enjoying the present moment and meditation helps us focus on this more easily.
I walked for a day with Jacob, from Denmark. Conversation flowed easily and it was a matter of time before meditation and spirituality came up. I asked him if he had any meditation practice and he told me that no, he didn’t practice meditation. However, in another conversation about walking he talked about loving walking because it allowed his brain to slow down and move at the speed of his body. He enjoyed being able to ‘check out’ and walk for hours- content in his mental state. Earlier that morning he had ‘checked out’ walking and just followed the backpack in front of him. When he checked ‘back in’ he realized that he had been following the person for hours and had gotten way off the camino because of it. After saying this, he realized something and told me. “Well, yes, I guess maybe I do meditate.”
I enjoyed many conversations on the subject with Leonie, the German girl that we walked with for nearly 2 weeks. Leonie was raised catholic, and still has belief and and respect for the religion. Alongside that, she does have a mindfulness practice and enjoys studying the buddha and subjects related, including meditation. Leonie is a high energy girl and said she struggles with sitting meditations. She practices yoga regularly and said that she feels like this is a meditative practice in the way that it connects her mind and body through the breath. I talked to her about the walking meditations I have been doing, thinking she would enjoy this style too.
I also learned mindfulness in the animals on the trail. There was no lack of trailside farm animals to accompany me on this walk. I stopped quite a few times to be with these animals. My first day walking on the Norte was a rainy morning, and as I was struggling trying not to let it kill my mood, I came upon a herd of sheep. They were out in an open lawn with no cover, and yet they were standing in the rain looking completely content. I thought of this as very admirable- they had a achieved exactly what so many people want to achieve through meditation; existing in the present moment with no attachments.
I had a similar experience watching a herd of cows. I sat at the edge of their grazing lands for nearly two hours one day, just observing. I watched the cows interact with each other, and as individuals. I came to see that these animals seemed to be in the same state of present-moment awareness because of the way they could just stand in one place for 10 minutes or make slow movements in a new direction. Maybe it’s because their brains are less complex, but I have learned a lot from watching sheep and cows being mindfulness role models.
I also enjoyed reading the book Siddhartha for my project. This is the story of a yogi along his spiritual journey as he follows different teachers, and eventually ends up following the buddha. This book had many good themes of not trusting or following ideals just because you were told to, but following because you feel that it is right for you. In the book, Siddhartha‘s friend follows him throughout his different exploratory endeavors; following for a while, and then. His friend can finally see that he is not on the same journey as Siddhartha and leaves once starts following the buddha. This book also had simple meditation techniques for transcendental, mantra, and movement meditations which was helpful in expanding my own meditation practice.
As for my own practice, I found it to be very helpful that I had all day to walk. For me, movement meditations are easier than sitting meditations. On this camino I have mostly been practicing walking meditation and yoga for mindfulness. For my walking meditation, I would count 4 steps with my in-breath and 4 steps with my out-breath. This became a little more difficult once I started walking the Norte because it’s less flat, and therefore made my breathing uneven. I would usually do this for about 10 minutes during my walk, and it would always feel good to connect my mind to my body. It’s too easy to walk all day and not realize that you’re walking. I can get so caught up and focused on my conversations or what’s around me that I forget to pay attention to what’s happening with me. How fast are my feet moving? What are my arms doing? Am I walking in a rushed way or a relaxed way? Walking meditations always helped to bring my attention back to this present moment and to be here with my body while I walked.
Daily yoga was also a cherished meditation practice, similar to my walking meditation, I enjoyed this for the way that it connects my body and mind through attention to my breath. I would usually find a grassy patch in the morning of my walk and stop to do my regular 3 sun salutations. This was always helpful in jumpstarting my body for a long day of walking, and getting the oxygen flowing to my brain; allowing me to feel more awake and happier.
Overall, this camino has been helpful in allowing me to establish a regular meditation practice and to connect with other people on the trail with this attention to mindfulness.