One of the activities for this session is a pilgrimage. On the pilgrimage you will undertake for this session, be especially aware of any omens that might appear to you on your journey.
Dictionary.com defines “omen” as:
omen (noun)
1. anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; portent.
2. a prognostic.
3. prophetic significance; presage: a bird of ill omen.
So omens may be used to predict the future or to determine a future course of action.
The psychodynamic therapist Carl Jung believed that some parts of our unconscious mind were hardwired to recognize certain symbols, just like birds are born with a migratory instinct without having to learn how to migrate. This hardwiring causes us all to recognize things he called archetypes. Archetypes are symbols that have special significance and meaning. This group of archetypes he called the collective unconscious because it was common to all the cultures he observed everywhere on Earth. These themes occurred again and again in their mythologies, legends and histories. Since these symbols occurred worldwide in all cultures, Jung believed that they had to be inborn rather than learned.
An example of one of these Jungian archetypes would be the Sacred Tree. The Bible speaks of the Tree of Knowledge, Judaism talks about the Tree of Life, Norse and Celtic myths talk about the World Tree, Buddhists believe that Buddha received enlightenment under the Lotus Tree, and many Native American cultures have a Sacred Tree. In fact, all cultures Jung observed have some legend or myth of the Sacred Tree.
For me personally, when I speak of omens I recognize them as getting in contact with the archetypes in my unconscious mind in order to allow my unconscious motivations to have a say in my actions. By exploring these aspects of myself, I allow my unconscious motivations to come to the surface. I come into contact with my deeper, inner and hidden motivations for my actions and feelings and become a conscious co-creator with the energy of the universe.
For example, Raven is one of my totem animals. So if I’m out walking in the woods and I see a raven, I pay particular attention to what I was thinking prior to sighting it, and what the raven is doing. Because ravens are already sacred to me, my attention is naturally drawn to them. But if another person has no spiritual connection to ravens, they might walk in the same woods, have the same experience as I, and get an entirely different message. This is because the omen came from my own unconscious and not necessarily from the raven itself.
You may consider your own experiences with omens and animal totems as archetypes or as real entities. In the end, what matters is how you are able to commune with them. The magical thing about such workings is that any message you receive is yours, and yours alone. So how you choose to interpret these experiences is totally up to you.
While on your pilgrimage, you may use the opportunity to practice with omens. Note what you see, hear, smell, and come into contact with on the trail. What were you thinking just before you noticed it? How did your omen make its presence known? What about it attracted your attention? If you feel that nothing happened during your pilgrimage, is it possible that you may have missed something? Even the smallest events can be omens.
When omens come, they should be omens of special significance to you. If ravens held no special significance for me, I wouldn’t expect to see an omen in the flight of a raven. Look at it this way…if you spoke Latin, and had a friend who didn’t speak Latin, would you send your friend a message in Latin? What would be the point? Likewise, omens come in forms that have special significance to you, from your own unconscious. They should be in your “language.”
7.6 Pilgrimage
Pilgrimages are probably as old as the human race. A pilgrimage is just a journey undertaken for a sacred or spiritual purpose. If you are participating in an ecospirituality workshop series, or just completing this workbook on your own, you are on a pilgrimage of a sort. Such a pilgrimage is a way of meeting with your concept of divinity. It is an encounter with your own conception of “perfection.” This Meeting with the Goddess can also be a spiritual journey to your True Self. Such a journey is one more step along the way to living according to your own true nature.
This pilgrimage activity is a way to “meet with the Goddess” in your own life. It means traveling the road to perfection, but it can also mean changing your idea of what “perfection” means. Such a Meeting with the Goddess is awareness that perfection in a spiritual sense is an attainable goal. How does this work?
Everyone has two images of self; the Perceived Self and the True Self. The Perceived Self is how you see yourself now, at this part of the journey. The True Self is how you wish to be. True Self is what you would be if you were able to live fully according to your own true nature. Your True Self is your own personal idea of what “perfect” looks like for you.
A Meeting with the Goddess means being able to accept even your perceived “flaws.” It is an acknowledgement that change is only possible if you first accept who you are. It’s saying to yourself, “You’re perfect just the way you are. Now change, if you must.” The pilgrimage is a walking meditation that allows you to integrate your separate visions of Perceived Self and True Self.
Worksheet 7.6 – Pilgrimage Reflections has two sets of questions. The questions are identical, but one set is to be completed prior to beginning your pilgrimage, and the other set is to be completed after you have done your pilgrimage. It’s recommended that you don’t do the second set immediately after completing your pilgrimage, as you will need some time to process and digest the experience. Go ahead and do the first set of questions now, prior to beginning the pilgrimage. After your pilgrimage, complete the second set. Did you notice any change in your answers? What could these changes, if any, tell you about your journey towards living according to your own true nature?
In order to complete the pilgrimage, you must first have access to some sort of hiking trail or other outdoor space. If you are completing this workbook as part of an ecospirituality group, your instructor will have pre-selected such a trail for you. If participating in a group, make sure your facilitator knows if you have any physical limitations that might restrict your participation in the activity. This might include physical limitations on your mobility but it could also include things like allergies to local flora and fauna.
The place selected for your pilgrimage should be a trail that you can walk comfortably in a half-day or less, unless you feel ambitious enough to make it a weekend or week-long backpacking and camping trip.
The purpose of this pilgrimage is to spend at least a morning or an afternoon journeying in a natural setting while contemplating your own spiritual path. Be sure to take enough food and water for the journey! If possible, set out at dawn and return no earlier than noon. If this is not possible, or if you are participating in a group that requires a different meeting time, adhere to the chosen schedule. If you are doing it alone and have the option of setting out at dawn, there’s something magical about watching the world come alive around you in the morning as you set off on a pilgrimage towards your own Meeting with the Goddess.
As you walk the trail, engage in mindful breathing and mindful walking (e.g. the Coyote Walk) as much as possible while remaining open to everything the trail has to show you and tell you. In addition to contemplating the questions on Worksheet 7.6, your one additional task for your pilgrimage is to find a power object to remind you of the journey. This object or talisman should be something small enough to fit into your pocket. It should be something that seems to call to you on the journey. It could be a stone, a plant, a twig, a feather, or any other small object that could serve as a reminder of your Meeting with the Goddess on the trail. When you have found your power object, place it in your pocket as a constant reminder of this day on your spiritual quest.
Prior to beginning your pilgrimage, complete the questions in Part A of Worksheet 7.6. As you walk on your pilgrimage, contemplate the questions that appear on Worksheet 7.6 and the answers you gave to them. Practice the Coyote Walk or some other walking meditation in a mindful manner, with an open and trusting attitude, focusing on the present moment and all the information your senses are giving you about the hike. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What sensations are you feeling on your skin? Is there any taste to the air as you walk? What is this journey telling you about your own sense of perfection? How is this pilgrimage helping you to draw closer to living your true nature in your own True Self?
As you walk, look for a power object that seems to call to you. It should have some special power or significance related to your own emerging sense of self. When you have found your power object, place it in your pocket for safekeeping. When you have completed your pilgrimage, meditate on the experience for the rest of the day. When you wake on the day after your pilgrimage, read Section 7.7 then go back and answer the questions on Part B of Worksheet 7.6.
Note: Some of your answers from Part A to Part B may not change, and that’s okay too, as long as you’re being honest with yourself and remaining open to what you may have learned during your pilgrimage during your Meeting with the Goddess.
