Walking My Camino

I've been thinking about walking. It's a theme that's been surfacing in my life over the past month. In September, I participated in Walk for the World, the first global walking meditation in history. I joined with 140,000 people from all over the world to walk for change. Some walked individually, and some walked in groups, but we all walked in unison with the intention of becoming the change we want to see - the change we want to be. There were participants from 85 percent of the world's countries. That's an amazing achievement. More global walks are in the works.

I chose to do my walk along a beach. It was early morning at the time that had been set for the western hemisphere participants. We had all downloaded the 50-minute meditation to our phones, listening through headphones or earbuds as we walked. The meditation began by instructing me to close my eyes and focus on my heart. It was a good feeling to know that I was doing this at the same time as many others on my side of the globe. I felt connected. As I began to walk, I noticed footprints in the sand that reminded me that just as I was following in the footsteps of those before me, others would be following my footsteps. I noticed the footprints of wildlife crisscrossing my footprints. Looking out toward the horizon, I was reminded that I am part of infinity. It gave me a wonderful feeling of being in rhythm with everything. I set an intention to lead with my heart and to walk for other hearts, especially the broken ones. 

Meditation is a resonant state. Recent research is showing that more influential than the number of people meditating is the coherence of the signal, the intention, they are emitting. When the nervous system is in a state of calm, the intention becomes more coherent, or organized. Modern physics tells us that we are immersed in fields of pulsating energy, like an electrical and magnetic soup. When something resonates in one part of the field, it has a ripple effect. A thought, or intention, has an electrical charge. The heart emits an electromagnetic charge. When a group of people are sending a coherent, organized intention into the field, it's like a tuning fork. Or think of raisins immersed in a bowl of jello. If you touch one raisin, all the others move too. A group of people meditating in sync magnify the signal, and this signal affects the field. 

The theme of walking came up again when I found out some friends of mine had just walked the Camino de Santiago. Camino means "road," and the Camino de Santiago is a network of ancient pilgrim roads in Europe. They crisscross the European countryside and come together at the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. This pilgrimage has become quite popular, with people taking walking journeys of 10, 20, 30, or more days. It is a way people challenge themselves, and many walk it as a pilgrimage, a journey where one goes in search of new or expanded meaning in their life. 

The road is a universal symbol. Not everyone can go to Europe to walk the Camino, but we each have the opportunity to walk our own road every day. We each have our own pilgrimage or journey. So how do you want to walk your Camino? What do you get out of bed for each morning? How do you walk? With resilience? With a happy heart? With inspiration? With kindness? With love? Perhaps you are processing grief or overcoming a health challenge. Perhaps you want to make the world or your community a better place for your children. Perhaps you want to help someone heal. Perhaps you are caring for an aging parent. You might not have a lot of choice in the road sometimes, but you can choose how you decide to walk it.

The idea is to bring the experience of the journey inside you. It's your unique walk. Walking it mindfully and with intention brings a sense of sacredness to each day. Your walk goes on as long as you walk this earth. The prize is knowing you walked it well. If you lead with your heart, you will have evolved your soul when your walk is done. Lead with your walk. Don't settle for being a part of the lowest common denominator. Your walk has a ripple effect. 

I can change the world when I change the world in me. This world needs good walkers.