The Road to Santiago: Inner Preparation Questions

INNER PREPARATION FOR THE CAMINO [1]

A majority of those setting out on the Camino de Santiago give a religious or spiritual reason for going, yet few appear to undertake any conscious inner preparation for the journey. It is so easy to allow the demands of our life to rob us of time for such preparation. We take our tired bodies and neglected souls and dump them at the start of the Camino and trust that all will be well. And, of course, all will be well and our physical and spiritual muscles will become rejuvenated – it’s just that warm-up exercises can speed our rate of recovery and maximize the benefits. A pilgrim travels on two paths simultaneously and must pay attention to both. When we place ourselves on the pilgrim path we sow the intention to stretch and expand soul consciousness so that we can lift ourselves out of the mundane in order to journey back to God…the Source from whence we came.

• ·        Why are you doing the Camino?
• ·        How do you differentiate pilgrimage from a long-distance walk?
• ·        How do you define spirituality – what does it mean to you?
• ·        How is your spirituality expressed at home and work?
• ·        What do you see as the primary purpose of your life?
• ·        Are you working consciously towards fulfilling that purpose?
• ·        How clear are you on your goal and the right direction for you at this time?
• ·        How will you recognize resistance to any changes that might be necessary?
• ·        When did you first become aware of a desire to take a time-out?
• ·        What prompted you originally to go on the Camino?
• ·        Did the prompt come from something that you felt needed changing?
• ·        Make a list of what appears to be blocking any change from happening.
• ·        What help might you need on a practical, emotional, and spiritual level?
• ·        How will you recognize the right help or correct answer?
• ·        What are the joys and challenges in working towards your unique potential?
• ·        What are your next steps towards fulfilling that potential?

How aware are you of the following? Score yourself on a level of 1-10 and compare these scores again on your return from the Camino.

• ·        Awareness of your inner spiritual world
• ·        Clarity on what inspires you and the capacity to live your passion
• ·        Confidence to follow your intuitive sense of the right direction
• ·        Ability to recognize your resistance and patterns of defense
• ·        Ease with asking for and receiving support from others

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[1] A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago: A Practical & Mystical Manual for the Modern Day Pilgrim by Jon Brierley, p. 36, 38. (Text changed to American spelling.)