Pack Your Bags and Get Ready for Spiritual Travel

 Spiritual Travel will challenge the body, broaden the mind and enrich the soul.

What Is Spiritual Travel?

Spiritual Travel is the act of seeking out experiences from around the world that will challenge the body, enrich the soul, and broaden the mind of the traveller. It is all about furthering health and happiness while on the journey and coming back changed for the better.

As a subsect of the Wellness Travel sector, Spiritual Travel does not necessarily have anything to do with religion. For many, there seems to be a missing piece in the souls of many which can’t be ignored. At some point or other, many begin to pull at the existentialist thread that often starts with questing purpose and significance of one’s life.

As a generation who has grown up globe-trotting, most of us have at some stage have laid on beautiful beaches, skied snow-capped mountains and partied in the hot-spots of the world, and after all we are left wondering…Isn’t there something more?

Well, if this is you, then you are in luck. Because the answer is yes. There is. It’s called Spiritual Travel. If you are seeking completeness, fulfilment, understanding, appreciation and have a thirst for knowledge and the taste for adventure then read on…

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  Are You Ready To Go Walkabout in Australia?
  To Go Walkabout is a rite of passage within the Australian Aboriginal society. It is a spiritual transition of a young boy into a wise man.
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  Pack Your Bags and Get Ready for Spiritual Travel
  Spiritual Travel is the act of seeking out experiences from around the world that will enrich the soul, broaden the mind and further the health and happiness of the traveller.

How Did I Discover Spiritual Travel?

My first experience with Spiritual Travel happened when I signed up to attend a Vipassana Centre in the Blue Mountains north of Sydney, Australia. I was on a quest at that time in my life, which has to some extent continued up until today. I explain my experience during the retreat and discuss how the 10 day long silence and meditation retreat changed my life.

From this point, I have undertaken regular travel for the usual reasons, but it was Spiritual Travel that really held my interest. As I have grown older, it is my interest in Spiritual Travel that has persisted and that I seek out. Whether it be visiting the Standing Stones Circles around the British Isles, Ruined Abbeys, Yoga and Meditation retreats, and Walking Trails and Pilgrimages. It is this form of travel that is the most enriching and rewarding and that I most enjoy sharing with my young children.

Read more on Spiritual Travel in my post series here.

What Makes Somewhere a Spiritual Travel Location?

In Spiritual Travel, what makes one location perfect for someone does not necessarily make it perfect for another. That being said, Spiritual Tourists do have common goals that they want to achieve from their travel. These are usually some variety of wanting to connect their mind, body, and soul, to feel at one with the earth and to leave the experience enriched in some way.

Before you reach out to dust off your copy of Eat Pray Love (or just re-watch the movie), let’s take a look at some of the common criteria to make a destination worthy of making the Spiritual Travel list.

Unfamiliar Surrounds

Stark difference to usual surroundings and lifestyle – this is usually achieved by the location being culturally, economically and naturally different to the spiritual traveler’s home location. The essential element of this criteria for the Spiritual Traveler is that they approach the trip with an open mind and with the intention of learning about these new surroundings and therefore about themselves.

Challenge and Reward

The location selected for Spiritual Travel must have an element of difficulty and discomfort to it for the traveler. There is a necessity for there to be a struggle undertaken for which the traveler needs to be put out of their comfort zone, in order to discover new capabilities and qualities of themselves. Once this challenge is overcome, then comes the reward for the traveler for having tried and achieved a previously unattained goal.

Return Changed or Renewed

The ultimate goal of all Spiritual Travel is to be able to return to one’s life, but as an improved version of themselves, or with an improved understanding and view of the original life.

Are You Ready for Spiritual Travel?

Do you think that you are ready to step up to the challenge of Spiritual Travel? If you think you might be then you need to check out the list of top Spiritual Travel destinations we have compiled. It includes pilgrimages, Ancient Practices and Natural Phenomena for a soul-shaking once in a lifetime travel experience.   

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