Malcolm Buckley's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-viking-way"

Stepping out of the personal and professional demands of everyday life into a multi-day walk of a long distance path brings about a major shift in thinking. Self perception and outlook of a place in the world becomes changed forever, and almost always for the betterment of self at every level of being.

It does not have to be The Camino de Santiago, across Northern Spain, the Appalachian Trail in the Eastern United States or California’s Pacific Crest Trail for a multi-day walk to provide a permanent shift of personal growth and a life changing transformation.

Stepping out of the normal pace of life, with it’s constant demands of our time and attention, exchanging our fast and noisy everyday environment for the simplicity of the natural world provides us with an immediate deeper connection to self and our surroundings.

Meeting like minded people on the trail, provides a level of community, although paradoxically the trail can provide solitude and ‘space’, if required. Unlike City society where people tend to look at passersby with contempt, even fear, especially these days, passing others on a trail creates immediate acceptance of each other.

Non judgmental becomes a natural state of being, with a code of ‘give not to get’.

There are three stages of personal growth regardless of a 2 week long distance walk or a 6 month multi-day hike.

1)

Over the initial few days the body undergoes physical adjustments in response to the demands made upon it, legs, knees and feet complain, pain and blisters may become walking companions over the next few days.

Muscles become stronger, more defined as the body developes a walking rhythm, aches and pains no longer require attention, blisters heal and grow a tough protective covering.

In essence the body relaxes, posture improves and physically walking 15 – 20 miles a day becomes virtually automatic.

2)

The second state of growth centers on the emotions and mindset. As the physical body relaxes, the mind and emotions begin an inner battle that must be overcome.

Supressed or even repressed feelings rise up from deep within, due to the fact that everyday distractions are now removed from awareness, creating a powerful cathartic experience.

Old, buried shadows and reflections of past ‘wrongdoings’, percived betrayals, personal battles of self-doubt or other elements of uncertainty surface, not to cause pain or added pressure to the walk, but to be cleared permanently, given the opportunity for time and focus to be placed on them in the now.

This stage of growth cannot be bypassed, for to do so would only create a much deeper state of suppression.

Acceptance and direct experience will bannish these ‘ghosts’ of mind and emotions for good.

3)

Having overcome the physcial pains of walking many miles each day, and clearing the mental and emotional blocks that sought to unbalance or immobilise in the second stage, a deeper, yet higher awareness comes into being.

With the mind, emotions and physical body in alignment a spiritual transformation is now possible.

Coinsiding with the end of a long distance walk, a level of self pride, gratitude for the experiences and sadness, due to the walk being over, rises into conscious awareness.

Generally perception of self and others becomes forever changed, it’s possible to not feel like the same person that began the walk, infact it would be rare not to have these new perceptions.

The challenge now is to step back into ‘real life’ without resistance yet with a higher awareness and understanding of self.

In my book The Viking Way ‘A Walk for Denver’ I refer to my journey of 170 miles over 12 consecutive days as a Pilgrimage, due to the fact that it was as much an inner journey through my unresolved grief for Denver as it was an outer transient experience of the path itself.

A Pilgrimage is defined by The National Trust as, ‘ a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance, typically to a shrine or location of importance in a person’s beliefs or faith’. A devotional practice consisting of a long and meaningful journey, often undertaken on foot.

I removed myself from my home environment and life conditions for two weeks, and stepped out of the non-stop demands and ‘busy-ness’ of normal life. I Immersed myself into a natural environment, and into a state of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.

Walking a long distance path over multi-days keeps you in the present moment at all times, where the opportunity to feel more in tune with self brings a high degree of awareness, empathy, love and compassion for everyone and everything.

I experienced a lifetime of emotions during my 12 days of The Viking Way, due to both the outer conditions around me, and the powerful inner release of prolonged mental stress and emotional grief.

There are generally three stages of personal growth when engaged on a long distance multi-day walk, I will look at those complex stages and the inner transformations they create in my next blog.

Walking every day for weeks or months with nothing more to achieve, brings a level of simplicity to life, The only focus is to get from point A to point B at the end of the day safely, finding food, water and shelter are all the outer conditions life on the path asks of you.

The natural world is a healer, just being in nature, nurtures and empowers a lost soul. My Viking Way walk elevated me high enough from the abyss to the point I could re- stabilize myself , steady every aspect of my being that had been thrown out of balance. It enabled me to find my footing and build on that platform of strength to reach a point of safety emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Prolonged emotional and/or mental stress inevitably becomes physical, bringing potential illness as the immune system weakens. Self-awareness is important here, self-acceptance is crucial. Both are required before action can be taken to prevent a full physical, mental and emotional shutdown.

That’s why going for a walk is a wonderful, healing action to take if the body is under stress and strain.

The path teaches and provides, it allows us to slow down, to heal and to resonate with the rhythm of nature. To illuminate our true journey through life, enabling us to see what really matters, and can gift us a greater sense of our life’s purpose.

A pilgrimage can, and most likely will provide a spiritual revelation, a life changing epiphany without any initiation or demand from self, the natural world and the path itself, always provides what is needed.