GreenDragon

Well, this had turned into an interesting read! Thanks for reviving this, I hadn't seen it before...

I have had a spiritual/religious experience while traveling...several in fact.

The most impactful one was standing on top of The Hill of Tara in Ireland, feeling the rushing morning winds and looking across the land of my ancestors. I could feel the spiritual power of this heart of Ireland rush through my body in an almost sexual experience. Yes, it was that good. No, I'm not exaggerating. I could feel the soul of the land come through me.

Since I am Celtic Wiccan, this connection with the land was very significant to me. The very power of the land touched me, and I hold it to this day.

In other places, I have experienced spiritual travels. In York Minster, the beauty of the church (not Christian, but definitely appreciate the beautiful and spiritual architecture), the feeling of the thousands of prayers in this place, and the ethereal song of the choir was most moving.

In Westminster, walking through the hallowed Abbey halls, I could feel echos of the past calling to me.

Talking to children at a cafe in Dublin, and asking them about their lives in Ireland...

Looking out across Loch Lomond on a sunny summer day and seeing the rainbow touch the horizon...

The Creative Force in the universe (however one may call it... God, Allah, JHVH, Shiva, etc...) was one heck of an artist!!!

LaVisiteure

topping in gratitude

Poohgirl

This is a fascinating thread. I'd love to add my two cents' worth. And this is just my opinion - I'm not saying people who don't think the way I do are misguided or wrong. Maybe I am. Who knows? Anyway, although I do believe the basics of what I was raised (a quite moderate branch of Lutheran), I have a big problem with religion in general. I think while religions themselves are worthy, I think humans have done much to corrupt it. Really, does anyone think Mohammed would approve of the Taliban or Osama bin-Laden? Would Jesus approve of the Inquisition and the way some of the Religious Right people believe? He darn sure wouldn't be anti-Semitic, as he himself was a Jew. I never did understand anti-Semitic Christians. My knowledge of Hindu and Buddism is very slight, so I won't say anything there. I've known people who were more compassionate and truly good than a lot of actively religious people, who also happened to be athiests. My own belief is to try to be a good person, do as little harm to the earth and to other humans as possible, and to ignore religion in general while respecting the religious opinions (or lack) of others as long it is not bigoted.
Peace...

Wednesday

well said Poohgirl, you may be more Buddhist than you think.

I too never understood how the most "holy" places in the world are also the most violent. Seems like an oxymoron...

L84SKY

What an interesting thread, I just had to ring in on this one. This quote from the book, American Gods by Neil Gaiman pretty much sums it up for me.
"Gods are great...But the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return."

Sure, travel can be a spiritual experience as long as you are open to spiritual experiences. If you aren't then it's something else, isn't it?

sallyjane3

I guess this may be stretching a bit but I did travel to experience this: In November 2002 I revisited St. Paul's Chapel in NY, the tiny church next to the site of the WTC, the tiny church that became a sactuary in the truest sense of the word for the volunteers doing the hard work at Ground Zero. I sat in one of the pews I had sat in while i was working there for the Red Cross and cried quietly. A man sat down next to me, to comfort me, I thought. Turned out he wanted to / needed to share his story:
He is a Presbyterian priest who works as an associate at St. Paul's. He told me that on Sept. 10, 2001, he had told his wife that he was going to turn in his resignation the next day, that he just did not feel needed.
After we held hands for a while, he resumed his work, I would imagine, feeling very needed.
Travel can help us expand our hearts,introduce us to others' lives and help us grow in understanding, all of which i think are extremely spiritual.

metellus

"One of my husband's best friends born and raised cathoic for 30+ years went to Isreal and came back Jewish."

That's like saying you were born in the US, went Italy and came back Italian. You can learn to speak Italisn. You can even live in Italy and get and Italian passport. You can buy lots of Caruso records and learn to make risotto. But you still wouldn't be Italian. Being Jewish, like being a member of most groups, is a matter of shared experience. If you haven't grown up a certain way, you can never become. You simply will never really understand.
Anymore than this guy isn Jewish.

Ardfert

I grew up in the south of Ireland in the days when the Catholic church was all-powerful. It no longer is and my religious fervour has waned too. I would now describe myself as having a spiritual dimension rather than being a member of any church.I still love to visit ancient churches and especially cathedrals from St Peters in Rome to various ones in Russia. In Ireland I have found much comfort from visiting Newgrange,an old religious site 30 miles from Dublin which was built some 5,000 years go and is now a popular tourist site. I loved visiting the Skellig Rock where monks lived up to 1,000 years ago on a rocky island. In the countryside I have come across lots of old religious ruins where I happily spent an hour or two thinking of the faith and skills of those who are gone. I believe in ghosts but am not sure I believe in God- a contradiction I think which I cannot resolve to my satisfaction. My favorite epitaph is from Connemara in western Ireland:
Our friends go with is as we go
Down the long path where beauty wends
Where all we love foregathers,so
Why should we fear to join our friends

LaVisiteure

ttt