| Partly in honor of the recently deceased poet, Mary Oliver, we use her poem, "the Journey" as a reference point for understanding the nature of the spiritual journey. Two other reference points are the life of the Buddha, and then the experiences of our own lives. After an exploration of the very nature of a journey, and how a journey may take years, or two weeks, or an hour, we explore seven stages of the seven stages of the spiritual journey, starting with the taking life for granted, being caught up in habitual and conditioned mind and behavior, and ending with (some degree of) awakening and then re-entering the "ordinary" world, often bringing gifts from the journey. In between is the heart of the journey. |
