My Way on the Camino
de Santiago de Compostela
by Shantigar teacher Tony Allicino
Walking every step of the way on the Camino Frances of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, I learned firsthand how a pilgrim with clear intention and purpose embarks on a journey not knowing what will happen along the way or the journey’s outcome.
There is a saying that your Camino, like all pilgrimages, begins the moment you step foot out your front door. Even before my first step, moments of hesitation and doubt crept in.
On the Camino walking took on a rhythm. I felt time differently. Everything slowed down. I had an immediate intimate relationship with my surroundings, with the Earth, movement, cycles, and creation. My senses were present to sights, sounds, tastes and touches.
I walked with Dominic and Karen. I walked solo. I walked with others. The phrase “we are family” was a fully living experience.
Mindful personal rituals and Camino rituals added layers of the divine and the profound.
I remember seeing one handwritten sign along the path that said: This is not Hollywood’s “The Way,” this is the real Camino.
In Santiago I became a celebrating pilgrim.
What’s different for me now are the small and subtle things, little sparks of awareness, trusting the mystery. Things are not the same. Something has changed. I need to remember to laugh, to celebrate each moment as a miracle, and to keep my eyes open for those signs that show me the way.
Read the complete story as it appeared on the
Society for Shamanic Practice website:
here
Learn more about Tony’s summer workshop at Shantigar:
Alchemy for a New Consciousness
