donderdag 28 december 2017

The Sacred Door Trail

Changing spiritual perceptions and attitude towards our environment, landscape and nature lead to a multitude of ways to relate to the outdoors.
New locations are becoming places of pilgrimage (both traditional religious or new age spiritual, and there are many other reasons to make a 'pilgrimage' (like film based, dark tourism, etc.)

This item is on the Sacred Door Trail, an interfaith pilgrimage route in Montana, USA. A little more than 5 years old, about 165 miles long. A circular route like the Shikoku in Japan.

So, let me be your guide in introducing you to the Sacred Door Trail.

Video Let's start with an introduction video (2:41) by the founder Weston Pew



Video As we're in video mode, perhaps have a look at the 'opening ceremonies' some five years ago in the Vimeo video (11:13)

 (click text above for video)

Text with video: "The Sacred Door Trail is a 175-mile interfaith pilgrimage trail in southwestern Montana dedicated to Spiritual Unity, Peace and our connection to Earth and Community. It is comprised of pre-existing National Forest Service trails, which form a loop that explores some of the most beautiful mountains, valleys, lakes and rivers in the United States. The trail serves as a bridge connecting us to our original church, our original temple ~ Mother Earth. 


On June 28-30th of 2012 people from diverse belief systems, cultures and lineages gathered together to offer blessings from many different traditions, thereby establishing the land and trail as a shared sacred space. The trail is a celebration of our rich spiritual diversity as humans, but more importantly, it honors the spirit that unifies all things, thereby turning the many into One. 

In hiking The Sacred Door Trail you not only carry your own prayers but the prayers of the world and all life upon your shoulders."



Article Only recently (May 2017) the Backpacker magazine published
"Sacred Door Trail Hike" by Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan.
 "A piece about a woman trying to overcome the pain of a breakup, navigate her emotions and find peace on the Sacred Door Trail."
You find it here.

Brochure Curious?



'

Online The Trail has it's own website and Facebook page.






Blog A blog entry by Weston Pew in Huffington Post (2013)Sacred Activism: The Key to Religious Survival in the Age of SBNRs.

See also In 2015 I introduced you to some other interesting (new and older) trails on Pilgrimage and Place.
One of them being the Walk of Wisdom in The Netherlands, also a route of contemplation.
You find the link here.

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vrijdag 22 december 2017

Some recent popular articles

Just a collection of recent popular articles on pilgrimage around the world.
Click on the titles to see the full articles.

The magical path of the way of Saint James
The 30th anniversary of the Camino as European Cultural Route
Pilgrimages in Britain
Life changing visits to Holy Places
Moviegoers becoming pilgrims
Honouring the Lady of Guadelupe
Standing Rock place of pilgrimage
The Kumano Kodo trail
India tourist circuit like Camino or Shikoku
Kim Jong-un on Mt Paektu



Artefact, Teresa Gottein
Six people describe their experiences.
"All that really matters is to absorb everything the Camino offers mile after mile. You may not see it at first, but as the days go by, you will unavoidably feel it."


Authentic Journeys, Zoe Genova

"When this announcement was made in 1987, it created a resurgence in awareness and rise in participation in the Camino. "



The Telegraph, Harriet Compston 
"I was spending the next four days with the British Pilgrimage Trust, a new movement bringing pilgrimages back to Britain. But these are not just holy journeys for devout Christians: committed atheists and everyone in between are welcomed and encouraged to embrace the idea of slow travel on foot with strangers. "



NextAvenue, Lori Erickson

The 'Holy Rover' author shares her passion for spiritual wandering and pilgrimages




TheConversation, 
When do moviegoers become pilgrims?

"Among the millions of travelers heading out for the summer holidays, some are choosing an unlikely destination: a rusted bus on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness."


Catholic Herald / AP
Massive pilgrimage honours Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico
See the photo's "Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converged on Mexico City’s Basilica of Guadalupe "



TheConversation, Rosalyn R. LaPier
How Standing Rock became a site of pilgrimage

Modern day pilgrimage




iNews, Siobhan Norton

"I awake to the sun rising over mist-wreathed hills, and feel profoundly peaceful. But I haven’t yet earned my pilgrim points – I must take to the trail myself. The Kumano Kodo has been trodden for more than 1,000 years by people from all walks of life, from emperors to peasants, in search of salvation. "


FinancialExpress, Rana Kapoor

How to meet future environmental, economic challenges: Buddhism Inspired Sustainable Economies a model for growth

The ministry of tourism has launched the infrastructural development project of the Buddhist circuit as India’s first transnational tourist circuit.

"An example of a similar effort is found in Spain, which has the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Camino de Santiago—478 miles of Catholic pilgrimage that ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the supposed final resting place of James the Apostle. This route sees over 200,000 pilgrims per year. Also, the Japanese have the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, an extensive Buddhist pilgrimage that spans over 750 miles and is colloquially called ‘The Way of the 88 Temples’."



koreajoongangdaily, Jeong Yong-Su

Kim Jong-un makes symbolic pilgrimage to Mt. Paektu

"Kim has visited Mt. Paektu five times during his six-year rule"



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dinsdag 22 augustus 2017

Tourists and Pilgrims: go home

Tourism is a for a long time contested concept:
Being imperial, unfair, rich-poor enhancing, hedonistic, naturedestroyer, culturedestroyer ....
And specific for pilgrimage routes like the Camino de Santiago the number of pilgrims are rising, new records crushed the next year.
Sure,  this increase is intentional, policy of national and regional government and of commercial corporations. A development that started some 40 years ago.

 I looked around to provide you with additional and latest popular developments.
Looked at the pilgrimage route
Looked at some general touristic concerns.
Sometimes there just are too many tourists, too many pilgrims.
So, this blogitem provides an overview of the latest trend in tourism and pilgrimage alike: overcrowding.
And it hints alternative / sustainable tourism.


(China’s Qingdao Huiquan Beach during the height of peak season)


On the pilgrimage route
(photo: dpa Picture-Alliance / Florian Schuh / picture alliance / dpa Themendie)

The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route saw it's routes becoming more and more crowded. 2017 probably again a record year. Experienced pilgrims use the usual comments: Try other routes or seasons, keep away from  the usual staged etappe endings, overcrowded camino was already an issue 30 years ago, it's nice, cosy and socially, it's not that bad. However: complaints are growing, even on the 'less walked' route like the Camino Ingles.
Like a pilgrim from Colorado just (august 2017, walked in july) reported on Tripadvisor: "Way to many people".Some people don't mind, I do and try to keep away from overcrowded routes.

Four recent articles in French and German newspapers/sites cover the overcrowding.
( use google translate ;-)

Zu viele Jakobspilger: In Spanien wird gegen Urlauber protestiert
( Mass-tourism, we're off then. After Kerkeling's camino book Ich bin dann mal weg. Subtitle of the article: Too many pilgrims: Spain protesting against tourism)
Suddeutsche Zeitung

Pilgerstau am Jacobsweg
Far away from the peaceful tranquility, long human karavans on the way to the pilgrimage town of Santiago de Compostela are driving up prices and hunt away the locals
Die Presse

(This isn't tourismphobia, it's anticapitalism. In Spain activists torpede mass-tourism)
Francetvinfo


(Un graffiti "Touristes, rentrez chez vous" dans le centre-ville d'Oviedo (province des Asturies, nord de l'Espagne), le 7 août 2017. (ELOY ALONSO / AFP))




Große Zahl der Pilger sorgt für Ärger entlang des Jakobswegs
Large amount of pilgrims causes trouble along the Way of St James.
Hamburger Abentblatt (this article is published in many other magazins)



Tourisme generic
I'l start with a few headlines..

Is Mount Everest an overcrowded tourist trap?

Over-tourism in Amsterdam

You can click on them to go to the responding article
Protests are growing

Anti-tourism protests spread across Europe

Barcelona residents protest unchecked growth of mass tourism

You can click on them to go to the responding article


And to closeoff
"There is a growing backlash over tourism in Europe as the favourite hotspots suffer from chronic overcrowding and locals face rising prices for basic needs such as rent."
European tourism prompts locals to declare 'enough is enough' as visitor numbers grow
(Twitter Corse Tourism)



Just a few thoughts..



Picture Comparison Mass / Alternative Tourism
(Nompumelelo Mathebula, Univ of Johannesburg)

Picture Types of Tourism
(Cecilia Ryan, Understanding tourism impacts & types of alternative tourism)

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dinsdag 18 juli 2017

Friluftsliv

This blogitem introduces you to the concept of Frilufsliv.
A fundamental understanding of men and nature.
A concept well known in Scandinavian countries, but becoming a trend elsewhere!

Enjoy what I gathered,
enjoy your compassion with and immersion in nature ;-)

Introducing

The following picture is a search on the concept in Google pictures:


Think you get an idea!

"What, then, is it? "
Mountaineering educator Nils Faarlund on Friluftsliv (in Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and religion):
"“An unselfish I-Thou relationship that tries to come away from the anthropocentrism of a nature-dissonant society,” Faarlund concludes. Inherently, friluftsliv, as Faarlund, Ibsen, and Nansen want to define it, is a fundamentally spiritual belief that simply getting out into nature, enjoying the hike, the climb, the ski, the swim, is an essentially personal religious experience that gives the greatest possible meaning to human life."

Let's explore the concept more in two popular articles

MacsAdventure: 

"Friluftsliv, a word coined by Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen, literally translating to ‘free air life’ is the word used to broadly describe the connection to nature that is so strong in Norway. This article explores how a respect and love of the outdoors is developed. "


McLendon on Mother's nature network:
"The Norwegian word, coined in 1859, has come to embody Norway's cultural enchantment with nature. It doesn't translate easily to English, but the basic spirit of friluftsliv hides inside all of us."
friluftsliv


Sit back and relax

Documentary by Charlotte Workman
"'Friluftsliv' is an ancient Nordic philosophy of outdoor life. It is an engrained philosophy in Norway and Sweden but relatively unknown to the rest of the world. This philosophy embodies the idea that returning to nature, is returning home."


See it on Vimeo, click here. It.'s 11 minutes long.


And finally if you want to go deeper I have some articles and a reference to a book:

Two articles if you want to read more..


"This article starts with a discussion of outdoor life as both a consequence of and a reaction against the industrialized and urbanized society. Thereafter comes a short presentation of the Nordic 2 outdoor tradition of "friluftsliv" (open-air life), including its "allemansrtt" (everyone's right of access to the countryside within certain limits). Finally the complicated issue of interaction between environmental experience and environmental perspective is raised and a preliminary model of the interaction between outdoor life and environmentalism is presented."


Abstract:
This paper explores the roots of the Scandinavian outdoor lifestyle of friluftsliv and its philosophical implication as well as its applications for environmental education. Friluftsliv as a philosophy is deeply rooted in Norway and Sweden but has lately obtained a more a superficial meaning by the commercialization of outdoor activities. The philosophy and biology of friluftsliv is explored showing its importance as a means, in environmental education, to facilitate a true connectedness to the more-thanhuman world. 
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zaterdag 24 juni 2017

Celebrating life

On my personal FB page I noticed I included a collection of events I could name 'celebrating life'.

I collected them here, to celebrate summer.
Enjoy these tips for all life lovers, for those open to life.

Think resembles pilgrimage, being from home, looking for something, immersing in nature, social and self (the elements of meaning of place;-)
and even sometimes becoming a new you, transformated and ready for life.


Glastonbury Festival of contemporary performing arts
In june 2017 they "created the largest ever human peace sign as a symbol of our unity and love for one another".






No Mind Festival
"No Mind is Scandinavia’s biggest alternative festival – a transformative gathering to open our hearts, become alive and free in our bodies, and relax into a wisdom beyond the mind."
Here's a look at last years event, hope it makes you happy.
click to see movie

Some time ago I saw Three miles north of Molkom.
Here's the trailer.
click to see movie



Solstice Stonehenge
June 21 was the day of the solstice. Celebrated in many places, here's (click here) a compilation of photographs from The Guardian of Stonehenge June 21. 




Burning Man

Starting Aug 27, "Once a year, tens of thousands of people gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to create Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. In this crucible of creativity, all are welcome."
This year's theme is Radical Ritual, a temple will be erected.



Here's a movie of last year's event. What to expect...




World Naked Hiking Day
And finally, June 21 wasn't only the day of the solstice but also World Naked Hiking Day


embrace nature
establish a sense of inner freedom 


#glastonbury 
#nomindfestival
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zondag 9 april 2017

The rights of Nature, good living

Some weeks ago several news outlets published on a river in New Zealand getting the same legal status as humans have.
In this contribution I'll bring you up to date.
Inform you over some recent publications, get into the older ones. Have a look into some relevant organisations.
Show you a nice TED presentation, and point you to two relevant concepts like ecovillages and buen vivir.


Photo by Jim Clayton

If you want to read on, here are two pointers.


This isn't a solo development, likewise actions are on it's way for the river Frome in the UK.

Also the Ganges and the Yamuna in India were given the status of living human entities. See The Guardian article here.

 And, while preparing this entry, I read on the Facebook page of Rebecca Solnit a link to Himalayan Glaciers and forests that have been declared human rights.
Photo in India Times

See here for the article in India Times.

 A nice overview article you find on Intercontinental Cry, Indigenous Philosophies Reframing Law.
Photo in Intercontinental Cry


And likewise status changes are already performed elsewhere.
But, what a contrast to discussions on legal status as human of unborn children.

 In fact, several organisations 'live on it' ;-)


Here are three to get you started.



 Books

 For some background on the history of men-environment have a look at this book:


Roderick Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind
is a great book on the history of attitudes toward wilderness and the environment in the U.S..

“The Book of Genesis for conservationists”—Dave Foreman

Roderick Nash’s classic study of changing attitudes toward wilderness during American history, as well as the origins of the environmental and conservation movements, has received wide acclaim since its initial publication in 1967. The Los Angeles Times listed it among the one hundred most influential books published in the last quarter century, Outside Magazine included it in a survey of “books that changed our world,” and it has been called the “Book of Genesis for environmentalists

Further there is this 2015 report Fighting for our shared future by Sheehan and Wilson to download.


Another classic.


" Originally published in 1972, Should Trees Have Standing? was a rallying point for the then burgeoning environmental movement, launching a worldwide debate on the basic nature of legal rights that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, in the 35th anniversary edition of this remarkably influential book, Christopher D. Stone updates his original thesis and explores the impact his ideas have had on the courts, the academy, and society as a whole. At the heart of the book is an eminently sensible, legally sound, and compelling argument that the environment should be granted legal rights. For the new edition, Stone explores a variety of recent cases and current events--and related topics such as climate change and protecting the oceans--providing a thoughtful survey of the past and an insightful glimpse at the future of the environmental movement. This enduring work continues to serve as the definitive statement as to why trees, oceans, animals, and the environment as a whole should be bestowed with legal rights, so that the voiceless elements in nature are protected for future generations. "
(text through Google Books) 

Here you can download the 1972 article in pdf by Christopher Stone ' Should trees have standing - toward legal rights for natural objects '.


Some background...
"Fighting for Our Shared Future: Protecting Both Human Rights and Nature’s Rights explores 100 case studies from around the world of co-violations of nature’s and people’s rights."




TED


See also the TEDx Findhorn presentation by Mumta Ito:



"by enshrining Rights of Nature in law, we protect the environment that we all need for our very existence."

2016
(14:18)




Added May 13 2017:
Have perhaps also a look at this article on Ecologist


Nature's rights: a new paradigm for environmental protection.


I would like to introduce two further concepts, ecovilages and buen vivir.


Ecovillages



"Kosha Joubert shares how community-led regeneration can become a source of solutions for today’s societal challenges. Kosha takes us on a journey around the globe to discover ecovillages, envisioning a world of empowered citizens and communities, designing and implementing their own pathways to a sustainable future, and building bridges of hope and international solidarity."

Have a look at TEDx Geneva's presentation.

2015
(15:22)




Buen Vivir

Familiar with the concept of buen vivir? Does the good living comes from South America?

This 'nature rights concept' "departs from a social philosophy, known in Spanish as “buen vivir”, in which the concept of a good life proposes a holistic approach to development that intertwines notions of unity, equality, dignity, reciprocity, social and gender equality – a rallying cry to move beyond Western ideals and practices of development and progress largely measured by profit."

(See exhibition at the University of British Columbia throughout 2017.)

See this basic article in The Guardian (2013) on the concept with addition links.




Read more (Dutch!) on this concept in the 12 page MO paper
Buen vivir:Komt het goede leven uit Zuid-Amerika?




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