All journies have an element of introspection, but these inner journeys were all about personal growth and finding oneself. You could call also this the hero’s journey, vision quest, coming-of-age ritual, spiritual awakening, enlightenment, self-transcendence, self-actualization and many other names.
For Ellen Boneparth, it happened at Delphi. She and a group of over twenty women were at the end of a two-and-a-half week journey across the ages, forming a circle together deep inside a cave that ancient Greeks had once used for goddess worship, praying to “Mother Earth.”
Several years ago, Mikkel Aaland on a quest for peace, placed Shinto stones in South Africa, the Philippines, and Germany. Shortly thereafter, South African apartheid came to an end, President Marcos left the Philippines and the Berlin Wall came crumbling down.
Cheryl Friedman can’t hold the same job for more than three years. This isn’t because she’s irresponsible, or untalented, it’s because she can’t let three years go by without taking a long trip.
Mother India. I’ve been lucky enough to return five times after my first trip there as a baby and my feelings of love for the country have traveled on a steady path of ascension.
“Where would you go to find the answers to life’s deepest questions? Is there a God? Why am I here? Is there life after death?” For seventy-six year old Professor Graham Collier, the answers were found in Antarctica.
I first learned of filmmaker, Gia Marie Amella, through my friend Frances. Frances would rave on and on about her sister Gia, a Fulbright scholar who just spent a year in Sicily to film a documentary intended for public television, entitled, My Sacred Island. Even before I met her, I had already formed my opinions:
