Walking Without Words

                A few years ago, I realized that often when I walked, I was still talking to myself in my mind, the environment slipped by and before I knew it, the time for reflection had passed by and all that I had achieved is to obsess with my usual thoughts. 

At this period of my life, I had two dogs who walked with me. They were wonderful for making me go out, even on days that the wind and rain were blowing hard and without them, I would have stayed home curled up by the fire with a good book.  They were both always delighted to see me get ready for our walk, usually in the morning after I had done some writing. They waited quietly in their beds until I was finished and then knew the second I had finished and was ready to go outside. Max, a golden Lab mix, barked loudly and raced around the house. Kami, a more subdued older black lab, gazed at me with overwhelming love in her dark brown eyes. They were the perfect walking companions, they expressed great joy in the activity, showed me aspects of the environment that I didn’t notice and didn’t talk. I decided to change my approach to this important regenerative time of my day.

                I wanted to enhance this practice with some guidance. I re-read “Walking Meditation” by Thich Nat Hahn and took some suggestions from him. I decided that to be in a meditative state, I must go alone of human company. I often walked with a little book and a pen in my pocket to write down poetry or lines of thoughts that came to me. However, as I began walking as a meditation, I purposely left the note book and pen in the car. Every time I found myself composing poetry (not there is anything wrong with composing poetry) I stopped myself and said these words to myself “Walking without words, I walk through the world and the world walks through me.” This immediately stopped my thoughts and elevated my awareness into a wider space. Suddenly I noticed a sliver of blue sky reflected in a field pond, the scent of  Skita plum blossoms, the colour of fall grasses, the sound of wind in river reeds.

                One afternoon as I was driving to the river to go for a walk, I composed a challenge for myself, to notice one omen for each time I walked. I resolved to notice this omen and to receive wisdom from it, to catch my soul outside of myself while walking. The first time I did this, a river otter suddenly appeared along the shore, crunching on a little fish. She lay on her back near the shore and examined me with curious black eyes as her sharp teeth bite into her meal. We watched each other for a long time. I was so excited. This was the omen I was seeking! To walk without words was to fish for wisdom, to allow my soul to eat. I thanked the otter for her appearance and continued on.

                The ancient peoples who were closer to the heart of the world, meditated by walked slowly through the land. They did not sit on pillows or contemplate in churches or monasteries. They simply moved through the world incorporating the world into their spirituality in a natural and holistic way. We need to return to this ancient wisdom because the benefits of the mechanistic flat line world view is coming to a dangerous end.

Walking without words is one of best ways to practice World Metaphoric Transformation.

Try this!-Walking without words

1.       Choose a favorite destination to walk to. Before you start-prepared yourself to walk without words. This means turning off all technology-yep all of it! Prepare to walk without purpose-not for fitness or even relaxation, just prepare to walk. Stand for a moment with your eyes closed. Become aware of your body, feel how your feet are resting on the ground. Close your eyes and come fully into the moment. Release any thoughts, obsessions, or worries that you may have.

2.       Now open your eyes.  Notice the world around you- as it is. As you begin to walk, you may want to choose a mantra, or repetitive word or statement that will be a reminder to be mindful of the present moment.  If your thoughts return to the usual planning, fixing, remembering of everyday life, repeat this mantra to yourself. Some mantras are- “Walking on the good earth”, “Peace, joy, harmony”, “I walk through the world and the world walks through me.” Simply notice what the world is offering you as you move through the landscape. Don’t interpret or try to make sense of what you see. At these times, everything is significant and everything is meaningful.  You may notice scents, events, sounds or changes in the environment. Do not begin to seek interpretations at this point. Just notice. Be as clearly observational as possible.

3.       Now walk home and when your arrive, write out one thing that stayed with you. One thing, event, impression, sensual experience that you noticed, with just a few words. E.g. -a chickadee sang.

4.       Now for the soul catching. The world turned up at that moment with a message for you-what is it? Ask yourself “Where in my life is this sign significant?” e.g. Where in my life is  there a singing bird? Or you may ask the opposite question such as “Where in my life is there not a singing bird?”