Mindful Travel: Where Mindfulness & Travel Meet
By: Camila Castro
To my mind, mindful living and what I would classify as conscious or intentional travel, are two sides of the same coin. This insight came one day, while on holiday in Mallorca, as I settled into stillness on my yoga mat. It occurred to me that my ongoing journey into mindfulness in many ways parallels the internal journeys I have undergone while traveling around the world. As a third-culture kid, travel played a hugely significant role in my childhood and it truly helped shape my lifestyle, my values and my worldview. As an adult seeking to discover my purpose and to create a life of meaning, mindfulness has had a similarly significant impact on my life. In that moment on my mat, I realized that the kind of travel I favor – travel that is intentional, conscious and responsible (all growing trends) – is, in fact, very much in alignment with the principles of mindfulness.
For the sake of clarity, let me first explain how I have come to understand both mindfulness and intentional, or purposeful, travel.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), defines mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. I interpret this to mean being present and practicing awareness and acceptance of a particular moment. There are many other definitions of mindfulness, of course, but most of them tend to share this same sentiment of being lovingly aware of the present moment and accepting it for what it is without expectations or attachment. As a student of MBSR, Kabat-Zinn's definition is the one that resonates for me the most.
I have found that defining intentional travel is much trickier. As far as I know, there is no widely-accepted definition of any of the following concepts; intentional/purposeful travel, conscious travel or transformational travel. Even the increasingly popular and commonly-invoked sustainable travel is a term that continues to inspire much debate and is interpreted to mean different things depending on who you ask. Planeta.com defines conscious travel as “traveling with one’s conscience and connecting with others in a particular place. Empathy meets exploration.” That notion really resonates with me, as I love the idea of empathy meeting exploration. But what does that mean, exactly? Are conscious travel and purposeful travel the same thing? For that matter, are intentional travel and purposeful travel the same thing? Is traveling with intention the same as traveling with purpose? And how does transformational travel fit into this puzzle?
Enter Mindful Travel. I believe that the umbrella concept of Mindful Travel can encompass all of these other “types” of travel, as well as a few others.
Why do I say this?
Well, having traveled extensively throughout my life, it’s been my experience that travel is a powerful tool to foster self-reflection, self-discovery, connection and transformation. It encourages us to connect, not only with others, but with destinations, causes, cultures, nature, experiences, with the present moment and, ultimately, with our true selves. I would venture to say that, for most of us who love travel, this characteristic of deepening connection is one of the major reasons why we love it in the first place. Humans crave connection and travel delivers it in spades. Typically, when we travel, we are exposed to peoples and cultures that often have a different set of values than our own, and to destinations that might look and feel completely foreign to what we’re used to. In our quest to connect, these experiences become valuable learning opportunities. They create a space for us to reflect on our own reality, to get to know ourselves better, and they encourage us to use the new awareness we’ve developed to re-evaluate our place in the world and how we engage with it. This, in turn, leads to transformation. Many of us might initially experience some resistance to this process of discovery, awareness, reflection, transformation, because growth and change are never easy, but travel somehow makes the whole process feel more organic. Because travel tends to place us outside of our comfort zones, we find ourselves already inclined to receive change with a more open mind and an open heart.
Travel encourages us to let go of our preconceived notions, our expectations, and to just accept our experiences for what they are. Through the journeys we take, we slowly come to understand that by letting go of resistance and by staying open – by allowing ourselves to experience our travels with loving awareness in every moment, by releasing any need to attach to a particular outcome during our travels – we can learn how to connect on a deeper level to ourselves and to others. Once we learn to give into this new awareness and connection that travel has gifted us, we often find that we are more present in our lives, more aligned with our core values and more attuned to our true selves…such is the power of travel. In short, travel, particularly intentional or conscious travel, by its very nature, cultivates mindfulness.
Mindful living is also a journey, though an internal one. It is a journey into stillness that guides you to connect more fully to a present moment and to notice your authentic self in that moment. Unlike most of our travels, mindfulness is a journey with no destination; it is a life-long process. Through mindful practices, we eventually come to understand that change is really the only constant and we learn to make our peace with that. The reality is that we are always changing and the world around us is in a constant state of flux. All we can do is bare witness, preferably without judgement or attachment. Travel highlights this undeniable truth with brutal honesty, but it also nurtures our acceptance of it. Nothing is permanent, and that is a good thing, because it means we can have new experiences, change our minds, alter our itineraries mid-trip, design a new lifestyle, foster different relationships, develop new perspectives, continue to learn and grow and expand.
Mindfulness gives us the clarity and courage to trust ourselves and to trust the process. It teaches us to let go of our fears and doubts – not ignore them or try to repress them, just observe them for what they are and let them pass – and to accept what is or embrace the transformation that follows. Travel inherently puts us in situations where we have to practice all of these things. It forces us out of our comfort zone and into the present moment. When we apply the principles of mindfulness to travel in this way, it suddenly becomes clear that the journeys we undertake when we travel are not all that different from a journey into mindfulness.
Where mindfulness and travel meet, we find: mindful travel. Mindful travel is travel that nurtures awareness and acceptance of our travel experiences as they are. It is travel that encourages us to be conscious of the role we play as travelers and the impact we have on the destinations we visit. It is travel that inspires us to connect on so many levels. It can be intentional and purposeful; it can be conscious, responsible and sustainable; and it can definitely be transformational. If we’re open to it, travel, in and of itself, can teach us to be present, to be grateful, to be purposeful, to be mindful and to just embrace the journey as it unfolds around us.
Camila is a mindful traveler, seeker and changemaker that believes in the power of mindful travel to inspire transformation, foster connection, create meaning and make change. Originally from Ecuador, she now lives in California but still travels frequently. She is a certified yoga teacher that specializes in Pranayama Coaching and in Yoga Nidra. She is the founder of www.bejourneyful.com, a travel and lifestyle blog that promotes mindful travel and meaningful living for a more connected world and a greater positive impact.
Website: https://www.bejourneyful.com/
Instagram: @bejourneyful
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/camila-castro-3ba40172
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