It was a privilege recently to speak to some folks attending the National Tour Association’s convention in Cleveland. Our focus was leading tours around the theme of religion. The United States and, indeed, the world, offer magnificent opportunities for both traditional trips as well as innovative journeys designed to take advantage of recent COVID experiences, new demographic markets, and creative approaches to spirituality. I offer one way to think about planning for the future.
There are so many different ways to think about a spiritual life. And, of course, in the U.S., there are many variations of religious experiences. There are liberals and conservatives. There are fundamentalists and Pentecostals. Besides the dizzying variety of Christian practices, there are many different non-Christian traditions. There are the major religions, such as Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. There are other traditions, such as Sikhism and Jainism, that are not as widely practiced in the U.S. And then there are fringe groups and even pseudo-religions.
There are defining doctrines and religious practices. Some of these are specific to a particular tradition or a few traditions, such as the koan, which is used in Zen Buddhism, for example. Other defining doctrines or practices are common across the religious board. Something like meditation is a good example. Christians meditate, Buddhists meditate. Other groups practice this spiritual discipline, too.
A favorite way to think about my own Quaker tradition that has some currency among other traditions is with the distinction between the inward journey and the outward pilgrimage. This is certainly not unique to Quakers. Quite a number of the different Christian traditions have their own version of being spiritual this way. It is also not uncommon in other religious traditions.
Since I believe the focus of the inward journey/outward pilgrimage is a good way to understand the spiritual life, let’s take some time to detail what this dual focus means. One direction of the focus is inward. Personally this is the arena of my experience, as my Quaker tradition always starts with personal experience. The inward journey is the effort I put out in order to “meet” God somewhere in the internal spaces of my life. For me, this usually is felt in my midsection—in my belly. Maybe it is because I live so much of my normal life in my head; I need spiritually to drop from my head to my heart in order to experience the Holy One.
Deeper within my heart is the core place where I encounter the Other, whom I call God. Thomas Kelly, perhaps my favorite Quaker writer, opens his wonderful book, A Testament of Devotion, with words to this effect: “Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul.” My inward journey is the quest to discover this amazing inner sanctuary of the soul. And when I have discovered it, then I want to connect with the One who gave me life and breathes the Spirit into my life.
Even if I am graced with this inward experience, I cannot hold it or capture it. Even if it feels like communion with the Living One, at some point, the experience begins to recede and my normal life resumes. Life cannot be lived inside at the altar—or on top of the mountain. However, life can be lived “from” that altar. And this anticipates the outward pilgrimage. It also implicates what folks can take away from their religious trip or spiritual pilgrimage organized by those affiliated with the National Tour Association.
