Walk-about!

Have you ever heard of the concept of "Walk-about"? It appears in several cultures, such as the Australian Aborigines who "go walkabout" at the age of thirteen in the wilderness for six months as a rite of passage. They then trace the path of the ceremonial ancestors of their tribe. Some indigenous people of the artic refer to this journey as a "vision quest". Regarded as a turning point in life taken before puberty to find oneself and thier intended spiritual and life direction. Also, the Native American culture (of which I am closely tied) also has a practice of soul searching in this fashion for shamans. Although not always including an actual 'walk', the basic concept is the same.

One other resource that I love to quote that helped me understand this process was from a Science Fiction television show called "Babylon 5". In this program, one of the lead characters is dealing with some hard issues in his life, one of which is a drug problem. He temporarily resigns his position in order to go on Walkabout and find himslef. He quotes that the Aborigine folklore he is familiar with indicates that he must walk until he meets himself and has a conversation with himself.

Recently, I went on Walkabout. I took many of these elements into consideration when I decided to embark on this journey. Whereas my time on walkabout was not for months, some of the soul work I did was life changing. You see I have matured in life, doing some introspection from time to time and knew that finding myself would be no trouble at all. The difficulty I would encounter was the conversation I would need to have with myself to engage in some deep healing and growing.

I wont go into the personal details of my journey here at this time, but I will tell you that if you are in a place in your life where things seem cloudy and you have pains that are deep and not being addressed. Walkabout may be a way for you to either discover or re-discover your true path.

I am featuring a song that just happened to capture the essence of this type of soul work perfectly. "The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars is about facing your inner demons and breaking free. Here is the video, and afterwards I will post the lyrics....

Much Love,

CJ




"The Kill"

What if I wanted to break
Laugh it all off in your face
What would you do? (Oh, oh)
What if I fell to the floor
Couldn't take this anymore
What would you do, do, do?

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life
What would you do?
You say you wanted more
What are you waiting for?
I'm not running from you (from you)

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you
Look in my eyes
You're killing me, killing me
All I wanted was you

I tried to be someone else
But nothing seemed to change
I know now, this is who I really am inside.
Finally found myself
Fighting for a chance.
I know now, this is who I really am.

Ah, ah
Oh, oh
Ah, ah

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you, you, you.
Look in my eyes
You're killing me, killing me
All I wanted was you

Come break me down (bury me, bury me)
Break me down (bury me, bury me)
Break me down (bury me, bury me)

(You say you wanted more)
What if I wanted to break...?
(What are you waiting for?)
Bury me, bury me
(I'm not running from you)
What if I
What if I
What if I
What if I
Bury me, bury me