Sacred Journeys: India - Overview
I am very pleased to announce that I will be leading a tour to India next year. India is a spectacular country both in terms of its physical beauty and its ancient spiritual heritage. And so, our intention is to make this both a rewarding cultural trip and a spiritually profound experience. As many of you know, I was scheduled to lead a tour to India in November 2001, which was cancelled as a result of the 9/11 crisis. Security concerns about traveling to India are no longer an issue, so we feel extremely comfortable in moving ahead on this exceptional journey.
As with my previous international trips, I will weave a workshop in between visits to the many exciting cultural and spiritual places that make up India's rich heritage. I have chosen to direct the workshop as a spiritual retreat, taking advantage of the unique psyche of India. By spiritual retreat, I mean utilizing the rare experience of engaging in self-exploration in an atmosphere which may be unfamiliar to many of you, and which is therefore not associated with your everyday concerns. That fact, along with traveling in the company of new people, creates an atmosphere that is, in effect, an altered state. This provides an opportunity for each of you to detach from your personal concerns and enter a space of "present-time" perceptions, which is an interior place that allows personal retreat work to thrive.
During our classroom time, I will focus on the subject matter that I am now researching and writing about, "The Return of Mysticism in Our Lives." I decided on this topic as a result of my years of working with people whose personal spiritual work has led them on a profound interior journey that reflects the mystical process. When one crosses into the interior realm of mysticism, it can provoke dramatic changes in one's external life, requiring both personal spiritual direction and a working knowledge of the classic mystical journey. To that end, we will explore and discuss the spiritual direction developed by great mystics such as Teresa of Avila, Ignatius Loyola, Thomas Merton, Carl Jung, Rumi, Sai Baba, and John of the Cross, among others, as well as the sacred scripture and teachings of the great traditions including Kabbalah, Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Continuing Education Credit
CMED is recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors (provider #6115) to offer continuing education for National Certified Counselors, and adheres to CEC guidelines. Criteria for 12 hours of Continuing Education Credits are available for India.