by Megan Stoddard

Created on: October 29, 2009

Not for nothing is a person's spirituality often called their path, or sometimes their walk. Walking and spirituality are so closely related, they are essentially one and the same.

Buddhist practice emphasizes mindfulness in all things, including walking mindfully. Walking meditations, in which breath, footsteps, and spirit are completely aligned, are practiced in both Buddhism and Taoism, and in some Christian monastic orders as well.

In Taoism, the Tao is called the Way, or the Path, or the Tao, but the true Tao is beyond description and beyond words. This is essentially the same concept as the Jewish perception of God as YHWH, or Yahweh: YHWH is not the true name of God, but a stand in for the true name, which cannot be spoken. Again, God is the same as spirit, breath, path, and way. In both religions, and in many others as well, God is, then, equated with a path, with walking.

Christians are familiar with these words of Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Again, way, or walk, is equated with God. Many Christian hymns and prayers use the phrase "walk with God."

All widely practiced religions originated in a time when the only way to go anywhere was, usually, to walk. Horses, camels, and other beasts of burden might have been used under some circumstances, but not everyone could afford them. And even for people who had them, walking was not much slower, especially if there were long distances to cover. Often, the animal would carry supplies for the journey, and the traveler would still walk.

It is no coincidence then, that all the known founders of major religions - Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Lao Tzu, and others - spent significant time traveling, including much time walking alone. This would have served two purposes: the practical need to go somewhere, and the chance for contemplation and spiritual growth.

In our own modern world, many of us have let walking fall by the wayside. In more and more places, it is not safe to travel except by car. And when walking is an option, many people, accustomed to wheels, choose not to do it. People who do choose to walk often have their physical health in mind, or perhaps saving gas money, rather than spirituality.

But with or without conscious intent, walking is spiritual. The rhythm of our footsteps and our breath, the mild exertion of muscles without thinking about it, and the chance to let the mind wander, bring us out of the mundane world even as we are in it. This is inevitable on a walk of any great

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