The Pagan Traveller

When I first saw Serene Conneeley's book, Seven Sacred Sites, I knew it was something I needed to get my hands on. It was one of the things that sparked my interest in travel again, something I thought I had lost a long time ago. Within it's pages I got lost in the freedom of travel, the beauty of experience and the surrender to knowledge of both ancient and modern times.

The book highlights seven sacred sites that Serene has personally visited. Recounting the experiences she has had in each of the sites, it's easy to understand the magic inherent in them and why they have been called sacred by many a pilgrim and traveller. What is so wonderful about this book is that while she does describe her experiences, she also takes care to discuss the history of the sites, how you can be an 'armchair traveller' to these locations and interviews well known spiritual and pagan faces about their own personal connection with each place, including Lucy Cavendish, Cassandra Eason, Doreen Virtue and Shirley MacLaine, to name a few.

Serene tells her stories with passion and elegance, each chapter flowing to the next so smoothly. While I read it, I felt like I was being taken on a personal inner journey. With each chapter I read I was learning about myself, what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. It was easy to fall into the book and allow Serene to take readers on her adventure.

She now has mini travel guides that are based on each of the seven sites she visited, A Magical Journey journal and a beautiful CD of meditations, all published and produced by Blessed Bee. For the spiritual traveller, whether you are just planning your journey or you are already on one, I highly recommend you find yourself a copy of Seven Sacred Sites.

Serene's website: www.sereneconneeley.com

For many of us, planning the journey is a lot more fun than actually going on it. But before we even think about disappearing from the 'normal' world for a while, we need to consider why we are going.

I decided to finally travel to Europe and the UK for two reasons:

1. I wasn't happy with my life and where I was going. I felt I was going nowhere fast and had nothing to show for it. The stress of making something out of my life was so strong that I was waking up every morning feeling like crap. It felt like I was walking through sticky, thick porridge all day, every day. Either I would die of a stomach ulcer or I would die while travelling. I preferred the second option.

2. I wanted to see Ireland again since I went there when I was 16. I had never felt 'at home' like that anywhere else other than the Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare on the west coast (I've since found many places that have resonated with me so profoundly that I would gladly give everything up to stay there a couple of years).

Before you start planning, it's good to know why you want to go...

But these were not the reasons why I wanted to go. They were the reasons I decided to go. They gave me the ultimatum: keep going and hate everything, or walk a new path and discover something beautiful.

I want to travel to find the Magic in my life again and again, that sense of childlike wonder at everything. My creativity sparks when I'm on the go. Synchronistic events follow me. Magic happens. It begins when I step out of the box I've put myself in.

But what is the point of figuring this out? It helps us connect the universal energies, the Divine, our soul, with the purpose of our journey so that we attract the events we need to experience and people we need to meet to help us grow. Without a goal, our journeys are unfocused. You may still experience what you need to BUT you may not realise why or how without keeping your goal in sight.

So I ask you now: Why do you want to travel? Not why are you deciding to travel, but why do you want to?

When I began travelling on my own, I didn't even think about what it would mean and what might happen, or how I might change.

Originally a Sydney-Sider, I'm now not-so-settled in the Lake District in the UK, technically still travelling and still finding my way through what has become a spiritual journey of epic proportions. My solo adventure has been filled with ups and downs. I've met mentors, tricksters, my own demons and wonderful treasures that I wouldn't trade for the world. But bloody hell, I wish someone had given me a manual (or a compass!) beforehand.

This is why I've created The Pagan Traveller, a blog written by someone who's been there, done that.

I figure there are a lot of people out there who've have gone out in search of adventure and are finding it a little difficult to navigate at times. There are probably a lot of people who have never travelled on their own and are curious as to why these strange, crazy and yet 'brave' people (yes, I have been called that before - yet still wondering why?!) are even contemplating taking the plunge.

I want to share with you the lessons I've learned so that you always have a resource for your own journeys. Like other travelling sites I will impart important traditional travel info, as well as document psychic experiences, magical occurrences and pagan practices.

I hope you enjoy this blog! Please follow my blog for updates and new articles every week.

Keep smiling!