"Sorrow Stones" as Camino Intentions

"It is said if you pick up a stone and put your sorrow into it, when you place the stone down you leave some of your sorrow behind." 

From the book My Camino

by Sue Kenney

The Caminio has given me so much to be grateful for that I like to give something back to it each time I walk. Before I begin a group journey I make an offer to family, friends and even strangers by email and social media by asking to receive an intention from them. It could be for themselves, another person or for the world. 

For each request I receive I pick up a different stone. I put their intention into it by gripping the stone while I walk and then shift the thought to the stone. When the time feels right, I let it go by setting it back down on the path as a way to give it over to the Camino with the confidence and trust it will be received. 

Some of the stones are small and some are big. It doesn't really matter. I just look for the one that is calling to me. Stone is the slowest moving organism on our planet, and by virtue of that, they are alive and so I listen to them. 

There are rock cairns all along the Camino Frances path and as you can see by the picture, pilgrims leave all sorts of odd items like a pair of boots with the toes cut out! There must be a story behind those shoes!

I received requests from pilgrims who wanted to offer peace, healing and love to other pilgrims. One person was under a lot of stress and wanted help to let it go. Another person lost their Mother and asked for help dealing with the grief. 

And there was a request to help people realize their own dreams no matter where they come from, trouble pasts, abusive families etc to change peoples lives! How noble are these requests? Yet another wanted to offer loving support to their son. A fellow pilgrim offered their Intention to release all that is not serving their highest good and find more joy and fun in life.

Along with 50 or so intentions I also received this beautiful prayer of intention from Laure, a woman who would like to walk the Camino one day. This is a special gift and I am humbled to receive this gift.  Muchas gracias.  

"I will meditate and pray:

-for your feet to be safe and healthy, 

-for your legs and hips to support your and carry you gracefully along the Camino, 

-for your eyes to see the beauty of the people you meet and landscapes you traverse, 

-for your ears to hear the wind, the birds and inspiring stories of pilgrims, 

-for your nose to smell the morning coffee, lavender and rosemary bushes, the sunflower fields, the fresh scent of soap and cooked food at the end of a long day, 

-for your mouth and tongue to taste the delights of tapas, wine and tarta de Santiago, 

-for your skin to feel the kisses of the sun, the caresses of the winds, the gentle embrace of comfortable clothing and soothing hug of warm showers, 

-for your third eye to sense all it is you need to sense, and 

-for your heart to love, open and receive."

Many thanks. 

A very special woman wrote about seeing me on Breakfast Television inToronto years ago. "I have followed you since I woke up watching a TV show while going through cancer treatment 7 years ago and you were talking about the Camino.  The TV was on channel 9 which I rarely watch, and I sat bolt upright and knew I was meant to hear your story." She asked to learn the lesson of forgiveness and: May all people see animals as souls to be treated with kindness instead of items to be used and abused."

Several people asked for help for teenagers who were struggling with drugs or emotional difficulties. 

Each day the first stone is for me, then my children and my Mother, then my sisters and brother and them my friends. I continue to pick up stones along the way in my life offering peace, happiness and love to all sentient beings in the world. It is my Camino gift to you. 

Love and light. 

Suseya!

Sue Kenney

@barebottomshoes

www.suekenney.ca

The next group Camino is in October 2015. We will offer backpack service and all accommodation is booked. Details will be on the website but feel free to email mycamino ook@gmail.com

Day 8 barefoot Picnic in Portomarine

Leaving that morning we decided to stop in the beautiful city of Portomarine to go grocery shopping and buy food for a picnic in the forest. One of our pilgrims had a lot of swelling in her feet and couldn't walk that day. She agreed to buy the food and have it all ready for us when we arrived there later that day. Out destination was Gonzar, a very small village with a municipal Albergue and a private one where we were staying. 

My feet were sore from walking 22kms barefoot the day before, so I wore my demi-soled Barebottom Shoes and Merryl minimalist shoes over them. When I wore the shoes without them, my feet slid around and it created friction. A perfect environment for blisters. Besides I was still experiencing some tenderness on the bottom my foot where I had the infection a few days ago. I used oil of Oregano to try and draw out whatever it was that seemed lodged on there. Then I covered it with Second Skin to keep other infection out!

A few kilometers before Portomarine we stopped at a shelter that provided benches, a fire pit and a roof for pilgrims who needed emergency cover. 

It was after we left there I told one if the pilgrims about the story of the walking stick that I had received from the old man. We came across a place that offered fruit and drinks, for a donation (or Donativo) and I bought a banana. I ate it while I walked. When we arrived in Portomarine, I discovered that I had lost my stick and through the process of elimination, concluded I left it at that place. I was so sad that I couldn't take it to Santiago and pray for him and his wife.  

I wanted to run back and get it! To ease my disappointment, Katherine assured me that everything was perfect as it was. I didn't need the stick to pray for them, I could walk with the intention and pick up Stones for them along the way. Somehow I found peace in that idea. 

Lynn was having some trouble with her foot so she went ahead in a taxi and bought all the food for out picnic as a gift to our group. We sat on the ground, spread out some plastic bags for the good, and we had our picnic. It was so perfect!

The afternoon was long and my feet were sore. I wore my Barebottom shoes to protect the balls of my feet, and still felt the ground with my heels and toes. 

Gonzar seemed to take forever. Some days are slow and others go by so quickly even though the distance is the same. I wonder if my perception changes so easily in real life?

Suseya!

Sue Kenney

@barebottomshoes

www.suekenney.ca

The next group Camino is in October 2015. We will offer backpack service and all accommodation is booked. Details will be on the website but feel free to email mycamino ook@gmail.com

Day 9 Queimada at Casa Domingo Albergue

That day walked most of the 23 kilometers barefoot as we were often on trails. Unfortunately, one of the guys had a bad blister and couldn't walk the whole way. They say, "You don't walk the Camino, the Camino walks you!" I se this happening time and time again and the best advice is to just go with it. 

We ended the day with my dear friends Anna and Gonsalves' beautiful Albergue in the small village of Ponte Campana. I have been going there since 2005, when we filmed a scene from the documentary Las Peregrinas. They keep a copy of My Camino book on display in a cabinet. And a bookmark hanging on the wall. So sweet of them. 

We arrived tired and hungry. After getting settled in our bunks, we did our laundry and hung it on the line. Them Anna made us a plate of Jamon and queso to snack on with a beer or glass of vino tinto.

We celebrated dinner in the dinning room with about 30 other pilgrims. We sat with Misha from Germany whom we had shared a bunk room with a couple of nights before. 

We also met a man named John, who was leading a group of 5 others on a marriage retreat. They were all from Georgia and Tennessee and had all been sponsored by a restaurant chain to do the Camino. Al the love they shared  and the fun they had was so inspiring to witness. 

After dinner Gonsalves surprised us with an ancient pagan ritual, a Queimada ceremony. He and his brother dressed up in costume and they called men up to the front to stir the concoction of a local liquor Hierbos, coffee beans, orange and lemon, sugar and maybe a few more ingredients. It was lot with a match so it burned a bright flame. 

Gonsalves asked a pilgrim to read to the audience while I stirred and stirred. 

Gonsalves dressed up in a costume with a hat. Once it had cooked long enough we all had a taste. It was very sweet!

It was an early night as we were all very tired. 

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast together and set out to walk 24 kilometers in the sunny and comfortably warm 23 C weather!

Ultreya. 

Sue 

@barebottomshoes

www.suekenney.ca

Next Camino walk with Sue is in October 2015. Pack pack service is included and all accommodation is booked in rural pensions, hotels and private Albergues. 

Mycaminobook@gmail.com

Day 5 Barefooting to Samos

This is the first time in 10 group trips that I have led,that I didn't go to the Monastary in Samos. In fact I don't even have a pic of it as some of them are on my IPad, which I can't download to my phone right now. Trust me when I say it is incredibly beautiful though. 

We walked very quickly in the morning and I got to be barefoot most if the way. We arrived in the old town of Triacastella and ate lunch in a typical taberna. The entire group seems to like Ensalada Mixta. Salad with tuna, asparagus, hard boiled egg and corn niblets. 

We started walking again and spent a lot of time in the forest, or on dirt paths, so itcwas perfect for Barefooting. I had a sore toe, as I stubbed it, so I wrapped or with tape for the day. 

The terrain was so natural a couple of the pilgrims tried batefooting. Jan, who is 70 years old, was the first to take off hers and join in. I talked to her about the shift that takes place in the alignment of her entire body to make it more efficient. We talked about some is the benefits it has on her physical body and the freedom that is experienced. 

She said as she ages she becomes more fearful of falling. Going barefoot can help to strengthen the feet, ankles, legs and the core body to help overcome that fear. The feedback from the sensory nerve endings in the soles of your feet work quickly to message the brain/central nervous system to adapt to shifts in the terrain so the body stays upright. Jan felt that what I was saying made "common sence" and that made her want to do it!

The more we walked, the closer our group became. We travelled together most of the time or at least within site of each other, although we had agreed before leaving that everyone should walk their own Camino. There was no expectation that we had to stay together but the group wanted to. It was quite lovely. 

One of our pilgrims, Lynn, was having trouble with her one foot swelling up so much it was hard to walk. We agreed to keep a close watch on it to see if she should see a doctor or not. 

One thing I don't like about walking in the country, especially in Spain is the fact that the animals are herded back to the village at night and in the morning, so there is a lot of cow dung visible. I found myself taking my shoes odd and the. Pitting them back on again. :)

We arrived quite late in the day. It was great that we had a hotel room rather than an Albergue. The group went on the tour of the Monastary and then most of them went to Vespers. We had a late dinner and everyone was in bed by 10pm. 

That morning we had breakfast at the hotel (cafe cin leche, fresh squeezed orange juice, a buffet of eggs, bacon and sausages, and some sweets too. We left around 7:30 am knowing that we had our longest day ahead if us. 28 kilometers!!

My foot infection was clearing up thanks to Jan's oil of Oregano. Even still, I was a bit concerned as I seemed to favour that foot and that meant I wasn't walking evenly. A sure-fire way to develop an injury. 

By now several of the pilgrims had been shipping their backpacks and had decided to complete the journey that way. I still had mine and so did Katherine. She had set a goal to walk with it and that motivated her to keep it, though it was decided without any attachment to suffering. Once you've had a backpack on for a few days it becomes a part of you and she didn't want to give it up. 

We arrived tired and hungry. 

Sue 

@barebottomshoes

www.suekenney.ca

Next Camino walk with Sue is October 2015. Backpack service will be available to all. You just have to walk. 

Day 4 Love on Cebreiro

One of my favourite places to stay on the Camino is Fonfria. Angela, the owner is in my documentary film, Las Peregrinas. She was a brand new business women at that time and has just opened her Albergue Reboleira. 

Cebreiro is very special to me. It was on this mountain that I experienced a profound shift in my ability to connect with universal love. I tell the story of My Miracle on Cebreiro in the book My Camino. I especially love walking this mountain barefoot which I did most of the day. 

For several years I have brought sacred sage with me so that I can offer to do a smudge on the mountain for the pilgrims in my group. This day, the group gathered in a circle to protect me as I struggled a bit trying to light the safe in the wind. Once we got it lot, I blew the flame out so the smoke could be used to smudge. 

I explained that the group should face the east, just as the sun was rising, and once they had been smudged it would be a good time to thank the Creator by saying Miigwech Creator. This was taught to me my Sherry Lawson, a dear friend who is from an Ojibway First Nations Tribe in Camada. The ritual was truly a precious moment for all. Miigwech Creator.  

Today I met a pilgrim on her second Camino, named Inge from Belgium. She found my bookmark for My Camino at an Albergue last year. She contacted me to find out how to lead a group and asked if I could agree with her. She has a beautiful group of women walking with her. What a delight it was to meer her at the Albergue in Fronfria that day. 

Throughout the day i walked barefoot as much as I could. I was feeling a lot of pain from a split in my skin that had got infected. One of the pilgrims Jan suggested I try her Oil of Oregano and I did. That day I placed Sorrow Stones for my family and friends. I also left 5 intentions from the list of requests I had. 

The weather was warm and the smell of cow dung permeated everything. Fortunately, I no longer find it to be repulsive. Instead the smell brings back good memories of walking the Camino. And following yellow arrows reminds me of my first Camino in the winter of 2001. 

Mireya!

Sue 

@barebottomshoes

My Camino Book

www.suekenney.ca

Day 2 Barefooting a Bit

Today we walked from Cacabelos to Trabadelo. We stopped for the best Cafe con Leche at Arroyo. I met Victor, the owner a few years ago when he worked at the Albergue next it the church in Cacabelos. He drove our group to his restaurant and we had the most amazing meal. He is now building his own Albergue which should be finished in September. He is only 2 kms from Cacabelos. I recommend you check it out if you are on the Camino Frances after September 2015. 

I find I am still getting used to the terrain and wear my Demi-soled Barebottoms a lot. They give me the same feeling as being barefoot, only the ball of my foot is protected. I had the design in my mind for about a year. It was only because I got a very bad infection in a cut on the sole of my foot, that I made them for the Camino. I didn't think I would be able to walk barefoot at all. Thanks to this design  I'm getting all the benefits of being barefoot, with some protection. They are made of neoprene with a thick leather demi-sole that only covers the ball of the foot. This is the part of the foot that takes the most wear when Barefooting since we tend to have a mid-foot strike. The heels and toes are still bare. They are a perfect shoe to introduce people to Barefooting or for experienced walkers and runners who need some coverage die to long distance Barefooting. 

They also fit under my minimalist shoes and ask as a 'sock' that keeps my feet in place so they don't move around, creating friction and possible blisters. 

I ended up doing about 5kms barefoot today. Many people are curious about why I am waking barefoot. It's a great opportunity to introduce others to it. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Camino Sue

@barebottomshoes

Blogging Barefoot on the Camino

In a few days leave for Spain to guide a group of new Camino pilgrims on the way. We will be covering 225kms over 11 days with a group of 9 pilgrims. Each person has come to the group in a different way and after 5 conference calls together, we have bonded closely. The excitement, anticipation and sheer joy of spending time in nature on a medieval pilgrimage following the footsteps of millions gets my adrenaline  going. I love the thrill of living a simple life, carrying a backpack and just walking everyday. To be honest though, there is always a little fear thrown in, even as a seasoned pilgrim I never know what the Camino has in store for my group or for me.

My plan is to blog about the experiences, the people we meet, the trials and tribulations and maybe a bit about the thoughts that go through my mind as I walk the Camino for the 11th time. I will be barefoot, in minimalist shoes when needed and of course, I will wear my own design Barebottom Shoes. This adds another element of experience as the 7000 sensory nerve endings in the soles of my feet take in the terrain, temperature, and all the ground I step on. They send feedback to my central nervous system, via my brain, to commission my body to adapt to every situation. It's truly a visceral way to connect with the path and nature too.

My Offer: I'm walking the Camino for YOU!

The first time I walked the Camino (in boots) I learned that I could put my sorrow and the sorrow of others into a stone and set it down on the Camino. The story profoundly changed the way I deal with what happens in my life (and in the world) and became a ritual I perform everyday on the Camino as a way to let go of the things I cannot control. Here is a short video of the Sorrow Stone story produced by Bookshorts. My offer to you is to carry your personal intentions along the Camino. All you have to do is send me a message, a comment here, an email, or PM with an intention for yourself, a family member, a friend or for the world. It could be the intention of world peace, health, happiness...whatever calls to you. I promise to spend time on my journey walking with your personal intention, that I will put into a stone that I pick up along the way. Then, when the time feels right, I will set the stone down on the Camino path. With great honour, I will let the intention go out to the world, as if it is so. I am grateful for your request.

After I walked the Camino in the reverse direction in 2009, al contrario, it became absolulely clear to me that I no longer walk the Camino for myself, I walk for the WORLD, so please know that I am walking for YOU. 

Buen Camino! 

Sue 

www.suekenney.ca

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