Photo: Karin Leperi

The wailing of the conch shells heralds the start of our Temazcal ceremony at the Real Resort in Cancun. We were an unlikely trio of women that evening: a New York City Jewish beauty, an African-American radio talk show host from Chicago, and me – a red-haired California transplant and aging divorcee living in Maryland.

Although strangers initially, we were about to embark on a journey of purification, detoxification, and rebirth that would ultimately bond us into a special sisterhood. This sisterhood is the Temazcal, a traditional Mayan sacred ritual of cleansing and symbolic renewal.

Lucio, our shaman and guide, tells us that he performs this ceremony to celebrate the New Moon and Full Moon each month. He says that since Temazcal is a holistic healing ritual, it can be done for couples before their wedding as well as honeymooners, vacationers and individuals seeking to commemorate new beginnings.

For the three of us, we each had our own reasons for entering the dome.

Sweat Lodge of the Mayans

Photo: Karin Leperi

According to Lucio, ‘Temazcal’ comes from the Mayan word temazcalli and literally translates as the “steam house” or “sweat lodge,” a term more commonly used by Native Americans. “The Temazcal is a health care method used by ancient American cultures for healing and curing in a preventive and corrective way.”

“Mayans thought that every single object was alive – a chair, a table,” adds Lucio. “So they treated the Temazcal as a living entity, as a being with soul. They also believed that sickness arose when the soul was weak and viewed the Temazcal as a holistic healing method to deal with the total body and soul.”

Lucio explains that the Temazcal experience helps to seek our inner identity, to develop empathy for our brethren, and to promote open communication:

Temazcal helps us find what we are looking for, whether it is introspection of self, conscious awareness, or simply the art of meditation. The process helps us find the magical and forgotten art of open conversation, of listening and of revealing from the heart. It helps us realize that we are all part of the same energy force and that we share something bigger than self. We are all brethren.

Calling the Initiates – The Smudging Ceremony

Clothed in white cotton garments, an embroidered sash tied around his waist, Lucio secures his coal-black hair with a beaded red headband around his forehead. Priests and priestesses dressed in colorful ceremonial garb guard the way to the temazcal.

Photo: Karin Leperi

Lucio asks the first initiate to approach the dome-shaped adobe sweat lodge – a symbol of the mother’s womb. Elise from New York is the first.

Standing in front of the entrance with her hands outstretched, Lucio methodically waves a bundle of smoldering herbs, fanning the swirls of smoke around her body, in tribute to the four winds. This is repeated for each of the rest of us.

This ritual, a common practice among many indigenous tribes, is known as smudging – the burning of herbs for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification. The concept is that the trail of smoke will attract and disperse negative energy, pushing it into another realm.

This prepares the individual to enter the ceremony as being both physically and spiritually cleansed from bad spirits and negative thoughts, thus permitting healing to occur without negative distractions from either the healer or the participant.

It is said that the elders teach that individuals must enter the sweat lodge – the Temazcal – with a good heart and walk in a sacred manner, so that they may be purified and healed of past wounds.

Now that we have been symbolically cleansed, each of us in turn takes a pinch of tobacco to add to the flame outside the Temazcal entrance. We then honor our brethren by saying, “to all my relations” and enter clockwise, through heavy water vapor and murky darkness, until we find our special space.

The Time of No Time

The wooden doors are closed, exposing us to the full brunt of burning copal resin and heavy, hot vapor. I feel my breathing as it becomes heavier. Darkness is interrupted only by the diffused red glow from the hot lava rocks.

Lucio declares that this is “the time of no time” – where everything from the past merges into the present. Where there is no time, there is only our presence.

The traditional ritual begins with a bundle of aromatic herbs and sweet smelling grasses. In turn, we swivel to our left and tap our partner on the shoulders and torso with a bundle of aromatic herbs. Each tap releases the herbal essence and permeates the thick air.

The essence penetrates the pores of our skin, releasing toxins and symbolic poisons that are in our lives.

We are asked to state our intentions and to honor our air time by opening up with “Ahoo” and ending our conversation with “Ahoo.” This respects our talking time and ensures we do not transgress on another’s conversation. We each reveal an inner truth about ourselves, trusting others to respect our vulnerabilities.

Sweat Your Prayers

By now, I am sweating profusely through every pore; beads of sweat trickle down my forehead, neck, torso, and extremities. My breathing feels labored, so I lay on the ground to breathe the cooler, less dense air. More revelations follow, and then Lucio has us douse ourselves with ladles of cooling water.

Photo: Karin Leperi

The cycle repeats: more sweating, more cooling water. We are asked to share a happy childhood memory. Easy for some; more difficult for others. Then we focus on conscious and rhythmic breathing – first deep and drawn, followed by shallow and rapid.

Then there is the belly laugh – a cosmic joy that makes light of ourselves, yet connects us with the positive energy source. Without reservation, we burst forth with sounds of utter joy from deep within our bellies (our howls of laughter must surely have people outside the Temazcal wondering what is going on).

The doors are finally drawn open, marking the end of the ceremony. The late afternoon sun lightens the interior of our ceremonial abode. Cool air rushes in; jolting us to reality, grounding us in the here and now.

The three of us walk the 50 feet to the spa for a quick cold pool plunge designed to bring down our body temperature. We are then brought prepared plates of fresh fruits to restore our mineral balance.

Giddy from the experience, we agree that we feel peaceful in a serene sort of way. We openly embrace each other and our new found friendships, recognizing that we are now initiates of the Sisterhood of the Temazcal.

What do you think about the cleansing ritual of the Temazcal? Share your thoughts below.

In a world with a throw-away mentality, deluded by false notions of unlimited natural resources, is it possible to be a conscientious traveler? Or is this just a leftover concept from the 60s generation, where virtue and idealism often travel a different path?

Many might say a conscientious traveler is nothing more than an eco-traveler, however, I argue it is more – it’s about traveling with one’s conscience, about being aware of our environmental and social footprint.

It’s about awareness of our impact on both nature and culture. Whether buying local, selecting a green hotel, not littering, or offsetting travel with alternative energy certificates, a new breed of traveler is arriving on the travel scene.

One with ethics, a disposable income (in many cases), and a desire to preserve and maintain for the future. A traveler’s conscience is the beginning of the conscientious traveler.

Conscientious travelers are engaged, participants in travel with a passion for life. They are not merely observers, consumers to be entertained.

Travel is not an act of conquering, of chalking up how many destinations one has visited; rather it is about the stewardship we share, and a touch of humanity that we impart during our journeys, which spells out the tenets of a conscientious traveler.

Ron Mader, founder of Planeta.com, defines conscientious traveling as

“traveling with one’s conscience and connecting with others in a particular place. Travel encourages a deeper understanding of people and place and this concept recognizes the fact that travelers engage in various activities in the same day.”

Considering Who Benefits

The conscientious traveler is a deep traveler, one who considers the old Latin adage, “Cui bono?” Who benefits?

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Museum of Fine Arts features a legacy painting by Gerald Cassidy (ca. 1911), a life-size canvas that reveals the heart of this question.

Depicting a stoic Native American elder listlessly standing in front of a pueblo entrance, his body is shrouded in a ghostly white wrap. A blank stare of resignation overwhelms his weathered face, as he peers past the viewer with empty despair, vacant of soul and spirit – as if caught, caged behind bars, on stage as both an oddity and spectacle for the amusement of curious travelers.

Trapped between two cultures, the conflict of traditionalism versus commercialism never seems as poignant, so disturbingly penetrating, as when viewed through the glazed existence of an indigenous people robbed of their native ways – refugees in their own land.

But how does such a culture strike a balance between the old ways and the new and still feed its people?

A precept of the Great Law of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy was to require chiefs to consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation.

The ability to question these conundrums and to fearlessly examine complex social issues are what defines the conscientious traveler. Living in the present with deep reverence for life, the conscientious traveler pays homage to the past while preserving the future for the seventh generation.

Leave No Trace

In 1964, the United States Congress passed the Wilderness Act, protecting millions of acres of public lands while bringing outdoor recreation to the masses.

This supported and promoted the “Leave No Trace” ethic – an effort to preserve the pristine with an aware outdoor etiquette. In the 70s, slogans such as “Pack it in, pack it out” and “Take only pictures, leave only footprints” found their way into mainstream vocabulary.

These were good beginnings. However, conscientious traveling is about more than leaving no trace. A pragmatic understanding of the interconnectedness of humans and nature is a fundamental and shared value.

Is a shout in the forest heard if there are no humans to hear? And are natural wonders appreciated if no eyes are able to gaze at the beauty, swallow the expansiveness, and embrace the moment by being a part of the picture?

The human element is a fundamental part of the travel experience, it is essential if that which is unknown and misunderstood is to be resolved. It requires a deeper discovery of self, and a greater awareness of something bigger.

Discovering The Interconnected Self

Caring about the world, about her people, and the rich diversity of multi-faceted cultures, the conscientious traveler is one who seeks expression and experience on multiple layers, with dimensional depth that is both internal and external.

The conscientious traveler travels to be altered; to be moved by experiences outside the mundane but familiar life at home. To be altered is the goal; to be permanently changed is the equivalent of ecstatic insight.

How we travel, and even why, becomes the defining basis rather than where one travels. Conscientious travelers are people who connect with their travels in environmentally and socially meaningful ways.

Rather than analytically observing the space-time continuum from safe and insular distances – like a cold, sterile machine – the conscientious traveler participates in the celebration of life unique to the area, to the regions where they travel, while appreciating the abundance of difference this great planet contains.

Thomas Swick, Travel Editor for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says,

“Similarly, it is through human contact that we open our hearts. Enlightenment and love – there are no more compelling reasons to travel, or write about it.”

Whether sharing a subtle smile with a local person, breaking bread with a farm family, or experiencing the richness of cultural ritual and diversity of a community, these types of connections provide an interactive wealth and moral fiber that have an impact on individuals.

In greater moments, they can profoundly change the world.

Showing The Way

Conscientious travelers, however, do leave footprints which are bigger than self and synergistic, but serve only to show the way; they do not dominate the landscape.

They produce an effect that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. They make a difference in ways that deepen our sense of who we are. Most of all, these footprints are quiet steps towards a greater humanity.

Therefore, let us tread wisely, leaving soft footprints that others can follow. When we travel, let us strive to make a difference – for the sake of humanity and not just to satisfy our own needs.

A favorite Dakota proverb of mine says, “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” So let us leave good tracks, tracks with a human conscience.

It is my belief that the conscientious traveler is a new breed of traveler who will help define future niche markets and destinations, imprinting social consciousness and environmental awareness while nourishing the spirit.

Those that recognize this trend can, as travelers, be catalysts for positive change in how and why we travel. And providers of travel services can also support the conscientious mode of travel by meeting the needs of this emerging market.

A version of this article was originally published on Talking Travel. Reprinted with permission.

Karin Leperi is an award-winning writer/photographer with bylines in magazines that include Baja Traveler, Beyond the Badge, Mexico Traveler, Mississippi, Marco Polo, Maryland Life, and LowCarb Living. Her specialties include agritourism, travel, food, fitness and the environment.

Do you consider yourself to be a conscientious traveler? Do you think they even exist?