Queen of mysteries: Ireland

We are excited to start the fall season and to provide information about more mindful places, literature and trauma healing tools. During the summer break, my husband and I not only traveled, but also finally had the time to record all of our travels over the past 25 years. Our main goal was to return to the roots of "followyoursun". When national borders became too narrow for us in our youth, we began to explore the world and discovered how liberating a trip can be. Not only is the distance from our usual patterns healing, but the new impressions and adventures have always inspired our creativity.

Therefore, we want to take a new approach to reporting on mindful places around the world: From now on, we will proceed chronologically and also take a little journey through time (because a lot has changed in the last three decades and so we would like to combine our travel approach with new research and partners, of course also because we cannot be there in person all over the world).

The first big trip I was able to take outside of the regular summer holidays in my youth in 2003 was a school trip to Ireland. Unfortunately, there is no usable photo material from that time (it wasn't even the time of digital and cell phone cameras), so for trips that were a long time ago we will use the photo material of artists or partners if necessary.

Ireland has influenced me in two ways: On the one hand, I was drawn in by the breathtaking beauty of the coastal landscapes, and secondly by the mystical side of the island, which is reflected in the Celtic symbols and spiritual places. Especially the atmosphere in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the Glendalough Monastery, the Hill of Tara, the Ring of Kerry, the Aran Islands and of course the Cliffs of Moher. Ireland perfectly combines its historical origins with its religious roots of the present day and there is not such a strong fanaticism about whose approach is the right one (with the exception of the political situation between Northern and Southern Ireland of course, but luckily this has been improving for years now).

I had a very special encounter on this matter during the Spanish Way of St. James in 2013 with a policeman from Belfast: David was leading a deradicalization program for young people who had fallen victim to nationalist ideologies (alcohol and drug addiction combined with a lack of job perspectives still play a major role in Ireland, of course). That was one of the first moments when I realized that peace workers all over the world should connect and exchange ideas more, because the problems are similar everywhere and so are the solutions. Followyoursun has been on the road for 10 years now in 2024 to spread the topic of mindfulness. If your backpack sometimes becomes too heavy or unbearable during this work (which also produces extreme backlashes), there is only one solution: head out into nature to reconnect with the source of being that connects us all (and of course taking good care of your mind and body).