What does it mean to heal in the twenty-first century? How do people go about the process of healing, and what exactly is it that they are trying to heal in the first place? What are the tools and methods of healing? Why do so many people describe healing as a sacred journey? How can we bring these sacred tools and experiences into our own daily lives? Might we, too, find healing?
These are the questions that framed the investigations of the Sacred Journeys summer research team. Convened by Dr. Carolyn Herbst and supported through the Grinnell College Mentored Advance Projects summer program, the Sacred Journeys team included three Grinnell College students — Mariposa Condron ’27, Hikaru Aoki ’26, and Amy Brandt ’27 — plus one local resident, Emma Lewis. Together, Mariposa, Hikaru, Amy, Emma, and Dr. Herbst read texts from anthropology, botany, economics, medicine, religious studies, and more to fuel their considerations of healing as a process and an experience. From meditation to sacred travel, and the power of ancestral connection and the use of ritual, the readings covered a wide range of healing ideas, beliefs, and practices. All of this brought them to the understanding that it is one thing to talk about healing, and another thing to actually do it.
Inspired by this message, the students decided to frame their final projects around experiences that offered healing possibilities to themselves and others. Mariposa Condron ’27 researched and wrote a guide to encourage readers to engage with the healing potential of nature and plants. Hikaru Aoki ’26 took a deep dive into building a personal yoga and meditation practice, which she not only journaled about but also developed a short practice that could be used by others. Amy Brandt ’27 found inspiration in a Moon Water Ritual that her mother performs. She will be offering this ritual to Grinnell College students at the start of the upcoming semester.
Use the tabs above to learn more about the students’ projects.