In search of spirituality, we often get lost in all that is religious and ritualistic. We often forget that spirituality is achieved by journeying inward into oneself. In meditation, what we often seek is oneness with truth, God, or self. Hindu traditions describe this higher level of meditation as blue energy. Neuroscientists report the observation of a centralized surge in electromagnetic waves in meditating brains, often appearing blue in color on detector screens. Whether you believe this or not, what Hindus, Sufis, and other faiths that depend on this practice have in common, is the quieting of the mind so that the soul may finally levitate and find spiritual climax. This issue is exactly that, a meditation on the concept of spirituality in Palestine. What started as a theme on spiritual tourism, has turned into an inward look on what is spirituality in Palestine, and what defines spiritual tourism in a country crowded with assumptions about faith. We bring together an array of writers: some who have experience in the field, and who have been bringing spiritual tourists to the Holy Land for years. We include writers who find the term spiritual tourism problematic, and others who have redefined their relationship with the old worn paths with new ideas and plenty of hope.

We start with “A Reawakening in Wadi Qelt” by Malak Hasan, “From the Personal to the Global” by Saleh Majaj, a beautiful and bold journey through Ali Qleibo’s Jerusalem in “Jerusalem of the Spirit,” a history of the amazing Kairos and their pilgrimage trips in Palestine by Rifat Kassis, and an interesting contemplation by Ahmad Damen on spiritual journeys versus Israeli tourism. Several of the articles have a reoccurring sub-theme of Sufism in Palestine. While some of our readers may not find any of those articles surprising, to the majority of us, uncovering Sufism in Palestine will be a spiritual discovery in itself. Huda Imam writes knowledgeably about the faith and relays her own personal relationship with Sufism. We are also featuring articles on the possible hijacking of the concept of pilgrimage by Pastor Richard LeSueur, Bethlehem, Maqam En-Nabi Musa, iconography, and other magnificent subjects that will reformulate your idea of spiritual journeying in Palestine.

This issue is important because we don’t seem to have deep discussions on the concept of spirituality in Palestine, and we are not used to walking through our country with this beautiful concept in mind. But Palestine is a basin of simple spirituality, a place where you can find God in the roots of a tree.