Three days ago, we gathered for Walk for the World – our first global Walking Meditation. In 167 countries around the world, people walked alone or with friends; with their families; with neighbors and colleagues. In all, more than 140,000 people formed more than 4,000 groups to join us as we walked in the energy of change.

For many participants, Walk for the World was their first experience with a standing or walking meditation; their first time practicing what it means to “walk as it” in a new future. What a joy to behold so many people tuning in to their open hearts, raising their consciousness, and practicing with their eyes open.

As often is the case when we’ve had an awakening, many are wondering what their next “step” is. And here’s the great news: the end of our first global walk … is just the beginning.

Together, we took a collective step. And now, we have to keep walking.


Staying Conscious in Our Waking Lives

Over the years, we’ve seen so many people experience breakthroughs during our Walking Meditations. And without a doubt, one of the predictors of such an event is the degree of intention they bring to the practice. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, people who heal in this work do so because they realize their practice isn’t about healing; it’s about change.

When we come to our practice with an intention to change ourselves, we bring more meaning to what we’re doing. We understand the “what” and the “why” – so the “how” becomes easier. And as we change ourselves, our lives change. We can mark progress by how our internal shifts are reflected in our external world. As we notice changes in our lives, small or large, it strengthens our intention and our commitment to keep going. It helps us keep our emotions elevated, so we continue to walk in the energy of our future selves.

And that’s what I mean by “still walking.”

As with any meditative practice, the point isn’t to have a great meditation – and then revert to our same old automatic habits and programs. The point isn’t to get up from our meditation, get in our car, have a frustrating interaction on the highway, and succumb to “road rage.” We don’t practice in the morning, then go to work and judge our coworkers. We don’t come home at night and practice, then criticize our family, unconsciously reacting to the ways they trigger us.

We don’t get up from our meditation, go look at ourselves in the mirror, and immediately start feeding and fueling our old stories about all the ways life is unfair; all the ways we’re not good enough; all the ways we’re failing.

On the contrary, we do this work to stay conscious in our waking lives. And the Walking Meditation, especially, gives us an opportunity to practice this. When we practice with our eyes open, it gives us a sense of how to move through the world fully conscious and awake. The more we teach our bodies what that feels like, the less likely we are to seamlessly slip back to our old personality when the meditation ends.


‘Walking As It’ – in Every Area of Our Lives

One of the great joys of my life is when I receive an update from someone who’s still practicing after one of our retreats. It might be a guy who stood up from a wheelchair and walked for the first time in years. It might be a woman who, after years of living with a degenerative eye disease, began noticing shapes and colors in a Walking Meditation by the ocean. Or it might be someone living with an aggressive cancer whose scans showed a 50 percent reduction in tumors when they got home.

“Hey, Dr Joe,” they say to me when I see them again. “I’m still walking!”

That’s become a kind of shorthand for people in this work, and it means: I’m committed. I’m intentional. I’m not becoming complacent. I’m not settling. I had a moment. I took a meaningful step toward change. And now, I’ve got to keep going, with my eyes open, as much as I can in my waking day.

Like all of us, these people are on a journey. The man who stood up from that wheelchair might still need to use it from time to time. He might still be working with pain or limited mobility. The woman whose eyesight is gradually returning is patiently – and joyfully – noticing each shift that takes place in her life. She’s seeing developing features on her own face in the mirror, smiling at her changing self.

The person living with cancer – and there are so many in this work – might have a long road of healing still ahead. But as they feel themselves change within, they see more and more external measures of change in their lives.

The moment these people notice some type of change in their body, be it small or large, they pay more attention to what they’ve been doing – and they choose to keep doing it.

They’re still walking.

And the walk has even more meaning for them now – because now, they’re not just walking in their Walking Meditations. They’re walking in their lives.

When they go from their bedroom to the kitchen, they stand up and walk as that future self. Now, when they get in their car and interact with others, or when they encounter their coworker in a meeting, or when they have a difficult conversation with their family at the dinner table, they take a breath and pause – and they respond, rather than react. They bring their presence. Their commitment. Their intention. Their elevated energy.

They’re walking as it – in every area of their lives.

Their example is inspirational – and instructive – for all of us. Whatever stage we’re on in this journey, we have to stay conscious of who we’re being – how we think, act, and feel – until the change we want to see in ourselves becomes more natural and automatic. Until it’s tantamount to who we’re becoming.


It’s Just the Beginning …

So, for the more than 140,000 of you who walked this past weekend – many for the first time in your lives – this is the work. This is the next “step.” To get good at practicing with your eyes open. To change your brain and body with clear intentions and elevated emotions. To walk in gratitude. Walk in joy. Walk in love. To keep walking – and become more of the change you want to see in the world.

To feel that change and live it. To demonstrate and embody the energy of change – and, through your example, give others permission to do the same.

When we first conceived of Walk for the World, we asked: what would happen if we let go of anger and hatred; resentment and judgment; fear and pain? What would happen if we traded fear for compassion; anger for love; division for unity?

What might be possible if thousands of people around the world united for a Walking Meditation? What can happen if we collectively enact change – instead of waiting for the world to change?

If we change enough people, can we change the world?

Three days after this worldwide event, we’re at the end of one walk … but for many of us, it’s just the beginning of the walk.

Now we walk, together, into our lives.

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Dr Joe will expand on the concept of “Still Walking” in this month’s Dr Joe Live – tomorrow, September 27, 2023, at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT. If you're not yet a member, we're offering a discount for one free month of membership. Use code 781010 at checkout. Code expires October 10, 2023. To learn more and subscribe, visit the Dr Joe Live pages on our website.

For those who can’t join live, all previous recordings are available to subscribers in English, Spanish, French, and German.