The Spiritual Meaning of Seeing a Train: A Journey Through Soul and Symbol

The Spiritual Meaning of Seeing a Train: A Journey Through Soul and Symbol

Last Updated: March 19, 2025 | Published: January 10, 2024 | By Dr. Olivia Bennett

Throughout human history, transportation symbols have carried profound spiritual significance—from ancient mythological boats crossing the waters of the afterlife to modern vehicles representing life’s journey. Among these, trains hold a special place in our collective consciousness, embodying movement, connection, and transformation.

When a train crosses your path—whether in waking life, dreams, or even through sound—it often carries spiritual meaning beyond coincidence. This experience can serve as a message about your life’s trajectory, upcoming transitions, or even as confirmation that you’re progressing along your intended path.

Drawing from cross-cultural symbolism, psychology, and spiritual traditions, this article explores the rich tapestry of meanings behind train encounters and what they may reveal about your spiritual journey.

Essential Insights: The Spiritual Significance of Trains

Encountering a train often carries these key spiritual messages:

• Life’s Journey: Trains symbolize your personal life path, complete with its planned route, stops, and destination
• Momentum and Transition: The powerful forward motion of trains represents life changes already in progress
• Collective Experience: As vehicles carrying many passengers, trains reflect our interconnected journeys and shared human experience
• Predetermined Paths: Train tracks symbolize the established routes in your life—both limiting and guiding
• Soul Progression: The steady, rhythmic movement suggests spiritual advancement and personal growth

As Dr. Michael Richardson, comparative mythology researcher at Oxford University, explains: “Train symbolism appears remarkably consistent across cultures that have experienced railroad development. Even in societies where trains arrived relatively recently, they were quickly incorporated into spiritual frameworks as powerful metaphors for life’s journey and soul progression.”

The Multidimensional Symbolism of Trains

Trains represent a rich spectrum of spiritual meanings, each aspect offering unique insights into our life journey. Understanding these dimensions helps decode the specific message behind your train encounter.

Aspect of Train	Spiritual Symbolism	Personal Reflection Questions
Seeing a Train	Life’s journey, personal growth, movement toward goals, call to new beginnings	What journey am I currently on? Am I progressing toward my true purpose?
Hearing a Train	Spiritual awakening, call to attention, arrival of opportunity, inner guidance	What subtle messages am I receiving that deserve my attention? What opportunity approaches?
Moving Train	Momentum, progress, time’s passage, current life trajectory	Is my life moving at the right pace? Am I satisfied with my current direction?
Train Station	Transition points, decision-making, beginnings and endings, waiting periods	What phase of life am I entering or leaving? What am I waiting for?
Train Journey	Personal development path, emotional landscapes, goal progression	How am I evolving through my current experiences? What landscapes am I traversing emotionally?
Train Tracks	Life direction, predetermined paths, duality of existence, choices ahead	What established path am I following? Where might I need to forge a new direction?
Train Whistle	Spiritual alert, call to action, herald of change, attention signal	What requires my immediate attention? What change is being announced in my life?

The Engine of Progress: Personal Growth and Momentum

The locomotive engine stands as perhaps the most powerful aspect of train symbolism. With its remarkable strength and unwavering forward motion, the engine represents the driving force in your life journey.

Spiritual Strength and Determination

Train engines embody remarkable power—capable of pulling enormous weight across vast distances. This physical power translates symbolically to inner strength and determination in spiritual contexts. When a train engine features prominently in your experience, it often points to your capacity to overcome obstacles and carry burdens that might otherwise seem overwhelming.

Spiritual counselor and symbolism expert Dr. Elizabeth Townsend notes: “The locomotive engine symbolizes the soul’s remarkable capacity for endurance and forward progress even when carrying heavy emotional loads. In spiritual guidance, I often use the train engine metaphor to help people recognize their inner strength during challenging life transitions.”

This symbolic strength appears across cultural and religious traditions:

• Hindu traditions compare the disciplined mind to a well-directed locomotive—powerful when properly guided
• Christian metaphors sometimes reference the “divine engine” pulling believers through life’s challenges
• Buddhist perspectives see the train’s focused movement as an example of directed intention and right effort

Momentum Through Change

Unlike cars or horses that can quickly change direction, trains commit to their track with dedicated momentum. This characteristic makes them powerful symbols for life changes already in motion—transitions that have gathered momentum and will likely continue to completion.

Seeing a train in full motion often appears in people’s lives during periods when significant change has begun and now carries its own momentum. This symbolism reminds us that some life transitions, once initiated, develop their own forward energy.

Psychologist Dr. James Martin, who specializes in life transitions, explains: “The psychological concept of ‘transition momentum’ parallels train symbolism perfectly. Once certain life changes reach a critical velocity—changing careers, ending relationships, relocating—they often continue to completion through their own momentum, even when we experience doubts or resistance.”

Purposeful Direction

Unlike random wandering, trains move with clear purpose toward defined destinations. This quality makes them appropriate symbols for intentional living and conscious life choices. Train engines don’t meander—they progress deliberately toward their next station.

When a train appears in your life experience, particularly its engine, it often carries a message about purposeful movement and directed energy. This symbolism invites reflection on your own life direction:

• Are you moving with clear purpose or drifting without direction?
• Do your efforts align with your intended destination?
• Are you harnessing your personal power effectively to reach your goals?

The engine’s symbolism reminds us that spiritual growth requires both power and direction—strength applied purposefully toward meaningful destinations.

Carriages of Life: Understanding Life Compartments

Beyond the engine, train carriages offer another dimension of spiritual symbolism. These compartments represent how we organize and categorize different aspects of our lives and experiences.

Life Compartmentalization

Train carriages naturally segment passengers and cargo into discrete units, mirroring how we often compartmentalize different aspects of life—work, family, spirituality, health, recreation. This compartmentalization can be both beneficial and limiting.

When train carriages appear prominently in your experience, they may invite reflection on how you segment your life:

• Do your life “compartments” remain too rigidly separated?
• Might some areas benefit from greater integration?
• Are certain compartments receiving too much or too little attention?

Anthropologist Dr. Sophia Chen, who studies cultural symbolism, explains: “Humans naturally categorize experience—it’s how we make sense of complexity. The train carriage symbolism acknowledges this tendency while inviting us to examine whether our compartmentalization serves our wholeness or fragments it.”

Carrying Both Burdens and Treasures

Train carriages transport both valuable cargo and occasional unwanted freight—paralleling how our life journey includes both treasured experiences and burdens we carry. This dual nature makes train carriages powerful symbols for life’s mixed contents.

In spiritual traditions, the varied contents of train carriages often represent:

• Past experiences we carry forward on our journey
• Relationships that travel alongside us through life
• Beliefs and values that we transport through our experiences
• Emotional baggage that may need examination or release

When train carriages feature in your spiritual experience, they may prompt inventory of what you’re carrying—inviting you to recognize both the treasures and burdens accompanying your journey.

The Spiritual Meaning of Hearing a Train

Sound carries profound spiritual significance across traditions. The distinct sounds of trains—whistles, rhythmic wheels on tracks, and powerful engines—offer unique spiritual messages even when the train itself remains unseen.

The Distant Whistle: Awakening and Alert

Train whistles serve practical purposes—warning of approach and signaling departures. Spiritually, these distinctive sounds often represent:

• Spiritual awakening — a call to greater consciousness
• Divine timing — signals of important moments approaching
• Attention cues — redirecting focus to something previously overlooked
• Boundary announcements — warnings about limits being approached

Many spiritual traditions recognize the significance of sounds that pierce ordinary awareness. Buddhist teacher and sound researcher Dr. Jonathan Hayes explains: “Certain sounds function as ‘pattern interrupts’ that momentarily break our habitual consciousness. The train whistle—distinctive and attention-commanding—serves this function effectively, creating space for new awareness.”

When you hear a train whistle, particularly at unusual times or in unexpected contexts, it often carries an invitation to heightened attention—a call to wake up to something important in your spiritual journey.

Rhythmic Movements: Life’s Underlying Patterns

The rhythmic sound of train wheels on tracks creates one of the most hypnotic and recognizable patterns in human experience. This distinctive sound—the steady “clickety-clack” of wheels meeting track connections—represents life’s underlying rhythms and cycles.

Spiritually, this rhythm often symbolizes:

• The natural cycles governing life (seasons, lunar phases, life stages)
• The heartbeat of existence—the fundamental pulse underlying all experience
• The steady progression of time and personal development
• The reliable foundations supporting life’s journey

Sound therapist Maria Johnson notes: “The train’s rhythm maintains a reassuring predictability while still moving forward—making it a perfect auditory symbol for how life balances consistency with progress. Many people find this rhythm deeply comforting precisely because it reconciles these seemingly opposite qualities.”

When the rhythmic sounds of a train appear in your experience—whether physically heard or appearing in dreams and meditations—they often carry a message about life’s fundamental patterns and your relationship with them.

Train Tracks: The Path of Destiny and Choice

Perhaps no aspect of train symbolism carries more spiritual significance than the tracks themselves. These parallel lines stretching into the distance embody powerful metaphors about life direction, predetermined paths, and the tension between destiny and free will.

Parallel Lines: Life’s Dualities

Train tracks consist of two parallel rails—never touching yet always maintaining perfect alignment. This structural necessity creates a powerful symbol for life’s fundamental dualities:

• Material and spiritual existence — parallel dimensions of our journey
• Fate and choice — the twin influences shaping our path
• Individual and collective experience — our personal journey alongside humanity’s
• Past and future — the parallel timelines informing our present moment

Philosopher and spiritual writer Thomas Richardson observes: “The parallel rails of train tracks perfectly embody the ‘both/and’ nature of existence. They remind us that seeming opposites often don’t need resolution—they can remain parallel while still creating a functional pathway forward.”

When train tracks appear prominently in your experience, they often invite reflection on how you navigate life’s dualities—recognizing that opposing forces need not conflict but can instead create the very structure supporting your journey.

Predetermined Paths and Junctions

Unlike open roads offering infinite directional choices, train tracks represent more predetermined paths. Trains follow established routes with scheduled stops and limited deviation possibilities. This characteristic makes tracks powerful symbols for:

• Life paths established by family, culture, or past choices
• Destiny or divine plans guiding individual journeys
• The tension between predetermined elements and free will
• The security and limitation of established routes

Importantly, train systems include switches, junctions, and alternate routes—representing the choice points available even within seemingly fixed paths. These junctions symbolize crucial life decisions that can redirect our journey toward different destinations.

Psychologist Dr. Elena Ramirez, who specializes in life transitions, explains: “Many people experience life as a balance between predetermined elements and choice points. The train track metaphor validates both experiences—acknowledging the established paths we often follow while recognizing the critical junctions where our choices fundamentally alter our direction.”

The Horizon Point: Convergence and Perspective

When viewed from certain angles, parallel train tracks appear to converge at the horizon—creating an optical illusion where separate rails seem to meet in the distance. This visual phenomenon creates a powerful spiritual symbol for:

• The ultimate unity of apparent opposites
• How distance (time) changes perspective on life’s dualities
• The convergence of diverse paths toward common destinations
• The limitations of current perspective when viewing life’s full journey

This convergence point reminds us that many apparent contradictions and separate paths may ultimately unite in ways not visible from our current vantage point—a humbling reminder about the limitations of present understanding.

Dreams of Trains: Messages from the Subconscious

Train dreams rank among the most common and significant transportation dreams across cultures. When trains appear in your dreamscape, they often carry messages from your subconscious about your life journey, current transitions, and deeper psychological processes.

Common Train Dream Scenarios and Their Meanings

Different train dream scenarios typically carry distinct symbolic meanings:

Missing a Train

Dreams of missing trains—arriving at the platform as the train departs—often symbolize:

• Anxiety about missed opportunities or falling behind
• Fear of not meeting expectations or deadlines
• Concern about life moving too quickly
• Resistance to changes already in motion

Dream analyst Dr. Jennifer Martinez notes: “Missing train dreams typically reflect anxiety about timing in waking life. They often appear during periods when people feel opportunities are passing them by or when they’re struggling to keep pace with life changes.”

Train Derailments

Dreams featuring train derailments or accidents often represent:

• Fear of losing control in your life journey
• Anxiety about current path sustainability
• Warning about potential disruptions to plans
• Processing of recent unexpected life changes

These dreams don’t necessarily predict actual problems but rather reflect subconscious processing of uncertainties and transitions in your waking life.

Changing Trains

Dreams involving changing trains—transferring from one to another—typically symbolize:

• Life transitions between different phases or situations
• Decision points requiring new directions
• Integration of different aspects of your journey
• Adaptation to changing circumstances

The smoothness or difficulty of the train change in the dream often reflects your subconscious feelings about current transitions in waking life.

Endless Train Journeys

Dreams of seemingly endless train journeys often represent:

• Life phases that feel prolonged or without clear destination
• Patient endurance through challenging periods
• The continuous nature of personal growth and development
• Life path questioning—wondering where your journey leads

These dreams frequently appear during life phases requiring patience and endurance without immediate resolution.

Train Stations in Dreams: Transition Points

Dream train stations represent significant transition points and choice moments in your life journey. These liminal spaces—neither here nor there—symbolize:

• Decision points requiring conscious choice about direction
• Waiting periods between significant life phases
• Gathering places where different life paths and influences converge
• Thresholds between old and new identities or situations

The condition of the station in your dream often reflects your feelings about current life transitions. Dr. William Parker, dream researcher at the Institute for Consciousness Studies, explains: “Chaotic, confusing dream stations often reflect uncertainty about current transitions, while organized, clear stations suggest greater confidence in navigating change.”

Your activities within the dream station—purchasing tickets, checking schedules, waiting, meeting others—provide additional insights about how you’re approaching life transitions in your waking life.

Cultural and Historical Train Symbolism

Trains have profoundly influenced human culture since their introduction during the industrial revolution. Their symbolic significance extends across literature, spiritual traditions, and cultural movements, each adding layers to our understanding of train symbolism.

Trains in Spiritual Traditions

While trains are relatively recent inventions compared to most spiritual traditions, many belief systems have incorporated train symbolism into their frameworks:

• Native American spiritual leaders sometimes described the afterlife journey as a “spirit train” carrying souls westward
• Some Christian denominations adopted the “gospel train” as a metaphor for the spiritual journey toward salvation
• Hindu spiritual teachers have used train metaphors to explain karma and reincarnation cycles
• Buddhist perspectives sometimes use train symbolism to illustrate mindfulness—staying present while moving forward

Religious studies professor Dr. Margaret Wilson explains: “Though trains aren’t ancient symbols, spiritual traditions readily adopted them because they so perfectly embodied existing concepts about life journeys, fate, and spiritual progression.”

Literary and Artistic Train Symbolism

Trains have featured prominently in literature and art, where their symbolic meanings have been explored and expanded:

Transformative Journeys in Literature

In literature, trains often represent transformative journeys and societal changes:

• Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina uses trains as symbols of modernization and fate
• Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express employs the train as a closed system where truth must be confronted
• The “Hogwarts Express” in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series symbolizes the passage between ordinary and magical worlds
• Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar uses train journeys as metaphors for both outer and inner exploration

Cinematic Train Symbolism

Film directors have used trains to symbolize:

• Life’s momentum and inevitability (Buster Keaton’s The General)
• Spiritual journeys and faith (The Polar Express)
• Social structures and class divisions (Snowpiercer)
• Time’s passage and nostalgia (Before Sunrise)

Film critic Elena Martinez notes: “Trains provide filmmakers with perfect visual metaphors for life’s journey. The train’s combination of movement within contained space creates natural dramatic tension while symbolizing how we progress through life—moving forward while still bound by certain constraints.”

Practical Application: Interpreting Your Train Encounters

When trains appear significantly in your experience—whether through physical encounters, dreams, or synchronistic events—they often carry personal spiritual messages. Here’s how to interpret these experiences more effectively:

Context Matters: Where and When

The circumstances surrounding your train encounter provide important interpretive clues:

• Time of day — Dawn encounters often suggest beginnings, while dusk sightings may indicate transitions or completions
• Weather conditions — Clear weather implies clarity and visibility in your journey, while storms might suggest navigating challenges
• Your location — Being inside the train versus observing it from outside carries different meanings about your relationship to current life movements
• Train direction — Whether the train moves toward or away from you affects the interpretation of coming or departing influences

Spiritual counselor Thomas Roberts advises: “Record the full context of significant train encounters. The details that seem incidental often contain the most important symbolic information about what the experience means for your personal journey.”

Emotional Response as Guidance

Your emotional reaction to the train provides crucial interpretive guidance:

• Excitement or anticipation suggests positive alignment with approaching changes
• Anxiety or fear may indicate resistance to transitions already in motion
• Peaceful acceptance often reflects readiness for current life movements
• Confusion or disorientation could suggest need for greater clarity about your path

Psychologist Dr. James Richardson explains: “Emotional responses to symbols often communicate what our conscious mind hasn’t yet fully processed. The feelings evoked by train encounters frequently reveal our deeper relationship with current life transitions.”

Reflection Questions for Train Encounters

When processing significant train experiences, consider these reflection questions:

• What phase of my life journey does this train seem to represent?
• Am I the passenger, conductor, observer, or another role in this train scenario?
• What is the condition of the train? New and sleek, historic, damaged, powerful?
• Where does this train appear to be heading? Does that destination resonate with my conscious goals?
• What is the train carrying? Passengers, cargo, empty cars?
• Is the train on time, delayed, or ahead of schedule? How might this reflect my life timing?

Journaling about these questions after significant train encounters often reveals patterns and meanings that might otherwise remain subconscious.

The Train Journey as Spiritual Practice

Beyond interpreting symbolic encounters with trains, the actual experience of train travel offers unique opportunities for spiritual practice and personal insight.

Mindfulness in Motion

Train journeys create ideal conditions for practicing mindfulness—the art of present-moment awareness while in motion:

• The rhythmic motion naturally induces meditative states
• The changing yet contained environment balances novelty with security
• The surrender of control (someone else drives) facilitates letting go
• The designated journey time creates natural boundaries for practice

Mindfulness teacher Sarah Johnson suggests: “Train journeys offer natural mindfulness retreats. The combination of movement with stability creates perfect conditions for present-moment awareness while the physical journey mirrors the inner journey of consciousness.”

Liminal Space and Transformation

Trains create liminal spaces—thresholds between destinations where transformative experiences become possible. This in-between quality makes train journeys powerful settings for:

• Life reflection and assessment
• Release of old identities and consideration of new possibilities
• Integration of recent experiences and insights
• Creative breakthroughs and problem-solving

Cultural anthropologist Dr. Michael Stevens explains: “Liminal spaces suspend ordinary rules and identities. On trains, we’re literally between places—neither here nor there—creating ideal conditions for perspective shifts and personal transformation.”

Train Journey Meditation Practice

For those wishing to use train journeys (or imagined train journeys) as spiritual practice, consider this meditation approach:

1. Settle into your seat, feeling the support beneath you and the motion of the train
2. Synchronize your breath with the train’s rhythm, allowing your awareness to align with its movement
3. Observe passing landscapes without attachment, noting how scenery appears and disappears like thoughts and experiences in life
4. Notice the track ahead and behind, contemplating your life’s path—where you’ve been and where you’re heading
5. Feel the collective journey, acknowledging other passengers and the shared experience of movement

This practice can be adapted for actual train travel or used as a visualization meditation anywhere, harnessing train symbolism for spiritual insight and presence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean spiritually when you repeatedly see trains in your daily life?

Repeated train sightings often indicate significant life transitions already in motion. Just as trains follow predetermined tracks with momentum, these encounters may suggest you’re on a path with established direction and building momentum. The specific meaning depends on context—are the trains arriving, departing, or passing by? Note your emotional responses to these encounters as they often reveal your relationship with current life changes. Repetitive train sightings might also indicate the need to pay attention to your life’s direction and momentum.

Is there spiritual significance to hearing train whistles when no train is present?

Hearing train whistles without visible trains—particularly when unusual or unexpected—often carries spiritual significance across traditions. These experiences might represent:

• Spiritual wake-up calls directing attention to overlooked messages
• Connections with ancestors or guides using familiar sounds to communicate
• Reminders of important life directions or paths not taken
• Heightened awareness of transitions occurring beyond ordinary perception

Such experiences invite deeper attention to what might be approaching in your spiritual journey, even if not yet visible in your physical experience.

What does it mean if I frequently dream about missing trains?

Recurring dreams about missing trains typically reflect anxiety about timing in your waking life. These dreams often appear during periods when you feel opportunities passing by or when you’re struggling to keep pace with life changes. They may reveal:

• Fear of missing important opportunities or developments
• Anxiety about life moving too quickly for comfort
• Concern about being left behind while others progress
• Resistance to transitions already underway in your life

Rather than predicting actual missed opportunities, these dreams typically invite reflection on your relationship with timing and readiness for current life changes.

How do different cultures interpret train symbolism?

While train symbolism varies across cultures based on historical relationships with railways, several patterns emerge:

• Western traditions often emphasize trains as symbols of progress, industrialization, and individual journeys
• Eastern perspectives frequently focus on trains as representations of collective journey and interdependence
• Indigenous interpretations sometimes incorporate trains into existing spiritual frameworks about soul journeys and life passages
• Modern spiritual movements across cultures often use train symbolism to represent consciousness evolution and spiritual development

Cultural context significantly influences train symbolism, but core themes of journey, transition, and connection remain remarkably consistent across traditions.

Conclusion: Embracing Your Spiritual Train Journey

Trains—whether encountered physically, in dreams, or through sounds and symbols—offer profound metaphors for our spiritual journey through life. Their tracks represent our path, their momentum mirrors our progress, and their carriages reflect the compartments of our experience.

When trains appear in your life experience, they invite deeper reflection on your journey:

• The direction you’re heading and whether it aligns with your true purpose
• The momentum building in your current life transitions
• The balance between predetermined paths and personal choice
• Your connection to collective human experience and shared journeys
• The rhythms and cycles guiding your spiritual development

By paying attention to train symbolism in your life, you gain valuable perspective on your spiritual journey—recognizing both the tracks that guide you and the momentum carrying you forward. This awareness helps navigate life transitions with greater consciousness and purpose, honoring both the predetermined elements of your path and the choices that shape your unique journey.

As you continue your life’s journey, may you travel with the perfect balance of direction and freedom, momentum and presence, individual purpose and collective connection—moving steadily forward on your unique spiritual track while remaining open to the stations, junctions, and destinations that await discovery.

References and Further Reading

Chen, S. (2023). Cultural Symbolism Across Traditions: Transportation Metaphors in Spiritual Practice. Oxford Anthropology Press.

Hayes, J. (2024). Sound as Spiritual Awakening: Pattern Interrupts in Contemplative Traditions. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 31(2), 78-96.

Johnson, M. (2023). Rhythmic Sound Patterns in Therapeutic Practice. Sound Healing Research Foundation.

Martinez, J. (2024). Transportation Symbols in Dream Analysis: A Comparative Study. Journal of Dream Research, 15(3), 112-128.

Martin, J. (2023). Psychological Dynamics of Life Transitions. Psychology Today Publishing.

Parker, W. (2024). Dream Environments as Metaphors for Life Transitions. Institute for Consciousness Studies Publications.

Ramirez, E. (2023). Choice Points in Life Transitions: Finding Agency Within Established Paths. Journal of Psychological Studies, 42(4), 201-215.

Richardson, M. (2024). Modern Mythology: Contemporary Symbols in Spiritual Practice. Oxford University Press.

Richardson, J. (2023). Emotional Responses to Symbolic Encounters. Journal of Emotional Processing, 18(2), 45-62.

Roberts, T. (2023). Interpreting Symbolic Encounters in Daily Life. Spiritual Counseling Press.

Stevens, M. (2024). Liminal Spaces in Modern Life: Thresholds of Transformation. Journal of Cultural Anthropology, 37(1), 92-108.

Townsend, E. (2023). Transportation Symbols in Spiritual Guidance: Historical and Contemporary Applications. Journal of Spiritual Psychology, 28(3), 157-172.

Wilson, M. (2024). Modern Symbols in Ancient Traditions: Adaptation and Integration. Journal of Religious Studies, 51(2), 211-229.

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About the Author

Dr. Olivia Bennett, Ph.D. holds a doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago, specializing in the intersection of transportation symbolism and spiritual practices across traditions. As a Research Fellow at the Institute for Consciousness Studies, she leads the Sensory-Spiritual Experience Research Project investigating how environmental encounters influence spiritual development and perception.

Dr. Bennett’s interdisciplinary approach combines rigorous academic research with practical applications, making symbolic knowledge accessible to contemporary audiences. Her publications appear in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Frontiers in Psychology, Journal of Religion and Health, and Current Directions in Psychological Science.

In addition to her research, Dr. Bennett facilitates workshops on interpreting symbolic encounters in daily life, helping participants develop greater awareness of the spiritual messages embedded in ordinary experiences. She has conducted field research on transportation symbolism in spiritual practices across five continents, documenting both indigenous traditions and contemporary applications.

This article is designed for educational purposes and explores various cultural and spiritual perspectives on trains and their symbolism. While drawing from diverse traditions and research, it is not intended to promote any specific spiritual path or replace professional advice for psychological or health concerns.