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The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred
First published in 1998 and updated with a new preface by the author, The Art of Pilgrimage is a sacred travel guide in book form that is full of inspiration for the spiritual traveler.
Award-winning writer and filmmaker and host of the acclaimed Global Spirits series seen on PBS and Link TV, Phil Cousineau weaves stories, myths, parables, and quotes from famous travelers with practical suggestions and accounts of modern-day pilgrims to show that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey. Connecting these voices is a series of meditations that suggest different ways to practice what pilgrims and poets have done for centuries, to see with the “eyes of the heart.” With more than 70 illustrations, this book is for the traveler who longs for something more than diversion and escape.
The Art of Pilgrimage shows that every journey can be sacred, soulful, and transformative if it is undertaken with a desire for spiritual risk and renewal. Whether traveling to Mecca or Memphis, Stonehendge or Cooperstown, one’s journey becomes meaningful when the traveler’s heart and imagination are open to experiencing the sacred.
Reviews of The Art of the Pilgrimage:
“If Joseph Campbell, the Dalai Lama, and Bill Moyers were to have collaborated on a book about journeys. . . I suspect it would look very much like The Art of Pilgrimage.” —Austin American Statesman
“Pilgrim, read this book. Whatever your longing, path, or destination, Phil Cousineau gives you the most valuable gear you could pack in your satchel – how to travel outward to the edges of the world while simultaneously journey to the depths of your soul.” —Anthony Lawlor, Foundation for Consciousness in Architecture
“Sorely needed in this dispirited and disenchanted world.” —Bill Moyers
298 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
227 people are currently reading
1574 people want to read
About the author
Phil Cousineau
79 books93 followersPhil Cousineau is a writer, teacher, editor, independent scholar, documentary filmmaker, travel leader, and storyteller. The author of more than 30 nonfiction books, Cousineau has more than 15 documentary screenwriting credits to his name, including the 1991 Academy Award-nominated Forever Activists. His life-long fascination with art, literature, and the history of culture has taken him on many journeys around the world; one of his bestselling books is The Art of Pilgrimage, inspired by his many years of meaningful travels.
Born in an army hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, Cousineau grew up in Detroit, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. American mythologist Joseph Campbell was a mentor and major influence; Cousineau wrote the documentary film and companion book about Campbell's life, "The Hero's Journey." The “omnipresent influence of myth in modern life” is a thread that runs through all of his work. He lectures frequently on a wide range of topics--from mythology, film, and writing, to sports, creativity, travel, art, and beauty. Currently he is the host of the much-praised “inner travel” television series, Global Spirit, on Link TV and PBS, and is finishing a book on beauty.
Born in an army hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, Cousineau grew up in Detroit, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. American mythologist Joseph Campbell was a mentor and major influence; Cousineau wrote the documentary film and companion book about Campbell's life, "The Hero's Journey." The “omnipresent influence of myth in modern life” is a thread that runs through all of his work. He lectures frequently on a wide range of topics--from mythology, film, and writing, to sports, creativity, travel, art, and beauty. Currently he is the host of the much-praised “inner travel” television series, Global Spirit, on Link TV and PBS, and is finishing a book on beauty.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
November 13, 2007
This book helped me prepare for the inner journey of the pilgrimage of the camino to Santiago de Compostela. If it weren't for this book, I may not have completed the camino. While I prepared myself physically (training/walking) and mentally (research), the pilgrimage is really about the inner journey. The physical landscape and lessons learned along the way became metaphors for life. I met a lot of people who were better fit or more knowledgable than I, but I found along the way, they quit because they weren't able to handle the mental and emotional toll. Especially those who did solo journeys like myself. I recommend it for anyone who travels and believes that sometimes you visit places that are sacred.
December 29, 2010
If I think about the criteria for a sacred journey as outlined in The Art of Pilgrimage, I have been applying Cousineau’s suggestions for the past decade or so. (1) Ask yourself what would constitute a sacred destination for you. (2) Read deeply on the desired goal. (3) When you get there try to absorb the mystery of the place and the spirits that have preceded you. As a travel writer that is what I do. What he does not emphasize is how important it is to go by yourself so that you may sink into the experience without the distraction of others. Possibly this is because he leads cultural tours and acts as a guide for groups seeking a more intense travel experience.
My most sacred journey was a trip to Waipio Valley on the Big Island of Hawai’i. This verdant valley framed by 3,000-foot cliffs has been the resting place of chiefs for centuries. The bones of ancestors are hidden in caves in the walls of the cliffs. The gateway to Milu the underwater spirit world of Po is on the edge of the crescent shore at the mouth of the valley. It was imperative that I make this pilgrimage alone so that I might commune with the ancients.
Reading one of Cousineau’s books is like a refresher course in art history and English literature rolled into the new age. There are enough quotable quotes to get you through the most erudite gathering with flying colors. Always well written, and thought provoking, I find his books a welcome respite from the ordinary.
My most sacred journey was a trip to Waipio Valley on the Big Island of Hawai’i. This verdant valley framed by 3,000-foot cliffs has been the resting place of chiefs for centuries. The bones of ancestors are hidden in caves in the walls of the cliffs. The gateway to Milu the underwater spirit world of Po is on the edge of the crescent shore at the mouth of the valley. It was imperative that I make this pilgrimage alone so that I might commune with the ancients.
Reading one of Cousineau’s books is like a refresher course in art history and English literature rolled into the new age. There are enough quotable quotes to get you through the most erudite gathering with flying colors. Always well written, and thought provoking, I find his books a welcome respite from the ordinary.
April 1, 2008
"Personal answers to ultimate questions. That is what we seek," said Alexander Eliot.
Sacred travel often starts with an itch. If you listen to the itch, or even begin to scratch it gently, it may lead you to the strangest places. Macchu Picchu. A cafe at the end of the world. Your heart. Home.
Our reasons vary; so do our destinations. But the process of journeying is universal. The man who survives the accident that kills his family wonders why he's left alive. The abuse victim struggles to understand how to break the cycle and live beyond the cruelty he or she has experienced. The activist wonders if its possible to do any good in such a world. The lonely man finds divinity in the kindness of a stranger on the road.
Through pilgrimage, we gain the power to answer our own deepest questions. Pilgrimage is about surrendering to the journey and to the moment. "Seek and ye shall find." No one promises what you'll find, only that it's worth it. Wherever you go, Cousineau's book has great advice, anecdotes, and an extensive bibliography.
Sacred travel often starts with an itch. If you listen to the itch, or even begin to scratch it gently, it may lead you to the strangest places. Macchu Picchu. A cafe at the end of the world. Your heart. Home.
Our reasons vary; so do our destinations. But the process of journeying is universal. The man who survives the accident that kills his family wonders why he's left alive. The abuse victim struggles to understand how to break the cycle and live beyond the cruelty he or she has experienced. The activist wonders if its possible to do any good in such a world. The lonely man finds divinity in the kindness of a stranger on the road.
Through pilgrimage, we gain the power to answer our own deepest questions. Pilgrimage is about surrendering to the journey and to the moment. "Seek and ye shall find." No one promises what you'll find, only that it's worth it. Wherever you go, Cousineau's book has great advice, anecdotes, and an extensive bibliography.
December 12, 2009
"The art of Pilgrimage,"is not just for travelers but for seekers. As a life long traveler I would say that this book is a must read. It can be read and re-read because author Cousineau speaks about the adventure. When I travel I often leave before I leave because I begin my journey with the research and the stories and I hear from other travelers.Then when I am traveling I meet my kindred spirits, those who must travel, must see the world, climb to the top, lay on their belly to get that shot something like the water lily reflecting in the pond.
The beauty of The Art of the Pilgrimage are in the quotations and narratives that address how our perceptions may be transformed when we travel.
Cousineau says,"The difference between pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity".
Rose Offner
The beauty of The Art of the Pilgrimage are in the quotations and narratives that address how our perceptions may be transformed when we travel.
Cousineau says,"The difference between pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity".
Rose Offner
August 6, 2018
If you get a lot of meaning from New Age thought and writing, this is the book for you.
If you find New Age thought and writing incredibly annoying, this isn't.
There are some good insights scattered throughout the book...there would have to be, considering the large number of stories and quotes by pilgrims of various sorts...and there are some incredibly inane observations made as well- mostly by the author.
Example: We learn by going where we have to go; we arrive when we find ourselves on the road walking toward us."
That pretty much means whatever you read into it, doesn't it? Which is precisely what the author claims for pilgrimages.
But let me back up and put in some background.
How do pilgrims differ from regular travelers? A pilgrim seek deeper meaning; it's his motive, it shapes his travel and it is his goal.
The book, over and over, implies the following: The pilgrim seeks internally as he travels externally and that's where he finds whatever answer he comes home with.
In other words, he comes up with his revelations himself. He imagines it.
This really isn't about God or gods or goddesses; this is about the pilgrim's imagination.
Good things can come from that, but quite often airy and vague things come of that. These pronouncements are about as dependable as a fortune teller's prognostications.
My basic problem with this book is the difficulty of gleaning out the good bits from the hopeful incense-burning, praying to volcano goddess, offer a flower to a hungry child new age claptrap.
Pragmatists who are well grounded in life can also benefit from pilgrimages, but this book shouldn't be used as their guide.
If you find New Age thought and writing incredibly annoying, this isn't.
There are some good insights scattered throughout the book...there would have to be, considering the large number of stories and quotes by pilgrims of various sorts...and there are some incredibly inane observations made as well- mostly by the author.
Example: We learn by going where we have to go; we arrive when we find ourselves on the road walking toward us."
That pretty much means whatever you read into it, doesn't it? Which is precisely what the author claims for pilgrimages.
But let me back up and put in some background.
How do pilgrims differ from regular travelers? A pilgrim seek deeper meaning; it's his motive, it shapes his travel and it is his goal.
The book, over and over, implies the following: The pilgrim seeks internally as he travels externally and that's where he finds whatever answer he comes home with.
In other words, he comes up with his revelations himself. He imagines it.
This really isn't about God or gods or goddesses; this is about the pilgrim's imagination.
Good things can come from that, but quite often airy and vague things come of that. These pronouncements are about as dependable as a fortune teller's prognostications.
My basic problem with this book is the difficulty of gleaning out the good bits from the hopeful incense-burning, praying to volcano goddess, offer a flower to a hungry child new age claptrap.
Pragmatists who are well grounded in life can also benefit from pilgrimages, but this book shouldn't be used as their guide.
December 21, 2013
One of my all-time favorites and a very useful framework for considering many sorts of pilgrimage, including literary ones. I wrote a post about this a while back: "The Literary Work as a Place of Pilgrimage." http://fictional100.wordpress.com/201...
July 29, 2016
My husband bought this book last year on the recommendation of a friend and I came across it recently while sorting through our kindle account. In light of my (then upcoming) trip to Morocco I thought I would give it a read. I thoroughly enjoyed and was moved by this book. As I read through I highlighted thirty-nine passages, and each one, when I go back and read now, sets ablaze a host of ideas and reflections.
One of the highlights of travel is attaining those moments of travel nirvana. Turning a corner and seeing the Eiffel Tower was one such moment for me. It's the times when you suddenly realise you've arrived somewhere that you've always dreamed of. It's a strange sense of achievement and pride and excitement and awe. It's stepping into one of your fantasies, all the while feeling the ground hard beneath your feet.
But all too often that rush of emotion is reserved for the big ticket items: Woohoo! Eiffel Tower/Grand Canyon/Big Ben/Robben Island/Victoria Falls. And yet even for the regular traveler, in practise those moments are few and far between. They're two hours in two weeks. And in between?
I suspect that "in between" there is a choice.
There's routine and familiarity (possible even in the most remote of places) and frustration, maybe a general level of interest with what is passing us by. It's enough to fill a day and feel rewarding but doesn't necessarily speak to your soul, or kindle that fire in the pit of your stomach.
Or there's, what shall we call it? Mindfulness? Awareness? Presence? It's the art of seeing what you're not conditioned to see. It's looking up and down, and in gutters, and on rooftops. And all around.
It's watching the orange fall off a cart and roll down a street, dodging between feet, chased by a stranger and then thrown through the sky, back to its rightful owner. It's a cat in a thunderstorm hiding from the rain under a brown plastic stool. Or it's a man running from his building on his way to work, kicking a coke bottle top with the energy of early morning and then almost dying of embarrassment when it collides with a passerby.
But perhaps most importantly it's finding a way to not only to remember to notice, but to stop and enjoy and capture those moments, and bring them inside, preferably with a sense of wonder and pleasure, and holding them there forever.
And it all takes practise. Reading this book is one of those practises.
One of the highlights of travel is attaining those moments of travel nirvana. Turning a corner and seeing the Eiffel Tower was one such moment for me. It's the times when you suddenly realise you've arrived somewhere that you've always dreamed of. It's a strange sense of achievement and pride and excitement and awe. It's stepping into one of your fantasies, all the while feeling the ground hard beneath your feet.
But all too often that rush of emotion is reserved for the big ticket items: Woohoo! Eiffel Tower/Grand Canyon/Big Ben/Robben Island/Victoria Falls. And yet even for the regular traveler, in practise those moments are few and far between. They're two hours in two weeks. And in between?
I suspect that "in between" there is a choice.
There's routine and familiarity (possible even in the most remote of places) and frustration, maybe a general level of interest with what is passing us by. It's enough to fill a day and feel rewarding but doesn't necessarily speak to your soul, or kindle that fire in the pit of your stomach.
Or there's, what shall we call it? Mindfulness? Awareness? Presence? It's the art of seeing what you're not conditioned to see. It's looking up and down, and in gutters, and on rooftops. And all around.
It's watching the orange fall off a cart and roll down a street, dodging between feet, chased by a stranger and then thrown through the sky, back to its rightful owner. It's a cat in a thunderstorm hiding from the rain under a brown plastic stool. Or it's a man running from his building on his way to work, kicking a coke bottle top with the energy of early morning and then almost dying of embarrassment when it collides with a passerby.
But perhaps most importantly it's finding a way to not only to remember to notice, but to stop and enjoy and capture those moments, and bring them inside, preferably with a sense of wonder and pleasure, and holding them there forever.
And it all takes practise. Reading this book is one of those practises.
May 12, 2016
I suppose I was attracted to this book because I already attempt to be mindful when I travel. Even when I'm on the road for work, I try to find something unique, something local to do or experience -- even if it's just a run through a section of town which gives a completely different feel for the area than moving around via car. But I digress.
Phil Cousineau's book is woven with his own personal tales, anecdotes from others pilgrimages, retelling of heroic myths and prompts for the reader to examine her own approach to travel.
I underlined many passages and phrases in the book, but my bottom line takeaways are this:
Prepare for your journey. Read about the place you are going to visit, investigate before you go and mentally/emotionally prepare yourself by asking yourself the purpose of your journey. Ideally you do this more than 5 minutes before you leave.
Go with a spirit of wonder. You can plan but make room for life to happen. Talk with people. Ask questions. Don't just look. Stop. Take it in. See.
Have a spirit of gratitude. Leave an offering. It could be coins in a poor box at a church or a poem at the place you find most "sacred" never forgetting that sacred and secular pilgrimages have many of the same qualities.
Return different. Take time to share what you learned. Celebrate your return home. Incorporate what you learned, your touchstones, into your life back home.
Some of my favorite lines:
"Pilgrimage means following in the footsteps of somebody or something we honor to pay homage. It revitalizes our lives, reinvigorates our very souls."
"A journey without challenge has no meaning; one without purpose has no soul."
"Pilgrimage is a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler."
"Soulful travel is the art of finding beauty even in ruins, even in inclement weather, even in foul moods."
Phil Cousineau's book is woven with his own personal tales, anecdotes from others pilgrimages, retelling of heroic myths and prompts for the reader to examine her own approach to travel.
I underlined many passages and phrases in the book, but my bottom line takeaways are this:
Prepare for your journey. Read about the place you are going to visit, investigate before you go and mentally/emotionally prepare yourself by asking yourself the purpose of your journey. Ideally you do this more than 5 minutes before you leave.
Go with a spirit of wonder. You can plan but make room for life to happen. Talk with people. Ask questions. Don't just look. Stop. Take it in. See.
Have a spirit of gratitude. Leave an offering. It could be coins in a poor box at a church or a poem at the place you find most "sacred" never forgetting that sacred and secular pilgrimages have many of the same qualities.
Return different. Take time to share what you learned. Celebrate your return home. Incorporate what you learned, your touchstones, into your life back home.
Some of my favorite lines:
"Pilgrimage means following in the footsteps of somebody or something we honor to pay homage. It revitalizes our lives, reinvigorates our very souls."
"A journey without challenge has no meaning; one without purpose has no soul."
"Pilgrimage is a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler."
"Soulful travel is the art of finding beauty even in ruins, even in inclement weather, even in foul moods."
March 11, 2018
It’s official - mid May I’m walking a portion of the Camino de Santiago! This read was a great preparation for all pilgrimages be they somewhere near or far. A good reminder that the journey should include your interior as well as where your feet take you.
April 21, 2022
I read this book despite my bishop having recommended it. He is a delightful fellow -- well spoken, handsome, resourceful -- but he has abysmal taste in literature. Too many book recommendations for clergy tend toward either the patently political or the sort of la-la land spirituality which is endemic in the Episcopal Church. This book, in contrast, was pretty good. Cousineau is an American author who has written a lot of things: poems, novels, travelogues, film scripts, TV scripts and essays. He loves to travel, leads travel groups around the world and urges the traveler to adopt the mindset of a pilgrim every time they undertake a journey or a wandering. His interest is in connecting pilgrimage with spirituality. He finds the influences of myth is everyday life, at home as well as in travels. His inclinations are toward Hindu and Buddhist religions. He seems less comfortable with Jewish and Christian materials. When he writes about these, he sounds more like an anthropologist or mythologist. The great value of this book is in the attention he pays to paying attention. Using literature, anecdote, poetry and myth, he urges the reader to pay attention. He laments seeing without seeing and hearing without hearing. He pleads with the pilgrim to use all five senses fully. And he says that pilgrimage is incomplete until the pilgrim reflects on the experience and records what it has wrought in the self. For this alone the book is a worthwhile read.
June 27, 2008
What a compodium of knowledge and wisdom this book is! Phil Cousineau draws from so many sources: Joseph Campbell, Thoreau, Henry Miller, Basho, Thich Nat Hahn, Rumi, H.H. the Dalai Lama, Goethe and (really) countless others. I dogeared and underlined this book more than any other I've read this year.
The essential message of the book is that travel is a sacred inward journey into our soul and spirit as much (or more so than) a journey to the world outside. It has been a great inspiration as I plan my own pilgrimage. These are just a couple of lines that really floored me:
"Before setting out, remind yourself of the purpose of your journey. From now on, there is no such thing as a neutral act, an empty thought, an aimless day. Travels become sacred by the depths of their contemplations. As in myth, dream, and poetry, every word is saturated with meaning.
Now is the time to live your ideal life."
And this gem from Joeseph Campbell on not planning too much:
"Unless you leave room for serendipity, how can the divine enter in? The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself is to lose you way!"
The essential message of the book is that travel is a sacred inward journey into our soul and spirit as much (or more so than) a journey to the world outside. It has been a great inspiration as I plan my own pilgrimage. These are just a couple of lines that really floored me:
"Before setting out, remind yourself of the purpose of your journey. From now on, there is no such thing as a neutral act, an empty thought, an aimless day. Travels become sacred by the depths of their contemplations. As in myth, dream, and poetry, every word is saturated with meaning.
Now is the time to live your ideal life."
And this gem from Joeseph Campbell on not planning too much:
"Unless you leave room for serendipity, how can the divine enter in? The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself is to lose you way!"
October 2, 2017
"Imagine how you might walk your own path to the holy ground of your heart's desires," coaxes Cousineau in this thoughtful, beautifully written book about The Way.
March 25, 2021
This book helps the reader consider how travel can be sacred and maximize appreciation for visiting any place in the world through a philosophical and spiritual lens. Often we may visit places and in a way to "collect" them in a superficial and touristy way-like ticking off boxes. However, we should consider travel through our senses, mindfulness, and with intentionality to better appreciate why we are traveling in the first place. This book provides insightful tools and a deeper understanding of how to make the most of an experience in another location whether it is far away and remote or close to your own home. I think every person should read this book.
May 30, 2025
I was reading just a few pages every day before taking a grand adventure, and the book was packed with insights and practical tips. Thanks to Cousineau, I read poetry and a couple of novels set in the place I was about to experience, thus adding the joy of recognition to my journey of discovery. Upon reading, I also decided not to take photos (really, postcards have that down pretty well), but instead to either sketch or just BE with whatever sights /events I encountered. Of course, so much of this book could be applied to living our ordinary lives. It is intention that makes us pilgrims.
October 23, 2022
Adds value to a trip and even to life
August 17, 2017
Review title: Mindful traveling, or finding the quest in your question
Cousineau writes "inside every question is a quest trying to get out" (p. 88), and he has written this book to help travelers find their questions and their quests. It is short on practical advice, but fits neatly into the discipline of mindfulness so popular today as a technique for reducing stress and increasing mental and physical health.
Applied to traveling, this means for Cousineau turning every journey into a pilgrimage like those of Chaucer's traveling band on the way to Canterbury, or ancient travelers to Jerusalem, Mecca, Angkor Wat, Athens or Rome. Their journeys involved planning, pain, risk, offerings, and ecstasy on arrival at their venerated destination; so, says Cousteau, can our journeys, whether with religious, business, or tourist intent, follow the same pattern with intentional planning....and serendipitous destiny. He encourages planning but cautions against precluding time for chance to provide sacred moments.
The book's chapter titles follow the outline of the steps of a pilgrimage, but the content is basically just an opportunity for the author to talk about his travel experiences (he is described as a "travel leader" and "independent scholar" in the cover biography), provide "Imagine" hints for the reader to practice mindful traveling, and insert literary, religious, and historical quotes about travel--for example, "Solvitur ambulando. It is solved by walking." from Saint Augustine (p. 104)--which may be the most valuable part if the book.
Near the end, as he talks about returning from pilgrimage and returning to normal life while retaining the lessons of the journey he summarizes nicely:
"The art of pilgrimage is the craft of taking time seriously, elegantly. What every traveler confronts sooner or later is that the way we spend each day of our travel . . . is the way we spend our lives." (p. 227)
While this is a slight effort that readers need not go out of their way to find (it might pop up at used book sales or book store clearance sales like where I found my copy) there is no harm in using it to bring mindfulness to your travel.
Cousineau writes "inside every question is a quest trying to get out" (p. 88), and he has written this book to help travelers find their questions and their quests. It is short on practical advice, but fits neatly into the discipline of mindfulness so popular today as a technique for reducing stress and increasing mental and physical health.
Applied to traveling, this means for Cousineau turning every journey into a pilgrimage like those of Chaucer's traveling band on the way to Canterbury, or ancient travelers to Jerusalem, Mecca, Angkor Wat, Athens or Rome. Their journeys involved planning, pain, risk, offerings, and ecstasy on arrival at their venerated destination; so, says Cousteau, can our journeys, whether with religious, business, or tourist intent, follow the same pattern with intentional planning....and serendipitous destiny. He encourages planning but cautions against precluding time for chance to provide sacred moments.
The book's chapter titles follow the outline of the steps of a pilgrimage, but the content is basically just an opportunity for the author to talk about his travel experiences (he is described as a "travel leader" and "independent scholar" in the cover biography), provide "Imagine" hints for the reader to practice mindful traveling, and insert literary, religious, and historical quotes about travel--for example, "Solvitur ambulando. It is solved by walking." from Saint Augustine (p. 104)--which may be the most valuable part if the book.
Near the end, as he talks about returning from pilgrimage and returning to normal life while retaining the lessons of the journey he summarizes nicely:
"The art of pilgrimage is the craft of taking time seriously, elegantly. What every traveler confronts sooner or later is that the way we spend each day of our travel . . . is the way we spend our lives." (p. 227)
While this is a slight effort that readers need not go out of their way to find (it might pop up at used book sales or book store clearance sales like where I found my copy) there is no harm in using it to bring mindfulness to your travel.
August 16, 2016
This is probably the worst book I've read in modern memory. Every page of it smacks of listening to "that guy" - that guy who wants to sound worldly because they've been on tours of Europe for their "gap year" - and preaches wisdom while only learning about selfishness.
I'm pretty sure this guy's idea of a pilgrimage is getting on a plane, carrying around a backpack, eating at restaurants, and sleeping at hotels. My reasoning for this is that the advice he gives about foot travel is awful, if not dangerous. For example, the author admonishes the traveler to get a small pack - his is a leather satchel-thing - and to save weight leave your cell phone at home, but bring a notebook and pen. Umm, this book might be written from survivorship bias - as in someone who screws up and dies doesn't write a book about why they should have brought a cell phone.
The book is well-researched - he's got quotes from every spiritualist from here to Kingdom Come - but without much form, at all, so much so that that at some point I felt like the myriad quotes and stories were there to pad the book with research that didn't forward the narrative. He talks at length about various sacred journeys in the book, which are kind of interesting, but have very little to do with the book's purpose.
It feels very padded, too: giant pieces of writing are quoted verbatim.
I'm pretty sure this guy's idea of a pilgrimage is getting on a plane, carrying around a backpack, eating at restaurants, and sleeping at hotels. My reasoning for this is that the advice he gives about foot travel is awful, if not dangerous. For example, the author admonishes the traveler to get a small pack - his is a leather satchel-thing - and to save weight leave your cell phone at home, but bring a notebook and pen. Umm, this book might be written from survivorship bias - as in someone who screws up and dies doesn't write a book about why they should have brought a cell phone.
The book is well-researched - he's got quotes from every spiritualist from here to Kingdom Come - but without much form, at all, so much so that that at some point I felt like the myriad quotes and stories were there to pad the book with research that didn't forward the narrative. He talks at length about various sacred journeys in the book, which are kind of interesting, but have very little to do with the book's purpose.
It feels very padded, too: giant pieces of writing are quoted verbatim.
November 4, 2008
I love travelling to places I have never been and to places I have before. There were many passages in this book where I felt like I had experienced the level of being in the mooment, the there and now of a place. And yet, I have learned there are other, time honoured ways I can follow to bring more to each place I go to.
This book is about taking time: time to slow down, time to really see with your inner vision and your soul, time to be there in the moment and place, time to really appreciate the gfts or boons a place offers you to take with you on your journeys onward, or on your journeys home.
It teaches you how to appreciate the lessons you've learned, the stories you've heard from others, the hospitalities, the open heatedness - by leaving offerings or tokens and gifts of appreciation and devotion.
This book shows you a way to travel deeper within yourself while reaching further for what travel and lfe can give back to you.
This book is about taking time: time to slow down, time to really see with your inner vision and your soul, time to be there in the moment and place, time to really appreciate the gfts or boons a place offers you to take with you on your journeys onward, or on your journeys home.
It teaches you how to appreciate the lessons you've learned, the stories you've heard from others, the hospitalities, the open heatedness - by leaving offerings or tokens and gifts of appreciation and devotion.
This book shows you a way to travel deeper within yourself while reaching further for what travel and lfe can give back to you.
June 23, 2019
I feel so much gratitude towards this book. It put into perspective many things that I felt once or twice and also gave me answers about what to do, about the importance of attetion and intetion in one's travels, about others pilgrim, about how being a pilgrim is not always easy but you can get through it if you are open to the magic of the universe and its synchronicities.
I think this one is going to be one of my essential ones from now on. It's really, really good. 100% recommended to anyone looking for answers about transformation, whether you're thinking about traveling or not.
I think this one is going to be one of my essential ones from now on. It's really, really good. 100% recommended to anyone looking for answers about transformation, whether you're thinking about traveling or not.
October 24, 2012
Cousineau gives us something to consider before we start packing and before we start jamming our travel days with popular sites and destinations. He gives us the question to ask ourselves - why - and challenges us to forego the quick answer and dig deeper. It's invaluable insight that I find myself using every time I step out my front door.
September 17, 2015
The start to this book was intriguing but left me feeling bored and waiting for the end to come. At the beginning the writing was personable but then left that to become quite lofty and the term that came to mind is airy fairy. Too pretentious and full of ideals and spirituality that I just couldn't relate to. Too bad because I love the premise of the book but it failed for me.
August 2, 2013
This was a rambling nonsense with little point; of course if it is there I missed it! The book was just a boring self indulgence, just froth with no substance. I just can't see where its ratings acme from. Of course there are always, horses for courses. A waste of time and money for me.
October 14, 2009
Very disappointed in this book. He never developed any of the themes. The entire book was a collection of quotes and anecdotes.
August 23, 2010
Not much to say about this book. It started out well, with lots of dog-eared pages. Then went downhill with me just skimming to get it done.
May 15, 2019
"Remember Rilke's words to the young poet: "The necessary thing is after all but this: solitude, great inner solitude ... What goes on in your innermost being is worthy of your whole love; you must somehow keep working at it and not lose too much time and too much courage in clarifying your attitude toward people.""
"It's time to decide when to leave on your journey, during what season and what break in your own life, time to determine if you should depart alone or with a group. Time to take time seriously."
"There is another call, the one that arrives the day when what once worked no longer does. Sometimes people need a shock; sometimes a tocsin call. It is time for a wake-up call. A man is fired from a job; a child runs away from home; ulcers overtake the body. The ancients called this "soul loss". Today, the equivalent is the loss of meaning or purpose in our lives. There is a void where there should be what Gerard Manley Hopkins calls "juice and joy." The heart grows cold; life loses its vitality. Our accomplishments seem meaningless."
"For my travels through Turkey, I read two books of Sufi poetry, one by Rumi, the other an anthology of the great Sufi mystics. Each morning before I left, I read a page of poetry and teaching stories; by the time I landed in Turkey, my soul was already there waiting for me. Every day of my journey, from the Mystic Tea and Smoking Garden in Istanbul to Rumi's tomb in Konya, I continued to read the great mystic's work, and each time felt his ancient presence."
"Recall the invocation of the philosopher Søren Kirkegaard, who said, "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts.""
"For those of you about to embark on your own pilgrimage, your own sacred journey, I pass on to you what an old Irish poet once told me ont he cliffs of the Aran Islands: "We should all be grateful for the beauty of this world, but more, we should take the trouble to get off the bus of life and put the soles of our feet to the soul of the world and see those sacred sites with our own eyes."
"What can we learn from them, these pilgrims who have preceded us? Much, but I will content myself with a passing point or two. They tell us to be prepared to discover that from the spiritual point of view a journey is always something of a two-edged sword because of the dispersion which can result from contact with so much that is new. We cannot simply shut ourselves off from this newness or we might just as well stay at home - if we are going to travel we naturally with to learn something. But if the newness threathens to overwhelm us, it can occasion periodic hardenings of the ego, as if in reaction to the fear of losing ourselves through dispersal we find it necessary to shore up our identities. The smallness of these identities is certain to bring suffering, however, beginning with feelings of impatience and annoyance. The art is to learn to master today's unavoidable situation with as much equanimity as we can muster, in preparation for facing its sequel tomorrow."
"Pilgrimage means following in the footsteps of somebody or something we honor to pay homage. It revitalizes our lives, reinvigorates our very souls."
"To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, I longed to travel deliberately, to encounter the "essential things" of history, venture somewhere strange and unknown, ancient and elemental."
"I remember him saying that making a pilgrimage was a way to prove your faith and find answers to your deepest questions."
"He had detected that I was at a crossroads in my life and seeking answers."
"There is exploration for the scholar and the scientist, still eager to encounter the unknown and add to the human legacy of knowledge."
"For those of us fascinated with the spiritual quest, the deepening of our journeys begins the moment we begin to ask what is sacred to us: architecture, history, music, books, nature, food, religious heritage, family history, the lives of saints, scholars, heroes, artists?"
"He so rarely used upbeat words, so when he did I knew he meant it."
"Whether we are on vacation, a business trip, or a far-flung adventure tour, we can look at the trying times along the road as either torment or chances to "stretch" ourselves."
"To the rapscallion rover Mark Twain, long journeys held out the possibility of self-improvement: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.""
"Participation can be communal, as was scholar China Galland's march with a million other pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Jasna Gora Monastery, Poland."
"We can only discover the real thing through deep observation, by the slow accretion of details."
"Integral to the art of travel is the longing to break away from the stultifying habits of our lives at home, and to break away for however long it takes to once again truly see the world around us."
"To believe that 6,000 years ago, lasting for thousands of years, there was a viable, nonpatriarchal world, with its own complicated and vibrant myths, symbols, and rituals [...]"
"Often, I have thought about those awe-inspired medieval pilgrims to the Temple of Time in Rome, where the first public clock was displayed. Crowds waited for hours to file past the elaborate clockworks, torn between admiration for the wondrous precision, and suspicion, for they knew that their time was no longer theirs."
"Her worldly possessions consisted of nothing but a comb, a toothbrush, a ballpoint pen, handouts of her condensed message of peace to all who cared to hear, and her mail."
"In Joseph Campbell's popular book of essays Myths to Live By, he described something pertinent to our theme of sacred journeys: "The ultimate aim of the quest, if one is to return, must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others.""
"In his book, The Outermost House, Henry Beston describes how when he was thirty-six years old, in 1927, he decided he needed to find "essentials." In the tradition of the Transcendentalists, he went into solitude on Cape Cod to see for himself the "elemental presences" that dwelled there and to witness the "incomparable pageant of nature and the year.""
"Peter Harbison writes in his history of Irish pilgrimage, "For Ireland, pilgrimage is a pious exercise that has helped to fulfill religious needs and yearnings for more than 1,400 years." Several forms of pilgrimage have flourished there. There was the ascetic, which meant leaving behind one's land forever to embark on a life-until-death pilgrimage, [...]"
"For Miller, Epidaurus was a balm, a cure for his aching heart and soul."
"At sites such as Delphi, Epidaurus, Konya, Ephesus, places where the collective dreamings of pilgrims over the centuries produces a hypnotic effect in the air, it is a small good thing to pray upon rising."
"The ancient Persians said, "If fate throws a knife at you, you can catch it either by the blade or the handle.""
"Never doubt for a moment that there will be darkness and disappointment on your travels. The question is, How much courage can we muster to deal with it and move on? Can we transform painful moments into instructive ones? How quick are our reflexes?"
"What is far more difficult is be grateful for the hardships along the road. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, "If you utilize obstacles properly, then they strengthen your courage and they also give you more intelligence, more wisdom." But if you use them in the wrong way, he adds, laughing gently, then you will feel "discouraged, failure, depression.""
" [...] are feeling angry with other travelers in your group or toward the local people you are encountering. What to do? Try taking a day to brood. Take your good old time, by yourself, and sit on it. Time and patience are the most natural therapists in the world. Chances are that the frustration you are feeling comes from what you're missing more than from what you're seeing."
"And yet, as Aldous Huxley has written, "Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you."
" "I'm a soul in wonder ... I'm a soul in wonder ... I'm a soul in wonder," Van Morrison chants. It's the finest description of the pilgrim I know."
"Here are a few that have helped me find my way in many a strange city and country: How was this city founded? What is the oldest building and street in town? [...] Where is the best place to watch the sunrise? Where can I find the most authentic music? Who is the most beloved poet here? Where can I find the best bookstore? Where can I go for a contemplative afternoon? Is there a promenade at dusk or dawn?"
"Soulful travel is the art of finding beauty even in ruins, even in inclement weather, even in foul moods."
"The traveler soon learns that it is difficult to unlearn a lifetime of habitual seeing, the ordinary perception that gets one through a day at home but is inadequate to the task of comprehending the suddenly unfamiliar, strange, even marvelous things."
"If there is a trick to soulful travel, it is learning to see for yourself. To do this takes practice and a belief that it matters. The difference between pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity."
"Imagine once again the goal of your journey. What is your way? How do you see yourself wending your way there? In what way are you walking? As a tourist in search of entertainment? A nomad adrift? An explorer?
"In "A Pilgrim", the narrator can choose to regard the neo-pilgrim on the road as just peculiar or as a messenger. So can we each time we meet a stranger - or even strange behavior - on the road."
"The purpose of the pilgrimage is to make life more meaningful."
"A vacation is easy to embark upon; everything has been laid out for us to have a predictable, comfortable, and reassuring holiday. But a pilgrimage is different; we are actually beckoning to the darkness in our lives. The fear is real."
"This is why the complete circle is a universal symbol for the soul - an image of wholeness - and the goal of the sacred journey is to become as whole again as possible. Our longing is the sign that there is a gap in the circle. Our life burns with the desire to complete the circuit with our journey."
"If it's impractical to carry a walking stick on your journey, an alternative is to remember to walk barefoot at least once a day."
"The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself is to lose your way!" - Joseph Campbell
"One cannot divine or forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour, at the world's end somewhere, and holds fast to the days, as to fortune or fame." - Willa Cather
"When the moment arrived, it had a sense of inevitability."
"Try to imagine that you are leaving for a journey from which you may never return."
"If my trip is going to be sacred, I need to see differently. I need to think new thoughts, not just conditioned responses." - Trish
"It's time to decide when to leave on your journey, during what season and what break in your own life, time to determine if you should depart alone or with a group. Time to take time seriously."
"There is another call, the one that arrives the day when what once worked no longer does. Sometimes people need a shock; sometimes a tocsin call. It is time for a wake-up call. A man is fired from a job; a child runs away from home; ulcers overtake the body. The ancients called this "soul loss". Today, the equivalent is the loss of meaning or purpose in our lives. There is a void where there should be what Gerard Manley Hopkins calls "juice and joy." The heart grows cold; life loses its vitality. Our accomplishments seem meaningless."
"For my travels through Turkey, I read two books of Sufi poetry, one by Rumi, the other an anthology of the great Sufi mystics. Each morning before I left, I read a page of poetry and teaching stories; by the time I landed in Turkey, my soul was already there waiting for me. Every day of my journey, from the Mystic Tea and Smoking Garden in Istanbul to Rumi's tomb in Konya, I continued to read the great mystic's work, and each time felt his ancient presence."
"Recall the invocation of the philosopher Søren Kirkegaard, who said, "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts.""
"For those of you about to embark on your own pilgrimage, your own sacred journey, I pass on to you what an old Irish poet once told me ont he cliffs of the Aran Islands: "We should all be grateful for the beauty of this world, but more, we should take the trouble to get off the bus of life and put the soles of our feet to the soul of the world and see those sacred sites with our own eyes."
"What can we learn from them, these pilgrims who have preceded us? Much, but I will content myself with a passing point or two. They tell us to be prepared to discover that from the spiritual point of view a journey is always something of a two-edged sword because of the dispersion which can result from contact with so much that is new. We cannot simply shut ourselves off from this newness or we might just as well stay at home - if we are going to travel we naturally with to learn something. But if the newness threathens to overwhelm us, it can occasion periodic hardenings of the ego, as if in reaction to the fear of losing ourselves through dispersal we find it necessary to shore up our identities. The smallness of these identities is certain to bring suffering, however, beginning with feelings of impatience and annoyance. The art is to learn to master today's unavoidable situation with as much equanimity as we can muster, in preparation for facing its sequel tomorrow."
"Pilgrimage means following in the footsteps of somebody or something we honor to pay homage. It revitalizes our lives, reinvigorates our very souls."
"To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, I longed to travel deliberately, to encounter the "essential things" of history, venture somewhere strange and unknown, ancient and elemental."
"I remember him saying that making a pilgrimage was a way to prove your faith and find answers to your deepest questions."
"He had detected that I was at a crossroads in my life and seeking answers."
"There is exploration for the scholar and the scientist, still eager to encounter the unknown and add to the human legacy of knowledge."
"For those of us fascinated with the spiritual quest, the deepening of our journeys begins the moment we begin to ask what is sacred to us: architecture, history, music, books, nature, food, religious heritage, family history, the lives of saints, scholars, heroes, artists?"
"He so rarely used upbeat words, so when he did I knew he meant it."
"Whether we are on vacation, a business trip, or a far-flung adventure tour, we can look at the trying times along the road as either torment or chances to "stretch" ourselves."
"To the rapscallion rover Mark Twain, long journeys held out the possibility of self-improvement: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.""
"Participation can be communal, as was scholar China Galland's march with a million other pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Jasna Gora Monastery, Poland."
"We can only discover the real thing through deep observation, by the slow accretion of details."
"Integral to the art of travel is the longing to break away from the stultifying habits of our lives at home, and to break away for however long it takes to once again truly see the world around us."
"To believe that 6,000 years ago, lasting for thousands of years, there was a viable, nonpatriarchal world, with its own complicated and vibrant myths, symbols, and rituals [...]"
"Often, I have thought about those awe-inspired medieval pilgrims to the Temple of Time in Rome, where the first public clock was displayed. Crowds waited for hours to file past the elaborate clockworks, torn between admiration for the wondrous precision, and suspicion, for they knew that their time was no longer theirs."
"Her worldly possessions consisted of nothing but a comb, a toothbrush, a ballpoint pen, handouts of her condensed message of peace to all who cared to hear, and her mail."
"In Joseph Campbell's popular book of essays Myths to Live By, he described something pertinent to our theme of sacred journeys: "The ultimate aim of the quest, if one is to return, must be neither release nor ecstasy for oneself, but the wisdom and the power to serve others.""
"In his book, The Outermost House, Henry Beston describes how when he was thirty-six years old, in 1927, he decided he needed to find "essentials." In the tradition of the Transcendentalists, he went into solitude on Cape Cod to see for himself the "elemental presences" that dwelled there and to witness the "incomparable pageant of nature and the year.""
"Peter Harbison writes in his history of Irish pilgrimage, "For Ireland, pilgrimage is a pious exercise that has helped to fulfill religious needs and yearnings for more than 1,400 years." Several forms of pilgrimage have flourished there. There was the ascetic, which meant leaving behind one's land forever to embark on a life-until-death pilgrimage, [...]"
"For Miller, Epidaurus was a balm, a cure for his aching heart and soul."
"At sites such as Delphi, Epidaurus, Konya, Ephesus, places where the collective dreamings of pilgrims over the centuries produces a hypnotic effect in the air, it is a small good thing to pray upon rising."
"The ancient Persians said, "If fate throws a knife at you, you can catch it either by the blade or the handle.""
"Never doubt for a moment that there will be darkness and disappointment on your travels. The question is, How much courage can we muster to deal with it and move on? Can we transform painful moments into instructive ones? How quick are our reflexes?"
"What is far more difficult is be grateful for the hardships along the road. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, "If you utilize obstacles properly, then they strengthen your courage and they also give you more intelligence, more wisdom." But if you use them in the wrong way, he adds, laughing gently, then you will feel "discouraged, failure, depression.""
" [...] are feeling angry with other travelers in your group or toward the local people you are encountering. What to do? Try taking a day to brood. Take your good old time, by yourself, and sit on it. Time and patience are the most natural therapists in the world. Chances are that the frustration you are feeling comes from what you're missing more than from what you're seeing."
"And yet, as Aldous Huxley has written, "Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you."
" "I'm a soul in wonder ... I'm a soul in wonder ... I'm a soul in wonder," Van Morrison chants. It's the finest description of the pilgrim I know."
"Here are a few that have helped me find my way in many a strange city and country: How was this city founded? What is the oldest building and street in town? [...] Where is the best place to watch the sunrise? Where can I find the most authentic music? Who is the most beloved poet here? Where can I find the best bookstore? Where can I go for a contemplative afternoon? Is there a promenade at dusk or dawn?"
"Soulful travel is the art of finding beauty even in ruins, even in inclement weather, even in foul moods."
"The traveler soon learns that it is difficult to unlearn a lifetime of habitual seeing, the ordinary perception that gets one through a day at home but is inadequate to the task of comprehending the suddenly unfamiliar, strange, even marvelous things."
"If there is a trick to soulful travel, it is learning to see for yourself. To do this takes practice and a belief that it matters. The difference between pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity."
"Imagine once again the goal of your journey. What is your way? How do you see yourself wending your way there? In what way are you walking? As a tourist in search of entertainment? A nomad adrift? An explorer?
"In "A Pilgrim", the narrator can choose to regard the neo-pilgrim on the road as just peculiar or as a messenger. So can we each time we meet a stranger - or even strange behavior - on the road."
"The purpose of the pilgrimage is to make life more meaningful."
"A vacation is easy to embark upon; everything has been laid out for us to have a predictable, comfortable, and reassuring holiday. But a pilgrimage is different; we are actually beckoning to the darkness in our lives. The fear is real."
"This is why the complete circle is a universal symbol for the soul - an image of wholeness - and the goal of the sacred journey is to become as whole again as possible. Our longing is the sign that there is a gap in the circle. Our life burns with the desire to complete the circuit with our journey."
"If it's impractical to carry a walking stick on your journey, an alternative is to remember to walk barefoot at least once a day."
"The beginning of the adventure of finding yourself is to lose your way!" - Joseph Campbell
"One cannot divine or forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour, at the world's end somewhere, and holds fast to the days, as to fortune or fame." - Willa Cather
"When the moment arrived, it had a sense of inevitability."
"Try to imagine that you are leaving for a journey from which you may never return."
"If my trip is going to be sacred, I need to see differently. I need to think new thoughts, not just conditioned responses." - Trish
July 24, 2025
It’s been eight years since I walked the Camino de Santiago from St. John Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I refer to this travel as a “walk” because my mental approach did not rise to the level of a spiritual “pilgrimage”. In preparation for that event I read books, both fiction and non-fiction, watched movies, and participated in online forums dedicated to this world renowned passage. From this research I was reasonably confident that I could avoid most of the risks of international travel but I wasn’t yet ready to answer why or what I hoped to gain from it.
The book “The Art of Pilgrimage” differs from the above travel guides and personal experiences. This is not an instruction manual for applying for passports or navigating the regional train systems. It is not fixed in any particular time or region. Instead, it takes a step back and analyzes the motivations for embarking on extended journeys and challenges the potential pilgrim with uncomfortable questions to carry and think about while on their journey.
The subtitle of the book is “The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred”. This may sound a bit off putting or even holier than thou to some but it brings the reader around to the author’s perspective that travel may become more than a collection of souvenirs and checking off items on a bucket list.
When the traveler begins to expose themself to different geography's, cultures, languages, belief systems, and histories the meaning in their life begins to feel more visceral, more within reach. The traveler may then realize or wish to realize their own small but significant part in the world. And at that point, they feel the need to take a *slightly* more structured approach to learning (or “seeking”) about their own part in the larger world. Thus, traveling becomes a flexible artistic endeavor, constantly being refined and adapted to suit the need.
Arriving at the physical destination becomes more of a celebration of the journey itself as well as an opportunity to consider the journey back home.
The following quote from page 103 might best summarize its theme:
"The difference between a pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity."
To aid in this personal journey the book offers a series of thought experiments to consider at each stage of travel starting from one’s initial curious inspiration to their fulfilling retrospective upon returning home. The author does this by relating his own experiences traveling through the world and, in particular, a journey he made with his brother in remembrance of their deceased father. He also uses ideas and experiences recorded in the personal journals travelers throughout history, related poetry, history books, ancient relics and scrolls, and dozens of other sources, most of which are listed in a rich bibliography at the end of the book. It then synthesizes the relevant lessons hidden in these artifacts as they apply to the future pilgrim.
I wish I had read this book prior to my own “walk”. I might well have gotten more out of my travels had I been more broad minded about what I could have gained from it. None the less, I am better prepared for my next journey, whenever and wherever that may lead.
-jgp
The book “The Art of Pilgrimage” differs from the above travel guides and personal experiences. This is not an instruction manual for applying for passports or navigating the regional train systems. It is not fixed in any particular time or region. Instead, it takes a step back and analyzes the motivations for embarking on extended journeys and challenges the potential pilgrim with uncomfortable questions to carry and think about while on their journey.
The subtitle of the book is “The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred”. This may sound a bit off putting or even holier than thou to some but it brings the reader around to the author’s perspective that travel may become more than a collection of souvenirs and checking off items on a bucket list.
When the traveler begins to expose themself to different geography's, cultures, languages, belief systems, and histories the meaning in their life begins to feel more visceral, more within reach. The traveler may then realize or wish to realize their own small but significant part in the world. And at that point, they feel the need to take a *slightly* more structured approach to learning (or “seeking”) about their own part in the larger world. Thus, traveling becomes a flexible artistic endeavor, constantly being refined and adapted to suit the need.
Arriving at the physical destination becomes more of a celebration of the journey itself as well as an opportunity to consider the journey back home.
The following quote from page 103 might best summarize its theme:
"The difference between a pilgrim and tourist is the intention of attention, the quality of the curiosity."
To aid in this personal journey the book offers a series of thought experiments to consider at each stage of travel starting from one’s initial curious inspiration to their fulfilling retrospective upon returning home. The author does this by relating his own experiences traveling through the world and, in particular, a journey he made with his brother in remembrance of their deceased father. He also uses ideas and experiences recorded in the personal journals travelers throughout history, related poetry, history books, ancient relics and scrolls, and dozens of other sources, most of which are listed in a rich bibliography at the end of the book. It then synthesizes the relevant lessons hidden in these artifacts as they apply to the future pilgrim.
I wish I had read this book prior to my own “walk”. I might well have gotten more out of my travels had I been more broad minded about what I could have gained from it. None the less, I am better prepared for my next journey, whenever and wherever that may lead.
-jgp
February 13, 2022
A short book on what constitutes a pilgrimage and how the activity can add value to, if not change your life.
What I enjoyed about the book was the central theme of how pilgrimage lies within us. It is the activity of our seeing and reacting to the journey and the completion of movement through time and space. I liked that the pilgrimages are not necessary religious. The author includes sports locations, unknown towns, personal stories and other contexts to round out the potential for what we can consider a pilgrimage.
One star is deducted because the writing is at times comical in its theatricality. What makes the book powerful is that it makes pilgrimage accessible to everyone. The histrionic and liberal use of philosophical and literary quotations detracts from that accessibility as it implies with a bit of structural garnish that pilgrimage is for fantastically well read, urbane übermensch sallying forth from the festung of academia to slay the leviathan of the ordinary with a rapier of insight.
But really you don't have to have a dog eared copy of Le Grand Meulnes under your arm if you can have a moving experience reappraising your own coming of age as you travel back to the location of your high school band camp.
Recommend!
What I enjoyed about the book was the central theme of how pilgrimage lies within us. It is the activity of our seeing and reacting to the journey and the completion of movement through time and space. I liked that the pilgrimages are not necessary religious. The author includes sports locations, unknown towns, personal stories and other contexts to round out the potential for what we can consider a pilgrimage.
One star is deducted because the writing is at times comical in its theatricality. What makes the book powerful is that it makes pilgrimage accessible to everyone. The histrionic and liberal use of philosophical and literary quotations detracts from that accessibility as it implies with a bit of structural garnish that pilgrimage is for fantastically well read, urbane übermensch sallying forth from the festung of academia to slay the leviathan of the ordinary with a rapier of insight.
But really you don't have to have a dog eared copy of Le Grand Meulnes under your arm if you can have a moving experience reappraising your own coming of age as you travel back to the location of your high school band camp.
Recommend!
June 27, 2018
An excellent publication to read in preparation for a pilgrimage! This book is well-written with various short narratives, reflections, some graphics, thought-provoking quotes from various authors over the ages and helpful suggestions to make a pilgrimage a more meaningful experience for the individual. Drawing from his own experience and the experience of others, the author guides the reader through a variety of themes such as preparing for the pilgrimage, the meaning of pilgrimage, the journey itself, journaling, various rituals, coming home, etc. Actually, this book is worth a second read! It was difficult for me to be discretionary about what I highlighted since so much deserves further attention.
My wife has listened to the audiobook version and has come away with a similar reaction. Now is she reading the book itself so she can take notes and highlight passages.
Thus far, this is the best book I've read on the theme of pilgrimage and its suggested readings at the end of the book provides even more opportunities to pursue this topic.
My wife has listened to the audiobook version and has come away with a similar reaction. Now is she reading the book itself so she can take notes and highlight passages.
Thus far, this is the best book I've read on the theme of pilgrimage and its suggested readings at the end of the book provides even more opportunities to pursue this topic.
December 14, 2018
Pilgrimage is an approach and way of engaging with travel that adds meaning and depth beyond the actual act itself. It can be religious or secular and makes travel all the more meaningful. The author's thoughtful writing on the subject is worth reading for anyone wanting to get more depth out of their travels. Recently, I made the trip to the Capas National Shrine, the site of the infamous camp at the end of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Pilgrimage demands engagement with a place, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually, imbued with knowledge that can transform a mundane field and wall of names into something of incredible power. The unprepared will not see or feel as the pilgrim does.
June 2, 2020
This was a great find in a marina book exchange! This is a great book that offers delicious resources and quotable quotes for those of us that seek soulful travel. It opens my eyes and sparked my curiosity of reading authors that have specifically written about their journeys. Wherever I travel, I submerge myself in my new surroundings, using all of my senses, I find purpose in all my journeys. The Art of Pilgrimage offers further insights into purposeful travel, how and what to record of your journey, as well as how to prepare for it, and how to use your memories of your journeys to give you a clearer path and purpose back home.
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