Stanford is a Catholic and the content of his book is heavily weighted towards Christian routes and shrines such as Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes, and Rome. Nevertheless, he treads a balanced and respectful line across the wider religious terrain.
Take me to the river..
While the media may be wrapped up in immediate concerns of contagion, we can only assume that the millions flocking to the Kumbh Mela are taking the long view.
What’s in a Title?
During his lifetime Philip Mountbatten was known variously as Prince, Duke, Consort. Some of his titles were honorary others, were earned. In this latter category we might include Influencer – a person who through his trusted position was able to amplify ideas and inspire others to act.
Behind the ‘Scenes’
Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road..
Take it to the Limit
Surely this is the richest fortune of all - not only to live a good life, but to recognise it as such.
Serendipity and the City
Experiencing that unique synaptic prickle that comes from fresh conversation and a new perspective on the world, my encounter with award winning podcaster Jeremy Bassetti made me nostalgic for that special quality of life in the city currently lost to lockdown. Not least the serendipity of the chance meeting.
Call Me Ishmael
Twenty odd years before Herman Melville penned ‘Clarel’ an epic poem on pilgrimage, he wrote ‘Moby-Dick’, that wondrous mixture of fiction, natural history and social anthropology. Published in 1851, the book was a commercial failure. At the time the Nantucket whaling industry was already in decline and American readers no more wanted novels about whalers than … Continue reading Call Me Ishmael
Forty days
While the government contemplates the logistics, costs and implications for personal liberty of introducing quarantine for travelers, and hostile states whip up anti-vax sentiment, we might take a peek at the link between faith and pestilence, as sadly the two often travel hand in hand. Amongst the largest gatherings on the planet is the Hindu pilgrimage … Continue reading Forty days
Thankfully!
I had hoped to journey to the Orkneys last year to see the Ring of Brodgar, the Bronze Age standing stones not far from Stromness, but it was not to be. I wanted to get a better sense of this ritual site and experience at first-hand how it feels and imagine how it might have felt … Continue reading Thankfully!
From here to eternity
Every New Year’s Eve we become oracles, each prophesying the big political, economic and sporting moments for the year ahead.
About Why Pilgrim
In tandem with my book 'We are Pilgrims - Journeys in Search of Ourselves', this blog is part of a quest to understand why, each year, 200 million people from all faiths and nations, embark on a pilgrimage. It explores how we began this practice, how it has inspired musicians, artists and writers, how it … Continue reading About Why Pilgrim
In the Pink
In Washington earlier this week we saw at first hand the power of rhetoric when used to incite violence. But it’s not only rhetoric that influences what we think, but imagery too. My colleagues at King’s Centre for Strategic Communications (KCSC) are amongst the world’s leading experts on ‘the Propaganda of the Deed’ or POTD and the events this … Continue reading In the Pink
