The Pilgrimage
CDN$ 3.85
A Private Journey to Explore Self - Although The Pilgrimage is not Paulo Coelho s most exalted work, it is still a wonderful plunge into the mystical journey. In this book, he chronicles his own experiences on the road to Santiago de Compostela in the region of Galicia known as Celtic Spain. The journey is rich with allegory reflecting how we must face our own fears in order to engage in what he calls the good fight. The Pilgrimage is reminiscent of Carlos Castañeda s apprenticeship with his mentor Don Juan. Paulo s guide is the enigmatic Petrus, who teaches him to face his own limitations and to break him from the modernist notion that our busy work is more important than exploring our inner world. There is a sweet discovery about the book that brings presence to a wisdom that includes mystical exercises worthy of our attention.
Oh dear - Silly, very silly. The Pilgrimage is a ridiculous confection of half thought out semi spiritual nonsense. Paulo Coelho claims to have walked part of the route, catching a bus through the mountains of Galicia, in search of his sword in the company of a male spiritual guide. He enjoyed plenty of out of body experiences and wrestled with a dog, which was of course the devil himself, not one of the thousands of wild dogs in Spain.This book will and does appeal to a large section of society, and if your bookshelves are groaning under the weight of dream interpretaion and past life exploration books, then take a look at your Feng Shui advice guide and throw them all out and replace them with a slim volume of the Pilgrimage, it has it all - even tranced out dancing in a castle. I wonder if Paulo paid the 4Euro entrance fee to join his fellow Knights Templar for that?
A possible road to spirituality - You have to be at least a little bit mystical in order to fully enjoy this book, which is full of mysteries and unexplainable events. This is the detailed experience of the writer in Spain, along the road to San Tiago, which pilgrims have traveled since the Middle Ages. But this story is a contemporary quest, and it has an interesting and exciting mix of ancient and modern, that in the end leads to learning and understanding the truth. It is the road that Paolo has to take in order to defend his sword and that will turn him into a Warrior of Light. He is accompanied by his spiritual guide, Petrus, with whom he will walk about 800 km over three months, during which time he will confront himself with his own fears, thoughts, doubts, and weaknesses. It is a pilgrimage that will explain to our main character (and implicitly to us) that our efforts in life are salutary and indispensable. But without results they amount to nothing.Also, the story shows that love makes us stronger and it is this strength that allows us to make the right decision at the right time. The search of truth is assimilated to a personal search for meaning, for the things that we need in life such as truth, love, joy of life, and spirituality. I think it will be a very pleasant lecture for everyone who enjoys this kind of story, and it will make you think a lot about your life and the meaningful things in your personal universe.
Will to continue - I first read this book in the summer of 97 on my way back from a trip from Ottawa, I d found it in the ottawa airport. Two years prior to that, I d read The Alchemist and never really gave much thought to other books by Paulo Coelho, dispite the lasting and impowering effects The Alchemist had had on me. It had me hooked and only at 16, I was convinced and determined that I was going to walk the Camino. Five years later, last may, I finally achieved it. It was my moby dick, really the only thing I d ever set my mind to doing. The book inspired me to take a journey of a life time. In doing so, I found so many more journey s I d never imagined. I highly recommend that you read the book, and once you have, live the Camino for yourself.
Good travel book, interesting personal perspective - This was Coelho s first popular book, and as such denotes his evolving magical style. It is about his trip in the Santiago de COmpostela trek that goes from east to west across Spain. I found the travel perspective of the book to be fascinating, and since I read it I have thought many times about doing the trek myself.As for the personal revelation the author encounters in the trek, I foudn them interesting, not overwhelming. The lessons learned are presented in many different books aside form this one, what makes this book a little special, I believe, is that the story involves the reader in such a way that the lessons are driven effortlessly.