Life as a Pilgrimage

      “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
                                                                                          -Marcel Proust

How do we step in to the largest life that is calling to us and transform our vision to see the deeper possibilities that surround us? This will be the topic I will be addressing on Monday at 5 pm PST/8pm EST for the Assisi Institute of Depth Psychology, as I weave together the threads of midlife transformation with stories of Dante, Charucer and the troubadour king of Castile -y-Leon, Alfonso X.

In the Middle Ages, individuals posed at the threshold of transformation would often journey on pilgrimage .  As an act of mourning or contrition, as a petition or plea for understanding or grace, or as a way to discover their calling for the second half of life, seekers would travel to Chartres Cathedral in France or  on the Camino to Santiago Compostella in Spain. During the 13th century, extraordinary collections of art and music developed in connection with these pilgrimages. Commissioned and partially created by King  Alfonso (nicknamed "El Sabio" , or, "The Wise"), they are works that call us to a place of wonder and beauty.  The image above depicts Alfonso sending out his scribes to collect stories of transformation and healing and then turning them into "Cantigas"-pilgrim songs.

The wonderful musical group KITKA has recorded some of these . You can sample one of my favorites,  Cantiga 10, Rosa das Rosas,  by following this link: 
http://www.kitka.org/audio/Rosa-das-rosas.mp3

If you'd like to hear more about pilgrimage, including the story of the and wonderful King Alfonso, you can enroll in the free teleseminar by  going to  https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e75qrr1kae1ca6a4&oseq=&c=&ch=.

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