What is Peregrinatio?
You might be wondering, “what is peregrinatio?” I came upon the concept in Esther de Waal’s book The Celtic Way of Prayer. Essentially, peregrinatio is a pilgrimage that does not follow a specific route or lead to a specific destination. It is leaving one’s home and wandering, but not aimlessly. It is an inward journey, with the goal of coming home to one’s true self. For these reasons, I thought it was the perfect name for this blog.
Over the last few weeks Kate and I left our jobs, moved out of our apartments, said goodbye to many dear friends, and set off on a six-month trip with an itinerary that was intentionally left open-ended. We knew that the way we were living, and the culture in which we were living, were not in line with our true selves. We felt, as Kate calls it, a “soul hunger:” a need for a deeper, truer connection to ourselves and to a spiritual world. A world that has been largely exorcised from our culture and replaced with rationalism, materialism, and individualism.
To explain the essence of peregrinatio, De Waal recounts a “ninth-century story of three Irishmen drifting over the sea for seven days, in coracles without oars.” (A coracle, as seen in the logo of this blog, is a tiny, round boat, difficult to navigate in any particular direction.) The Irishmen came ashore in Cornwall and when they were asked “where they had come from and where they were going, they answered that they ‘stole away because we wanted for the love of God to be on a pilgrimage, and we cared not where.’”
The first stop on our journey is Pune, India, where we will study and practice yoga at the Iyengar Yoga Institute for the entire month of November. After a stressful week of moving and packing and the long voyage to get here, we treated ourselves to two nights of tranquility at a luxury hotel and spa before moving into the shared apartment where will spend the month.
One of the first differences you notice at hotels, restaurants, and shops in India is the sheer number of people working in them. In Indian culture, there is a sense that if you have a successful business and are doing well, you have a duty to provide jobs for people who are not as fortunate. One of the next differences you notice is the attitude of people working in service positions. There is an incredible sweetness and friendliness, that is also incredibly genuine. One night after dinner we thanked a server who was particularly sweet and friendly, and he explained to us that he found fulfillment in making others happy through the service he gave them. There is a sense of caring for the collective, rather than just the individual, that makes these interactions palpably different than what I have experienced in the States.
I discovered De Waal’s book after my interest in Celtic spirituality was piqued by late, great Irish mystic, philosopher, and poet John O’Donohue, whose words and voice have had a profound influence on me. Prior to hearing him, I never knew that a human being could say things that were so beautiful. If you have not heard it, I highly recommend listening to his “On Being” interview with Krista Tippett (and anything else by him). Through him I became interested in Christian mysticism, in its parallels with yoga philosophy, and in the parallels between contemplative spiritual traditions in the East and the West. I will be exploring these ideas on this trip and in this blog. The last stop on our trip will take us to O’Donohue’s native land of the West of Ireland.
Peregrinatio involves a form of self-exile, a leaving behind of one’s home and of that which is familiar and safe. In stripping away the familiar and the safe, the world comes into focus. In facing the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable, one comes face to face with oneself. Peregrinatio is not just wandering, is not aimless. For one who is in exile, the idea of home is always front and center. The pilgrim must find the way home to his or her own true self. As De Waal says, “to be earthed and grounded in the reality of being at home in one’s own self and in the world around touches on something that is essential, necessary, if the journey is to have a form and shape.”
This is the first in a series of posts written during our travels. You can find the next post here. You can sign up for email alerts about future posts here.
