THE WAY THINGS ARE: Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life

The 23 interviews and essays in this volume offer a uniquely personal perspective on Huston Smith's own spiritual journey and a window into his wide-ranging reflections on the nature and importance of the religious quest. Readers will find eminent and beloved religion scholar Smith conversing with some of the world's most influential personalities and religious thinkers, from journalist Bill Moyers to religion scholar Philip Novak, and recounting his personal experiences with such luminaries as Joseph Campbell, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, Daisetz Suzuki, Ram Dass, and the Dalai Lama. (University of California Press)

"Cousineau's stunning preface is worth the price of admission alone."
--Publishers Weekly

James Botsford, Huston Smith, and Phil Cousineau in front of Syracuse University's Bird Library in February 2005.

Event Links & More

Find Phil Cousineau
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Phil Cousineau on THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE, WORDCATCHER, and more | Stanford Women's Book Club | East Bay location TBA
Thursday, March 1, 2012, 9:30 AM - Noon
Keynote Speaker Phil Cousineau on "Graduate Study Abroad and The Art of Pilgrimage" | Global View Symposium on Graduate Study Abroad | Michigan State University | MSU Union | East Lansing, MI
March 16, 2012 8:30 - 3:30 PM
"April in Paris" Art, Literary and Culinary Tour with Phil Cousineau & Mort Rosenblum | A Book Passage Travel Program Abroad | Paris & Giverny, France
April 22-29, 2012 (plus optional 3 day writer's workshop extension)
Phil Cousineau leads a "Sacred Odyssey into the Heart of Ancient Greece: The Myths, Heroes, Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece." Join the journey!
June 12 - 22, 2012 (optional Crete exension, June 20 - 25)
Phil Cousineau on THE PAINTED WORD with Gregg Chadwick | City Lights Booksellers | 261 Columbus Avenue | San Francisco, California
September 13, 2012, 7:00 PM
Phil Cousineau on Creativity and Passing the Torch @​ TEDxSan Jose | People, Passion, Possibilities: Making a Difference
Watch Phil's TEDx talk on YouTube here
WORDCATCHER is on NPR's Top Books of 2010 list!
Listen here to Susan Stamburg's "Indie Booksellers Pick 2010 Favorites" segment on NPR's Morning Edition.
Phil Cousineau's Books on Amazon
Look for Phil Cousineau's books at a bookstore near you or online at Amazon.com.
"Global Spirit" a Link TV series hosted by Phil Cousineau
Watch extended clips (and several full programs) online
The New York Times write-up on "Global Spirit" TV series
April 11, 2009
WORDCATCHER
Viva Editions, publisher's website
BEYOND FORGIVENESS
Jossey-Bass, publisher's website: Request an evaluation copy or place an order
STOKING THE CREATIVE FIRES: 9 Ways to Rekindle Passion and Imagination
Conari Press, publisher's website
Review of THE BLUE MUSEUM
San Francisco Chronicle
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
University of California Press, publisher website
THE WAY THINGS ARE
University of California Press, publisher Web site
THE OLYMPIC ODYSSEY
Quest Books, publisher's website
Gregg Chadwick on Phil Cousineau
Kifaru Productions
Native American Films
The Joseph Campbell Foundation
E-mail Phil Cousineau
for infomation on books, films, lectures, writing consultations

Books by Phil Cousineau

Nonfiction
WORDCATCHER: An Odyssey Into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words
Phil Cousineau grew up in a family where they took the dictionary with them on vacations. In WORDCATCHER, Cousineau writes about these family origins of his love of words, and describes more than 300 of his favorite words and the fascinating stories behind them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEYOND FORGIVENESS: Reflections on Atonement--Healing the Past, Making Amends, Restoring Balance in Our Lives and World
As indispensable as forgiveness has been to the healing process throughout history, there is another equally profound action that is needed for ultimate reconciliation, which Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, calls “the other side of the coin.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE OLDEST STORY IN THE WORLD
This book is a brooding, daring, exploration of the secret strength of storytelling, in which Phil Cousineau addresses the central theme which runs through all of his work, the transportive power of words. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STOKING THE CREATIVE FIRES: 9 Ways to Rekindle Passion and Imagination
Cousineau writes, "Creativity is as natural as breathing. To create is to grow, which in turn makes us feel vitally alive." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred
"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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE MEANING of TEA
Discover the meaning of tea through the eyes of tea lovers from eight countries around the world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
Huston Smith In Conversation with Native Americans on Religious Freedom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE OLYMPIC ODYSSEY
Rekindling the True Spirit of the Great Games ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE WAY THINGS ARE
Conversations with Huston Smith on the Spiritual Life ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE HERO'S JOURNEY
Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ONCE AND FUTURE MYTHS
The Power of Ancient Stories in Modern Times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOUL: An Archaeology
Readings from Socrates to Ray Charles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE BOOK OF ROADS
Travel Stories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COINCIDENCE OR DESTINY?
Stories of Synchronicity That Illuminate Our Lives ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SOUL OF THE WORLD
A Modern Book of Hours ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Poetry
NIGHT TRAIN
Poems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE BLUE MUSEUM
Poems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEADLINES
A Rhapsody on a Theme of Famous and Infamous Last Words ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FUNGOES AND FASTBALLS
Basball Haiku ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~