2024 TRAVEL PROGRAMS with PHIL COUSINEAU
September 16-20, 2024
FRANCE: Experience Chartres with Phil Cousineau and Brian Swimme
The Labyrinthine Spiritual Quest To Find Meaning And Beauty In The Universe With Phil Cousineau & Dr. Brian Thomas Swimme
A Walking A Sacred Path Pilgrimage in Chartres, France, hosted by the Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress and Veriditas
The Universe is thrumming with energy, mystery, and beauty. These qualities are marvelous gifts from Creation, but as the mystics and poets tell us, we must actively participate with joy amid the sorrows of the world. When we embrace courage, we begin a pilgrimage toward "the task of tasks that help us move from being destructive to creative presences on our struggling planet." We are co-creating a New Story.
In our workshop we will explore this glorious New Story, bringing a convergence of science, spirituality, and the arts.
For cosmologist Brian Swimme, Cosmogenesis is the realization Creation didn't happen only out there, billions of years ago—but is happening in here and now and is revealed in the development of our own imaginations. His work reflects a wild faith in the intelligence of the universe that "knew" from the very beginning that life was coming on a spiritual quest.
For mythologist Phil Cousineau, the New Story is a Numinous Narrative reflecting our desire to create art, a recognition of the alluring power of beauty, in the classical Greek sense, and personified as Aphrodite or Venus.
What better place to delve into these mysteries than the great pilgrimage center of Chartres! Our week features presentations by Swimme and Cousineau including storytelling, poetry, film clips, creative exercises and ample time for conversation.
Learn more about this workshop in Chartres, France, on the Veriditas website. For more information, please contact Kathleen Stewart with Veriditas at kathleen@veriditas.org or call 604-874-7922.
Telling stories on "A Pilgrimage to the Mystery Centers of Ancient Greece."
Phil Cousineau has led small group travel programs to sacred and culturally rich places since 1984.
Phil Cousineau: Small group travel journey leader since 1984
Phil Cousineau led his first travel program to Ireland in 1984 with poet Robert Bly. The story of the group's visit to a local pub with poet Seamus Heaney, who regaled the group by reciting Yeats to them by heart, is legendary. Phil Cousineau's next trip, in 1985, was an exploration of Arthurian England with Marion Zimmer Bradley (her first trip to England) and Geoffrey Ashe. The high standard for Phil's travel journeys with unique itineraries and soulful storytelling at sacred sites was cast.
Other past travel programs include "Bohemian Paris," "Myth and Mystery in the Mediterranean," "The Soul of Ireland" and "A Pilgrimage to the Mystery Centers of Ancient Greece," to name a few. Phil has led tours for Cross Cultural Journeys, Timeless Travels, The Joseph Campbell Foundation, the Institute of Imaginal Studies, Book Passage, and for the last several years, for Sacred Earth Journeys.
Check out this interview with Phil Cousineau on the importance of pilgrimage in today's fast-paced world.