The Renaissance was a period of triumph for the arts and reestablishment of Classical style and philosophy. It comes as no surprise that this artistic rebirth following The Dark Ages began in a land renowned for la dolce vita: Italy. Like much of Europe, Italy is a time capsule. Going there, one feels integrated into a past time of great myth, lore, and artistic triumph. It’s a place to truly experience the power of art.
Since we’ll be visiting Italy on our Mythic Italy tour, it’s fitting to explore how the art you’ll be shown there by Phil Cousineau can be a true catalyst for your transformation.
Art: Healer of the Soul and Catalyst for Self-Discovery
In an interview with Phil exploring the essence of sacred travel, he says: “‘sacred’ refers to something that is worthy of our reverence and our respect. The Greeks had this marvelous notion that a profound experience can be impressed into the soul as if the soul were wax. That’s thinking like an artist, like a painter, like a photographer.” Thinking like an artist while traveling allows the art to leave an imprint on the soul. There’s no better place than Rome to allow this process to ensue.
Rome (where our journey begins) is renowned for its glorious architecture, food, and literature. In his epic poem titled The Aeneid, Rome’s great poet Virgil pseudo-historically retrieves the torch of political and artistic authority from Classical Greece and brings it to Rome. The poetry therein cleverly sings of Rome’s founding, and Virgil calls it imperium sine fine, or, an empire without end. This helped establish Rome as “The Eternal City.”
While pondering deeply over Virgil’s work and its effects, the power of art becomes apparent. In this “Eternal City,” history plays out before its viewer’s eyes. But what can the art do to us? How can it alter who we wish to be on a creative and even spiritual level?
Art takes us outside the confines of our worlds and drops us off into alternate realities. There, we grow creative, empathetic, inquisitive, inspired, and even grateful. We’re placed in a melancholy landscape, for example, while viewing the “blue period” paintings by Picasso. There, we can empathize with the sorrow Picasso faced at the death of his beloved friend. As another example, we experience an inspirational glow of curiosity at experiencing the monumental foundations of Romulus and Remus in Rome. If we look at these things deeply enough, we begin to feel our own creative desires sparking. A thankfulness becomes planted in the soul, and a sense of inspired clarity ensues. But what can this do for us and our return from an artistic journey abroad?
Embracing the Power of Art for a World That Needs It
Walking ancient streets, particularly those of a place like Italy, one naturally wonders how our modern world became so deprived of the importance of art. For example, much of modern architecture is no longer designed and built in an inspiring fashion. While Western civilizations of the past depended on art for civil satisfaction and political triumph, modern Western civilization is largely lacking artistic motivations.
Roaming the streets of a place with ancient roots, we feel the earth all around us—we feel a sacred wholeness and the inevitable lull of artistic pursuit. We can accurately say that the world needs more people who are willing to follow such a pursuit, especially those who are willing to go on pilgrimages and become inspired.
Going on a pilgrimage amounts to an eventual return with a gift for the pilgrim’s community. This is no physical gift for said community, but rather a changed soul ready to partake in service of some kind. In myth and lore of old, the archetypal “hero’s journey” often includes “the hero’s return” in which the hero’s transformation becomes the community’s or even the world’s transformation as well.
To visit mythic Italy is to go on a creative, and yes, spiritual pilgrimage. Such a journey among the power of art can reinspire the pilgrim’s creative side or even inspire the very beginnings of artistic endeavor.
The Importance of Embracing La Dolce Vita
Italy is the place to go to experience the sweet life (called la dolce vita by the locals). The phrase itself comes from the name of an art piece, namely, a film by Frederico Fellini. The film is set during the end of the 1950s, a time of post-World War II economic boom for Italy (and especially Rome). Although “the sweet life” is now often associated with indulgence and worldly pleasures, it has a spiritual component especially when conceived under a mindful context.
To the pilgrim, la dolce vita has much to do with worldly goods, yes, but the focus is placed on their transformational powers. Also, much of these goods are artistic in nature such as good food, good wine, good coffee, and amusing visual arts.
Many Italians based in Rome would agree that cum Romanis feceris quod in romam facere, or, “when in Rome do as the Romans do.” The phrase reveals an essential component of spiritual travel: becoming as one with a culture and place.
In the field of anthropology, there are stories of researchers becoming engrossed in the cultures they study. Many find new sides of themselves and wish to never return home. Others return changed for the better when all they expected to do was examine a culture. Like these anthropologists, we must go deeper than simply analyzing culture from the outside-in. For a sacred journey to ensue, we must fully integrate ourselves in the experience of culture and “do as the Romans do.”
While visiting Italy, we’ll be using our senses to become Italian for awhile. We’ll savor the food, coffee, and wines of the region with the intention of merging with a rich, ancient culture. We’ll be visiting cities that contain rich literary traditions such as Florence. We’ll be examining how creative, spiritual power brings about civilizations that continue to attract curious pilgrims long after their fall.
