Pico Iyer on how solitude, stillness, and silence play an essential counterbalance to the traveling life
Description
“In solitude, I often feel closer to the people I care for than when they’re in the same room.” –Pico Iyer
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pico talk about how the best travels are often counterbalanced with a kind of stillness, in which one can find one’s “best self” (3:00 ); Pico’s decades-long experiences with monks in a California monastery, the benefits of a “childlike attitude” toward life, and how “fire” can be a metaphor for spiritual life (12:00 ); how Pico’s solitude is informed by, and in conversation with, nature (22:00 ); Pico’s engaged relationship with spiritual communities, even though he is not religious (30:00 ); the “counterculture” spiritual tradition that grew up around Big Sur, California, and the power of longing (39:00 ); and how solitude can be a gateway to other people (47:00 ).
Pico Iyer (@PicoIyer) is a novelist, essayist, and author. His newest book is Aflame: Learning from Silence.
Notable Links:
- Pico Iyer on what Japan can teach us about life (Deviate episode 73)
- The Vagabond’s Way, by Rolf Potts (book)
- Henri Nouwen (writer and theologian)
- New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton (book)
- The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual leader)
- The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen (book)
- Richard Powers (novelist)
- Desert Fathers (early Christian hermits and ascetics)
- Sign of Jonas, by Thomas Merton (book)
- Days of Heaven (1978 film)
- 4′33″ by John Cage (musical composition)
- New Camaldoli Hermitage (hermitage in Big Sur, California)
- Rigveda (ancient Indian collection of hymns)
- The Woman Lit by Fireflies, by Jim Harrison (book)
- Sarmoung Brotherhood (esoteric Sufi brotherhood)
- Henry Miller (novelist)
- Esalen Institute (retreat center in Big Sur)
- Bittersweet, by Susan Cain (book)
- Leonard Cohen (songwriter)
- Ludwig Wittgenstein (philosopher)
The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.
Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.
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