The Pilgrimage is a 1987

1987 in literature

The year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian novelist Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist.-Biography:Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with "My dear, your father is an engineer. He's a logical,...

. It is a recollection of Paulo's experiences as he made his way across Northern Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 on the Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela

Way of St. James

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

 in 1986.

Plot summary

The book starts as he fails his initiation

Initiation

Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...

 into the order Regnus Agnus Mundi (RAM) and is then told he must complete the pilgrimage to gain the right of admission.

He begins his journey with a guide, also a member of RAM, who goes by the alias Petrus. During the journey Petrus shows him meditation exercises and introduces him to some of the more down-to-earth elements of Western

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 mystical

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 thought and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

.

There are described eleven RAM exercises/rituals in the book and they are presented in such order:

• The Seed Exercise
• The Speed Exercise
• The Cruelty Exercise
• The Messenger Ritual
• The Arousal of Intuition(The Water Exercise)
• The Blue Sphere Exercise
• The Buried Alive Exercise
• The RAM Breathing Exercise
• The Shadows Exercise
• The Listening Exercise
• The Dance Exercise

Paulo Coelho mentions that all these exercises can be carried out except "The Messenger Ritual", which should not be carried out under any circumstances as its description is incomplete and it will not bring positive results.

External links

• The Pilgrimage Blog