Mapping out dozens of deeply focused trips around the world has convinced me that preparation no more spoils the chance for spontaneity and serendipity than discipline ruins the opportunity for genuine self-expression in sports, acting, or the tea ceremony.

We travel as seekers after answers we cannot find at home

Now is the time to lead your ideal life.

Inspiration is a message-in-a-bo ttle from the distant shore, a window into the other world, a tap of the muse's finger, the grace of the gods. It comes when you least expect it.

Who knows why some words ignite the hearts of some readers while others are like wet matches that won't light.

There is an unknown room in the soul that is constantly turning the stuff of daydreams into myths for us, helping us to get at meaning we can't get to through the front door.

Myths are experienced in ordinary life, as everyday epiphanies.