The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many have found richness in stillness and what - from Marcel Proust to Blaise Pascal to Phillipe Starck - they’ve gained there. In this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. There is even a growing trend toward observing an "Internet sabbath" every week, turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning and reviving those ancient customs known as family meals and conversation. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Iyer reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people - even those with no religious commitment - seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. In The Art of Stillness, Iyer draws on the lives of well-known wanderer-monks like Cohen - as well as from his own experiences as a travel writer who chooses to spend most of his time in rural Japan - to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. As a journalist and novelist, he travels the globe. The acquisition is a substantial addition to The Huntington’s already extensive holdings in fiction and travel literature.
PICO THE ART OF STILLNESS ARCHIVE
But he has become one of our most beloved and eloquent translators of the modern rediscovery of inner life. 2 days ago &0183 &32 The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced today that it has acquired the archive of acclaimed novelist and travel writer Pico Iyer, author of such bestsellers as The Art of Stillness and The Open Road.
![pico the art of stillness pico the art of stillness](https://i0.wp.com/www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/howtobealone_photobymariapopova1.jpg)
![pico the art of stillness pico the art of stillness](https://www.madrasshoppe.com/105777-large_default/the-art-of-stillness-adventures-in-going-nowhere-ted-pico-iyer.jpg)
Why would a man who seems able to go everywhere and do anything - like the international heartthrob and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen - choose to spend years sitting still and going nowhere? What can Nowhere offer that no Anywhere can match? And why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room and getting to know the seasons and landscapes of Nowhere might be the ultimate adventure? The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer TRANSCRIPT FOR PICO IYER THE ART OF STILLNESS KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: Pico Iyer is not a spiritual teacher or even, he says, a spiritual person per se. A follow up to Pico Iyer's essay "The Joy of Quiet," The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug. THE ART OF STILLNESS Limited Edition prints Images are from the book The Art of Stillness: Adventures of going nowhere written by Pico Iyer, published by. 1 day ago &0183 &32 San Marino, CA The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced today that it has acquired the archive of acclaimed novelist and travel writer Pico Iyer, author of such bestsellers as The Art of Stillness and The Open Road.The acquisition is a substantial addition to The Huntington’s already extensive holdings in fiction and travel literature.