The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit (2024)

I read Shirley MacLaine's The Camino several years ago and it touched me in subtle ways as did her previous book, Out on a Limb. This review is from rereading it and trying to find that point of connection that had moved me so. Or maybe points of connection, for there are many.

First, Shirley MacLaine is no ordinary "movie star. " She is a capable writer, able to tell her story in engaging and intelligent prose, even when the subject matter is strange. She is aware of her privileged position that allows her to travel the world without the concerns that hinder the rest of us. Yet she isn't so "full of herself" that she doesn't recognize that driving desire for knowing that mark her as a sincere seeker, of knowledge and understanding, way beyond the illusions of fortune or fame.

The Camino is an apt telling of a journey undertaken by Shirley physically, spiritually, and metaphorically. She tells a story that is an engaging travelogue highlighted with spiritual connotations that inspire and enlarge the recounting of her physical traveling. Her tale is also metaphorical, told with meaning for herself and her readers. She tells us not just about the travel, but about the journey that happened in the same space and what it taught her, with the implication that we can draw similar insight from our own journeying, whether far or near.

In the introduction, she tells us what the Camino is:

"There is a famous pilgrimage that has been taken by people for centuries called the Santiago de Compostela Camino across northern Spain. It is said that the camino -- the road or the way -- lies directly under the Milky Way and follows ley lines that reflect the energy from those star systems above it."

I admire her for making that succinct description in 53 words. Then she gives us the reason people undertake the grueling, 500 mile, pilgrimage:

"The Santiago Camino...is done with the intent to find one's deepest spiritual meaning and resolutions regarding conflicts in Self."

With this intent toward spiritual self-discovery, Shirley launched her own journey down the ancient way prompted by anonymous letters sent to her during shows she was doing in South America. With further encouragement from spiritually-minded friends, she undertook the physical trek in 1994 when she was in her sixties. Just making such a trip at that time in her life is an inspiration for those of us wondering how many trips we have left in us.

She relates how she started the trek in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, crossed the Pyrenees mountains into Spain, and walked village-to-village (between cities) and staying in sordid little refugios (places for Camino pilgrims to stay the night) until she reached her journey's end at the town of Santiago de Compostela. Along the way she faced territorial dogs, rain, sometimes annoying fellow pilgrims, cold showers, intrusive paparazzi self-serving priests, and persistent dreams of her past lives, always urged on by the locals with the exhortation of: Ultreya -- move forward with courage.

Sleeping in the refugios, in the open, or sometimes ina hotel, she dreamed. At times, her dreams were so lucid she considered them visions, and they were all about her past lives. Indeed, her telling of those visions of her past lives on the Camino and in Atlantis and Lemuria are what puts this book (with her others) solidly in the "New Age" section of the book store. Enhanced by the concentrated energy of the Camino, her visions were of her travels on the Camino as a Moorish girl, apparently a mistress to Charlemagne, as a pupil of "John the Scot" (who is also one of her chief spirit guides), and as an androgynous being in Lemuria and Atlantis who was an early experiment carried out by aliens on the sexual separation of humans. The latter is an image of humanity's "split" from it's previous state of unity (between yin and yang) to its current state of disconnection, ever seeking its other half.

Such visions will be off-putting to many rational thinkers, but they should not be so quick to judge. While I personally don't believe there was a real Lemuria and Atlantis with aliens that sank into the ocean, I do believe they are powerful and persistent metaphors of our civilization and the dangers of arrogant materialism. They warn us of the inevitable collapse from living the way we do. They go along with New Age ecological themes of preserving the earth and creating sustainable modes of living, rather than the paradigm of "endless growth." Such themes are constant at the core of mystical lore, and Shirley MacLaine's works are no exception. Indeed, while she avers the reality of having had the visions, she still alludes to them as being instructive imaginings.

In The Camino, Shirley says: "Without the recognition of the soul's journey within us, we are lost and only part of what we were intended to be."

Maybe finding that lost part of us is the attraction in "journey" stories that make them classics, like The Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings and Gulliver's Travels, and The Camino. I know that, in spite of the "fantastic" parts, I've been able to relate to Shirley MacLaine's writings in my own quest for enlightenment because I recognize in her prose the quest for understanding of a fellow seeker. And so I highly recommend The Camino to you as a guidepost to help you in your own journey through this mysterious life.

Ultreya!

I first read The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit by Shirley MacLaine more than ten years ago; I could not understand why a sexagenarian, especially such a famous one, would want to walk 500 miles with belongings limited to a backpack. Though Ms. MacLaine tried to do the pilgrimage incognito, she was hounded by the press, and she recounts what she had to do to elude them. As renown as she is, the story has little to do with her acclaim and more to do with her spiritual journey. At the time, I loved the book, and it became the impetus for my walking the Camino.

Upon completing my Camino in 2011, I reread the book and marveled at Ms MacClaine’s physical strength, walking 20 miles each day and completing the 500 miles in 30 days–a feat most people half her age would find daunting. Since Ms MacLaine walked the Camino in 1994, the pilgrimage has gained popularity and many difficulties that she encountered (cold showers and attacking dogs) have been resolved. Those who read the book now, should not be dissuaded from walking the Camino because of her stories.

I was surprised in the second reading by the mysticism in the book; I had forgotten her visions, her conversations with Charlemagne, and her recollections of past lives. I recall finding her spiritual journey intriguing the first time I read the book, but this time I found these stories difficult to read and a little “out there.” I doubt that if I were to read the book now for the first time, that it would inspire me to undertake such an adventure.

I recommend this well-written book for those who enjoy mysticism, adventure, travel, and spiritual journeys.

Shirley, you jest. Much as I am charmed by your voice I am going to have to play the cynic with this one. Rather than saying nothing much really happened on your grueling spiritual pilgrimage, you and your fabulous imagination cooked up some flights of fancy once again involving reincarnation and former lives you have lived. Surprise, and...
Balderdash!
The book mostly works as an unintentionally campy journal of a wealthy, privileged Hollywood star who has so much time on her hands she can whisk about the world in search of finding "who I really am" and then write books about her travels. I enjoyed "Out on a Limb", and yes, I believe there is more to life and this world than the merely physical dimension. It's great fun to speculate about such stuff, and I too have had a few uncanny experiences, so don't assume I am saying it's all hokum. However, I can almost tell in this book when the author is stretching the limits for the sake of adding some spiritual spice to the otherwise somewhat plodding journey.
I assume her publisher was salivating for another best-seller, but this journey seemed little more than some great exercise, some sublime meditation, blisters, and sore muscles. It reads more like something well-padded tourists do to say they've done it than any kind of illuminating path bursting with epiphanies. Whenever nasty things like stinky clothing, rats on the floor of the places she spent the night, cold water showers, hideous food, and assorted threatening insects and creatures become pat of the experience one can't help but giggle at our intrepid adventurer.
She could not convince me for a nano-second that she didn't expect the paparazzi to tag along for the enlightenment, yet she makes it sound like they were her most vexing aspect of the journey. That, and her fear of being torn asunder by wild dogs, which I have read elsewhere is anything but a common occurrence as most of the dogs are described by others who have taken the trek as sleepy, sun-baked, friendly canines who are bored with the succession of "pilgrims" looking at them warily. As there was apparently nothing much else to evoke true terror or fear on this journey the reader is baited early on with the suspense of our heroine being savagely torn asunder by Cujo-like canines. She must've been tempted more than once to call her limo driver to pick her the hell up!
In summary, read it if you might find amusement in a wonderfully tough hen's "spiritual trek" and how she personifies walking sticks and reads deep and sometimes bewildering meanings into every little gila monster or bug that crosses her path. The book itself wanders into territory I would politely describe as "New Age cheese"all too often. If you enjoy that sort of thing, (and apparently thousands do), then go for it.
In the end I was left with the same question as after I read "Out on a Limb": Why is it that when Hollywood stars had past lives they are ALWAYS heroes or heroines, kings or queens, martyrs, royalty, or historical figures of great importance or at the least involved with such figures on a personal level, while the rest of us were just inconsequential working stiffs, peasants, field hands, maids or boring housekeepers? Answer: because it wouldn't make for an interesting story or movie.

The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit

Years ago, I read "Out on a Limb" by Shirley Maclaine, so knew to expect the unexpected from her.

The first three quarters of the book describe how she heard about the Camino, the journey itself, the people she met along the way, past life regressions she experienced during her quiet times....so far, very interesting, and I enjoyed following her walking travels through the sacred trail.

The last few chapters rattled me. This was where I reached "the unexpected", (which, of course, I should have expected!) I can only imagine that my own soul's journey through time was not yet ready to hear the things that Shirley Maclaine wrote about. This is not a criticism of the book, just how it felt to me. The story is written with complete honesty, and I like that. If an author, any author at all, is going to write an autobiographical account of any period of their life, I would expect nothing less, therefore, if what I read in the latter section of the book had not upset my equilibrium, my rating would be five stars. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone!

I would only recommend this book to a person who is open to hearing of possibilities other than those traditionally accepted, as per the bible. And having a mind wide open would help as well. It is evident that Shirley Maclaine realizes there may be some readers who find what they read disturbing, as warnings are strategically placed at the beginning of two such sections. I read past the first warning sign unscathed...but even though I felt my mind open to new theories, it will take some time to digest the possibility of the second concept presented.

I selected this book because I hiked the Camino last year and my memories of the experience were recently heightened by some inspirational text messages from friends that I had met along the way. Perusing the photography I had accumulated from the Camino, I sought out a book to read about someone else’s experience. I had vague recollections of the media hoopla about MacLain’s walk, but really no concept of what it had all been about. So, I decided to read this quick little book to find out; and to hopefully spur the wonderful memories that I still harbor from my personal Camino experience.

Certainly, anyone who has walked the Camino will know that, had MacLain really wished to remain incognito, it would not have been a problem. MacLain’s egotistical embellishments of being constantly accosted by hundreds of reporters is likely not even true; and certainly would not have been the case if she had endeavored to utilize even the simplest tactics to remain anonymous. MacLain writes that in every village people began hanging out of windows yelling for her, which is a bit too much to believe. I have to say that it troubles me how MacLaine has taken such liberties with the truth in order to sensationalize this book.

MacLaine populates this book with outlandish dream-like projections that bear forth some Gnostic-like fantasy that she concocts about her past lives. Unfortunately for MacLaine, she misses the most wonderful thing about the Camino, which is the inspiring interactions with other walkers. However, I must say that meeting other walkers on the Camino does seem a lot like meeting people from past lives, because they seem so immediately familiar. They walk up beside you, just as a brother or sister might; and your conversations with them forego inconsequential niceties, instead becoming immediately personal, relevant, and fully conversant. There is no reluctance to touch or hug or dine together. You sleep amidst them in the bunk rooms as you would with family, for family they are, and probably have been, for potentially much longer than any of us may actually realize.

Instead of developing these relationships, MacLaine remains aloof and openly resistant to most others during her walk, never really allowing herself to escape the cage Hollywood has erected around her. Much of her book reads like juvenile concoctions, made-up to mitigate a lack of indigenous experience. Her egotistical mindset repeatedly manifests in her writing, particularly via her constant insistence upon assuring readers that the press is following her every move. And the hate MacLaine exudes towards the press is entirely inconsistent with the life-lessons she purports to be learning. The reality is that use of a hat, sunglasses and scarf, as well as not publicizing her departure, would have been more than enough to keep MacLaine incognito on the Camino. It seems instead that MacLaine likely wanted media attention and that the whole ordeal amounted to little more than a publicity stunt. The result is a book that is largely inaccurate and quite misleading about the true Camino experience.

MacLaine’s experience seems very sterile in comparison to my own. Of even greater disappointment is MacLaine’s launch into a wildly concocted fantasy that reeks of her egoism and her apparently insatiable thirst for publicity. Not the least of these fantasies is her wild account of growing a phallus and having sex with her feminine self; or of being a close confidant to Charlemagne. MacLaine gets so carried away with her fiction that she loses her ability to communicate her actual experiences. To be frank, MacLaine is obviously more inclined toward envisioning herself as some sort of ageless spiritual master than she is in interpreting the experiences confronting her in the here-and-now.

MacLaine certainly did not fall in love with the Camino, and with other Pilgrims, as happened to myself, and those I met on my journey. Instead, MacLaine’s experience is filled with her constant personal problems and her unceasing desire to “just finish”. MacLaine writes: “I didn’t want to waste a minute when I could be walking and accomplishing my goal to finish.” Nevertheless, there are some similarities between my experience and MacLaine’s and so my review here will include the following list of them.

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It is not lost upon the thoughtful pilgrim that much of the gold and ornamentation in the many cathedrals came at the expense of the Aztec and Inca, who were slaughtered in the Americas by Spanish conquistadors. Additionally, the myriad of diabolical transgressions exercised by the Catholic Church are not lost upon the contemplative pilgrim: the dehumanization of serfs, persecutions of Jews and Protestants, the sale of indulgences, the wicked Popes, the burnings, the Inquisition, the Crusades, the persecution of scientists like Galileo and others, the holocaust, and the continued, unabashed attempts at world domination. The elaborate cathedrals along the Camino stand in testament of it all. MacLaine writes: “In every village I was awed by the opulent richness of the churches, while the poor people who attended them gave every last penny they had to the collection plate. One priest sold holy candles to the peasants, which they lit, placed on the altar, and prayed over. When they left, the priest put them up for sale again. They had paid for the privilege of praying.”

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The majority of the people I met along the way were not doing penance but were “called” to the Camino. I know this sounds weird, but the Camino “calls” most of those who walk it and I was no exception. In the first moments that I heard about the Camino I knew that it was something I would do; and many of the people I met along the way were similarly inspired. MacLaine attributes this to experiences in past lives, which seems outlandish; however, certain mysterious, synchronistic, incidents do seem to happen to people walking this route.

MacLaine writes: “There had been an impulse, almost a compulsion, that had guided us to drop our lives, put everything in suspension, and come to Spain, and none of us knew why.” Whether it be energy fields, past lives, or a profusion of Saints pushing people along, the undeniable reality is that those who walk the Camino gain in self-awareness and the memories tend to empower them for long after they’ve exited the Camino.

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In dialogue with her envisioned friends, MacLaine has one of them ask her: “Well, lassie, you baptized yourself into quite an experience, didn’t you eh?” To which she replies: “Yes, It was wonderful.” I’m reluctant to castigate MacLaine for the promenade of invisible friends she conjures along the way. Invisible friends are vital necessities for many in achieving spiritual growth. The proof of their existence hinges upon the spiritual success of those that envision them. It is impossible for a skeptic to deny life successes that accompany those who harbor deep spiritual beliefs.

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I suppose this experience of freedom may be less perceived by the independently wealthy, who already skirt about the world in total freedom anyway. But for those who spend their lives largely serving others (or other things), the Camino is largely about freedom. And for those who have a hard time releasing these things, the Camino tends to wean you from them, removing excess baggage, unnecessary fat, egoism, fear, etc.

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