Undertaking a pilgrimage to a special place is an invocation. It makes a statement that you wish to blend your personal presence with another presence, forming a unity that results in something larger than normal. Following a visit to a special place, sometimes there is an "answer" to your pilgrimage. It may be a phone call from someone, a creative insight, or a synchronous meeting with someone. If one believes that the earth is alive and that we all are part of a great golden chain of natural systems, then making a special effort to visit a sacred place is like a prayer.
— James Swan, Dialogues with the Living Earth by James Swan, editor, Roberta Swan, editor