{{short description|Person attempts to determine how they feel about spiritual issues or priorities}} A "'''journey of self-discovery'''" refers to a travel, pilgrimage,<ref>"[https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S13/93/40E52/ Pilgrimage takes anthropologist on journey of self-discovery]", Princeton.edu, February 7, 2006</ref> or series of events whereby a person attempts to determine how they feel, personally, about spiritual issues<ref>"[http://blogs.yu.edu/news/a-journey-of-self-discovery/ Yeshiva University News - A Journey of Self-Discovery]", Yeshiva University, February 12, 2010</ref> or priorities,<ref name="G9">"[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/oct/09/film-holidays-eat-pray-love-greece Film-inspired holidays: The Journey of self-discovery]",''The Guardian'', 9 October 2010</ref><ref>"http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/Journey-of-self-discovery/articleshow/7451701.cms Journey of self-discovery]", ''Times of India'', 18 April 2011, webpage: [https://archive.today/20130103095057/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-18/science-of-spirituality/28547781_1_dreams-awareness-kaam TOI-18].</ref> rather than following the opinions of family, friends, neighborhood<ref>"[https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/02/05/elegy-journey-of-self-discovery/ 'Elegy' journey of self-discovery]", ''Chicago Tribune'', 5 February 2002</ref> or peer pressure. The topic of '''self-discovery''' has been associated with Zen.<ref>"[http://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/aug/11/surfer-and-zen-master-discusses-journey-self-disco/ Surfer and Zen Master Discusses Journey of Self Discovery]", KPBS.org, August 11, 2009</ref>
A related term is "'''finding oneself'''".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gama |first=Daniela |date=2025-09-04 |title=The 10 Best Movies About Finding Yourself in Your 20s |url=https://collider.com/best-movies-finding-yourself-your-20s-best/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gama |first=Daniela |date=2024-11-23 |title=The 10 Best Movies About Mid-Life Self-Discovery, Ranked |url=https://collider.com/mid-life-self-discovery-movies-best-ranked/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref> There are different stages of finding oneself. Cultures from around the world have developed an array of modalities in the journey to discover oneself. In modern times practitioners and scientists have come together to create a map that brings clarity to the process of self-discovery. This is referred to as the levels of consciousness.
A journey of self-discovery is a popular theme in literature. It is sometimes used to drive the plot of a novel, play or film.<ref name=G9/><ref name="denverpost.com">"[http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_18044370?source=rss The Pride" a 50-year journey of self-discovery]" ''The Denver Post'', May 12, 2011</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhulekar |first=Anshula Udayraj |date=2024-12-24 |title=Films of Reflection: Six must-watch movies about self-discovery |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/trends/2024/Dec/24/films-of-reflection-six-must-watch-movies-about-self-discovery |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Indulgexpress |language=en}}</ref>
== Fiction == A journey of self-discovery is a popular theme in fiction.<ref name=G9/><ref name="denverpost.com"/> Drama films like ''Eat Pray Love'' (2010) and ''Life of Pi'' (2012) are examples of films associated with the idea of a journey of self-discovery.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tomar |first1=Sahil |title=Top 10 Inspiring Films to Rediscover Yourself and Find Clarity |url=https://medium.com/@sahil.z/top-10-inspiring-films-to-rediscover-yourself-and-find-clarity-1ea0fc2c9be6 |website=Medium |access-date=1 November 2023 |language=en |date=27 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wagner |first1=Rachel |title=Screening Belief: The Life of Pi, Computer Generated Imagery, and Religious Imagination |journal=Religions |date=August 2016 |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=96 |doi=10.3390/rel7080096|doi-access=free }}</ref><!--also: self-discovery of author of work by the work?-->
=== Literature === * Hermann Hesse's ''Siddhartha'' (1922)<ref name="mainstreaming">{{cite book|last1=McNenny|first1=Gerri|last2=Fitzgerald|first2=Sallyanne H.|title=Mainstreaming Basic Writers: Politics and Pedagogies of Access|date=June 2001|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135658656|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AS-RAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lamb|first1=James M.|title=BLACK|date=November 2013|publisher=Author House|isbn=9781491823774|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSgNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Learning|first1=Gale, Cengage|title=A Study Guide for Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha"|date=12 July 2016|publisher=Gale Cengage Learning|isbn=9781410357915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKCpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Billy Corgan is going to perform an eight-hour concert about Siddhartha|website=The A.V. Club|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/billy-corgan-is-going-to-perform-an-8-hour-concert-201232|accessdate=15 January 2017|date=18 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hughes|first1=Jon|title=Hermann Hesse was one of the most iconoclastic of European authors|date=18 August 2014 |url=https://theconversation.com/hermann-hesse-was-one-of-the-most-iconoclastic-of-european-authors-30137|publisher=The Conversation|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lessons from Literature: Siddhartha|url=http://georgetownvoice.com/2016/10/13/lessons-from-literature-siddhartha/|publisher=The Georgetown Voice|accessdate=15 January 2017|date=13 October 2016}}</ref> * Jack Kerouac's ''On the Road'' (1957) * Cormac McCarthy's ''All the Pretty Horses'' (1992)<ref name="mainstreaming"/> * Yann Martel's ''Life of Pi'' (2001) * Alice Sebold's ''The Lovely Bones'' (2002) * Elizabeth Gilbert's ''Eat, Pray, Love'' (2006) * Craig Thompson's ''Habibi'' (2011) * Cheryl Strayed's ''Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012)
=== Film === * ''El Topo'' (1970) and ''The Holy Mountain'' (1973) by Alejandro Jodorowsky * A film version of ''Siddhartha'' (1972) * ''The Pillow Book'' (1996) by Peter Greenaway * ''Samsara'' (2001) and ''Valley of Flowers'' (2006) by Pan Nalin * ''Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring'' (2003) by Kim Ki-duk * ''Where the Wild Things Are'' (2009) by Spike Jonze * ''Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'' (2010) and ''Cemetery of Splendour'' (2015) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul * ''The Tree of Life'' (2011) by Terrence Malick * ''Avalokitesvara'' (2013) by Zhang Xin * ''Voyage'' (2013), ''Utopians'' (2015), ''Thirty Years of Adonis'' (2017), and ''Apostles'' (2022) by Scud * ''Sodom's Cat'' (2016) by Ting-Chun Huang * ''The Red Turtle'' (2016) by Michaël Dudok de Wit * ''Please Stand By'' (2017) by Ben Lewin * ''Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts'' (2017) by Mouly Surya * ''Humba Dreams'' (2019) by Riri Riza * ''Nine Days'' (2020) by Edson Oda * ''Wendy'' (2020) by Benh Zeitlin * ''Soul'' (2020) by Pete Docter * ''Nomadland'' (2020) by Chloé Zhao * ''Across the River and into the Trees'' (2022) by Peter Flannery
== See also == {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| * Coming of age – reaching maturity, from childhood to adulthood * Cultural identity * Existential crisis * Hero's journey * Identity (social science) * Identity formation * Introspection * Know thyself * Maturity (psychological) * New Age movement * Personal development * Personal identity * Philosophy of life * Psychology of self * Religious views on the self * Self-realization * Self-reflection * Stream of consciousness (psychology) * Visionary fiction }}
== References == {{Reflist|35em}}
Category:Consciousness Category:Literary motifs Category:Self Category:Spiritual evolution