what does bushwalking mean to you spiritually?

[puredingo]

Hmmm, as others have said already this is a hard topic to reply to. For me it's hard to explain firstly because "spiritually" has a few different degree's or depths and secondly being a relatively uneducated man finding the words to express myself is a challenge in itself...but I'll try.

Bushwalking has always been in my life. As a kid growing up on the Woronora river rarely a day would go by where I wouldn't head off into the bush exploring, animal gazing and all the other things i still do today. Best of all I loved the summer afternoons where I would walk way up stream to where I know nobody ever goes, find a nice flat rock and lay breast down with just my head hanging over, there i would watch for hours the Eels scope the under shelf for food or the Tortoise rise up looking to come aboard their baking rock only to see the inquisitive intruder staring down, think better of it and sink away agian into the abyss. Then when the sun would be doing it's hottest work on my back I'd leap into the cool river, frog for awhile in the moderate top layer of water and then when aclimatized dive down deep to get the sudden shock only a blast of freezing fresh water can deliver.

After the swim the time where I'd sit back on rock, drying in the sun, the summer nor/easter rustling through the gums above, threatening to turn southerly and blow those dark storm clouds in from out at sea..that time was intensely spiritual for me...Nobody in cooee, the changing weather..there was peace. The feeling of contentment and belonging a that exact moment would wash over me with such strenght at times I swear I thought I would burst.

What does bushwalking mean to me spiritually...EVERYTHING. Because at times, 25 years later, In all the turmoil and hustle bustle of grown up life... I can still capture that feeling when I go bush and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[stepbystep]

That's great that bushwalking has had such a positive effect on your life, TM!

+1 That's awesome and a great story, thanks for posting it.

[stu]

That's great that bushwalking has had such a positive effect on your life, TM!

+1 That's awesome and a great story, thanks for posting it.

+1 more, a very brave story, thank you.
Freeing oneself of the shackles and complexities of life and the modern world is a gift I feel very priveleged to be able to access so easily...life at it's simplest rather than life at it's most complicated...call it regression, I call it the other home

[whynotwalk]

... and maybe this has something to do with it.

Deep inside of us there is a pattern for the health of our souls and, according to that pattern, we only feel right when we make our own grandiosity genuflect before something that is really great. - Ronald Rolheiser

cheers

Peter

[wayno]

you wonder who is more advanced, aborigine's living traditionally had more time to engage in spirituality than we do today.
regardles of what people think about their faith, I have no opinion here on their faith and dont want this to be a forum for opinion on specific religeous faiths I want to avoid peoples religeous believfs in this thread please,
Just the fact they had more spare time on their hands to contemplate their spiritual link with their environment than westernised man does today.

[stepbystep]

Perhaps said best by Peter Dombrovskis..??

"When you go out there you don't get away from it all, you get back to it all. You come home to what's important. You come home to yourself."

Makes sense to me

[wildlight]

Perhaps said best by Peter Dombrovskis..??

"When you go out there you don't get away from it all, you get back to it all. You come home to what's important. You come home to yourself."

Makes sense to me

And at home he breathed his last, surrounded by the immense landscape that meant so much to him, that he shared so beautifully with all of us.

May he rest in peace.

Safe steps

Wildlight

[tas-man]

For those of you who have contributed to this topic, you may find this 1976 study of some interest - Michael Paffard, "The Unattended Moment, Excerpts from Autobiographies with Hints and Guesses" Publisher: S.C.M. Press Ltd.. Place of Publication: London. Excerpts can be read on line here - http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=82280619

An extract from the introduction that gives some insight into this work -

"After all these disclaimers, what are the specimens in the
collection, the pieces of the puzzle? Dr Johnson said, 'A man
will turn over half a library to make one book' and that, more
or less, is what I have done. It will soon be apparent that the
shelves of autobiography and memoir have been most frequent-
ly ransacked. And what have I pilfered from other men's
memories? That is not so easily answered: moments certainly;
brief flashes of experience, often but not always in childhood or
adolescence and so out-of-the-ordinary as to seem to belong
to a dimension other than the quotidian, to be epiphanies of
another order of reality: unattended moments in the sense that
they do not seem to fit into our ordinary pattern of experience
and are therefore difficult to come to terms with, to think about
or to communicate. The limits of our language are the limits
of our world to the extent that they circumscribe what we
can normally think and speak about, but we are aware of
another world just outside the limits. The Unattended
Moment is a misnomer in that the authors I have quoted
in this book are unusual precisely because they have attended
and do find words to talk about experience which is usually
inarticulate and therefore unattended.

What I have done in collecting their experiences together
scarcely amounts to providing hints and guesses: it has been
rather a matter of erecting a framework, a plain setting for
those passages which have impressed me as containing echoes
of that twilight terra incognita beyond the limits where words
fail though meanings still exist."

[Swifty]

ok

[Nick S]

Trying to avoid "religious talk" as much as possible while still keeping to the subject as requested in the OP (but difficult for me, because spirituality and religion are inseparable - to me)...

What I thought as soon as i read the OP. Most people think of spirituality as a private, deep experience without a specific/organised structure, but religion is spiritual and spirituality can also be considered religious.
Regardless, there is a definite sense of emotions and feelings that the wilderness can evoke.

A couple of things really help to intensify the 'spiritual' power of a buswalk for me is to a. go solo. It's fun to go with others but I find its just so much more rewarding doing it alone, maybe a little bit of fear sharpens it all? and you're guaranteed that the only annoying person to put up with is yourself b. Go somewhere new and or off track or with minimal tracks to follow. You really have to be aware of your surroundings and you're forced to take it all in as opposed to track or road-bashing where you can just have your head down stomp away and c. go for a few days at least, it takes me a day or two just to flush civilisation out of my system and come back to myself and really start enjoying it.

^+1

[tasadam]

...a definite sense of emotions and feelings that the wilderness can evoke.

That's about it.

[gbagua]

Qi. The natural environment is charged with negative ions as opposed to the urban environment, in which the positive type is plentiful.

http://www.comtech-pcs.com/whatareions.html

[arodmr]

As a kid I was given a copy of Paddy Palin's bushwalking guide. I was taken with the quote in this special book - from Robert Service's (1874-1958) poem:

"They have cradled you in custom,
They have primed you with their preaching,
They have soaked you in convention
Through and through;
They have put you in a showcase;
You're a credit to their teaching —
But can't you hear the Wild?
— It's calling you.
Let us probe the silent places,
Let us seek what luck betide us;
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
There's a whisper on the night-wind,
There's a star agleam to guide us,
And the Wild is calling,
Calling . . . let us go."

the whole poem goes on a bit and some parts not politically correct to current societal values - but the spirit of the closing stanza has consistently resonated. Particularly that special time I suspect most can relate to - the emotions when setting off from the trackhead on a new adventure. John

[Onestepmore]

Good thread, some great insights
Oh lol I have to post, but i've just driven back from the airport and it's 41deg C and I've had a couple of glasses of wine
I may regret what I write
Let me go kill a few pixellated monsters in my game first

[tasadam]

<snip>...and I've had a couple of glasses of wine
I may regret what I write

Chicken! Doesn't stop me... (link)

[corvus]

<snip>...and I've had a couple of glasses of wine
I may regret what I write

Chicken! Doesn't stop me... (link)

Wise to cautious ,what is it they say? in vino veritas
corvus

[neilmny]

'And thus I am absorbed, and this is LIFE!'

Byron.

This says it all NNW.

The time I am truly at peace is when in the bush. The smells, the sounds, the sights................ and thus I am absorbed.

[Onestepmore]

OK, I had a think, and instead of rabbiting on about all sorts of D&M's (deep and meaningfuls for those not teenagers in the 80's) I have realised that the one overriding thing I realise when I am out in the bush is that You Don't Matter. I don't mean this in a bad way. I mean that if I've had a particularly stressful week at work, difficult clients, cases that have not resolved favourably, things that have upset me or made me feel frustated, injustices in the world, bad things that have happened to other people, arguments I have had with my husband or family - they all seem to melt away. A small being, walking in the vastness of time and space. I look up and see boulders tumbled down, thrown as if by a huge casual hand. Maybe I could have been a bug that got smashed by one if in the wrong place at the wrong time, but here I stand, gazing in wonder. I imagine the huge torrents of water that once gushed down, or immense rivers of ice - larger than I can perceive, and my worries and anxieties dissolve. I guess it just puts it all into perspective and I return refreshed and revived.

I remember once recently, walking along, and the conversation (debate, aka disagreement) was about wether we should get a Mazda CX5 or a Toyota Kluger as our new car. What had seemed so important over the past few days seemed silly and insignificant, and I found the further we walked, it became impossible to talk about this issue, and intead became absorbed in the beauty and perfection of each tiny wildflower in bloom. It sounds corny, but it seemed almost irreverant to argue about such a silly thing, when in the grand scheme of things IT DIDN'T MATTER.

[neilmny]

Who was a teenager in the 80's.......I had 2 kids by then........and definitely the Kluger

[Onestepmore]

Who was a teenager in the 80's.......I had 2 kids by then........and definitely the Kluger

Kluger won. I'm actually off to pick it up today.

[wayno]

OK, I had a think, and instead of rabbiting on about all sorts of D&M's (deep and meaningfuls for those not teenagers in the 80's) I have realised that the one overriding thing I realise when I am out in the bush is that You Don't Matter. I don't mean this in a bad way. I mean that if I've had a particularly stressful week at work, difficult clients, cases that have not resolved favourably, things that have upset me or made me feel frustated, injustices in the world, bad things that have happened to other people, arguments I have had with my husband or family - they all seem to melt away. A small being, walking in the vastness of time and space. I look up and see boulders tumbled down, thrown as if by a huge casual hand. Maybe I could have been a bug that got smashed by one if in the wrong place at the wrong time, but here I stand, gazing in wonder. I imagine the huge torrents of water that once gushed down, or immense rivers of ice - larger than I can perceive, and my worries and anxieties dissolve. I guess it just puts it all into perspective and I return refreshed and revived.

I remember once recently, walking along, and the conversation (debate, aka disagreement) was about wether we should get a Mazda CX5 or a Toyota Kluger as our new car. What had seemed so important over the past few days seemed silly and insignificant, and I found the further we walked, it became impossible to talk about this issue, and intead became absorbed in the beauty and perfection of each tiny wildflower in bloom. It sounds corny, but it seemed almost irreverant to argue about such a silly thing, when in the grand scheme of things IT DIDN'T MATTER.

yup theres a few cilents i'd like to put out in the wildernes to get them to put the world into perspective.....

[DarrellJNewsome]

I've not actually done any hiking yet, with my first trip next month. I do, however, love trail running. There's a great Primo Levi quote featured within the Christopher McCandless story, Into the Wild, which I use as a mantra for trail running and life itself. I guess that, to me, it is a more eloquent way of phrasing of "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." It is this quote that drives me to spend time alone, test myself, and further my self-awareness.

"These are things that make your back broad, which isn’t something Nature gives everyone. I read somewhere—and the person who wrote this was not a mountaineer but a sailor—that the sea’s only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don’t know much about the sea, but I do know that that’s the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head..." - Primo Levi
(http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/featur ... ction_levi)

I've also come to love that Byron quote, which will also be a staple in future.

[andrewbish]

Perhaps said best by Peter Dombrovskis..??
"When you go out there you don't get away from it all, you get back to it all. You come home to what's important. You come home to yourself."
Makes sense to me

Love it. I really dig the stuff that's been shared in this thread. In my rediscovery of the wild places that began a couple of years ago, I have found myself in places that just felt right, natural. For me, there is certainly a spiritual aspect to this. There's an expansion/extroversion that occurs. A lightness of being. It is rather addictive.

My wife is, naturally , has a less lofty take on my activities: "You just go out there so you can get something to write about in your blog so people will talk to you!" There's just no BS when you've been with someone for 20 odd years, is there?

[neilmny]

It's good to have a partner that keeps your feet planted firmly on the ground.
My wife (of 36 years) is another that speaks very plainly (to me anyway not so much others) and I like it.....I think
No secrets, no hidden meanings, definitely no guide to secret womens business required here

[Adventurouswomen]

Solitude....slows the mind, I always come back from a bushwalk feeling refreshed and re-energized.

[quicky]

OK, I had a think, and instead of rabbiting on about all sorts of D&M's (deep and meaningfuls for those not teenagers in the 80's) I have realised that the one overriding thing I realise when I am out in the bush is that You Don't Matter. I don't mean this in a bad way. I mean that if I've had a particularly stressful week at work, difficult clients, cases that have not resolved favourably, things that have upset me or made me feel frustated, injustices in the world, bad things that have happened to other people, arguments I have had with my husband or family - they all seem to melt away. A small being, walking in the vastness of time and space. I look up and see boulders tumbled down, thrown as if by a huge casual hand. Maybe I could have been a bug that got smashed by one if in the wrong place at the wrong time, but here I stand, gazing in wonder. I imagine the huge torrents of water that once gushed down, or immense rivers of ice - larger than I can perceive, and my worries and anxieties dissolve. I guess it just puts it all into perspective and I return refreshed and revived.

I remember once recently, walking along, and the conversation (debate, aka disagreement) was about wether we should get a Mazda CX5 or a Toyota Kluger as our new car. What had seemed so important over the past few days seemed silly and insignificant, and I found the further we walked, it became impossible to talk about this issue, and intead became absorbed in the beauty and perfection of each tiny wildflower in bloom. It sounds corny, but it seemed almost irreverant to argue about such a silly thing, when in the grand scheme of things IT DIDN'T MATTER.

Well said. It is a very humbling experience everytime I head outdoors. As individuals, we are very insignificant amidst the grandiose of nature. Yes... it certainly keeps me in check.

[Happy Pirate]

I have tried to write about this but it's a tough topic for general discussion.

I consider wilderness to be my church.
Not in any pretentious or new age fundamentalism way but it's hard to discuss without sounding like that. Here goes though.

Wilderness is where I go to feel awed and humbled by that which is greater than I. It is where I go to commune with that that I most love and admire.
Worship is about humbling yourself to that which is greater and showing due respect. This is what I feel I do on ventures out bush. It's why I mainly walk alone; away from chatter and very human concerns.
Nature gives us life (literally) and all the necessary requirements to live: home, sustenance, wisdom, inspiration.
A benevolent Monotheistic God could offer no more and there can be no debates over the existence of Nature.
What more could we want?

Steve

[Taurë-rana]

Some interesting thoughts here, it's a deep question, but have had a wine or two, so thought I'd answer as far as I can.
It's very simple, it's necessary for my soul. I believe that not being able to bushwalk contributed to if not caused the break up of my marriage.

It's where I am at peace, whether it is Kakadu, or the mighty Victorian forests, or the gorges of the Hammersly Ranges, or my own Tasmanian bush. It's where I belong. I've always been more at home in the bush - when I was still in England and very small I would roam the creek that ran behind our house. When we moved here, I explored miles of the hills behind Taroona by myself. While I was on the OT recently, I was terrified of coming home.

In some ways it's hard - physically hard, but in others it is easy - there is no ambivalence in the nature of the challenges that face you, and therefore you can face them head on. Life in our society is just so confusing, but in the bush there is clarity even if you are in difficult situations. And the beauty goes deep into your soul and gives you peace.

[prickle]

Nice Taurë-rana .... as I look forward to a day in a confusing workplace

[wayno]

variety is the spice of life...