View Full Version : Help me with my Thesis Reserach: Spirituality associated with Wilderness Immersion
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-24-2011, 18:11
Greetings Fellow AT Hikers!
My name is Brandon (aka sham, shaman, etc) and I'm conducting research on different aspects of wilderness immersion for my graduate thesis. I'm specifically looking into Spirituality associated with Wilderness Immersion and what attributes of the Trail add-to or detract from a spiritual experience.
I will be going NOBO myself this summer to try and document my own experience, but I would like to use a handful of thru-hiker's trail journals if I can find enough volunteers. I would like to take 4-6 thru-hikers' trail journals and read them (unabridged/unedited) for insights on people's experiences and how they may affect their perception of spirituality in the wilderness. By 'coding' or grouping like experiences between volunteers I hope to gain some insights.
If anyone who has previously thru-hiked the Trail or will be this season and would like to participate, we should talk more about it! Please give any insights you may have on Spirituality on the Trail here and don't hesitate to PM me if you have a trail journal to share!
More to come.... Thank you everyone!
Crazyhair
03-24-2011, 19:25
I may not be the perfect person to comment on this subject however I feel I have a good grasp of what you're looking for here. The reason I say that I might not be the perfect person to comment is because I'm Miamis Indian. With all Native Americans we share a reverance for the natural world and the only way to truly feel that we are part of the hoop is to emerse ourselves in it. Many people don't understand the beliefs just as we don't truly understand theirs. The amazing thing is that total emersion into the natural world brings all of the faiths together. This is a larger undertaking than you realize (in my opinion only). Before you finish with your project I suggest taking in the natural world at whatever level you feel comfortable with...and then take it a step farther. Only by chalenging your body and mind can you truly understand how the natural world cleanses your soul.
Slo-go'en
03-24-2011, 20:07
I don't know if hiking the AT is much of a wilderness immersion. Mostly it's a walk from one AYCE buffet to another AYCE buffet.
You will however, find pleanty of opportunities to be "born again" along the trail. Mostly in NC, but also in VA to some extent. There have been some extended discussions about spritiuality, religion and "witnessing" on AT here on WB, you should be able to find them if you look around a bit.
Lone Wolf
03-24-2011, 20:13
hikers high. endorphins. a thru-hike is a marathon. not a spiritual thing. you find that long after you get your photo taken at that sign.
Ladytrekker
03-24-2011, 20:17
Greetings Fellow AT Hikers!
My name is Brandon (aka sham, shaman, etc) and I'm conducting research on different aspects of wilderness immersion for my graduate thesis. I'm specifically looking into Spirituality associated with Wilderness Immersion and what attributes of the Trail add-to or detract from a spiritual experience.
I will be going NOBO myself this summer to try and document my own experience, but I would like to use a handful of thru-hiker's trail journals if I can find enough volunteers. I would like to take 4-6 thru-hikers' trail journals and read them (unabridged/unedited) for insights on people's experiences and how they may affect their perception of spirituality in the wilderness. By 'coding' or grouping like experiences between volunteers I hope to gain some insights.
If anyone who has previously thru-hiked the Trail or will be this season and would like to participate, we should talk more about it! Please give any insights you may have on Spirituality on the Trail here and don't hesitate to PM me if you have a trail journal to share!
More to come.... Thank you everyone!
You need to read last year thru journals of Wags and Gangsta I read each and every page of both journals following their thru last year. Two of the best I have read.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=7553
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=8499
fiddlehead
03-24-2011, 21:03
CDT would be the better hike for your needs.
Or Utah hiking maybe.
AT thru-hike is too crowded.
You need that "alone time"
Good luck anyway.
I don't know if hiking the AT is much of a wilderness immersion. Mostly it's a walk from one AYCE buffet to another AYCE buffet.
You will however, find pleanty of opportunities to be "born again" along the trail. Mostly in NC, but also in VA to some extent. There have been some extended discussions about spritiuality, religion and "witnessing" on AT here on WB, you should be able to find them if you look around a bit.
I wish I had said that... :)
misadventurers
03-24-2011, 21:15
Not sure if it matters for your field, but it occurred to me that by sharing what you're studying when requesting volunteers before they begin, you could be getting some biased data. Would it be better to (randomly) select archival data (past journals)? Then again, you could argue that you're priming your volunteers to ensure that you get information on the topic you want.
(I'm not a thru hiker, but if I was I would be interested in helping!)
Majortrauma
03-24-2011, 21:25
OK, so I'm not a thru hiker but as a no joke practicing Catholic I am wholly comfortable with seeing the outdoors and the AT as a religious experience.
The spirituality I experience in the woods is exceptionally refreshing, calming and rejuvenating and totally compatible with my faith except for the fact that I am unable to receive the sacraments as readily as I would if I were not on the trail.
Mountain Mike
03-24-2011, 22:40
Though raised as a cathlic I no lnger pratice it though I consider myself sprititual & religious. Hard not to be when you are out in God's country. I have had several spots where I just had to stop & thank God & think of him. I have some old journals I have typed up if you are interested pm or email me
Despite the "in denial" cynics, all contact with the outdoors and natural things is spiritual for those of us able to rise above cynicism, and simply let wildness do what wildness does.
When I walked north 18 years ago, my aim was to explore the physical nature of the trail. I wanted to compare the south with the north that I had been walking and maintaining for decades.
I did that. But doing so also changed my life. Not dramatically. Few from the outside notice, I'm sure. But my thoughts and my daily experiences have not been the same since.
I wish I had words to explain the change. But that requires someone more skilled with words than I am.
But for what it's worth, I spent the first two months of 2011 in and out of doctor offices, hospitals, and talking with surgeons. I wasn't worried about survival, or even life hereafter. I was ready to die. But I spent my times in bed thinking about the future, the trails I might build and with what I might do that might be useful in reconnecting people to the natural life I had experienced most of the years since I was born in 1929.
I'm not sure the trail created spiritual thoughts, but it certainly fostered them.
Cookerhiker
03-24-2011, 23:13
Is there a reason your research regarding spirituality in the wilderness (such as it is) of the AT is limited to thruhikers?
mweinstone
03-24-2011, 23:25
aint nothin spiritual about hikin.endomorphens. simple drug addiction and high. easily mistaken for a spiritual exsperience.
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-24-2011, 23:59
Crazyhair, thank you for the insight. I share a similar belief to you, I hope to gain further insight and share with as many people as I can.
Slo-go'en, I'll certainly concede that the AT may not seem as wilderness to many; though like many things in like its subjective. Sure I've seen true wilderness backpacking in utah or the backcountry of alaska, and the AT will feel crowded; but to many the Trail is a great escape.
Ladytrekker, I will give those journals a read. Thanks for the suggestion
Misadventures, appreciate the concern. There's plenty of existing published research on whether or not there are spiritual benefits to exposure to the outdoors, I'm not arguing the existence of a spiritual aspect of thru-hiking the Trail or any exposure to nature. By going after those who may have had a spiritual experience, I'm able to better understand (hopefully) more specifically what aspects of the thru-hike affects the spiritual experience positively/negatively.
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-25-2011, 00:04
Mountain Mike, I'll be in contact.
Cookerhiker, while I could look at the experiences of those hiking for any length of time (dayhike on up to thru), by focusing on one type with the longest exposure to the Trail I can limit other variables at play and focus on what I'm looking for (see above)
Cool Hands
03-25-2011, 00:34
"Spiritual experience?" What happened to appreciating the wilderness for the astonishing beauty, intricacy, and power of nature and our planet rather than justification for some ridiculous religious interpretation? It really irks me when I hear people begin to go on about "God" blessing them in what should be a secular, raw woodland setting where we gather for comradery and collective immersion not for some pseudo-philosophical idea, but for the purity and totality of the wilderness around us. I remember hiking into Franconia Falls a couple years back, and the same type of people -- using nature as a gateway into the weaknesses created by inner feelings some people cannot understand -- had setup some sadistic indoctrination camp where about thirty kids were sitting around on the rock slabs reading the Bible. It was creepy and disgusting. Now you seems good-spirited and cheerful about your request, but please keep your "faith" out of our woods and keep your God to yourself, thanks.... And now don't think I'm a jerk, but it really just bothered me. I had to reply with what I felt, that it's not right to mix religion and nature together.
(Rant over. I assume someone's first response will be, "You're just 17, you're not old enough to make a valid observation.")
I think that Johnathon Ley's CDT journal is a good one. See http://www.phlumf.com/travels/cdt/cdtexp/index.shtml. He expresses many of the thoughts and feelings I had. You will have to read and read to find it, and you might have to hike the trail yourself to understand, but the spirituality of a long distance is profound and deep and he expresses it so well.
I grew up pretty steeped in the Lutheran church and I couldn't help but here bible versus in my head all the time like the one about the birds and how they don't sow or reap and yet they are cared for. That's trail magic! There were others but I'm not a bible thumper so I'll shut up now.
I think it helps for the spiritual aspect to hike solo, but it's not required. So look for trail journals of people hiking solo and you might find more introspection in the writing.
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-25-2011, 00:53
...Johnathon Ley's CDT journal ...I think it helps for the spiritual aspect to hike solo, but it's not required. So look for trail journals of people hiking solo and you might find more introspection in the writing.
I agree. I'm heading out solo for a 90ish day NOBO hike soon to write about my own experiences. I hope to hike the CDT and PCT as well one day!
(Rant over. I assume someone's first response will be, "You're just 17, you're not old enough to make a valid observation.")
There's a distinction between spiritual and religious. Understand that spiritual is a loose term that I'm using to encompass many things such as the force/power of nature, mother nature, natural beauty, life giving power, etc. There are many names for it, some are comfortable using the term "God" and its buddy construct of religion. And others may not have any sensation such as this. Personally the ideas of 'purity and totality' you mention support my spirituality (or my connection with nature if you prefer), though that's subjective and you're entitled to your own opinions.
Cool Hands
03-25-2011, 01:40
Regarding the connection with nature and such, I would certainly agree that hikers are universally and deeply affected by physical aspects of wilderness, but it was my understanding that "spirituality" has certain religious connotations, or it has developed a few, especially after reading some religious responses to the original post. Hmmm, I suppose I just don't like the word -- as far as finding a path to inner meaning or understanding, I would definitely agree backpacking in wilderness is a profound experience and hugely affects our soul, or consciousness, or whatever one would call it. Well, in any case, I'm sorry for misinterpreting your post.
With all Native Americans we share a reverance for the natural world and the only way to truly feel that we are part of the hoop is to emerse ourselves in it.
Today's Native American is more into casino profits.
Not sure if it matters for your field, but it occurred to me that by sharing what you're studying when requesting volunteers before they begin, you could be getting some biased data. Would it be better to (randomly) select archival data (past journals)? Then again, you could argue that you're priming your volunteers to ensure that you get information on the topic you want.
(I'm not a thru hiker, but if I was I would be interested in helping!)
I thought the same thing. If you know you are being part of a study, you might be inclined to give the "right answer". This is subjective interpretation of antidotal evidence. Good luck on your grade, not sure that your conclusion will be very meaningful.
Pedaling Fool
03-25-2011, 07:50
I never got a spiritual feeling during any of my hikes. However, I did get that special feeling (effortless walking on air) when I got my "legs" -- after about 700 miles of walking.
I do, once in a while, get a spiritual feeling in my yard as I walk around looking at all the plants growing and thriving; and my compost piles I get a special look into the food chain, on a small level with all the lizards and such, down to the micro level. And the end result is fertile soil and the process starts all over -- some reason I find endless fascination in that and yes, sometimes I do get a spiritual feeling, just watching that process transition from organic life, back to soil, back to many other life forms...
And as I sit under my liveoak that I planted when it was barely 3ft high and now over 50ft. I do feel a unusual connection to it, kind of like it is conscious of me -- I'm not kidding.
Then I think of all the various things nature can and does throw at us, just look around at things like what happened in Japan -- this earthquake was really nothing out of the ordinary, just look throuhgout history...so many things nature does to torment life on earth. The fact that we have these spiritual experiences seems to me to be a product of society and modern living.
I've read accounts of paleolithic man and the hardships involved with that life. If a child was born deformed or there were too many children for the group to support, say during times of little resources, guess who got the ax... of course it was the kid(s), afterall what can they do to help the group survive (in the short term), they can only consume much needed life-sustaining sources. Nature makes us all natural born killers.
I don't know how to reconcile these two diametrically opposed states of existence.
The forest is a temple
it's vaulted limbs the buttresses of a great cathedral
in its seasons the corpus wald reborn sings
and sorrows
and sings again
it is spirit and spirit guide
it is seed
and womb
of God
I see the events in Japan as more evidence of the whole birds of the air not sewing and reaping thing. We silly humans try to put up cities and we think they are so permanent and we call it wealth but it can all be gone in an instant. True wealth is in nature. Nature provides for us the air, food and water we need to live. If I'd been in Japan, I'd have packed up my backpack gear and left all the rest behind. It's all just stuff. I feel a special love for my gear. In a way, it's my true wealth.
I think that Jonathon Ley put it really well in his journal. He was in the desert and came to a water source, a small creek, and he said that he felt love for it. He wondered if anyone ever felt love for a faucet. The things we build to try to make our lives convenient and comfortable chip away at what connects us in the web of life. When we remove those conveniences and get closer to the source of what keeps us alive, the world seems to come alive and some of us notice that this world is full of love and caring.
The silly church I grew up in would have excommunicated me for these kinds of ideas. It has nothing to do with religion.
Lone Wolf
03-25-2011, 09:50
It's all just stuff. I feel a special love for my gear. In a way, it's my true wealth.
but it's just stuff
The power of a god is only equal to the power of what men can be convinced to believe.
EasyStrider
03-25-2011, 22:45
Before and during my thru hike, I always thought that I would be changed in a big way, as a result of walking for 5-6 months over a distance of 2,170 miles. There were noticeable physical changes but other than that, the changes were not huge. However, after the hike, I started noticing subtle changes. I was much more apt to not let little things bother me that would have been annoying or frustrating to me prior to the hike. I definitely appreciated people and the blessings I had always previously taken for granted. After about a week I began to notice a feeling of emptiness. I felt an aching feeling, a sort of longing to return to the trail, even though there were many times towards the end when I could not wait to finish the hike.
I attributed this feeling to a couple of factors. I think the main reason for the emptiness I was feeling, was the realization that I needed to return from where I had come, from where I felt a tremendous sense of freedom and well being. This was actually more of a mental, or better yet a spiritual place. I felt as though a piece of me was left behind on the trail. I guess being in the beauty as well as the harsh physical reality of the natural world, and truly seeing the goodness of humanity, for 5 1/2 months, was in some sense a way to more fully recognize and be connected to a Higher Power.
I did not realize this at the time, and I think that is mainly why I felt such a void when I returned home. I was thrust again into a world of many distractions and mundane experiences which made it harder to perceive the true Reality. This presence was felt along the trail so readily in each sunrise and sunset, in the grandeur of the mountain landscapes, in the silence of the woods, the rolling hills and pastures, and in the abundance of honest, real and compassionate human contact.
Since my thru hike, I try to take time to seek out the Reality which is always there and permeates the sometimes "unreal" world we live in. It is harder to do that now however. It was so much more perceptible while on the trail.
I can't really see wilderness as a place for therapy or spiritualness. You just get more time to think about things without as many distractions every day. Hiking a long trail is about waking up, and walking north till you can't see, then turn your headlamp on and look for a spot to crash after a while. It's the mundane world that's so filthy and boring that we have to assign values and belief systems to things. Everyday off trail in the fake world, people just lose their souls to replace them with consumer based junk that is worthless to life. Once you get into nature, your on the level again and can function like a normal human being. Look at the way people post and reply to others comments here on White Blaze. A great many people here seem to be in a race to sound as ignorant and mean as possible to each other. Yet on trail, face to face they would keep their mouths shut, and treat you with respect. The thing most special about trail life is the reality of it as opposed to the LaLa land all of us who are in town dwell in.
....Hiking a long trail is about waking up, and walking north till you can't see, then turn your headlamp on and look for a spot to crash after a while.
It's the mundane world that's so filthy and boring that we have to assign values and belief systems to things. Everyday off trail in the fake world, people just lose their souls to replace them with consumer based junk that is worthless to life.
Once you get into nature, your on the level again and can function like a normal human being. Look at the way people post and reply to others comments here on White Blaze. A great many people here seem to be in a race to sound as ignorant and mean as possible to each other. Yet on trail, face to face they would keep their mouths shut, and treat you with respect.
The thing most special about trail life is the reality of it as opposed to the LaLa land all of us who are in town dwell in.
An interesting post. But not one I agree with. I suspect we only live once. I seek wildness because wildness has so much to offer. It is much more than walking and looking for a place to crash. There's a fascinating world out there if we open our eyes enough to experience it.
But life off the trail should not be a fake world, either. It's possible to live a life doing enjoyable and useful things, provided one doesn't get sidetracked by stuff and the battle for the income needed to accumulate stuff.
hikerboy57
03-26-2011, 07:56
I find hiking in general becomes a sort of meditation. Most religions teach some sort of shutting down of ones "internal chatter" to find a closer relationship with the divine. When I hike, the rhythm of breathing and walking naturally brings me more "in the moment". I prefer to hike alone, because I know I need to pay closer attention to what I'm doing to avoid injury. this also brings me more "into the now". I know endorphins play a role as well, but after a short while, alone, awake and aware, Im loving every bit of life
Slo-go'en
03-26-2011, 10:47
I find hiking in general becomes a sort of meditation. Most religions teach some sort of shutting down of ones "internal chatter" ...
Indeed. I call this "the hiker daze". Your just moving along, not really thinking about anything, with just an occasional thought passing through like a ripple on a pond.
I learned to turn off, or at least turn the volume way down of my internal chatter a long time ago, so getting into a "hiker daze" state is pretty easy for me.
To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says, -- he is my creature, and maugre http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/lightbulb_a.gif all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me. Not the sun or the summer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of the mind, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif from breathless noon to grimmest midnight. Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration.I am glad to the brink of fear. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/lightbulb_a.gif, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif -- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, -- master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty.In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/images/note_a.gif
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-29-2011, 21:47
Thank you everyone for your input and perspectives, keep 'em coming!
I know for me, living on the Trail is so much more of a real, true way of living. There's something special about breaking down your life into basic needs: food, water, shelter...and hiking! Prolonged exposure to nature fosters a reflective state where people are able to better observe the workings of the natural world around them; this leads to a restorative experience for most.
Seeing nature go about its business with minimal human involvement helps reinforce ideas of a life giving force in everything natural around us, something bigger than you or me; this is one of the many special things about the Trail!! :banana
Joe Bageant in Escape from the Zombie Food Court writes (and he writes about something completely different than doing a long distance hike, but I know I experienced this):
you will find that deeply experiencing a non-conditioned reality changes things forever. What you have experienced will animate whatever intellectual life you have developed. Or negate much of it. But in serious, intelligent people, experiencing non-manufactured reality usually gives lifelong meaning and insight to the work. You will have experienced the eternal verities of the world and mankind at ground zero. And you will find that the healthy social structures our well intentioned Western minds seek are already inherent in the psyche of mankind, but imprisoned. And the startling realization that you and I are the unknowing captors.
Feral Bill
03-29-2011, 23:26
Today's Native American is more into casino profits.
Please don't generalize. I worked on a reservation for years and met all sorts. The casino pays for a lot of good things, too, like health care, youth programs, conservation projects, cultural programs, and more.
FB
And now don't think I'm a jerk, but it really just bothered me. I had to reply with what I felt, that it's not right to mix religion and nature together.
Amazingly intolerant, verging on the broad-mindedness seen in some of the worst of fundamentalist religionists. There's more than one way up the up the mountain, Mr. Cool Hands, and I encourage you to show more respect for others' journeys. I'm not among the most formalistically or dogmatically religious by any stretch, but I've learned it wise to give others broad berth in such matters. Reel it in, I suggest.
You know that you won't be able to use any of this information, at all, in anything academic. Go get IRB approval.
Greetings Fellow AT Hikers!
I can find enough volunteers. I would like to take 4-6 thru-hikers' trail journals and read them (unabridged/unedited) for insights on people's experiences and how they may affect their perception of spirituality in the wilderness. By 'coding' or grouping like experiences between volunteers I hope to gain some insights.
a few comments...i do not think the trail changes one spiritually (there were no Paul on the road to Damascus events to anyone that i was aware of to use a Christian reference). For me, being stripped away from the state of constant comfort that most of us exist in and immersed into a spartan (somemight say primitive) lifestyle lead to more time spent in prayer than ever in my life. and I experienced two events that I am comfortable in saying were miracles. others might use the term fate or chance or serendipity or karma. But to me, they were miracles and i don't hesitate to use that term when talking about my thru-hike with others.
as far as your project or research, i agree with others in that you might be better off looking at old journals so as not to influence the writings in any way. you are welcome to mine but they aren't online they are written in a notebook. a word of caution - it's not a literary masterpiece and would probably bore you to tears (unless you like to read incessant griping and complaining about the gnats).
Of all the inane little sayings and cliches one hears about a hike - (HYOH,it's the journey and not the destination; it's the smiles not the miles; etc., etc.) - one stuck with me and I don't recall where I heard it: the trail does not build character, it reveals it. i liked that one and i think it is true in regards to ahiker's predisposition towards spirituality. One's character is not changed but rather strengthened.
shaman.in.a.yurt
03-30-2011, 14:45
You know that you won't be able to use any of this information, at all, in anything academic. Go get IRB approval.
Nothing here will be used in my thesis. This is merely a discussion to see what people are thinking out there. I plan on using journals from people's previous thru-hikes as my major data source, possibly some interviews en-route on my thru. Appreciate the concern man, got it under control.
4shot,
I was honestly expecting less people to have online trail journals, meaning I would either copy or take images of people's handwritten journals for my research. If you would like to share, I'm interested.
A note for everyone,
I'm mainly trying to get a feel for how many people would be willing to share their journals with me for my research. I plan on actually sitting down, reading and coding them this Fall once I return from my thru-hike and from writing about my own experience.