Bushwalk Australia

what does bushwalking mean to you spiritually?

no religious talk please. I'm talking about what does it it' mean on a personal level to you spiritually?

theres something about being in the wilderness for me that's hard to explain, the old "oneness" with nature thing, an energy beyond the energy i have myself, that I am absorbing energy from the surrounding, theres a calm, ( well some of the time)
i have more energy than i normally have in an urban environment...
then how do you try and describe the impact the scenery has on you... it's something that can affect you emotionally,
even in bad weather there is something spiritually positive about being in hte wilderness, less mental distractions, easier to focus on your trip...

Great question wayno - you capture some of that hard-to-define essence well. A while back I tried to put some of this into a piece I was writing. The extract below starts in the middle, so lacks a little context, but you'll get the gist.

That's because the other, more slow-dawning significance was how transcendent for me was the simple act of walking in wild places. It’s a feast I have enjoyed so often that it’s hard to discern all of its slow cooking ingredients. But for me they include connection to the natural world; the joys and trials of interacting with companions; physical exertion; challenge; self-reliance; the experience of beauty, silence, time and space. And perhaps there’s some kind of biological/theological imperative here as well. Perhaps we are designed for walking – originally as a means of maintaining bodily well-being through hunting and gathering, but still as a way to remain physically and mentally well. And as a means of leading us into an appreciation of the wonders walking feet can lead us to.

I'll be really interested to see what others write,

cheers

Peter

I think, in purely "spiritual" terms, it grants me an inner reinvigoration attained through a meditative/trance like state reached in hiking. I guess it's a combination of the physical high(heightened fitness, endorphines, etc), the psychological benefits gotten through being in beautiful natural surrounds and simple pensive solitude. I always feel cleansed upon returning from a good hike. If I haven't been for a while, however, I get restless and feel less like "me" (the same applies if I haven't read a good book for a while).

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

Byron.

This is a fascinating subject and there were some relevant thoughts shared in an older topic here on solo walking - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1895#p15885

Some of my most memorable experiences our bushwalking are when I am aware of of becoming immersed and "at one" with the natural world, and as I have heard Bob Brown say on several occasions "we find ourselves" when we go bush. My most spiritual experiences have resonated with these lines from William Wordsworth's poem "Lines written above Tintern Abbey" ( complete poem link here - http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww138.html)

. . . Nor less, I trust,
To them I may have owed another gift,
Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burthen of the mystery,
In which the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,
Is lightened:--that serene and blessed mood,
In which the affections gently lead us on,--
Until, the breath of this corporeal frame
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul:
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things."

Great topic.
Do others find that the faster they walk the less connected they are to a spiritual elememt?
I seem to be much more peaceful and are able to connect with nature when I walk slow.
When I walk fast I seem a lot more goal orentated and i tend to miss a lot.
Just like fast sex too!!

I can’t really put into words what I feel on a spiritual level when walking in the bush, but some of the things already said by others are the same for me. For me it is about that connection with nature, because I feel a desire to be surrounded by trees, rocks and animals. I like to see the plants and animals interacting with their environment, and while I am there with them, I am interacting with them and their environment too. Also the self-reliance aspect too, such as filling up the water bottle from a creek instead of just turning on a tap. I think it makes one appreciate their/the environment more. And like what I think that under10kg was alluding to, the walk in the bush is as much about the journey as the destination. Appreciating everything on the way can be just as great as the great lookout or waterfall at the end.

I hear and read a bit about how in modern societies, most of us have lost the connection to nature. I am sure many of you will have read or heard similar and will probably agree. I see it, even among people I know. For example, at work a group of us go outside for lunch most days. Often we will just sit on the concrete or wooden bench seats. A few of us prefer to sit on the grass but even if it is a beautiful sunny day, some of our work mates will never join us on the grass and prefer the cold benches. I prefer the contact with the grass, even if it is a lawn.

Just last weekend I was on a friend’s property with a group of people helping plant hundreds of trees. While most wore gardening gloves to plant, a few of us didn’t. I am used to getting my hands dirty so I didn’t even consider gloves necessary. One of the girls said that she preferred to go bare handed, to get the feel of the soil on her hands. I totally understood, while others just didn’t want to get their hands dirty. Touching the soil with her bare hands was a desire to contact nature.

Anyhow, obviously everyone experiences the world around them in different ways, but some people are more in tune with the natural world and get a pleasure out of being in contact with it, whether it be a long multiday hike, sitting on the grass for a half hour lunch break from the office, or getting ones hands dirty in the soil when planting trees. I wish I had gone out for a bushwalk today....

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)...

For me it is feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Son of a Beach wrote:feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Ditto

Matt

wildwalks wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Ditto

Matt

Makes me feel small too, but without the baggage of a book written by politicians 1700 years ago there is SO much more to see and feel.

stepbystep wrote:

wildwalks wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Ditto

Matt

Makes me feel small too, but without the baggage of a book written by politicians 1700 years ago there is SO much more to see and feel.

+1.

I always thought the earth was created by Mother Nature. I guess she could be a bloke??

On my first time on the OLT and fairly new to hiking in wilderness areas, I left early one morning, from Kia Ora hut. I can only describe as euphoria, the feeling that came across me. It was a bright and sunny, but very fresh morning with dew clinging to the grass and the last of an overnight fog still clinging amongst the trees. I had a full day of tramping ahead, with everything I needed on my back, and all the crap of modern life a thousand miles away.

This was my first solo hike. The feeling of complete self reliance, a freedom I had never experienced before and a wonderful sense of adventure to come, was really a life changing moment for me.

I still work in the corporate world, sit in traffic and pay bills like most people. But when my mundane urban life gets me down, I think back to that moment amongst the trees in the morning, in Tasmania and all is good.

Since then, I have become completely hooked on multi day hiking. The only issue is trying to get enough leave from work.

Great topic.

I can understand folk feeling bushwalking is a spiritual or religious experience as it is a reinvigorating experience. When I return home after a bushwalk I often physically exhausted but mentally cleansed. My interpretation of this is logical if somewhat boring. We live in a world of phone, television, computers, cars etc and we have nonstop backrground noise and distractions. As a society our technological advances have far outstripped evolution and our bodies aren't designed to live the lifestyles that we do. From an evolutionary stand point we are probably still hunter gathers and the physiology of bushwalking is about as close to that we can get in these modern times.
Just the simplicity of living day to day and carrying all the necessary belongings to survive with you, all the while taking in and understanding how the landforms came to be and looking at fragile alpine ecosystems is a fantastic thing to do. Spiritual is a good word to describe this love of spending time in the wilderness but it isn't how I feel.

Great question/topic!

I guess people go walking for various reasons. Possibly for more than one reason.

- Exercise / fitness
- Challenge
- Social
- Spiritual
- ... there's bound to be more

For me it is mostly spiritual and social. Social not in the snese of large gregarious groups, but more small groups which allow a deepening of mutual understanding & connection.

"Spiritual" is a difficult word though, seems to have so many meanings. And people can have strong preconceptions about it.

So ... what does bushwalking mean to me spiritually? ...

I come back refreshed & strengthend ... in spirit.

How so? ... this can be a topic for long conversation ... for me best talked about in a small group of like-minded people, best while on a cruisy-paced walk.

But there's something about life becoming simpler on walks, silence, and something about a harmonising of body / heart / spirit with the environment - a "more in tuneness".

All this results in a shift away from mostly being engaged by / with the small daily affairs to more connection with the deeper currents of life beyond them.

...

That'll do.

Better think about getting ready for work now.

dq.

Son of a Beach wrote:Trying to avoid "religious talk" as much as possible while still talking to the subject as requested in the OP (but difficult for me, because spirituality is religious - to me)...

For me it is feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Thanks SOaB for "stretching the envelope" - My bushwalking experiences are what ultimately led to my christian world view through a growing relationship with the creator of this universe we live in. But I understand wayno's original post wanted to avoid a stream of religious/anti-religious dialogue in this family friendly forum Yes there are many reasons why we find a satisfaction in going bushwalking, and it is great that people are prepared to share their thoughts in this way. But one important aspect for me is that for a short time we are removed from the incessant noise of our society and have an opportunity to be ourselves, and think our own thoughts, wherever that may lead us. Here's another or my favourite quotes from Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey poem -

" And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man;
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye, and ear,--both what they half create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognise
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being."

wildwalks wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Ditto

Matt

+2 Absolutely, seeing the intricacies and diversity in everything He created

wind
sun
mist
rain
light
shade
dark
cloud
bush
mountain
field
animal
silence
heat
cold
stream
lake

I forgot to add that Jesus makes my hiking awesome...

stepbystep wrote:

wildwalks wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

Ditto

Matt

Makes me feel small too, but without the baggage of a book written by politicians 1700 years ago there is SO much more to see and feel.

I would be happy to discuss this in person (if you are genuinely interested to know), but I don't think this topic is the place for it. I think the OP was specifically trying to avoid religious debate here, which is why I endeavoured to say as little as possible while still answering the question honestly and trying to contribute in a positive way to what I think is a great topic.

I think that your post is against the 'spirit' ( ) of the original post of this topic. Clearly I have a completely different point of view than you do, but I will aim to adhere to the request of the original post and will not discuss it here.

Please don't presume to know what people of a different outlook see and feel. Chances are that you would be wrong (as I would be if I tried to judge your feelings).

doogs wrote:Spiritual is a good word to describe this love of spending time in the wilderness but it isn't how I feel.

I agree with this sentiment (or at least how I understand it). As DonQX said, "spiritual" means different things to different people. A lot of what people have described here is about strong feelings and emotions, and to me that's a completely different concept to spiritual. But again, I'll avoid getting all religious about it.

Son of a Beach wrote:For me it is feeling in awe at the beauty of nature, feeling at one with it, being part of it. Then feeling in awe of the creator, recognising that I am merely a tiny part of creation, but pretty darn happy with that. I feel much closer to God when out amongst his creation.

+3

Son of a Beach wrote:I would be happy to discuss this in person (if you are genuinely interested to know), but I don't think this topic is the place for it.

Nik you're a nice bloke, why would I want to spoil a perfectly nice meeting by discussing religion?
You have your beliefs and I'm sure you have put much time and consideration into the big questions, as have I. We just have come to different conclusions

In terms of a 'spirituality' while bushwalking, I'd have to say it's only when I'm on my own and allow things to come to me that I have a 'spiritual' experience. It comes from an awareness and a 'oneness' in a particular space and time, it comes from contemplating the forces of the earth and nature and the pure fluke that I am there to bare witness to a reality no others will.

A very privileged space and time those moments are and very difficult to find.

stepbystep wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:I would be happy to discuss this in person (if you are genuinely interested to know), but I don't think this topic is the place for it.

Nik you're a nice bloke, why would I want to spoil a perfectly nice meeting by discussing religion?
You have your beliefs and I'm sure you have put much time and consideration into the big questions, as have I. We just have come to different conclusions

In terms of a 'spirituality' while bushwalking, I'd have to say it's only when I'm on my own and allow things to come to me that I have a 'spiritual' experience. It comes from an awareness and a 'oneness' in a particular space and time, it comes from contemplating the forces of the earth and nature and the pure fluke that I am there to bare witness to a reality no others will.

A very privileged space and time those moments are and very difficult to find.

Amen brother!

wayno wrote:...theres something about being in the wilderness for me that's hard to explain, the old "oneness" with nature thing, an energy beyond the energy i have myself, that I am absorbing energy from the surrounding...

I agree wayno, I don't believe in god but I do believe in something like 'the source', whatever that is? Its a wonderful thing & I don't think I'd even want to be able to describe it. I am constantly and profoundly amazed when I'm bushwalking (or paddling my sea kayak) by knowing and feeling that I am but a tiny part of something that is so complex, immensely huge and so very, very old.

I find its much easier to get 'spiritual' in pure places though (or in a storm, that always helps...), such as an old growth forest as opposed to regrowth or other degraded landscapes. For example, there's nothing like quietly standing amongst a forest of trees that are 500 or more years old... or then thinking or tryng to get your head around (not easy!) what the world was like when they were seedlings or looking down into a rainforested U-shaped valley and knowing that its shape was caused by a glacier ten thousand years ago or thinking about the whole old-growth logging debate where thousand year old trees are being cut down, the thought of which is a travesty alone, but how many millions years did it take for that ecosystem to get to where it is?? These thoughts really give me perspective and reinforce what I know about the fragility and transcience of life, remind me to enjoy Being Here Now and move away from the material world and enjoy the essence of life.

The world is an amazing place and I'm the sort of person that needs to get out and amongst it as often as possible especially as I'm too aware most of the time that what surrounds us is merely a stage set constructed by us. I've always loved getting into the outdoors but that way of thinking has definitely become more of a primary way of life since I started a job that sees me behind a computer, its not an obsession though! yet (so I tell myself )



Understanding and believing in evolution isn't a choice for me and I believe it makes my experience far richer, the story of how our little blue speck of a planet became what it is and how I got lucky enough to be alive and conscious whislt its all happening is remarkable! Its something that I often ponder & especially when I find myself somewhere special just standing there blinking and thinking wow! and the idea that an old bearded man in white robes created it all in a week? No... I have faith but not enough to believe a story that much.

I also agree with a lot of what other people have written, about feeling recharged, having a heightened sense of awareness, really feeling like part of the landscape, enjoying the simple things like setting up and breaking camp, setting up your stove and preparing a meal and how a cup of tea at home is just that but it becomes so much more after a few days walking and waking up in the bush. Not to mention the trance like state that can be found once you get through the initial discomfort of lugging a heavy pack and complaining joints etc and finding your rhythm, just focusing on one foot after the other and getting your breathing in a nice steady cycle, its the best form of meditation. I think the key thing about all that is just BEING. You can't beat it for spiritual rejuvenation.

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.

Hi

When not crashing down a slope, hunting for water, or wondering why and earth am I doing this, then walking gives a time to think. It is the garbage collection of the mind I enjoy as thoughts are examined, filed, or discarded. After a walk my mind is clearer ready to revisit seemingly intractable problems. And way I go until the mundane and stupidity of modern life takes over and time to start planning another walk.

When looking at nature I am reminded that despite our protestations, we are part of it, subject to the same rules. Nature abhors a vacuum as it attempts to cram as much life as possible into any space and seeks to regain what is destroyed as quickly as it can. Also, it celebrates diversity, rewarding those that embrace it, and punishing those that become unchanging holding to uniformity. Nature encourages self determination as life seeks to break boundaries. It is extraordinary to think that an eco system that is made up of a massive number of organisms, each following their own ways, can appear to be so harmonious. The rules are simple such as gravity, sunlight, etc yet the outcomes are near infinite. The ultimate goal is equilibrium but not the "perfect" human construct of balance but one of a pendulum constantly swinging and swaying seeking to get the most from the resources to cram as much life in as possible. Nature in many ways can be simply seen as an absence of straight lines and rigid thinking with everything open to challenge and experimentation. This does not mean all things will workout, in fact most adaptations do not, but without change an organism and its offspring will eventually be doomed.

The absence of straight lines reminds me of a place far removed from nature where respect for people's beliefs was crushed by a love of uniformity and rigid thought patterns that ridiculed diversity, self determination, instead seeking total control. It is remarkable that when building a haven from the historical barbarity that site the overlying aspect of its design was the absence of straight lines. It is a enlightening experience moving through the history of the place constructed on straight lines and rigid order to finish at that haven. It is sad in a way that many will not visit this place nor understand the history behind it so can not evaluate their own intolerance to others beliefs.

Bushwalking reminds me that unless we respect the underlying rules of nature we are destine to no longer become part of it. It is remarkable that as we extend our discovery of science our own approach of seeking definitive rules is challenged by the smallest things that are the realm of quantum physics. The absolutism of Newton and Einstein falls apart and we are left with a world that relies on an inner search for meaning. I love the chaos of nature and its unwillingness to compromise to the inflexible rigid mind that values proof above all else, and incapable of understanding that complete understanding is remote as complete control.

While I may long at times for certainty, bushwalking reminds me that is not the goal to seek. What is the goal? Should that answer not be a diverse as the individual

Regards

*&%$#! I am just happy to be able to be out there, is this Spiritual ? in 35 to 40 years time you younger members will appreciate that.
corvus

Being out there really makes me feel closer to him and understand all the amzing concepts in the Book. ( I mean Darwin and Origin of Species btw)

Nice one, Joel.

Joel wrote:Being out there really makes me feel closer to him and understand all the amzing concepts in the Book. ( I mean Darwin and Origin of Species btw)

A topic I often consider while walking also!

A great topic
Walking really can be a deep spiritual experience, being immersed in Nature.
It starts with breathing. I breath deeper. I am more aware of each breathe in and out. The increased oxygen being sent to my brain.
The heart rate rises, blood pumps faster through my body, I tingle and buzz with the sensation of being very alive. Senses are sharpened, heightened. I see and feel the energy frequencies of each and every living thing.
When I let go of my thoughts, allow them to pass through like water or floating clouds I quickly slip into a meditative state.
In this meditative state I often lose track of time as the concept of time has no place in Nature where day and night is dictated by the Sun and Moon. Eating is dictated by my stomach not a clock on the wall. Birds make a great morning alarm or the soft glow of sunrise through the tent wall, or even better when lying out under stars the Sun flickers on my eyelids through the trees.
I cover more distance when in a meditative state than when I allow my mind to linger too long on problems. When I allow myself to connect to the natural environment it is almost as if it carries me, energises me but if I start to worry about something I feel the full weight of my pack, the shock of each step, psychological fatigue transfers to physical exhaustion too quickly.
Sitting still, mindfulness, letting go, meditation can feel very close to enlightenment as I experience the sensation of floating while I remain connected firmly to Mother Earth. Sometimes the smell of Mother Earth is so intoxicating I feel as if the ground has opened up like a huge soft saggy bed and gently embraces my spirit filling me with warm light.
A few years ago I started to lose my silent battle with depression and PTSD, stopped spending time with Nature and attempted suicide several times. I used walking, walking in the sun along country roads, bushwalking, beach walking, walking in the rain, walking beside rivers to heal and recover. Bushwalking or walking in general was the most effective therapy, putting one foot in front of the other, slowly learning to reconnect with Nature, soaking up all the negative ions. And the best part, it is free therapy

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