Wilderness and spirituality are directly related to each other.
- Though Wilderness we can reach the untamed parts of our soul.
- Wilderness is, for many, a direct line to Spirit/Source
- A culture’s access to local spirituality is directly proportional to the amount of Wilderness they have access to.
- The amount of (healthy) Wilderness one finds outside oneself is directly related to the amount of (healthy) wilderness we have inside ourselves.
- It is vital that we leave some part of ourselves untamed, unmasked, and unsocialized. Some part of ourselves needs to lie beyond domestication.
- Societies that have no Wilderness left often feel the need to import spiritual practices and teachers from elsewhere…from other traditions.
- It is important to find the songs and practices that evolved from the place you are in, to hear the literal music of the place in which reside. If these are lost to recent human memory, go out and rediscover them. Listen to the land.
- Importing your spirituality from a distant place is not unlike choosing to eat a tropical diet when you live in Montana. It’s possible – even tasty and delightful – but you weren’t built for it on a molecular level.
- We don’t need to merge different spiritual traditions together or import ones that are from far away places. All that’s needed is to (re)discover the spirit of the place you live.
Here in the United States we are privileged to still have access to the deep songs and flows of the land – Wilderness still abounds.
Those of you who visit it regularly – have you noticed a change in your spiritual perceptions? How connected you feel to the Whole?