I Think the Earth Remembers Me
Hiking as a Spiritual Practice
When I walk on the trail, quietly and alone, I think the Earth remembers me. I'm not sure I will be remembered by others after I die, but somehow she keeps me in her memory, her heart. I feel her energies. They are part of me and I am part of them. That's why I hike. In hiking I feel grounded by the ground, and by the rhythms of walking, so that, in my daily life, I can be more centered, creative, and compassionate. I am a social worker. It's a wonderful job and a stressful job. Hiking relieves the stress. I'm not sure I believe in God, but I do think that, if God exists, the Earth is God's body. A friend asks if I pray. I say yes. The Earth is my sanctuary; hiking is my prayer.
- Kathy
- Kathy
Sleeping in the Forest
By Mary Oliver
I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated as light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
—Mary Oliver
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated as light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.
—Mary Oliver
Grounded by the Ground
The Spiritual Side of Hiking
From the perspective of process theology, hiking is a way to connect with the Earth Community and with God, whose very body is the earth itself and beyond that, the galactic community. Of course hiking is also an enjoyable exercise in it its own right: it is vigorous, rhythmic, good for mental health and good for our bodies. But it can also be "spiritual" in at least six ways: connecting with the Earth Community, addressive prayer, contemplative prayer, reflective thinking, embracing doubts, and reconnecting with the body. Hiking can be a spiritual practice for any of these reasons.
Connecting with the Earth Community: Hiking fosters our connection with the Earth Community, the web of life of which we are all a part and which is the very doby of God. We in the process community see all living beings as having intrinsic value worthy of respect and as interconnected. And we see all beings, including rocks and trees, water and breeze, as expressions of energetic feeling. Through hiking, we intuitively understand our place within the larger web. We have a sense of belonging to something more vital, more vigorous, more resilient than we ourselves. We partake of its energies.
Addressive Prayer: Addressive prayer during hiking involves reaching out to God, understood as having a life of God's own in whose presence the universe lives, moves, and has its being. God is felt not simply as an it but, more deeply, as a You. Hiking is a time to vocalize prayers, express gratitude, seek guidance, or convey our innermost thoughts and desires directly to this You. In this kind of prayer, the Earth Community becomes church, the sounds of the earth and other creatures become music, and our prayers are what we add to the larger worship service. The vitality of the Earth community is the service and it continues before and after our hiking. We come in, as it were, mid-way and add our voice.
Contemplative Prayer: Contemplative prayer in hiking entails a receptive, meditative engagement with the presence of God, understood as a Deep Listening in which the whole of life unfolds. It is characterized by silence and sensory immersion in the surroundings. In such prayer we may focus on the rhythmic patterns of our movement and breath, absorbing energies of nature, understood as God's body. We do not pray "to" God as if God were are You; we pray "with" God understood as the deep listening of which we are partake. We listen with God.
Reflective Thinking: Hiking provides a unique environment for reflective thinking, where the mind can explore ideas and questions important to us. The physical activity combined with the solitude of nature facilitates a mental state conducive to deep thought, allowing us to consider how we really understand the world, historical and personal circumstances, and ourselves. We "get away" from the crowds of life so that, in our hiking, we can truly think. This reflective process is enhanced by the openness and receptivity that physical movement through nature tends to encourage.
Embracing Doubts: Closely connected to reflective thinking, hiking is a context for doubting. Process theology affirms the value of questioning and doubt as integral to spiritual growth. Hiking offers a supportive setting for confronting and engaging with doubts, including doubts concerning God. The landscapes and the physical journey mirror the spiritual journey of questioning and seeking understanding. In this environment, we can feel more at liberty to wrestle with our uncertainties and vulnerabilities, viewing them not as weaknesses but as opportunities for spiritual deepening and growth.
Reconnecting with the Body: Hiking serves as an essential practice for reconnecting with the body. In a world where many live disconnected from their physical selves, hiking invites deep engagement with our body's capabilities and needs. The physical exertion of hiking, the attention to breath and movement, and the direct contact with the earth all help to ground us in our bodily existence. This connection is spiritually significant in process theology, which values the wholeness of the person—body, mind, and spirit.
I realize that people with no interest in "spirituality" enjoy many of the pleasures above, but don't think of them as "spiritual." That is fine. By my aim is to help people who enjoy hiking, and who lean toward spirituality however understood, to recognize that hiking can be understood as a spiritual practice in all of these ways. In a troubled age such as our own, where so many of us seek to be grounded in something deeper, something more than ourselves, we can rightly recognize hiking, literally and spiritually, as a way of making contact with the ground: that is, with the way that the ground itself can ground us. This groundedness can then help us better become the self we hope to be in our daily lives: wise, compassionate, grateful, and creative. Each step taken on a hike is a step in a larger spiritual journey, where Earth itself is our church.
- Jay McDaniel
Connecting with the Earth Community: Hiking fosters our connection with the Earth Community, the web of life of which we are all a part and which is the very doby of God. We in the process community see all living beings as having intrinsic value worthy of respect and as interconnected. And we see all beings, including rocks and trees, water and breeze, as expressions of energetic feeling. Through hiking, we intuitively understand our place within the larger web. We have a sense of belonging to something more vital, more vigorous, more resilient than we ourselves. We partake of its energies.
Addressive Prayer: Addressive prayer during hiking involves reaching out to God, understood as having a life of God's own in whose presence the universe lives, moves, and has its being. God is felt not simply as an it but, more deeply, as a You. Hiking is a time to vocalize prayers, express gratitude, seek guidance, or convey our innermost thoughts and desires directly to this You. In this kind of prayer, the Earth Community becomes church, the sounds of the earth and other creatures become music, and our prayers are what we add to the larger worship service. The vitality of the Earth community is the service and it continues before and after our hiking. We come in, as it were, mid-way and add our voice.
Contemplative Prayer: Contemplative prayer in hiking entails a receptive, meditative engagement with the presence of God, understood as a Deep Listening in which the whole of life unfolds. It is characterized by silence and sensory immersion in the surroundings. In such prayer we may focus on the rhythmic patterns of our movement and breath, absorbing energies of nature, understood as God's body. We do not pray "to" God as if God were are You; we pray "with" God understood as the deep listening of which we are partake. We listen with God.
Reflective Thinking: Hiking provides a unique environment for reflective thinking, where the mind can explore ideas and questions important to us. The physical activity combined with the solitude of nature facilitates a mental state conducive to deep thought, allowing us to consider how we really understand the world, historical and personal circumstances, and ourselves. We "get away" from the crowds of life so that, in our hiking, we can truly think. This reflective process is enhanced by the openness and receptivity that physical movement through nature tends to encourage.
Embracing Doubts: Closely connected to reflective thinking, hiking is a context for doubting. Process theology affirms the value of questioning and doubt as integral to spiritual growth. Hiking offers a supportive setting for confronting and engaging with doubts, including doubts concerning God. The landscapes and the physical journey mirror the spiritual journey of questioning and seeking understanding. In this environment, we can feel more at liberty to wrestle with our uncertainties and vulnerabilities, viewing them not as weaknesses but as opportunities for spiritual deepening and growth.
Reconnecting with the Body: Hiking serves as an essential practice for reconnecting with the body. In a world where many live disconnected from their physical selves, hiking invites deep engagement with our body's capabilities and needs. The physical exertion of hiking, the attention to breath and movement, and the direct contact with the earth all help to ground us in our bodily existence. This connection is spiritually significant in process theology, which values the wholeness of the person—body, mind, and spirit.
I realize that people with no interest in "spirituality" enjoy many of the pleasures above, but don't think of them as "spiritual." That is fine. By my aim is to help people who enjoy hiking, and who lean toward spirituality however understood, to recognize that hiking can be understood as a spiritual practice in all of these ways. In a troubled age such as our own, where so many of us seek to be grounded in something deeper, something more than ourselves, we can rightly recognize hiking, literally and spiritually, as a way of making contact with the ground: that is, with the way that the ground itself can ground us. This groundedness can then help us better become the self we hope to be in our daily lives: wise, compassionate, grateful, and creative. Each step taken on a hike is a step in a larger spiritual journey, where Earth itself is our church.
- Jay McDaniel
Kathy the Hiker
My friend Kathy is a hiker. She is a social worker during the week and a hiker on the weekends. She likes to hike alone at a local state park. She asks me if there are philosophical connections between hiking and process philosophy, quite apart from ideas of God. She is an agnostic. I tell her that there are agnostic process people who hike. She asks me to spell out the connections for agnostics like her. Here they are:
1. A Flow of Events
Each step taken on a trail is a moment in time, a series of experiences and decisions that contribute to the whole. Just as process philosophy views life as a continuous flow of events, hiking is a flow of movement and change.
2. Community and Belonging.
Although Kathy often hikes alone, her connection to the Earth Community fosters a profound sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is not limited to human social interactions but extends to a wider ecological network. When Kathy hikes, she feels part of this larger community that includes not only other humans but also the trees, birds, rivers, mountains, insects, flowers, sun, and wind.
3. Intrinsic Value
In process philosophy, all entities of our universe—hills, rivers, trees, stars—possess intrinsic value. This value is inherent in their existence, characterized by their self-enjoyment and self-creativity. These entities are not merely objects for human use or divine symbols but are subjects in their own right, with their own processes of becoming, or "concrescence." Recognizing this intrinsic value allows us to appreciate the world around us without needing to frame it within a theological context.
4. Feelings
Human beings are intimately connected to these other beings through our own feelings and experiences. These connections are meaningful in their own right, independent of any divine presence. When Kathy feels the energy of a river or the presence of a tree, she is engaging in a genuine relationship with these entities. These connections enrich her life, providing her with a sense of grounding and perspective.
5. Inter-Becoming
Process theology emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things. Every entity in the universe is connected to every other entity, contributing to and being influenced by the broader web of existence. This interconnectedness means that our experiences of nature are part of a larger web of relationships. When Kathy hikes, she is participating in this dynamic web, feeling the interconnections between herself and the hills, rivers, trees, and stars.
6. Mental Well-Being.
Hiking is known to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Being in nature and engaging in physical activity can boost mood and mental clarity. From a process point of view, this is significant because it emphasizes the importance of lived experience and the holistic interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment. When Kathy hikes, the steady rhythm of her steps, the fresh air, and the natural surroundings work together to create a calming and restorative effect.
7. Richness of Experience
Spirituality, from a process perspective, can be understood as the richness of experience in our relationships with ourselves, other people, the earth, and the heavens. This richness is captured by the qualities of heart and mind that constitute spiritual depth, as named by the spiritual alphabet of Spirituality & Practice. Qualities such as attention, beauty, compassion, gratitude, hope, and wonder are all aspects of this richness. When Kathy experiences the beauty of a sunset or the stillness of a forest, or the rhythm of her own walking, she is immersed in these qualities, enriching her life and deepening her sense of connection to the world around her.
8. Beauty
In process theology, the telos of the universe is beauty. When other living beings and we ourselves experience some degree of rich experience in our interactions with the world, we are experiencing beauty, here understood as vitality, intensity, and harmony. Beauty can also be experienced as an ambience, an atmosphere, of larger wholes: the forests in which Kathy walks, for example. She may not think of herself as walking in God, but she is walking in beauty.
9. Withness of the Body
Hiking engages all of Kathy's senses, fostering a deep sense of embodiment. The tactile feel of the ground beneath her feet, the visual beauty of the landscapes, the sounds of birds and rustling leaves, the scent of the forest, and the taste of fresh air all contribute to a rich sensory experience. This heightened sensory awareness can lead to a more profound appreciation of the present moment and a deeper connection with the more than human world. In process theology we never walk alone. We always walk in relation to something besides ourselves and we always bring our bodies with us. The philosopher Whitehead speaks of this as "the withness of the body." Our bodies are with us when we sit, lie down, stand up, and, if we are able, walk. This does not mean that our bodies are always our friends. Sometimes they can be sources of pain and disease, objects of violence and tragedy. But they can be friends, and when we hike, like Kathy, they are friends. The rhythms of our bodies are part of the experience of nature; our legs and arms are as much as part of nature as the birds and water and insects and wind. We are nature walking in nature.
10. Adventure
In process theology adventure plays an extremely important role. Our lives are not fixed and static, they are, like the universe itself, adventures in novelty. Hiking satisfies the human urge for adventure and exploration. Discovering new trails, navigating unknown paths, and encountering wildlife contribute to a sense of excitement and discovery.
11. Solitude and Reflection
For those who prefer solitude, hiking offers a chance for introspection and mindfulness. The quiet and peacefulness of nature can be ideal for personal reflection. In process theology "adventure" is inner and outer. Where we go with our bodies is an adventure, and how we grow inwardly is an adventure. Hiking provides an opportunity for inner growth, especially solitary hiking. Our inner lives are as much a part of the Earth Community as our outer movements. As Kathy hiking in the park, her walking includes her thinking and reflecting. She is walking in her own thoughts.
12. The Rhythm of Life
Hiking encourages a rhythm that aligns with the natural world. This rhythm, whether it's the cadence of footsteps or the heartbeat elevated by exertion, can be seen as a form of dance. Process philosophy often speaks to the harmony and balance within the universe, and hiking allows one to physically engage with this concept, experiencing life's rhythm firsthand.