HEALTH Strings Under the Big Sky - Explore Big Sky
HEALTH Strings Under the Big Sky - Explore Big Sky
HEALTH Strings Under the Big Sky - Explore Big Sky
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56 June 29, 2012<br />
mental health<br />
explorebigsky.com<br />
explorebigsky.com<br />
a wilderness meditation pilgrimage<br />
by Charles wolF drimal<br />
big <strong>Sky</strong> weekly contributor<br />
SAN RAFAEL SWELL, Utah—A<br />
cascade of clear, piercing whistles<br />
invites <strong>the</strong> first sign of dawn. The sun’s<br />
rays have yet to touch <strong>the</strong> depths of<br />
Dirty Devil Canyon, but to a canyon<br />
wren—<strong>the</strong> melodic harbinger of morning—<strong>the</strong>re<br />
is no reason not to sing.<br />
Each ensuing note falls in tone, slowly<br />
settling across a sand desert floor held<br />
cold through <strong>the</strong> dark by clear spring<br />
starlight.<br />
More than 600 miles from my home<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Rockies and five days<br />
deep into a wilderness meditation<br />
expedition with Absaroka Institute in<br />
south-central Utah, my perspective has<br />
shifted. From <strong>the</strong> comfort of a sleeping<br />
bag, I feel a slight air current brush across<br />
my face. The canyon wren’s early morning<br />
inspiration to rise has habitually<br />
become my own.<br />
Unlike past backcountry trips, which<br />
have brought me immediately to a stove<br />
for breakfast, tea and conversation,<br />
my first movements of <strong>the</strong> day lead to<br />
a meditation cushion, <strong>the</strong> lighting of<br />
incense and <strong>the</strong> sounding of a bell.<br />
As I take <strong>the</strong> cross-legged position,<br />
<strong>the</strong> encompassing shrine of ancient<br />
sun-scorched Navajo sandstone, cottonwood<br />
leaf chatter and distant creek<br />
babble all arise and fade in my perception.<br />
An unceasing effort for <strong>the</strong> next<br />
40 minutes directs my awareness to my<br />
own breath. Thoughts of last night’s<br />
dreams come and go. A changing light<br />
warms my skin. I straighten my posture<br />
and sink my knees into <strong>the</strong> substratum<br />
of stone, grounding myself. A raven’s<br />
call overhead reminds me to return to<br />
my breath.<br />
The natural world of mountains, rivers,<br />
deserts and forests has been a place of<br />
healing and a source of insight for <strong>the</strong><br />
human psyche since time immemorial.<br />
Removed from society, spiritual seekers,<br />
priests, shamans and saints trace<br />
moments of awakening to prolonged<br />
sojourns in wild country. Reclusive<br />
hermits of Asian peaks and plateaus,<br />
Native Americans seeking visions on<br />
hilltops, Australian Aborigines on<br />
walkabouts, <strong>the</strong> Buddha’s enlightenment<br />
under a Bodhi tree, and Jesus fasting<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Judean desert all exemplify a<br />
common orientation of <strong>the</strong> soul.<br />
People from all walks of life have recognized<br />
<strong>the</strong> power of an untrammeled<br />
landscape. The renaissance of <strong>the</strong> modern<br />
day urbanite’s magnetic pull toward<br />
remote wilderness areas throughout<br />
this continent and beyond is no aberration<br />
to human behavior. Likewise,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are explanations beyond deep<br />
powder turns, cold beer and a paucity<br />
of romantic partners for bucolic, pennypinching<br />
ski bums to eke out a living<br />
near Western wild lands.<br />
The natural world holds <strong>the</strong> power<br />
to mirror our struggles and ignite our<br />
inherent potential. Influenced by<br />
both wilderness travel and meditation<br />
practice, <strong>the</strong> human condition may<br />
be catalyzed to realize that <strong>the</strong> world<br />
around and <strong>the</strong> world within are not<br />
separate from one ano<strong>the</strong>r. Through<br />
close study of <strong>the</strong> mind, we develop <strong>the</strong><br />
capacity to know our own freedom and<br />
self-induced suffering.<br />
Often associated with Buddhism and<br />
Hinduism, meditation can be found<br />
in faiths as diverse as Taoism, Sufism,<br />
Judaism and Christianity, as well as in<br />
contemporary psycho<strong>the</strong>rapy practices.<br />
Today, in <strong>the</strong> U.S. alone, more than 10<br />
million people practice some form of<br />
meditation. Worldwide, <strong>the</strong> number<br />
of practitioners enters <strong>the</strong> hundreds of<br />
millions.<br />
The practice is just as extraordinary<br />
in simplicity as it is challenging in<br />
execution. An effort must be made to<br />
bring full awareness to <strong>the</strong> breath. As<br />
thoughts arise, one must acknowledge<br />
<strong>the</strong>m, let <strong>the</strong>m go, and return awareness<br />
to <strong>the</strong> breath. This practice can be<br />
repeated for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, an<br />
hour, or throughout a long walk in <strong>the</strong><br />
mountains or desert. The cultivation<br />
of this skill leads to stress reduction,<br />
<strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> Weekly<br />
Photos Courtesy oF Charles wolF drimal<br />
expanded awareness, clarity, momentto-moment<br />
presence, recognition of<br />
shared commonality, and many masters<br />
would add, <strong>the</strong> realization of life as<br />
intimate flow.<br />
There is no better place to explore this<br />
practice than on a wilderness pilgrimage.<br />
A week of walking sandy creek<br />
bottoms and watching <strong>the</strong> sun and<br />
moon track across <strong>the</strong> sky becomes a<br />
flowing movement that meshes <strong>the</strong><br />
boundaries of earth and mind. Time<br />
told by shades of red sandstone and nomadic<br />
blue firmament offers a welcome<br />
inheritance to any agenda.<br />
Through extensive meditation under<br />
swaying cottonwood trees planted<br />
by <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>ring of remote canyon<br />
corridors, I’m reminded that human existence<br />
is a process itself. We are more<br />
verb than noun. The ever-changing nature<br />
of <strong>the</strong> physical body, of thoughts,<br />
feelings, perceptions, responses—all is<br />
in flux. With each passing backcountry<br />
day my mind grows sharper, more<br />
observant of <strong>the</strong> nuances of inhalation<br />
and exhalation. With time and practice,<br />
assumes its own lead.<br />
Like a canyon creek carried forward<br />
without hindrance, <strong>the</strong>re is a time in<br />
meditation to simply let go. When<br />
<strong>the</strong> mind as we know it is no longer<br />
in charge, <strong>the</strong> breath experiences this<br />
world of canyon and sky with an intimacy<br />
previously unknown.<br />
Charles Wolf Drimal is an ecopsychologist,<br />
wilderness guide, conservationist,<br />
Zen Buddhist practitioner and a poet. He<br />
leads wilderness meditation expeditions<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Absaroka Institute and advocates<br />
for public lands conservation with <strong>the</strong><br />
Greater Yellowstone Coalition.