We know God through dwelling in God's PLACE.

"If we cannot know God's essence, we can stand in GOD'S PLACE - on the high mountain, in the lonely desert . . ."

Belden Lane

Photos: Various scenes from Lory State Park, CO, February 16, 2015

Being present to the wonder of each moment - that's what the spiritual life is about.

"Being present to the wonder of each moment . . .

"that's what the spiritual life is about."

Belden Lane,
"Backpacking with the Saints"

Photos: Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, UT, November 28 - December 1, 2014

The only indispensable item I pack on wilderness excursions is a capacity for amazement.

"On every trip into wilderness, I'm obliged to witness nature's wonder as if for the first time . . .

"The only indispensable item I pack is a capacity for amazement.  That's all I need . . . My task is simply to adore."

Belden Lane,
"Backpacking with the Saints"

Photos: (Top)  Reflections at sunset, Horsetooth Reservoir, Larimer County, CO, December 13, 2014; (Second) A stone finger juts up above Emerald Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, December 8, 2014; (Third) Reflection of Bellvue Dome in the Poudre River, Bellvue, CO, December 9, 2014; (Bottom) Sunset on Lake Agnes, Never Summer Range, CO, December 12, 2014

The practice of self-discipline is a kind of spiritual athletic training.

"Now and then order has to be imposed on the chaos of our lives. A crisis initiates it. Or a bottoming-out in our addiction, even a crushing weariness with the struggle. The discipline we choose at the time may engage the body or involve deliberate reading. It may quiet the mind through meditation, fasting, or intensive journaling. My own practice of wilderness hiking has been a way of incorporating all of these disciplines. Every time you renew a pattern of intentional training you do something good for yourself. The body and the spirit both delight in exercise. Discipline is a deliberate way of recalling what it is you really want, demanding that you remain true to yourself even when you're not yet sure what that means."

Belden Lane,
"Backpacking with the Saints"

We live in a culture that encourages us to be passive - passive to the news, passive to the entertainment culture, passive to the advertising that is continually foisted upon us, passive to mindless pleasure. In the process, we lose our sense of agency, and our sense of self-confidence begins slipping away as well. However, self-discipline is an invigorating antidote to this passivity. The Desert Fathers used the word "ascesis" to describe their life of self-discipline. This word is derived from the Greek "askein," which means "to train for athletic competition, practice gymnastics, exercise." Thus, the ascetic life is a kind of spiritual athletic training.

 

Photos: Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, UT, November 28-29, 2014

Desire is Its Own Fulfillment!

 

"The greatest desires are beyond fulfillment. They thrive on the wanting itself. That's why the archetype of the warrior is crucial to a spirituality of desire. The warrior makes a fierce commitment to what is most worth loving, whether it's attainable or not. He cuts through whatever gets in the way . . . Wanting is everything in the spiritual life, more important even than having. Spiritual teachers from Gregory of Nyssa to William of St. Thierry had long insisted, in fact, that to want IS to have. As Rumi exclaims: 'The thirst in our souls is the attraction put out by the water itself!' "

Belden Lane,
"Backpacking with the Saints"

Photos: (Top and Middle) Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, UT, November 28-29, 2014; (Bottom) Sunrise near Genesee Park, CO, November 27, 2014

Wilderness Hiking Can Help Us with the Process of Discernment

 

"Discernment is the spiritual task of sifting through what is illusory in our lives to discover what is authentic. It's the process of making decisions that are compatible with who we ARE. One of the gifts I bring back from wilderness trips is the clarity of purpose that's apparent in everything I meet there. Things in the natural world know inherently how to be what they are. Discernment is naturally embedded in them as instinct. Only we humans struggle to figure out who we are and what we should be doing. As poet David Whyte observes, we are the one species able to resist our own flowering . . . Traditionally, the 'discernment of spirits' is a process for sorting out the deepest desires of the heart from the superficial yearnings that distract us. It requires our getting in touch with our truest self, being free to listen and act from our heart's desire. Wilderness hiking helps with that."

Belden Lane,
"Backpacking with the Saints"

This is a book I read around the campfire during my desert retreat last week

Photos: (Top) Juniper tree at Green River Overlook, Island in the Sky District; (Middle) The view from my campsite in the Needles District; (Bottom) Sunset, near my campsite in the Needles District. All three photos were taken in Canyonlands National Park, UT on November 29 - December 1, 2014