Cascadian Spirituality

As usual, my trip to the Pacific Northwest was spiritually rewarding. Whenever I'm there, I experience a special sense of hope for the future, one that emphasizes the importance of the spiritual dimension of life. For several years now, I've been fascinated by the idea of "Cascadian Spirituality," as defined in the book "Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia," by Douglas Todd. The qualities of this type of spirituality include the sense that Nature is a temple and a major source of revelation, an emphasis on the sacredness of place, the realization that each person is responsible for creating his or her own spiritual tradition, a focus on feeling and intuition as guides for spiritual vision, optimism, resistance to institutional religion, an attempt to live sustainably, and a valuing of diversity. Gallup polls report that the highest percentage of "Nones" on the continent - those who identify with no single religion - live in Cascadia. In other words, the idea of being "spiritual, not religious" flourishes here. People often ask "what religion are you?" and expect the answer to include some discussion of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. But what if a person identifies their religion primarily with a particular REGION rather than with a classical spiritual tradition? For myself, I find that there is a large part of my soul that identifies itself with the Pacific Northwest. and therefore with the spiritual riches of Cascadian Spirituality.

Photo: Lewis Monkeyflower, Picture Lake, and Mount Shuksan; Mt. Baker Wilderness, WA; July 22, 2013