I got the monthly newsletter from Chase Tucker this morning, and... well, it is a bit different than usual. ... I wanted to add it to the Sometimes... page, but it doesn't seem to fit; not quite exactly. So, I decided to make a blog post instead, and then hyperlink between the Sometimes... page and the post.
I don't walk the same path as Chase does, and might not necessarily have the same destination in mind, but we do seem to be going in the same general direction, and I am grateful for that. So, I thought I'd copy and paste it here.
Perhaps it might be useful to summarise the points that I like, and with which I agree in particular...
For me, there is not only a relationship between the practices and experiences of hiking and mountain climbing, and spirituality, but also (as a Maths tutor) between the specific actions and movements of rock climbing and the mental gymnastics of mathematics. So, following a mathematically-logical equivalence relation... If A = B and B = C, is mathematics then also a spiritual practice? I don't know. I haven't been aware of it, like that, in these terms, before, yet. Perhaps it is something worth considering...
Say Grace. Contemplate the food: where it comes from, the people involved in its production and preparation, and the sacrifices made so that we may partake of it, before (and after) we eat. ... Voluntary fasting is one thing; not having a choice is horrible... Say Grace, damnit! It's the least you can do, if you're not going finish what's on your plate -- and especially if you're just going to throw it away, in stead of saving it for tomorrow. Say Grace, but don't bother asking for forgiveness; rather ask for the guidance so that you can learn how to repent, and turn away from your evil ways. There is no forgiveness, only probation, and the eternal attempt to consistently improve your behaviour. If you disagree, then you've just never been hungry before. Say Grace, even if it is only as simple as the Japanese 食べ物をありがとう tabemono o arigatō thanks for the food Say Grace.
Contemplate existence, and life, and living, and loved ones, and others; slowing down a bit before the day starts, before embarking on a journey, before starting a hike; and resting a bit during, and afterwards. (The metaphorical similarities between starting a day and starting a journey, and between hiking and life, in general and in particular, also seem to be significant...) I don't do this consistently. I think I would like to.
The newsletter contains other information as well, but it might all be considered to be connected somehow. Therefore, I include it all here below (with a few small edits in terms of spelling, grammar and punctuation).
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Newsletter 9 - The Spirit Edition, November 2023
Spirituality in the Mountains Spiritual Practices & Daily Rituals Men's Retreats Podcast of the Month
Hey, <name removed for privacy reasons ;p >. The topic of discussion for this month is a controversial one: spirituality. In particular, I want to explore the relationship between mountain climbing and spirituality, as well as the positive links that I notice between spirituality and daily habits. So let’s start with a quote...
Anatoli Boukreev, a highly accomplished mountaineer from Kazakhstan, made famous by his involvement and heroic feats during the 1996 Everest disaster, was quoted as saying:
“Mountains are not stadiums
where I satisfy my ambition to achieve,
they are the cathedrals
where I practise my religion.”
Over the years I’ve heard other climbers and hikers refer to spending time in the mountains in similarly spiritual ways, and whilst it does seem a bit cringe to refer to mountain climbing as a spiritual practice, I can't help but see and feel the connection there.
 Tengboche Monastery |  A meme, to lighten the mood. |
For me, personally, most of my adult life has been spent living strictly as an atheist or at least agnostic person. My 12 years of Catholic education only served to push me further away from developing a spiritual practice. For many years, I actively avoided spirituality, and I held a strong disdain for almost every religion. Like many, I viewed religion as a weapon of control, and the justification of war.
It wasn’t until my first trip to the Himalayas that I started to feel a connection to that which lies beyond which we can perceive. Something about Nepal's combination of high mountains and monasteries cracked open my heart, and, for the first time in decades, I felt comfortable interacting with spiritual people and engaging in spirituality.
One example of this is the Puja ceremony in which I was involved before attempting to climb Ama Dablam in the Himalayas. As part of the Puja ceremony, offerings are made to the deities that reside in the mountains. Through the practice of burning juniper, praying and chanting, climbers ask the summit-dwelling deities for their permission and protection to enter the high mountains. The climbing equipment is blessed, incense is burned, and scarves of silk are typically placed around the climbers necks.
Beginning a Puja ceremony in Ama Dablam Base Camp
In my first Puja ceremony, I felt a deep, emotional connection to the practice, and a hint of the power that lies within the spirit of the mountains. Something stirred within me, and I felt that whatever was occurring in this ceremony, was much more than what I could see on the surface.
...And perhaps I did have the mountain gods on my side, because, a few days after the ceremony, while my team and I descended the southwestern ridge of Ama Dablam, an 8.5-magnitude earthquake shattered much of Nepal.
I remember descending the ridge of Ama Dablam, and feeling the entire ridge vibrating and shifting left and right beneath my feet. Behind me, an avalanche roared down the south face of the mountain -- thankfully it was channeled into the valley below me, rather than steamrolling me directly.
With one other member of my team accompanying me, I waited on the ridge for what seemed like hours, before finally the 8 other team members appeared out of the mist from higher up on the mountain.
That day, April 25th 2015, more than 8000 Nepalis died while myself, and all my other 9 team members were spared.
The team & I leaving Base Camp on the day of the earthquake, winter conditions.
 Puja Ceremony at Ama Dablam Base Camp |  Lighting lamps in a Buddhist temple in Kathmandu |
It wasn’t until 10 days after the earthquake that we realised the devastation it had caused. When we finally packed up base camp, descended to the valley, and connected to the internet, we found that each one of us were presumed dead -- I will always remember sitting in a teahouse in Namche Bazaar, reading the Facebook messages of family, and friends expressing either their grief of my passing, or their hope that I would be found alive. Whilst that was intensely traumatic for my family, it was quite nice to know that so many people cared about my existence. A few days later, we had returned to Kathmandu, and as my team and I walked through the streets of Thamel surveying the damage that the first earthquake had caused, we witnessed yet another powerful earthquake. The rumbling began and panic ensued...
Shopkeepers pulled down their shutters, crowds scrambled in a feeble attempt to find a safe and open space amongst the poorly-constructed brick buildings. As bricks crumbled onto the streets around me, I followed the crowd to a large open square, and waited for the earth to stop shifting.
Once again, by some stroke of luck, all of my team were safe. From that point on, I developed a much closer relationship with death, and perhaps as a result, spirituality slowly weaved its way back into my life. Upon returning to Brisbane, I began to attend Buddhist teachings, I took up meditation and chanting the Tibetan mantra 'om mani padme om' as a daily practise... But like many positive habits, they eventually fell to the wayside over time... My peaceful and pure perception of Buddhism was shattered when I learned of the persecution and genocide of Rohingya Muslims by Buddhist monks in Myanmar in 2017. As beautiful as Buddhism was to me, I realised that no religion is beyond reproach. From that point on, I decided that I would make my own way in spirituality, rather than following one particular dogma. So, that’s part of my story and my relationship to spirituality. Thankfully, I’m now in a place where I’ve begun to explore spirituality again through Yoga, and although I'm not particularly tied to one specific tradition, I continue to view all religions as valuable and equally relevant -- despite their respective shortcomings and inevitable corruption.
 Tengboche Monastery before the Earthquake |  Earthquake Damage in Kathmandu |
Spirituality & Powerful Daily Habits
We all know that habits and routines contribute to the majority of our success in life, and, historically, spirituality has been a way to bring structure to the chaotic nature of life on earth.
Ancient cultures based their spirituality around the movement of the heavenly bodies. Pagan religions developed beliefs and rituals as a way of understanding & managing our physical world. ...And, to this day, many of the world's holidays, festivals and ceremonies are built around equinoxes and movements of the stars, sun and moon. ...But what is less appreciated, are the small changes that a spiritual practice has on the physical body. Let’s take for example the Christian tradition of saying ‘Grace’ -- the short moment of prayer, gratitude and contemplation before a meal. Although this seems entirely religious, taking a moment of stillness before eating, is highly beneficial. As we tune into calm breathing, we allow the nervous system to switch into ‘rest and digest’ as opposed to ‘fight or flight’ (which hinders digestion). As we breathe slowly & contemplate the food in front of us, saliva increases in the mouth, which also aids in digestion. If we choose to ‘pray’ or express thanks verbally, we cultivate appreciation and gratitude for what we have, acknowledging the fact that sacrifices have been made for the food to appear.
Giving thanks before a meal, connects us with something beyond ourselves, and is directly related to our happiness and sense of fulfilment.
The act of prayer, chanting or meditation isn’t that much different from the daily routines that improve and maintain our health, like brushing our teeth or showering. Neuroscientists, such as Sam Harris, Dr. Joe Dispenza and others, have made significant progress in promoting these more traditional practices with a more secular perspective.
If we look beyond the limited Western view, there are countless studies from Eastern universities and research institutes that prove beyond a doubt that certain spiritual practices, like chanting and meditation, are beneficial to both the individual practitioner and to humanity as a whole. One of the most well-known studies was carried out by the American University Washington D.C., which hypothesised that a large group of people performing transcendental meditation over a period of 2 months would lower the crime rate in the city. Their hypothesis seems to have been correct. Analysis of the data suggested that there was a (maximum of) 23% decrease in violent crimes over the time period the study was conducted. And yes, there were controls put in place for all possible variables, such as temperature and seasonal increases etc., that could have otherwise explained the drop in violent crime.
The conclusion of the study:
"Given the strength of these results, their consistency with the positive results of previous research, the grave human and financial costs of violent crime, and the lack of other effective and scientific methods to reduce crime, policy makers are urged to apply this approach on a large scale for the benefit of society."
So, although practices like meditation appear to improve society as a whole, most obvious improvements from meditation (secular or otherwise) are the improvements that are made within. Whether you are praying to god, worshipping deities, asking for protection or guidance, or just looking deeply inward to find the source of life that sustains you, a short daily practice done first thing in the morning sets you up very well for the rest of the day, and allows some much needed space between waking up and diving into the chaotic world of your phone.
So, here is my conclusion on the practises of gratitude & meditation.
Regardless of whether the intention is spiritual or not, the potential benefits they can bring both the individual and society as a whole, are limited only by the mind of the practitioner. Even if it's as simple as taking a moment of appreciation before a meal, or spending 5 minutes in silent contemplation each morning, or taking a moment to acknowledge the power of the mountains before we begin the journey.
In my experience at least, well-intentioned actions, done with consistency, will bring results.
So my questions to you are as follows... Do you feel that there is some connection between exploring the mountains and spirituality? ...And if so, in what way? ...and... Does hiking and/or climbing have any element of spiritual meaning to you, or is it something entirely secular? Hit reply and let me know.
Now for some updates.
The latest from YouTube
A few weeks ago, I headed out to the Pre-Pyrenees with my mate Max Lowery to climb/hike a very long limestone ridge called Cresta de Ferran. This style of adventure is what I love to do, and it’s really on that borderline between hiking and climbing. Thankfully, there were no earthquakes and no real need to perform a Puja ceremony, although perhaps it’s something I should do before every mountain!
Breathwork for Hiking Workshop
Recently, we got together for a breathwork workshop, and it was a hit! We had around 110 registrations, and many people tuned in later to watch the recording.
The information in this workshop is useful to anyone who struggles with their breathing, especially in the mountains, and we also touched on high altitude, how it affects your breathing, and what to do about it!
You can still get a hold of the workshop recording here!
Men's Retreats
Last weekend, we wrapped up the FIRE retreat for men. What was originally meant to be a once-off retreat to help build stronger bonds between the international community here in Barcelona, has now become a global mission for us. What we experienced on this retreat, was different for each man, but collectively we experience a level of bonding, comfort, mutual respect and understanding that few of us expected. Along with the regular the meditations, journalling, cold dips, sauna sessions, workouts, breathwork, hikes, etc., we enlisted the help of a musician and medicinal healer to assist our guests in a deep inner journey. Many of the men broke through walls of physical, mental & emotional pain during this experience -- it was powerful stuff! The next retreat I'm planning will be a combined retreat/mountaineering with the intention of teaching men to process emotions, be comfortable with themselves, and be confident in going into the high mountains unassisted by a guide. We'll spend 2 days in the retreat venue and 2 days to approach and summit a 2700m mountain via a semi technical route.
Proposed dates are for June 2024. If that sounds interesting to you, put it on the goal list! I'll send out more information next month!
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Podcast of the month
I haven't been on a podcast recently, but, this weekend, I'll be appearing as a host on the the Show Up Podcast to interview a very special guest. ...And, given the guest, it fits in well with this month's theme. So, I thought I'd share his podcast instead, which is highly worth listening to.
Swami Chidananda is a spiritual educator and monk. I met him through my recent Yoga Teacher training, and was instantly drawn to his presence, and to the clarity & authenticity in his voice.
I like to think of Swami C. as the real life 'Monk Who Sold His Ferrari' which is a favorite novel of mine by Robin Sharma. Swami's life very much falls in line with the story -- it's as if the book was written about him.
Before entering the spiritual path, Swami Chidananda had a successful career as an investment banker and entrepreneur in New York City. He left that life to spend 10 years in an Ashram in Germany studying Yogic texts and Vedic scripture.
Now, he uses his experiences to convey the ancient Yoga Systems in a relatable and accessible way for those seeking to reconcile Western and Eastern philosophies.
Additional information about Swami can be found by exploring his social media page on Instagram, @swami_chidananda, or by listening to his podcast, 'The Path of a Swami.'
I've got some burning questions to ask him about the meaning of life, and what it's like to be a monk in the modern age! I'll be sure to share this podcast in the December newsletter.
So, that's all for this edition; a little bit of a different topic for sure. It's something I've wanted to touch on for quite some time, but I've always had reservations about expressing myself in any way that might be perceived as being an unhinged guru-type figure. I hope it doesn't come across that way.
As a final note, I think all religions in their purest and unaltered forms will point towards the same essential truths of love, unity, ethical living, compassion, kindness, generosity and non-attachment.
If anything, the global occurrences this month have demonstrated to us that the world desperately needs more of these values, and although it's not necessary to be spiritual in order to live by any these values, it certainly helps to have some guidance from our collective ancestors if you can tap into it.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if it's part of your culture. Have a great December, and let's finish this year on a high note, ready for another year of growth, adventure and self discovery!
I'll see you on the summit!
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