My biggest learning came from being alone in the wilderness.
Oracle 2000
MARCH 200 I
by Dan Liss
Many people have written about making journeys to sacred places in The British Isles, Egypt, Peru or India to seek ways to make direct contact with spirit in places that have been renowned for this reason. However, even older than that is the tradition of simply spending time in nature as a way to find spiritual peace. Niki Collins-Queen, an adventurous woman who follows this tradition, has gone on long hiking, camping and canoeing and sailing trips, many of them solo. She details some of her experiences in her book Earth, The Forgotten Temple. I talked with her recently. You have discovered your sense of spirituality through being outdoors and being close to nature. When did that begin?
My bond with nature nurtured me through a tough childhood. Then later in life after having tried various workshops and meditation techniques, I had a real awakening and felt the connection to spirit while on a solo hiking trip. You did have at least one dangerous encounter while hiking solo. What are your feelings now? Would you have any reluctance about advising other people, particularly women about solo adventures?
Even on nature channels you get the impression that all the predators will be after you. But that's not the way it is. You do have to be, alert and be prepared, but the world is not out to get you. It is more dangerous to get in my car and drive every day than it is to go camping and hiking. Living in a city is more dangerous. Most of the people you meet who love camping and hiking are very considerate and friendly. You can start in a small way. Learn how to take care of yourself in the outdoors. Go with someone else first, then return to the same place solo. That will help you ease into your own journey. The events in your book end in 1998. What have you been doing since then?
I became interested in ecopsychology. I worked as a licensed professional counselor, but that was more a rite of passage. My biggest learning came from being alone in the wilderness. I find that it is important to balance time with people and ideas, and time doing nothing, just being. After my wilderness experiences, I began to put the two together and discovered that there was a field called ecopsychology. Now I have been studying and doing workshops on that as well as wilderness trips. Can you tell me a little about ecopsychology?
We need to study humankind in the context of our environment, which surprisingly, we have not done, but we don't study other species that way. We've never studied our bond with nature.
The average American spends 95% of their time indoors. Ten years go it was 85%. Before most of us had central heat and air we spent more time outside. Researchers have found that people recovering from surgery with window in hospitals overlooking greenery go home a day earlier. People who work in offices and have a window overlooking greenery are more productive and have less sick days. Many new school buildings don't have windows. Many of the problems we have with society stem from our being disconnected from the earth. How would you describe your religious or spiritual beliefs?
I was first introduced to eastern thinking, then Native American. I believe God is in all creation, not just a big daddy in the sky: I feel like I belong to all religions. The teachings of Jesus are awesome and I try to live by them, but I am not a traditional Christian. It is easy to believe in Jesus, but hard to practice his teaching of unconditional love. If everything is spirit, it is impossible not to believe in all of them; Buddha, Jesus, and the Goddess. You also mentioned in your story that you and your husband have, have a solid relationship even though you wouldn't have thought of each other as a match at first.
I used to think that marriage had to be with two people the same, but that's not exactly true. My husband, Bud, is in the military, and I'm not a big fan of that, but we both love nature. He likes hunting, and we live on venison. For ten years I was a vegetarian, but I became anemic, so my doctor said I could either go back to eating some meat or take iron supplements.
But the body sometimes has problems absorbing iron supplements plus I'm into voluntary simplicity, so it was simpler to eat the venison my husband brings home than to start taking pills. It took me a while to make this transition, and it is fine with me now. I express gratitude that something dies so that I may live: We both belong to the Georgia Wilderness Society and we lead trips, mostly canoe camping. You have chosen to live simply. How did you do it? ,
We have no central heat and air, we have a wood stove, space heaters, fans, and the house is paid for, so we can live on very little. I go to beauty school for haircuts, dental school for cleanings, community health centers for medical care, and I'm a real advocate of libraries. This allows us the financial freedom to spend more of our time as we like.
You can meet Niki at a booksigning at Barnes & Noble Cumberland in Atlanta on Saturday, March 10, at 2 pm.
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