Go Hiking And Think Like A Monk

It happens all the time! Meditation during a hike. Maybe it is the steady cadence of my feet on the trail or the breathing. Who knows but getting into a meditative state on the trail is not a hard thing to do.

A friend said I breathed like a stove pipe. That was when I was treating through my mouth. Now I breathe only through my nose. It is supposed to be better for you so why not? I am not so sure it helps with meditation. I think the stove pipe method is better.

Automatic

So what I am saying is that hiking automatically helps you think like a monk. You are in nature. It is silent except for your beating heart and steady breath. You can feel the breeze on your face or smell the woods or hear the wind in the trees. I like to focus on my feet hitting the trail.

However, as I said, you really don’t have to do anything and you are meditating. Automatic. Nature gently pushes you into a meditative state.

Practice

A monk will tell you that they consider meditation a “practice.” Hiking is a practice too. You need to practice it consistently over and over again. Then you go deeper. Deeper experiences in the forest. Deeper revelations. More silence. The “experts” will put a finer touch on it and say it is “perfect practice” the will get you where you want to go.

I am not so sure it needs to be perfect, at least not in the beginning. You can learn from your imperfect practice so the next time it might be more perfect.

Will You Be a Monk If You Go Hiking?

Of course not!. How could you be a monk? You need to go to a monastery someplace for a while to get that official title. However, you might be at least “a little like” a monk when you hike. Certainly, you could think like one for a short time and much more so than if you just drive to work every day or sit at home working remotely and never get out into nature.

So go hiking and think like a monk!