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K6vi—FoGARASsy—MIRNICS—MERSDORF—VASS are ancient rituals practiced in many cultural groups, like Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals, with the original goal of assisting the transition of adolescents into adulthood by sending them into the wilderness with a safe mission to perform. This practice was adopted for commercial use, letting anyone into the mysteries of this experience for a certain amount of money. With more than 200 participants responding to follow-up questionnaires, the authors concluded that the participants’ main motives for going on these quests was a search for self-discovery and personal renewal. Also, they reported that the wilderness experience (like solitude and naturalness) had first brought them closer to themselves, after which they had started to connect better with nature. Thus, nature first directed participants’ attention towards themselves and, secondly, enabled a higher level of connection with “others” (e.g. being part of something bigger). Reported benefits were greater connectedness to the self (self-awareness, self-discovery, self-understanding, self-knowledge, self-acceptance), self-empowerment (self-confidence, facing fears, and increased sense of strength), and connection with others (nature, community, and the world as a whole). Interestingly, participants in the vision quest programs did not emphasize the significance of the group setting. An insightful study by Schroeder“ attempted to describe “The spiritual aspect of nature” and approached it from a Jungian perspective. Schroeder defined spirituality as something that refers to the experience of being related to or in touch with an “other” which transcends the individual’s sense of self and gives meaning to one’s life at a level deeper than the intellectual.* “Other” could be anything that evokes spiritual transcendence, and evidence suggests that nature may have this effect. Jungian psychologists view spiritual experiences in nature as projections of archetypes (e.g. Great Mother, Mother Nature); therefore, nature is deeply rooted in the collective unconscious. Schroeder, following this line of thought, suggested that in the predominant Western societal paradigm, rational, logical thinking is related to the Ego, which tries to repress the intuitive, spiritual part of personality, the unconscious, which is symbolized by nature and earth. Returning to nature can lead to spirituality because rationality is left behind, and a deeper, more whole self is revealed. White and Hendee’s’® study suggests that the benefits of wilderness experiences can be grouped into three separate categories. (1) Development Herbert W. Schroeder, The spiritual aspect of nature: A perspective from depth psychology. In: Proceedings of the 1991 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium 1992, 25-30. Herbert W. Schroeder, The spiritual aspect of nature: A perspective from depth psychology. In: Proceedings of the 1991 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium 1992, 25-30. 1 Dave D. White and John C. Hendee, Primal Hypotheses: The Relationship Between Naturalness, Solitude, and the Wilderness Experience Benefits of Development of Self, Development of Community, and Spiritual Development, USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-15, 3 (2000), 223-227. + 160 + Daréczi-Sepsi-Vassänyi_Initiation_155x240.indb 160 6 2020.06.15. 11:04:18
