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ENDURANCE RUNNING AS INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIES A CASE STUDY BASED ON THE EICTION OF JARI EHRNROOTH ee JOHANNA DOMOKOS ABSTRACT In several of his works, the Finnish philosopher, writer, and athlete Jari Ehrnrooth (b. 1959) describes how endurance running can serve as a means for transcending the everyday state of mind and experiencing the “unattainable Holy Absolute.” Unit One (Neurobiology and cultural traditions of endurance running) of the present study offers a short heuristic view of running as mystical method in different traditions throughout documented human history and tangentially considers endurance running through the lens of Christian theology. By closely investigating the works of Jari Ehrnrooth, Unit Two (Major works by Ehrnrooth related to endurance running, creative writing, and mystical experience) shows how these works verbalize the experience of an endurance runner, while also providing examples of endurance running as a method of mystical initiation. The literary analysis of Unit Three (Juoksu and Palvelijan loikka / The Serving Stride) approaches the concept of “mystical initiation” not from a top-down perspective (invoking religious discourse), but rather from the bottom up, offering a philological investigation of the way an author describes certain phenomena. Unit Four (Closing thoughts) concludes the study with reflections on mapping the postmodern mystical terrain in literary production. During the savannah stage the genus homo evolved into a biped endurance runner with a slender torso and upright posture. Venting our deepest spiritual longings, this form of movement so instinctive to our species has witnessed the birth of the praying runner. What could bea more natural form of worship? In tests of physical + 319 « Daréczi-Sepsi-Vassänyi_Initiation_155x240.indb 319 6 2020.06.15. 11:04:26
