Ecstatic Experience

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."

 - Emily Dickinson

Writing about climbing mountains,  Robert Pirsig said, The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down.You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then When you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end, but a unique event in itself."

Climbing opportunities arise to stimulate mind, body, and spirit. Views to Half Dome from North Dome inspire warrior poses. 

Nature’s nurture stimulates reverence. 

Skinner Butte in Eugene, Oregon inspires with its views of the city and beyond to Spencer Butte’s silhouette. Eagles nest in high branches. Along the snaking trail, squirrels, hawks, osprey, bluejays, flickers and sparrows share the journey to the top. 

 

Enlightenment arrives from reflection on sensual delights and challenges of nature’s experiences. Lessons of solitude push beyond the fear of falling. 

In the step-by-step process, self-doubts evaporate. 

A mountain’s simplicity and tranquility calm and soothe adventurers into views where blues of sky meet the azure sea.

Mind mountains attract daily in a struggle or an insight.

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• If tired of resting in the valley too long, a saunter along a mental mountain path of challenges energizes the soul.

  
  

  When considering life's uncertainties, a mountain metaphor intrigues with its possibilities for an ecstatic experience. 

  
  

  Find the way past the rocks and ridges.