Abstract - Winter Wandering on Snow Shoes as a Non-Religious Pilgrimage
Background and study aim. The program of a two-week course consisted mainly in wandering on snow shoes in the Poloniny National Park at the border of Slovakia and Poland. This type of project enables its participants to encounter the raw reality of the outdoor environment in difficult natural conditions forcing the participants to involve their self-protective mechanisms needed for survival.
Material and methods. The contribution utilizes the reflections of participants acquired in interviews (n = 12) and visualizations by means of Systemic Constellations (n = 19).
Results. The findings imply that the most frequent themes among the respondents relate to thinking and searching (for oneself, for the purpose of life), stopping and calming, experiencing difficult situations (focusing on basic needs), natural behavior (e.g. related to dropping masks) as well as apprehension and fear and their overcoming. The symbolism of transcendence and spirituality is also quite evident in several of their statements.
Conclusions. The way of experiencing in this type of course manifests the acquisition of a pilgrimage experience. Due to the non-religious spirituality as witnessed by the participants’ experience, such journeys can be legitimately classified as spiritual, non-religious pilgrimages.