JC by Mikey Famiglietti

I was pondering on what Jesus meant to me and had a small but significant realization. I believe that Jesus was a normal human being just like the rest of us, but indeed a great prophet. But the difference between him and us is simply fear. Today we are constantly pumped with fear, whether it is future terrorist attacks or the oncoming event of World War 3. Our motivation to make a change we want to see is obsolete because of our fear of death. Jesus was not scared of death. He took the time to leave society…retreating to the wilderness to collect his many great thoughts and proposed them to the world when he returned to civilization. He was willing to die for what he truly believed in. He wanted to see change in the world because he felt something was not right. Jesus is the most glorified person that died for what he believed in, but I feel he was not the only person to do so. Jim Morrison, John Lennon, and Martin Luther King are all people I see on the same page as Jesus. They all were not afraid to be the change they wanted to see and they were willing to die for it. For thousands of years the world has been in chaos, violence about beliefs, money, and property. People die for what they believe in every passing moment and even though they may never be glorified throughout the world as Jesus is, they go to rest knowing their purpose in life and are the seeds of the change they wanted to see in this life.

Music by Mikey Famiglietti

Music seems to be a very important thing to human beings. It has been on this planet since the beginning mankind…cave men playing rythms with stick and stones…to the what music is today. Why do we desire this organized sound? Sometimes words cannot express what one is feeling…Music is what feelings sound like. Film scores illustrate this notion very well. Ranging from eerie, dark music to beautiful, inspirational music…its truly amazing. As a musician I experience a completely different type of conversation when I play music with other people, this is how I feel today…(play a line)…oh really? Well this is how I feel today…(the other person plays a line). It is an experience only musicians can experience and truly understand and I am grateful I get to experience this unique sensation. Painters use paint to express their feelings on a canvas…Musicians use sound to express their feelings on silence…Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life.

Response to outside reading “On the Spiritual Benefits of Wilderness” by Baylor Johnson/ by Mikey Famiglietti

The sublimity of wild nature humbles us, minimizing the importance of our individual selves, yet comforting us with its own grandeur” (Johnson).

Wild nature leads us to experience the sensation of self-forgetting and also comforts us in the idea that our worries and problems…that seem to be so important and central to us…are nothing in the big scheme of things. When we are not noticed by society we feel insignificant…we are left feeling empty and upset. It reminds us that we have not achieved anything society sees as significant…we have not met the expectations of others. But on the other hand, being insignificant can be comforting. By demeaning our desires and weaknesses, we realize that that our worries are too small to produce any disturbance in the big scheme of things and therefore are also very insignifcant.

Response to outside reading “Wilderness Spirituality” by Michael Comins/ by Mikey Famiglietti

“Mindfulness is the great gift of wilderness” (Comins).

In wilderness we notice all the cycles, masked by civilization, that we as God’s creatures are bound to. In wilderness and through solitude, we can transcend our rational mind and focus our perception on the present. We can enter a path that is beyond ego, more oriented about our place in the big scheme of things. We enter a meditative state, clearing and calming the mind, eliminating the notion of getting lost in the “to do” list for the day that we experience daily in civilized life. Wilderness allows us to live in the moment and that is very foreign experience for people blinded by civilization.

Response to outside reading “The Spiritual Dimension of Wilderness” by Roger Kaye/by Mikey Famiglietti

“A characteristic of all spiritual traditions is the premise that concern with your self-image, status, and approval of others are barriers to transcendence” (Kaye).

Being a person who understands the value of solitude, I can relate to this passage very well. When you are in society, you are constantly aware of the vibe you are putting off. Whether it is how high you stand on the social ladder, how good you look, or if you fit into the norms of society, you always want to put off a good vibe because you never know who is observing you…we want to give people good first impressions. But if you think about it, everybody is doing this…nobody is really thinking too deeply about anybody…unless your in a close relationship. It’s almost silly, to cloud your mind with such nonsense…but we can’t help it…we’ve done it for so long…it is just instantaneous. Solitude is the key to breaking these barriers. You are free of all these unnecessary thoughts.

Response to Gatta’s “Making Nature Sacred”/ by Mikey Famiglietti

Certainly humans occupy a privileged place in this scheme, since they most obviously represent the “intelligent part of the system” and are uniquely qualified to know and to respond to the beauty of God’s self-communication” (65).

I once heard that humans are the only organism that can picture their own demise. This is why we have religion… the wonder of how we got here, our purpose for existing, and where our spirit goes after this life. These are the unsolved mysteries of the universe, that we all struggle with. I always wondered if other animals wonder about these things, but I don’t think many other animals have reached that stage of evolution. But if they don’t wonder about these mysteries, what is the meaning of their life? If they can’t wonder like we can…does that mean their life is meaningless? They don’t make scientific discoveries and develop philosophies like we do…we do have a very special place on this planet…we have a very special relationship with god in comparison to all the other organisms on this planet. We can somewhat interpret God’s messages and recognize his glory through his beauty. I’m glad to be human and have this relationship with Him.

Return to Lion’s Bridge/ By Mikey Famiglietti

As I traveled down the path a patch of yellow flowers along side of the path caught my eye. They all looked so delighted to be alive, reaching high for the sky, radiating a vibrant yellow. I could not resist, I picked one and stuck it under my nose. The scent of the season quickly filled my nostrils. I stared at the flower, observing its many pristine features. The petals, indistinguishable from each other, connected together in perfect harmony, forming a perfect disc. The core of the flower had its own character, a bit more orange than the petals. It held the flowers potent aroma, bearer of the scent of spring. This single flower will spread its beauty across the land, by an insect, the flowers’ carrier of life. This flowers beauty will be experienced by many, but only for a brief moment. It brings the scent of the season, summer is just beyond the horizon, I enjoyed it while I could. Lion’s Bridge is coming back to life…

Response to Lanes “Landscapes of the Sacred”/ by Mikey Famiglietti

From the security and stability of place we are aware of the openness, freedom, and threat of space” (221, Lane).

From the security and stability of a small town, I do not feel threatened. I am just a part of the community, everybody living completely different lives somehow…in harmony. I am about to leave this place to go camping in Colorado for a week. I have the freedom to do whatever I please, away from the expectations of the people I normally come in contact with, away from the worries of school and work, away from the discipline of practicing guitar 6 hours a day…I’m going to be free. But in contrast, I am going to be far away from the security and stability of my life right now. Out in the wilderness I’m just part of the food chain, I’m nothing special away from this place. Out in space, I could easily get lost, I have no point of reference away from this place. I don’t have a sanctuary to come back to every night in Colorado, I have no comforts away from this place. I don’t know a single soul in Colorado, a very threatening feeling, I feel the threat of space being away from this place…but that’s part of the full experience.

Solace Psychology -Jennie Pahl

"personality traits greatly found within these people are self-confidence and assertiveness."



This chapter from The Solace of Fierce Landscapes helped me to really tie everything I have been learning in psychology into this course. It totally make since as to why self-confidence and assertiveness would be two very important personality traits found in those who want to hike rugged trails. I admire the fact that Lester did the research to find out more about the kinds of people who do go on harsh hikes. It would make since that they are mentally strong before going on the hike, because they endure alot of hardships while hiking. If they break down mentally it could be a disaster for their person.

Solace God and desert -jennie Pahl

"God is a desert to be entered and loved, never an object to be grasped or understood."


This one sentence in the Solace of Fierce Landscapes book moved me like none other. I sat and pondered on it for a while. If you break down what is being said it is very true! God is a vast expansion of somewhat unknowns which resembles the desert. You are suppose to love God and have the up most respect and he is to be the center of your life, but no matter how hard you try God can never become an object to be grasped. We will never be able to physically hold him. Nor will we ever be able to understand him. I know personally when I don't understand what God did or decides to do I dwell on the question, but as my mom frequently tells me he does everything for a reason. Never second guess him he is all knowing and all love just trust. This sentence made me understand what my mom has been telling me for years!

Jennie Pahl -Wilderness that has molded me

Vaguely I remember the conversation my parents had with me and my siblings about moving the Chesterfield, Virginia. My brothers were upset that they had to leave their tree fort and could no longer terrorize the cows that backed up to our 12 acres of land, but I had no feelings about the situation. This move was going to be a radical learning experience for me for the next 9 years of my life, and I hadn’t the slightest idea.
At the age of four I was thought to be a very independent child and loved to explore. I found myself drawn to the massive woods behind my house. I would walk to the edge and my heart would begin to beat faster and faster, this was my wilderness just as the west and space were at one time man’s wilderness. I ventured in to find a world of amazing new things. Sitting on a log about two hundred yards from my house I could see nothing, but the trees which engulfed me. For the first few visits I found myself staring in amazement and looking straight up at the colossal pine trees.
After a while I began to notice the little bugs that crawled along side of me on the decaying tree trunk. I was a little taken back and scared, but I kneeled down and watched them ever so swiftly glide across the bark and tunnel between it. Walking back that afternoon I noticed some fungus growing on the end of the tree trunk. Being the curious kid I was I picked up a small twig and poked it. I wanted to see what exactly it was growing from. After only finding the end of the tree trunk I ran home and anxiously waited for my dad to come home so he could explain to me what this green stuff was.
As the years flew by I watched the seasons change the woods behind my house. I loved being in them every second of the day that I could. One day when I was in second grade I saw my first wild bunny rabbit. It was white with a gray spot on his chest. He just sat there staring at me a still as a statue. I didn’t want to scare him so I tried hard to not even breathe. About three seconds later he broke off his intense staring and continued to munch on some kind of vegetation growing from the ground. This was the first encounter of hundreds that I had with the bunnies. Up until this point the woods had always been my way of learning and growing through the exploration of wilderness. Little did I know my journey would lead me to what I feel is the most powerful spiritual connection I have ever had the honor of experiencing.
Being the youngest of three which meant having two older brothers was often what I felt was my curse. Growing up I got picked on, beat up, and yelled at and these woods were always so good to me. They were inviting, comforting, and a fun escape, in short, they were my very own dream come true. At the age of nine I told on my brother for locking me in my room, and he told me the next day that I was not what my parents had always told me. He explained that a "nice surprise" in parental terms meant I was an "accident". In his exact words I was on this Earth only because Mom and Dad’s form of birth control had failed. Jonathan, my brother, went on to tell me that my parents hated me and didn’t want me. So I packed my bookbag and ran away to the woods.
Once in the woods I found a nice place that seemed to have a little opening through the trees straight above where you could see the sky. I found myself on my knees crying and praying to God that he just take me away. For that moment which seemed like an eternity I could feel the embracement of the wilderness and God around me. It was then I realized these woods, this wilderness, was more than just a habitat as I had been taught when I recreated it in play-dough for my third grade project. These woods would see me through something that still effects me to this day.
My Mother decided the Christmas of 2000, that she would be happier without my Father. This was everything I had ever known. I found myself in the woods that year the day after a horrendous ice storm begging God to let Mom change her mind. I prayed about not letting Daddy go to hell for Mom’s selfish deciscions, and for the family to help us get through. As I fell to my knees with tears in my eyes I could hear the trees around me breaking and falling to the ground. It was like they too were dying with me, they were just so overwhelmed they snapped and fell to their death like my heart. As strange as it sounds that was the last time I was in those woods before they developed it 3 years later (and turned it into over five hundred single family homes), and to this day I can still remember the exact feelings that had come over me laying on the icy ground. After over three hours I was still there sobbing on the ground, but the whole time I was not alone I was being embraced by my father (God), the one who guided my family through the horrific experience. Around dusk my Daddy found me in the woods after hours of looking for me and as he carried me out like a helpless baby I knew these woods would become, but a foreign place when the house was sold.
My experience in those woods was a big part of my life. Through them I learned so many amazing life lessons, and came to know God ouside of boring hymnals and church. God revealed himself to me when we were inside of the wilderness that reflected everything great and amazing that he accomplished and made for us to enjoy. To this very day when I feel burdened or want to connect with God I turn to some form of nature, whether it be the beach, woods, or mountains I know where to look for that embracement every Christian longs for.