O lesní spiritualitě

Abstract

Many theses have been written about perceptions of nature. Themes about natural aesthetics, its perception and forest mythology are still interesting topics today, as well as discussion about positive effects on human health during recreation in the natural environment. A symbol of a tree has been an archetype since ancient times. It could be perceived as the World tree, the Life tree, even as a home for animistic creatures and gods. Nowadays, we can say that religion is disappearing from our lives. But, is it really true? Various believes in supernatural powers and mysticism are typical of contemporary society. The perception of mysticism and perception of the nature (forest) relate to each other. The term “spirituality” is the sense of the transcendence that can be seen in nature. It is a form of non-religious tendencies which worship nature, metaphysical connection between humans and nature. The main question of this article is, how could the perception of spirituality be described? How does our forest spirituality look like in contemporary times? The research is going to find an answer to this question using a semi-structural interview as the main method.