Functional Disconnection and Spiritual Connection:A Study on the Authentic Self-practice Process of the Participants of "Hiking while Not Talking" in the Hexi Corridor
In modern society,individuals are endowed with a high degree of autonomy.However,this also causes all kinds of stable connections in social life to gradually loosen or even break,with the result that people today suffer from a structural spiritual crisis,frequently feeling a sense of meaninglessness with respect to their existence and a sense of powerlessness over their self-control.To cope with these difficulties,young people often try to find their true selves and seek spiritual comfort through specific forms of travel,such as backpacking and hiking.As one of the most adventurous and challenging outdoor trekking activities,wilderness hiking is often called upon at important points in an individual's life,thereby serving as a metaphor for a fresh start.To some extent,wilderness hiking has the benefit of addressing the spiritual crisis of modernity.In this study,based on long-term contact with the outdoor activity market of youth groups,we examine the"hiking while not talking"event in the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province.In 2019 and 2020,the event organisers selected a substantial 200-km section of the Hexi Corridor to plan a one-week hiking activity,requiring participants to cut off their access to the Internet throughout the entire process and banning them to speak in stages to allow the participants to experience"a thorough and true exploration of their own hearts".This study uses qualitative research methods to conduct in-depth interviews with 18 participants to explore their authentic self-practice process in wilderness hiking and analyse the key conditions and intrinsic mechanism.The findings were as follows.First,the participants of the"Hiking While Not Talking"in the Hexi Corridor have successfully completed the practice of existentialism's authentic self,which has a multi-dimensional structure and is based on intrapersonal authenticity,including physical instinct and self-cognition,and creates the relational authenticity composed of natural authenticity,time authenticity and interpersonal authenticity in close connection with nature,history and others.Second,the participants'authentic self-practice has experienced four stages:falling into self-doubt,learning self-mastery,promoting self-reflection and establishing link ability.Self-practice is the unique process of"seeing oneself inwardly and linking the world outwardly".Third,the wilderness natural environment of physical and mental challenge and the forced setting of functional disconnection(network disconnection and banned talking)played a key role in self-practice,truly creating a walking environment for participants to return to their physical and mental bodies,showing the dialectical relationship between functional disconnection and spiritual link.Ideal walking needs a good environment as support.A natural wilderness environment enables people to return to their physical and mental instincts and start to self-reflect and explore the meaning of existence.The construction of a digital-free environment provides support for focused local experience and authentic self-practice.This study reveals the relevant role and process mechanisms of outdoor tourism and serious leisure such as wilderness hiking in coping with the spiritual crisis of contemporary youth and expands the existing research's understanding of the relationship between the tourism world and daily life.
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