Exploring the influence of wilderness on conscious awareness

AIMS: This study examined what effect wilderness has on our conscious awareness, and by extension of that meta-cognition; our physical, mental and spiritual health. BACKGROUND: METHOD: It reviews available scientific and artistic literature and integrates this with interviews in order to generate original grounded theory. RESULT: It was found that intensity of wilderness experience varied proportionally with four mediators; Challenge, Immersion, Beauty and Time. With these maximised, experiences broadly within four themes occurred; Increased Awareness, Confidence, Perspective and Connectedness. When sufficiently intense, these four experiences amalgamated to elicit what Maslow described as 'Peak Experience'. CONCLUSION: As such, this thesis unexpectedly provides a pragmatic recipie towards peak experience, and a map of one's potential psychological journey, in the context of wilderness.