This paper, part of my ongoing PhD thesis called 'The Theology of the Mountain', explores the interrelation of consciousness, embodiment, and spirituality, examining how walking and mountaineering foster unique states of awareness and how the mountain experience can reveal new spiritualities. This auto-ethnographic study (data acquired in the last four years through diaries, audios and photos) emerged during the pandemic lockdown, where an increase in mountain hikers has been observed; it shows how 'some' movements shape mind, perception, and spiritual experiences by utilizing the paramenters of 'Mindflow' (Cacioppe), a notion combining mindfulness (Henepola Gunaratana) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi), the optimal state of action and consciousness.
Unlike full absorption usually attained in sports, mindflow allows for simultaneous presence and self-awareness, aligning therefore with the Desert Fathers' Hesychasm, a Christian meditation tradition that synchronises prayer and breath, Patanjali's yoga, and Sufi dhikr, so revealing the universality of rhythmic and breath-centered spirituality. Research on posture, gestures, and mindfulness also shows how body awareness shapes time and space perception—a phenomenon pertinent to mountain climbing as well as introspection. Using neuroscientific data, such as the disengagement of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in certain activities, I propose that cognition and awareness during mountain ascents are dynamically enmeshed in physical activity and environmental interaction. This study extends theories of embodied cognition (Varela, Thomson) and multidisciplinary approaches from psychology (Csikszentmihalyi and Maslow), rhythmanalysis (Lefebvre)and pilgrimage studies (Turner) to show that movement is not only a physical action but a mode of knowledge. Using a phenomenological approach, my study looks at how meditation and prayer change subjective time and space perception, therefore creating an experience of the constant present.