The outdoor learning literature indicates that physical and sensual experiences in nature “can lead to extraordinary experiences, which can be called spiritual moments.” This study explored children's experiences while making musical ceremonies in outdoor locations. The study was based on the understanding that music making in the outdoor environment surrounded by nature may be one way to help children experience spiritual moments.
Six classes of children (age 7-11) from six different primary schools in Wales participated in music making (composing) experiences outdoors in natural areas over a two-year period. The musical activities were filmed and used later during semi-structured group interviews with a group of students from each school. All six of the teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews, but without the use of the videos as prompts.
Children's responses consistently suggested that being in a natural environment allowed them to feel a sensual, embodied sense of immersion in nature. This sense of immersion, along with their music making, “caused them to experience altered states of mind or spiritual response.” Other responses, as articulated by the children, included an altered perception of reality (entering a “new world”), a sense of interconnectivity or harmony with nature, and a sense of bonding with each other and their surroundings. The children's explanations of what they experienced while music making in nature were supported by the teachers' responses. What the children experienced seemed to have contributed to their well-being. Feelings of joy, connection, wonder, awe and a sense of inner calm or peace were experienced by the children during and even after the music making activity.
These findings indicate that what the children experienced through music making in nature were “extraordinary, transcendent or what might be called spiritual moments.” Music making in nature, then, may be one way to help children experience spiritual moments.
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