SOS Survival Philosophy

Programm

In survival, in addition to technical knowledge and skills, the mental level is very important. To be able to live largely independently in nature, not only technical skills are important, but also mental skills and a proper attitude. The primitive peoples devoted between 80 and 90% of their time to spiritual things. Today's Western civilized man, on the other hand, spends very little time on spiritual things. Nevertheless, behind every behavior and action there is an inner attitude and philosophy. In this course we will deal with survival philosophy and encounter the inner attitude in survival. This includes not only practical exercises, but also knowledge on topics such as:

- Philosophies of primitive people
- Psychology in survival
- Mental abilities in survival
- Dealing with survival situations
- Group dynamics and roles in the group

After these days you will know more about yourself and your relationship to nature and will be able to encounter the natural environment even more consciously as well as transfer what you have learned and experienced into your everyday life.

This course will be led by Christof Hagen (founder of SOS). In case of a larger number of participants, Armin Heyer will be present as co-facilitator:

To Armin Heyer (1977):

When I couldn't fall asleep as a teenager, I would sometimes pack my sleeping bag and spend the night in the woods or hike through the night and take the train home the next morning.  While studying psychology, I learned to move more freely and directly as part of nature with the SOS. In the last 10 years I have been able to learn a lot from the SOS and now I am happy to pass on some of the knowledge to participants.

After graduation, I first went out into nature alone for a month to try out my naturtech skills.  I realized how much harder it is to live alone in nature than in a group.

Living outside with what you find outside fascinates me every day anew. This fascination, the knowledge and skills to pass on to other people motivates me to work as an instructor at SOS. I could deepen my experiences in the exchange with survival instructors at the Rabbit Stick in the USA and with the Wilderness Frist Responder of NOLS.

Besides survival I work for the Öpfelchasper (www.oepfelchasper.ch), which I started five years ago with my good friend Dominik.  I also work as an independent psychologist with couples in the area of communication and stress prevention. The last three years I was allowed to spend every Wednesday afternoon with my little nieces in nature. The straightforwardness and directness of children in nature probably amazes many adults.