A vision quest isn’t about receiving a vision in the mystical sense, but rather about discovering a new way of seeing. Nature has a way of changing our perspective as it mirrors to us our authentic self, our essence—not the ego-driven, distracted self we inhabit in our daily lives. A vision quest is not to be undertaken lightly. Though it can be a joyous and magical experience, it is a symbolic death that allows for the birth of new possibilities. It asks of the participant to have a genuine commitment to change as well as the willingness to have an authentic exchange with nature and self.
You realize that you have outgrown your current life and you are prepared to see what is next. There is a wound that you are ready to address and heal. You long to deepen your commitment to your potential. You wish to feel yourself in your body in connection with the natural world around you. You desire to surrender into stillness and find clarity. Or perhaps there is no clear reason why you must go but you know that you must—as if your life depended on it.
Wing Rock Journeys’ Vision Quest is not tied to any one tradition, but rather honors that the practice of seeking authentic self in nature is an age-old tradition practiced by many different cultures in countless ways. Our quest is a guided experience that allows for increased safety, insight, and support, and is enacted in three phases.
Severance—The severance phase occurs when you first receive the inner call to leave behind your current way of being and transition into a new way of being. During this time we use Medicine Walks, council and other awareness practices to help form your intent. We also prepare you for your time on the land by discussing the dynamics of fasting, leave no trace camping, and safety in the backcountry.
Threshold—For four days and four nights you are in solitude on the land in a place of your choosing. Having been given the bare bones of ceremony, you spend your days enacting self-generated ceremonies that help you to steep in your intent, as well as surrendering to the rhythms of the natural world and finding your own true nature apart from that which normally defines you. Most people choose to fast as part of their threshold, as giving up food is a further commitment to letting go of the familiar, unaware life of schedules and distractions. Fasting is also an emptying of oneself, a cleansing, that enhances the intent of dying to form and awakening to essence.
Incorporation—As dramatic as the severance and threshold phases are, the incorporation phase is the most important and also the most difficult. We embark on the journey of the vision quest not to escape society, but to gain new perspective and to awaken to what we uniquely have to offer in society; we leave our communities and seek solitude in nature in order to learn how to be more fully ourselves and to engage in a deeper way in our communities. Upon your return from threshold we meet in council to honor your story, to empower your personal mythology, and to mirror back to you the insights and gifts received as well as the wounds and patterns left behind. We offer tools and teachings to ease your transition back into your life as a new expression of yourself.
Please see Upcoming Events page for a schedule of Vision Quests or contact us to seek more information. |
