Vision Quest

1. Vision Quest

2. From the beginning of time humanity has returned to nature to connect with spirit and to seek answers to problems of the third dimension. • In its own way - the vision quest is an Initiation not unlike the days of the ancient mystery teachings where one learns about themselves and the mysteries of the universe are often revealed to them. It is a time of internal transformation and renewal. Who am I? Why am I here?

3. For generations, the vision quest has been an extremely important part of Aboriginal life and ritual. • Until recent times, all young men sought this experience, sometimes as young as10 or 11 and never later than their early teens. • In a vision quest conditions are set up that allow the soul to move beyond the illusions of the little self and enter the unity of the inner whole. • It is a time of fasting - praying - and being in nature. • It is a period of solitude in which we seek an inner revelation - a vision -which grants profound meaning and direction to our life.

4. The Benefits of a Vision Quest:

5. You are given a vision that will help your soul, help its issues and move into its spiritual space. • Confidence. • If we emerge from the wilderness alive and healthy, we feel more certain of our abilities and our strength, because we have survived raw nature and our own imagined limitations. We did alone, but we also discovered additional sources of power from beyond us.   • Stronger connections to creation. We enhance our link to nature, humanity, and spirit.   • Appreciation of life. • We cherish it more intensely, after facing possible dangers and death in the wilderness. Our temporary deprival¹s also increase our appreciation of our friends, our food, and our material comforts.   • The realization that we have our own source of wisdom. • The vision comes to us directly, intimately - without books, churches, or religious teachers.   • Our connection to source - oneness of the universe • Meeting your spirit guides -or spirit self so we understand who is guiding our path

6. Preparationfor the "Quest":

7. This is a rite of passage for most aboriginal tribes to adulthood - part of a "Coming of Age Ceremony:“ • The seeker of the Vision Quest is 1stpurified - On the day of the vision quest, the holy man and assistants go into the sweat lodgewith the person making the quest. The object is purification. • Fasting- The vision seeker prays and fasts from food and water for several days while awaiting the vision • Spiritual Instrument- musical - to assist with prayer and chant

8. Are There Drugs Involved? • This transformational experience has sometimes been done with the use of natural psychedelicssuch as: • peyote, mescaline, and the South American Iawaska plant during sacred initiation rites. • These plants were held as sacred teachers from the plant kingdom. The insights during the sacred space allowed the veils between this world and the next to be pulled back and for the individual voyager to transcend himself and this dimension. However – It’s not what you might think?

9. When the time is up, the holy man and his assistants come to get the seeker and they all return to the sweat lodge. • During the sweat, the seeker tells them of what he saw and heard, being careful not to leave anything out. Sometimes, a vision does not come, and that is reported too. • The Shaman then helps to interpret the vision and relay the message to the seeker, of the path his life may follow. • When finished, the holy man prays and gives thanks to WakanTanka for all things given and for having pity on the person seeking the vision.  • Vision quests are not generally discussed openly, but sometimes the details come out long after, only to amaze and astound the listener of the tale.