Our vision quest, a unique cross-cultural rite of passage, is undertaken with other participants under the guidance of experienced wilderness facilitators. At Wild Sacredness, there are three essential phases of the experience.
Severance (Departure)
This is the time of preparing for your vision quest. It involves severing yourself from your personal responsibilities and current way of being. Through recommended readings, journaling, and walks in nature, you will begin to discern your “Intent” for your upcoming solo adventure. Our guides will assist you in clarifying your Intent – your purpose for engaging in this rites of passage ceremony. They also instruct you in wilderness safety, leave-no-trace camping techniques, and self-generated ceremonies.
Threshold (Trial/Initiation)
This is the heart of the vision quest. From one to four days (depending on the length of the quest), you will be alone in the wilderness on a fasting retreat, accompanied only by your emotions, thoughts, dreams, and your Intent. Without food (this is a water-only fast), shelter or companionship, you enter the threshold of the wilderness and discover what nature wants to reveal. As you perform your own ceremonies, the natural world will mirror back to you, guiding you toward a personal vision. This is your sacred time, your spiritual retreat – a time and space for healing emotions, unearthing gifts and rediscovering your true nature. The threshold time invites you to embrace a new vision of a meaningful, purpose-driven life.
Incorporation (Return)
The incorporation phase of the vision quest welcomes you back into the “body” of the group and into your new life. Each person shares his or her story, while the guides honor each one, mirroring back the insights and reclaimed gifts. The guides also facilitate questers in integrating their new visions and stepping forth to share those with their communities.
Learn about the three phases of the quest, and how this carefully designed experience, which you help to co-create, takes you to the deeper levels of self for empowerment and transformation. Further down, read about unique aspects of your quest concerning safety protocols, a sense of personal connection, and adapting the journey for today's quester.
About the Quest
"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world most needs are people who have come alive."
HOWARD THURMAN
Important features you'll want to know:
Based on years of wilderness journeying, we have created a safe, powerful vision quest experience for you. While the quest is designed to let you lean into the edge of your comfort zone and taste the sweet juice that lies there, safety is paramount at every phase of the journey. Your guides have extensive experience in wilderness adventures, First Aid training, and holding the space so that each person feels secure in meeting whatever their experience unfolds. They have walked the journey’s path themselves, dozens of times. Base camp is always accessible, so participants feel safe and can open deeply to release any blockages and receive guidance that Spirit may offer.
In addition, personal connection is an important aspect in the quest. From the time of the original contact, your guide is committed to learning more about your reasons for exploring this opportunity, and addressing any fears and challenges that might be in the way of your taking this valuable step. These exchanges build a personal relationship that is nurturing and protective as you journey through the phases of preparation, venturing out on your solo, then returning to the group to “incorporate” your experience. By tuning in to your particular presence, the guide can hold a very personal “space” for you throughout.
Though the Sacred Vision Quest is based on a time-honored ancient practice, Wild Sacredness has adapted it to fit the needs of the modern quester. It’s a dramatic thing to remove one’s self from modern life—its conveniences, reliance on electronics, consistency of human contact—and encounter the bare bones of your being. We carefully prepare you for the shift, physically and psychologically. We have also created additional tools, building on the traditional vision quest model, that ensure the benefits of the experience continue into the future as you create a new, richer life.