I have just returned from New Mexico, USA, where I completed my first Vision Quest. As I head into the season of becoming less young, I thought that spending some spiritual time in nature would bring more clarity to my aging process. The experience was so rich and rewarding that I have decided to share this quest in three parts; Preparation, Solo Vision Fast, and The Return.

Since time immemorial, people have gone to the wilderness to seek guidance and renewal, to let their old lives and old selves die, to find the conditions where spirit may be rekindled, reborn within them.

I signed up for an eleven day Vision Quest with Circles of Air, Circles of Stone in the Gila Wilderness located in southwest New Mexico, north of Silver City and east of Reserve. There were seven of us and our fearless leader Sparrow Hart. Our ages ranged from 24 to 65 years old; men and women who had traveled from all over the continent. We nervously met each other in the Lower Scorpion Campground and more than one of us wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.

While camping for the first few days, we were immersed with information on: the four directional shields, effects of fasting, the stonepile buddy safety system and what critters to be aware of including; mountain lions, rattle snakes, scorpions, feral pigs, wild turkeys, black bears, wolves, coyotes. Yes, I thought to myself, this was going to be an adventure – out in the wilderness, all alone, no tent, only water to drink and keeping an eye out for potentially dangerous wildlife – this would be interesting!

It was also interesting to learn about severance, threshold and incorporation rituals. Listening to what other participants had created for themselves piqued my creativity. Finally, Sparrow wisely explained that a Vision Quest was often simply “seeing what is … what really is” and not to expect a vision of a neon buffalo pointing the way to the promised land! This made sense to me because when all the usual day-to-day distractions were stripped away (including food) focus could only be on me, my life and what my future might hold. This natural focus would bring clarity, and that clarity was the vision I desired.

I shared with the group that my intention for this quest was to mark the beginning of passing into old age, to embrace becoming a wise old woman, a crone, to acknowledge my mortality. What everyone in the group had in common was the willingness to face our fears as we went out into the wilderness. How we faced those fears and the lessons we learned was one of the greatest gifts of the questing process. 

We broke camp and headed down into the Gila River Valley to the wilderness base camp. Here we searched for and claimed our ‘spot’ that special place we would call home for four days and nights.

After eating our last supper and giving the leftovers to the young lad with the insatiable appetite, we all spoke about our excitement, fears and apprehensions that the next few days would bring.  Then we slept out under the stars and although I felt strangely calm, I did pray that we would all come back safely and that I still wanted to hang around long enough to become a grandmother!

Coming up – Vision Quest Part II: Solo Vision Fast

For more information: http://www.questforvision.com/