The Look Within: A Vision Quest perspective
Vision Questing has been around for millennia, perhaps for as long as humans have been on the planet. Questing is a natural expression of our human consciousness and it might be boiled down to simply asking and wondering “what’s next?” Some form of the Quest can be found in nearly every Indigenous culture, often as a rite of passage, as well as in religious and mystical traditions worldwide. Why is Questing so persevering and universal?
Because it works!
In the Quest, we commit to fast, not just from food, but from all the doing-ness and distractions of our lives. We commit to listen on every level and take a deep dive into the Self, beyond our personality/ego, to find what truly lives there. To find the passion that animates us. To find the subtle yet profound reflection of who we truly are: Divine, Eternal Beings. It is our beliefs, judgements, and stories that keep us feeling limited and living unsatisfying lives. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
The Quest is not some magic pill that delivers us to some imagined “enlightenment”. Instead, it is a mirror that our True Self holds up to itself.
Among virtually unlimited possibilities, this mirror can show us: the weaknesses (and gifts) of our bodies; the vast range and depth of emotional energy that we have disallowed from full expression (we are meant to be an energetic flow-through, not suppress what we feel to be painful); and the lack of discipline most of us have over our minds and how we have, perhaps, allowed the physical mind to rule our lives.
That is, much of a Quest can be uncomfortable as we look at and accept our human darknesses (i.e., beliefs, judgements, and traumas). But this potentially painful encounter is the only true pathway to healing. We need to feel the energy of life – unfelt energy can leave us stuck, unable to know our Authentic Self. The Quest can take us to the root of our pain and false beliefs. We might realize that we are not defined by our pain; we are that which is aware of the experience.
We are not a body or mind that happens to have awareness. We are Awareness that is temporarily using a body and mind.
More than that, the Quest can answer our questions at a deeper level than anything in any culture. Most significantly, this mirror can show us what we truly are: we are made of Light/Awareness and all of the Spiritual Qualities. When you perceive a beautiful sunset, for example, that is a reflection of your True Self! Beauty is not a perception of your eyes – eyes see shape and color. Nor is beauty a judgement of the physical mind. Rather, you know beauty, you recognize it, because you are beautiful! Ultimately, the Quest reflects this True, Divine Self in countless possible ways such as revealing our passion, purpose, beauty, peace, love, and so much more.
Several years ago, Malcolm Ringwalt told a Seven Levels of Quest class: “The consciousness of the planet is going to change. Not going to be given the opportunity to change – it is going to change!” The chaos on the planet reveals that the process of planetary transformation is well underway. Our individual and collective darknesses are arising because that is necessary for healing. We have to feel and speak that which was disallowed from being felt and expressed.
The Vision Quest is a powerful and profound expression to look within and cooperate with the transformational forces sweeping the Earth. The alternative is to go kicking and screaming! Which will you choose?
Are you ready to commit to looking within, to remember your Authentic Self?
The Vision Quest is calling!