Sparrow Hart, vision quest leader. In 1986 he apprenticed in the art of the vision quest with Steven Foster and Meredith Little (authors, ‘The Book of the Vision Quest”), who called him “the best we’ve ever had.” Since the he has led over 180 vision quests in Vermont and the American Southwest, and undertaken 35 quests of his own.
He has authored “Letters to the River: A Guide to a Dream Worth Living” and “The Vision Quest: A Guide’s Training Manual;” created The Mythic Warrior Training; founded of the annual Men’s Wisdom Council at the Rowe Conference Center; and is a proud father and frequent workshop leader around the country.
His work stands firmly in the tradition of “joining Earth and Sky” — bringing spiritual life out of the heavens and into the nitty-gritty issues we face daily — and affirms the importance of the emotional, imaginative, and sensual landscapes (our non-rational capacities) on our individual soul journeys. He is currently completing a workshop training manual, a second book on vision quests, and an audio version of Letters to the River.
Although well-versed in mythology and the sacred traditions of the world, Sparrow’s work comes out of his own experience. His personal journey includes a wide range of shamanic practices; apprenticeship with the Native American teacher, Sun Bear; dream exploration; the twelve steps; psychodrama; inner child work; and a long immersion in the Toltec and Castaneda tradition.
He’s known for a unique ability to bring ancient wisdom into the present, to translate the perennial spiritual teachings about the connectedness of all life into terms relevant to our modern and personal worlds. In the spirit of “reducing self-importance,” he aspires to embrace the shadow and light of our full humanity, which — coming from the same root as “humus” — means, in simple and profound ways, to joyfully be a person of the earth.
