People sometimes ask, “What’s special or distinctive about Circles of Air and Stone? In what ways does it differ from other organizations that guide vision quests and soul-based workshops?” We can think of several things that make us unique:
On vision quests, we keep our groups small – limited to eight people. Many organizations take twelve to fifteen people out on a quest, and – because of the numbers –… Read More »
“God’s country…” People use this phrase to describe the eroded, colorful canyons of the desert Southwest. An area of intense natural beauty, it also happens to be home to scorpions, rattlesnakes, and Gila monsters, poisonous creatures that evoke a mixture of fear and repulsion among many humans. I understand the discomfort, but I prefer to take a different approach, one which says, “If these creatures make their home in ‘God’s… Read More »
Vision opens us to what was previously unknown, unacknowledged, or unrecognized. Vision could be a grand illumination reminiscent of Buddha in 500 B.C. – realizing an identity beyond all previous versions of yourself as human, separate, and embedded in social roles. Or vision might be more simple or practical — how to hunt, find food, or function in the world; how to be a good husband, wife, or partner; or… Read More »
Wounding is part of initiatory rites in many primal cultures, and childhood wounds — and their healing — play a part in almost every workshop and vision quest I’ve ever led. But along with the commonality, there are obvious differences.
A basic condition of childhood is that the child is small and the world around it is – relatively – immense. When nurturance is lacking, this fundamental truth can lead… Read More »
In our current worldview, dreams are considered nonsensical and irrational. They don’t satisfy our requirements for “reality” and are judged as irrelevant to our daily lives. But in the view of many peoples throughout history, we’re dreaming all the time. Unaware that we might be dreaming, we call our dream “reality,” and in so doing, consign other states of awareness — the “realities” of primal peoples, the ecstatic journeys of… Read More »
