“All large scale human cooperation is based on… sets of rules that, despite existing only in our imagination, we believe to be as real and inviolable as gravity.” **
Vision quests nearly always include a profound encounter with different orders of “reality,” as one’s current dreams and stories – often separating us from the earth, ourselves, and each other – encounter that primal reality which gave birth to humans in… Read More »
Over the years, many people (who may not have thought it through) have said to me, “I’d like to do a traditional vision quest.” The obvious response, “Traditional to who?” usually elicits the reply, “You know, a Native American vision quest.”
In the year 1500 AD, 15-20 million people in North America lived in 200 separate nations with a wide range of languages, traditions, and cultural practices. Given that diversity,… Read More »
This marks the beginning of my 30th year leading vision quests. During this time, I’ve witnessed remarkable changes in many people. But beyond the particular individuals, I’ve seen how life and lives can be transformed by a sense of purpose and direction… transformed in ways that can seem almost unimaginable, ways that can make all the difference in the world.
Many people are upset by recent events, at a loss… Read More »
“A Vision without a Task is just a pipe dream… A Task without a Vision is just drudgery… But a Vision with a Task can move the world.” — Black Elk
Having a rich, passionate life while being effective in the world requires integrating Heaven and Earth, vision and task. To do this we must join the grand and eternal with the small and immediate; wed what’s transcendent and sacred with what’s mundane and practical. Read more »
Row, row, row your boat,gently down the stream….
It’s no accident this nursery rhyme – simple yet profound – evokes water. For millennia explorers have ever-sought their magical elixirs and Fountains of Youth; spas and resorts have grown up around thermal pools. As a metaphor, The River represents the Source, that primal force, energy, or condition that creates and nourishes life. Moses was cast adrift on the Nile; Christ baptized… Read More »
