August 7 - 17
NOTE: This quest includes 4 day and night solo fast.
Since time immemorial, individuals have gone alone into nature in quest of healing, initiation, guidance, renewal, and a deeper connection with the sacred, however that may be conceived. In the spirit of this quest, The School of Natural Wonder is dedicated to assisting individuals in discovering their true nature in the mirror of the natural world.
The vision quest is an ancient rite of passage that returns you to nature as the original source and teacher. The heart of the vision quest is a solitary fast. Alone and fasting in the womb of Mother Earth, you are given the opportunity to give birth to your authentic self. Old wounds may be healed, fears and demons confronted, blocks overcome, so that the greater awareness and potential within you may emerge into the light.
During preparation for the quest, there are rituals and exercises designed to help you separate from the habits, controls, and preoccupations of the rational mind and to open you to "the other self," the deep, intuitive sources of knowledge within you. Instructions are given in the dynamics of change and The Four Shields of Human Nature, an ancient map of the psyche and the soul's journey in relation to the elements and seasons of nature. In addition, there are dream circles and storytelling with the archetypal theme of passage. Preparation camp closes with a Purification Lodge, in which the heat from the stones cleanses and readies the soul for the quest.
Preparations completed, you are taken to a wilderness setting where you will cross the threshold into the sacred space of your vision quest. Silence, solitude, and fasting (drinking only water) for four days and nights work to open your heart to the voices and rhythms of nature, and to the spirit within you and within all things.
Upon returning from the solo, we meet in the elder's council to hear your vision quest story. Emphasis is placed on the ways in which nature mirrored back to you your own soul and the ways you may integrate the threshold lessons into your daily life, because bringing your vision and gifts back to your community is the most difficult task of all.
The whole experience offers insight, vision, clarity, purpose, communion, and a renewing sense of community, which can deeply enrich your life, relationships, and work. It takes place on a beautiful lake in southern Vermont and is limited to eight participants. Participants provide their own food. We invite you to join us on this powerful, transforming experience.
Flynn Johnson, founding director of The School of Natural Wonder, has Masters of Arts degrees in philosophy and counseling psychology. A certified Wilderness First Responder, he's been leading vision quests for eight years and has gone to the sacred mountain many times himself.
Jill Neitlich is a psychotherapist. She and her husband Flynn have been co-leading vision quests for several years. Both received their training as wilderness vision quest guides with Steven Foster and Meredith Little and share backgrounds in Jungian psychology, ecopsychology, Native American traditions, meditation, and yoga. They combine their love of nature and their love of people in creating exquisite rites of passage.