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Recommended For April Through October
“The call to power necessitates a separation from the mundane world: the neophyte turns away from the secular life, either voluntarily, ritually, or spontaneously through sickness, and turns inward towards the unknown, the mysterium. This change of direction can be accomplished only through what Carl Jung has referred to as ‘an obedience to awareness’.” -Joan Halifax The Wounded Healer
Since the time of the Paleolithic seekers of insight, purpose and power have made sacred quests in wild and enchanted places. Intentionally removing themselves from the comfort of the familiar... from supportive family and tribe... they set out to encounter truth and Spirit, to be challenged and tested, stripped of every illusion and comfort that ever held them back. They sought alliance and the personal power or medicine needed to do what is right. And they went in hopes of a gift: an omen or sign, an essential lesson, a revealing of dormant skills.... and always, a deeper vision of their self, their role and purpose.
We too can accept the calling and challenge, and step through the portal into a deeper sense of our own being, truth, gifts and purpose. There are four levels of Anima Quests to choose between, with the possibility of greater connection and realization the more time and focus you can give to the process. There’s a suggested donation for each.
Level 1 Quest: 3 nights total required. Includes orientation and instruction, first and last nights in a cabin or tent, a prepared dinner the 1st and 3rd nights, a one day fast, a sleepless “solo” with a watch-fire on the 2nd night, and integration and optional counsel the final day.
Level 2 Quest: 4 nights total required. Includes orientation and instruction, first and last nights in a cabin or tent, a prepared dinner the 1st and 4th nights, a 2 day fast, a mostly sleepless two night “solo,” and integration and optional counsel the 4th day.
7 nights total required. Includes orientation and instruction, 3 or more nights in a cabin or tent, 3 or more prepared dinners, an up to 5 day fast, sleepless 2nd night tending a sweat fire, a powerful Medicine Sweat Lodge on the 3rd day, up to 4 nights of “solo,” and integration and optional counsel the 7th day.
Many of us never think about doing anything like a retreat or quest until we’ve barely survived a disease that could have killed us, or until we’ve had a series of failed romances or aborted careers that leave us confused and wanting. Certainly those who are most susceptible, and most ready, are often the few who are at the point of breakdown and rebirth. But there is no one alive who couldn’t benefit from a soul affirming quest for truth and being, at any time. And the survival of our kind— as well as the survival of so many other species and the ecosystems that support them— may depend on each and every one of us making repeated forays into the unfamiliar regions of self and place. Only when we’ve regained the sense of self-love and personal assignment common to the rest of Earthen life, can we hope to have the clarity to repair our lives and heal our world.
As taught and practiced here a Quest involves a 3 to 10 day commitment. This includes: time for presence, sharing and orientation; days and nights of fasting outside on solo; and a day or two for slow assimilation and integration of the various experiences and lessons. And for Level 3, a day gathering wood, a day or night night tending fire, and a hot medicine sweat prior.
"...wilderness and the unconscious become analogous: the one who knows and is at ease in one, will be at home in the other." -Gary Snyder
The most successful quests are undertaken in the wilderness, open to the instruction of the natural world, and free of the distractions and contrivances of civilization. Anywhere in the natural “undeveloped” world one can both tap the wisdom of the Earth, and heal from the effects of our obsessions, denial, habits and fears. And all the more so in those notable spots where power and clarity are most accessible and even inescapable.
Anywhere we go, we are likely standing on ground that was once consecrated by the aboriginal peoples who preceded us, and through this awareness we can align ourselves with the sensibilities of those Seekers who came before. Stepping where the Celts or Vikings once stepped, dancing where the Aztec or Apache danced, we are pressed to the same level of sensitivity and awe, to the same depths of humility and respect. And the forms of the landscape and the vagaries of watersheds that brought the ancients to these places, continue to act like a magnet for the attuned Seeker of today. High storm swept peaks, unusual rock formations and the confluence of rivers are typically places of power and visitation. As are any womb-like caves, the furthest projections of land into the pounding ocean swells, and the places where artesian springs bubble forth from their crest of fertile ground.
The canyon where we host our Quests is filled with the abandoned house sites of the Sweet Medicine People, also called the “Mogollon,” and the Sanctuary itself is home to the largest ceremonial kiva site in the region — further indication of its spiritual significance to those who preceded us. And to this day, a place of seldom equaled beauty and inescapable truths. For our canyon questers, there are a number of stunning pink and purple cliffs to choose from, pock marked with rain sculpted depressions, and featuring rocks that look like animals or like faces looking back at us. For shade there are alligator bark junipers and majestic pines, some draped with wild grape arbors glinting emerald in the first morning light. In a way, making it here to the canyon is a quest in itself. Because of its distance in miles from any city or airport and the busy schedules that everyone keeps, it requires unusual determination to make the long trip from wherever. In addition, a potential quester can usually feel the power of the revelations that await them, and sense the implications and responsibilities they bring. Coming to the canyon for medicine work is an act of uncommon vision and courage.
Fasting is an extremely valuable aspect of the Level 3 quest. A fast is an opportunity to cleanse the lens of perception, at the same time as the body. It exposes and challenges our attachment to comfort, while heightening all our senses including the so-called “extrasensory.” And as with other aspects of the quest, it serves to remind us we are infinitely stronger than we think.
Clues •Being used to televisions and constant conversation, the first real challenges will be focusing, and not letting the mind distract us from our focus on Spirit and purpose. Discomfort is your ally, keeping you from numbing out. •Staying awake without sleeping is another hard test, but the more sleepy we get the more we can slip into a shamanic twilight state, open to the revelations and sights that are sent. •Don’t quest to have a certain question answered, so much as to drop all your ideas and anxieties and just open up to what is given. •Sense the ways in which you connect through the wind and ground to the trees and birds, and then imagine how that connects you to the entire living world and all people and things on it. •Your quest will be about letting go as much as taking on something new. It’s not a test of endurance or strength, but rather a test of our ability to surrender to the forces we are a magical part of. •Don’t expect the clouds to part and a voice to call to you from out of the sky. Every feeling you have is important, everything that happens contains a lesson in it that you won’t fully understand until later, and every plant and animal you see is there to contribute to your epiphany. •It’s easy to imagine that we’ve failed our quest, having been trained by society to doubt ourselves and question our worth from an early age. But in the this quest there is no such thing as “failure.” Even if we come down early, we are marked by a depth of experience that we can compare every other aspect of our lives to. •A quest is something we can expect to do more than once. Our search doesn’t begin or end with a single quest. Each quest is an encounter with power that takes us further into ourselves and what we are meant to do, and each one leads us always to the next.
The Quest strips away illusion and denial, reuniting us with our authentic selves: with our feelings, instincts, needs, gifts, abilities, hopes and dreams. It leads us out of the cage of the fearful, rational mind and back into the intuitive text of Earth and body, heart and soul. Inevitably those parts of ourselves that we’ve either lost or suppressed resurface in the light of the vital quest experience. We welcome back the more sensitive, wonder-filled sides of our essential beings.... and discover the kind of strength that comes with our increased vulnerability. We come to feel blessed by our struggles as well as our gifts, awash in gratitude, anointed in love, and devoted to that which matters most.
Oddly enough, it’s often by questing by ourselves that we learn the ways in which we are never really alone. The quest connects us to a lineage of questers and seekers, and to every other constituent of this living dancing matrix. To the distant past and hopeful future, and to the irreplaceable present tense. The quester is gifted with heightened awareness, and with it comes the responsibility to act. For every gift: a commitment! We end each quest with new and deeper commitments to ourselves, our families and communities, and to the planet itself.... commitments we pledge to follow through on!
We are emptied, enrolled and fulfilled.... in this ancient quest for true being and most meaningful purpose. And connected to all there is, to all that we can be.
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