Chapter 38 Vision Questing - part 1 — from my book Changes

Chapter 38

Vision Questing - part 1

When I signed up for the vision quest class I had no idea there were things to do to prepare for a vision quest ahead of time.

One of the things we were asked to do was to eat more cleanly.  Less sugar and less processed food.  More healthy food with lots of vegetables and fruits as opposed to meat and potatoes.

Another thing we were instructed to do, to get the most out of our quest, was to make a list of questions we wanted answered. Questions that would be answered during the quest.  We were asked to review the list frequently to see if there were any new questions that needed to be answered, and to see if any of our questions already on the list were already answered during the days proceeding the quest.  In other words, continue revising the list.

I was very surprised that my questions were being answered almost daily, before the quest.  I ended up with only a couple questions, the most important was, “Who am I”.

I had the feeling that if I just knew who I was, deep inside, I would be able to deal with my life and all the challenges I was feeling incapable of facing.  I thought that deep down inside there must be a strong self buried in there.

The vision quest I attended that first time was in the mountains of California.  Malcolm Ringwalt ran the quest for us, protected us, and taught us about questing.  Kate from Australia was helping him as a fellow quest protector and helped with logistics and feeding us when we were not questing.

The first day we all arrived and set up our tents in the large field tucked in the hills.  We had some dinner, which was soup with veggies, and sat around the fire while Malcolm described what we would be doing the next day and how to set up our quest sites in his class.  Either during that talk or another one the next day, Malcolm talked to us about questing and how to get the most our of our quest.  We were instructed to leave all reading material and journals out of the quest site so we could stay more present and open to receiving information and answers.  We would have time to journal later.

The next morning we all went for a walk to find our quest sites.  A quest site would be a circle of approximately 10 feet.  It needed to be in a level spot, free of any dead tree branches or dead trees that could fall on us if it got windy.  A quest site also needed some shade from the hot sun.

Once we each had our quest sites chosen, we went to work preparing our sites for the next day when our quests would officially begin.  We each took up four gallons of water, a tarp to cover our things in case of rain while questing, a large black garbage bag to put things in during the day while questing (out of sight out of mind), toilet paper, and we each dug a little latrine pit just outside of our quest circle.

Once our site was prepared, we strung a white string pointing from the path to our quest site.  The protectors would be walking this path each day, making sure we stayed safe during our quest.  We also hung a white plastic bag or small white flag up on a tree branch near our quest circle, to help the protectors find us easily, if needed.

After that was done, we made a “quest box”.  This is a little place near our quest site, along the path the protectors will be walking a couple times a day.  The quest box is cleared of debris and has an outline around it made of little sticks or rocks; something to show the outline of the quest box on the ground.  Then we carved four little sticks, one for each day of the quest.

Those sticks were one of the ways we communicated with out protectors.  Each morning of the quest, we would put one stick in our quest box so the protectors would know we were OK.  If, on their first walk, around the quest sites, of the day, they do not see a new stick in the box, they would come in to the quest site area, not crossing into the quest circle, and without making eye contact, they would kneel down outside the quest circle, and ask if the quester is OK.  If the quester is OK and has simply not put the stick out yet, the protector leaves and continues the walk around, never making eye contact with the quester.  Not looking into the eyes of the quester helps the quester stay in the quest, and not get pulled out.

If the quester does not answer, or states they are not OK, then the protectors help the quester out of the quest area and back to the main camp.  That would end the quest of that person, and the person would go home, having finished their quest.