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Healing Earth Quests "The first step to wisdom is silence; the second is listening." -anonymous In our quests as well as our wilderness journeys, we use ceremony, journaling, medicine walks and tasks, dream work, trance journeywork, imagery and dialoguing with Nature to accompany our wanderings. However, the thing that sets a vision quest apart from my other guided journeys is that questers fast, usually for 4 days on just water in the wilderness, and do a 3 day solo within that time. This provides questers with time to really dive deep, face fears, and listen to the questions of their hearts and to the seemingly still small voice of the Earth answering. Most land-based peoples of our past knew the value of time spent alone in wild places instinctively. This was, for many, their life, their love, and their spiritual practice. Most native peoples lived in conscious respectful interaction and gratitude with the natural world. They were connected with Earth as home, and lived in harmony with her. From their ways came many beautiful ceremonies that have blessed us and inspired us to make our own versions to bring us back into connection. We have been inspired, and have, from a respectful place, adapted some of their practices to our modern Western world. Our Healing Earth Quest is a type of a modern day vision quest. This is a type of rite of passage and initiation. Here we inquire into ourselves and the wild world during an extended period of aloneness, in order to transform our lives for the good of our people. Traditionally in many cultures this was used as a rite of passage into adulthood or at a time of personal or community crisis, when one was seeking an answer to a challenge. So often we come to a moment in our lives when things break down...when we know we can no longer continue to live and move and relate like we have been. We must ask ourselves in this letting go, what is my vision of newness in my world. And, in turn in seeing our new vision, how can I most fully let go of what has been up to now? The vision quest can be a container for moving through these times of crisis and movement, held by loving hearts and caring souls. Although most quests that are enacted in current times are very different than traditional native people's quests, they serve a similar purpose. They are rites of passage that are truly beautiful and respectful tools for initiation and transformation. Our intent here at Earth’s Echo is to both respect the people where these ceremonies originated and hold the intent of a common goal of wholeness and healing for the world through enacting them. It is our privilege and honor to act as guides for those who feel moved to enact this type of experience for themselves. The outcome is most often deeper understanding and greater respect for ourselves, our people, and our planet, and a motivation to give from our soul's essence.
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