Adult Rites of Passage
“The Vision Fast Ceremony”
An Inner Journey for Personal Meaning and Fulfillment
More and more people today are asking the question “Who Am I?” And, they are searching for a “better way” of living. Most individuals are looking for the solution outside themselves, when actually the answer is inside their-self.
So let us ask you….
Have you ever felt a bit lost or out of alignment in your career, relationship, and inner-self?
Are you lacking a sense of belonging and community?
Are you having difficulty with life changes?
If you answered ‘yes’ to the above, you’re most likely wandering around without purpose & meaning and are therefore in need of community based ritual and ceremony…. a Vision Fast.
Watch this video above to learn more about Vision Quests
“The Vision Fast Ceremony releases us from isolation and deeply restores us back to our truest most spiritual self. Not because it is magic, but because it is so human. When we reclaim the ancient human experience of receiving spiritual vision, when we openly acknowledge that we live in a world of deep mystery, when we tell our stories to one another, when we are able to celebrate the fact that even the most ordinary person can be shaped by the most extraordinary encounters, then we shatter the silence of an age that sits before a screen and waits for digital data and real people to tell us who we are”
~ Bishop Steven Charleston (Choctaw Citizen & Episcopal Priest)
What is a Vision Fast?
A Vision Quest or Vision Fast is an ancient rite of passage ceremony, enabling youth, young adults, adults, and even elders to engage in an age-old ceremonial pattern: the completion of an old life, movement through the threshold of the unknown, and return to the world reborn. People in any life stage or transition will find meaning in this powerful process since. This is a path that has been followed by human beings for many thousands of years.
Through ritual and ceremony a Vision Fast helps individuals mark their important life stages and transitions in a meaningful and helpful way. This is done by offering a sacred container whereby the individual’s personal transition and change process can be recognized and honored by his or her community.
At NatureLink our Vision Fasts are an ancient cross-cultural experience that encourages and supports the awakening of your intrinsic gifts, personal vision, and purpose for being on this Earth. By combining indigenous wisdom and contemporary structure, we can allow participants to find direction in life, gain knowledge on how to tackle challenges, mark a significant life stage/event/change, and continue to be supporting within their own community while embodying their spiritual growth in their life journey
When should you do a Vision Fast?
For most people in life, there comes a time in life where you start to look more within and soulfully feel that you want to discover how your inner change is reflected in the circle of life. This period of inward reflection is where you reach important decisions about how you want to live your life. When it is time for you to consider a ritual, such as a Vision Fast, you may hear these questions such as these calling you:
Who am I?
What do I have to give?
How can I heal my wounds and leave behind the habits that don’t serve me any longer?
Who is a Vision Fast For?
Our unique cross-cultural approach works wonderfully with people of all backgrounds and faiths. It will appeal to women, men, leaders, elders, veterans, and young people in a life transition or change; to those wanting to depend their spiritual path and sense of purpose; and ultimately for those wanting to live a full authentic life.
For centuries Vision Quests continue to be a powerful way for youth, as well as adults, to acknowledge, mourn, release, welcome, and celebrate important life transitions of any kind. Such as, actual or symbolic births and deaths, career changes, divorce, marriage, menopause, birthdays, successes and achievements, children leaving home, recovery from addiction, etc. A Vision Quest can also be a deeply cathartic way to get away from it all and recharge your batteries!
What will happen during a Vision Fast?
The format and length of our Vision Fasts may vary among specific offerings, but typically the ceremony involves several days of preparation, 3-4 days and nights of fasting alone in a wilderness setting, and a few days of incorporation.
1. Community & Pan-Cultural Teachings
Preparation/Severance Stage – In this stage, you are readied to physically, psychologically, mentally, and spiritually benefit from the experience of fasting alone in the wilderness.
Most NatureLink Vision Fasts begin at a basecamp near a wilderness area. We’ll review flora, fauna, first aid and safety procedures, and begin cross-cultural teachings that help us build a strong bridge between the nature that surrounds us and our human nature. This basecamp setting will be home for two days to more (depends on what program), offering community meals, company, shelter, and a safe container for preparing for the solo & fasting.
There is time for sharing with other participants and staff, or for just sitting quietly. Safety concerns are addressed again in the field, and you will have a buddy from the group that is pledged to help you if the need arises–but you will not see each other unless there is an emergency.
2. Solitude, Fasting, & Immersion in Nature
Threshold Stage – During the Threshold stage, your solo experience, you are spending time alone in a natural place (solitude), fasting (emptiness) without food, becoming exposed to the natural elements (vulnerability), and practicing self-reliance (self-trust). During your solo time, the guides maintain a safe perimeter around the area and make sure you have sufficient provisions.
During your fasting and solo time you enter a different time and space, living by yourself in the wildness of nature. In the weakness of fasting (or eating lightly, for those that cannot fast), you become more open and transparent. You may be visited by loneliness, boredom, fear, and regret–among others. You will be challenged with this experience but come out with positive outcomes.
3. Community
Return/Incorporation Stage – The Incorporation Stage(The Return) marks the day you return to tell your story back in the community(the group). It is often a time of great energy, joy, and celebration. After participants return to base camp, we’ll share a delicious breakfast, then spend the balance of this day, and the following, exploring the teachings of the Quest, reflecting the beauty and meaning of each story–and the challenges posed for the return.
The task here is to re-enter your life, bringing your unique gifts and opened heart back to family, friends and community. The modern quester then returns to society powerfully moved by having lived close to the healing power of nature and to his or her own living spirit.
Day-Long Vision Fast Ceremony
The Day Quest is our shortest form of ceremonial offerings. The Day Quest is an opportunity for someone to take time out of their busy schedule in a weekend to gain deeper insight in Nature so that they find healing, renewal, and clarity within their current stage in life. This quest guides you back to yourself and to the wisdom you need in life. It is a powerful experience to revisit a prior quest experience or to prepare for a coming transition in your life.
Where is it?
Sharpsburg, GA
When is it?
** Due to COVID we are not offering Face-to-face programs at this time **
Price
** Not available at this time **
Contact us here for more information.
What to Bring?
We will send you a packing list and welcome letter after pre-registration.
*Pre-registration deadline is due 1-week before each Day Quest*
5-Day Vision Fast Ceremony
The 5-Day Vision Fast is an experience mostly for first timers and even for returning “Questers”. During this specific Fast we use wisdom from ancient rites of passage from around the world and apply to a modern approach. This Fast is accessible, fun and effective for the mind, body and soul of contemporary people. The goal is for you to integrate the gifts you’ve received into you everyday lives and that you are supported in a deep, reciprocal relationship with Nature.
Where is it?
Sharpsburg, GA and Tiger, GA
When is it?
** Due to COVID we are not offering face-to-face programs at this time **
Price
** Not available at this time **
Contact us here for more information.
What to Bring?
We will send you a packing list and welcome letter after pre-registration.
*Pre-Registration Deadline is due 2-weeks before the start of The Vision Fast*
9-Day Vision Fast Ceremony
This is an ancient and pan-cultural way of clearing oneself out to listen and converse with your soul. People chose to undertake this specific Vision Fast for many reasons. You may be in or approaching a major life transition, such as a change in career, or the birth of a child. You may be feeling the calling of a longing whose shape you can’t yet see. Or you may be seeking initiation into your mythic place and role in the many shifts occurring in our world. By sitting in a community of other like-minded individuals you will begin a journey that will last a lifetime.
Where is it?
Chattahoochee National Forest, GA
When is it?
** Due to COVID we are not offering face-to-face programs at this time **
Price
* Not available at this time *
Contact us here for information.
What to Bring?
We will send you a packing list & welcome letter after pre-registration
*Pre-registration is closed*
Mountain Quest
An 11-day backpacking journey with Vision Fast
Come backpack in the beautiful mountains of north Georgia and climb to the summit of your vision Peak, in preparation for your 48-hour Solo Fast experience. After your Solo, you will rejoin your group and spend a day of reflection and recuperation at basecamp. Three more days on the trail back down the mountain will provide you with many opportunities to understand and integrate what you received on your vision fast. A final welcome back ceremony from the journey includes a community of council, elders, and fellow seekers that will send you forward into your life with a firm anchor point. This community and council gives you the skills and tools to carry what you have learned and to grow into throughout the rest of your life.
Where is it?
Cohutta Wilderness, GA
When is it?
** Due to COVID we are not offering face-to-face programs at this time **
Price
* Not available at this time *
Contact us here for more information.
Trip Format
The Adult Mountain Quest is a backpacking trip which includes a Vision Fast. Participants will carry everything they need for the 11-day journey on their backs up into the mountains. This ceremony emphasizes both the trials of the terrain, and also the trials of working together and relying on each other in the expedition setting. Participants will thrive in a setting of sharing in council, and others will find enlivenment by dancing with the landscape on the trail.
*Pre-Registration is closed*
Ready to get started? We have a brief online application process to ensure that each program participant is a good fit for the program. Apply now and pay your deposit to reserve your spot.
Not sure about all of this? No problem. Schedule a Free Consultation with us today!
IMPORTANT NOTE
Our Vision Fasts are not part of a Wilderness Therapy program, and neither of these two programs are intended to provide therapeutic support or counseling for those in need of psychological help. Our guides are extensively skilled in the art of Initiation and soul exploration with Rites of Passage work. As well as in the processes of Life Coaching, Mentoring, and Transformational Wilderness Guiding. Even though we have experience in Eco-Therapy applications we do not call ourselves therapist by any means.
Even those who may have formal training as therapists or mental health providers are not hired to engage in that practice out on the trail. Individuals struggling with emotional or psychological dynamics may find that a trip like this stimulates their underlying issues beyond the ability to manage them, and the trip and the guides are not trained to provide support in such situations. If you have concerns about this, especially if you are working with a therapist or counselor, we highly recommend you discuss your situation with us before registering for any of our programs. We want to truly make sure that this trip is a good match for your current situation and capability and for you to get the most out of your experience.