Here’s What Happens Over the Nine Days
1. Transition and Orientation in Community
The group begins at a campground near the wilderness, where we will get acquainted and begin preparations for the quest. We’ll review flora, fauna, first aid and safety procedures, and begin pan-cultural teachings that help us build a strong bridge between the nature that surrounds us and our human nature. After our first night together, we drive into the back country where we’ll set up a base camp. This will be home for a few days, offering community meals, company, shelter, and a safe container for preparing for the solo.
There is time for sharing with other participants and staff, or for just sitting quietly. You have a morning to look for your solo site, going in the direction you feel called to explore. 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. You will leave a stone for your buddy each day at a stone pile located between your sites, a reminder of the bond you share with others on this path. The next morning, there will be a ceremony at sunrise to send you off.
2. The Solo
During the wilderness quest solo, 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 live between the inner world of dreams, feelings, fantasies and the outer world of cold night air, the warming sun, the sound of a coyote howling, the sight of a lizard doing push-ups, the vast view of a desert plateau. You may be visited by loneliness, boredom, fear, and regret–among others. You engage them with your heart and spirit, recognizing them as worthwhile opponents. They push you into your depths.
Time can slow down on a Wilderness Quest, and the stillness of the desert can be very powerful. As your thoughts begin to empty out, you can look into the pool of your own being, noticing how you are, what your dreams are made of, what you need to let go of. The sacred dimension is present there, and you can enter it naturally. It is possible to feel connected to everything, to the small fly buzzing, to the cactus in its rocky home, to the moon and stars wheeling overhead at night.
3. The Night Vigil
On the last evening you build a circle of stones to represent your life, entering it at dusk and remaining awake until the dawn releases you. During the long night, you can sit, stand, dance, sing, pray, or just huddle from the cold. You are bearing witness to your own death and rebirth. What is important to carry into your new life, and what needs to be left behind? You ask for help to find your way. Your prayers are answered as the first rays of sunlight pierce the darkness. It’s time now to come down off the mountain and begin the journey home.
4. Return and Integration
The return from the nine-day Wilderness Quest 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 next two, 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. As Mirabai asks, “Without the energy that lifts mountains, how am I to live?” How can I bring my vision and purpose into my world–the world of work, relationships and ordinary life? The modern quester returns to our de-mythologized society powerfully moved by having lived close to the healing power of nature and to his or her own living spirit.