Vision Fast Retreats at BC Wilderness Visions

Friday, January 1st, 2010

2011 Dates TBD July and August (week-long trips include 3-day fasts, with preparations and post-fast storytelling and incorporation) $800 - $1,200 sliding scale Guides: Karen and second guide TBD To arrange a customized individual vision fast for other dates, contact Karen at 604.251.6337. "...by the time you step out of your purpose circle into ...

Back from the desert

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

The School of Lost Borders California Fall Vision Fast was amazing! I was an assistant for the 11 fasters and the two incredible guides, Ruth and Larry. Some people marked their passage into adulthood, and others into elderhood. It was such an honour to witness the courage and vulnerability these fasters ...

Singing in the sweat lodge

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

As I mentioned earlier, there were four rounds in the sweat lodge: The first round was for calling in the ancestors and spirits. The second round was for praying. The third round was for healing. And the final round was the “going home” round. At the beginning of each round, ...

The gift of fire

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

 Meeting in Circle with the Wilderness Guides Council Fire is the element of the east, the direction of springtime. When I first sat in circle at the Wilderness Guides Council, on Monday, April 13, I deliberately sat in the east. This is a part of the wheel that I am least ...

Learning and transformation — ouch!

Monday, May 4th, 2009

I wasn't always a happy camper at the 4th International Wilderness Guides Gathering, held in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains this April. Previous gatherings have been held in Germany, South Africa, and the UK. People from these countries attended, and many more besides. The gathering was hosted by the Wilderness Guides Council, ...

One last glimpse of winter

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

I seem to be a little reluctant to make the turn into spring. So here's one last look at the winter of '08. This is my sister Katherine, shoveling snow off the roof of her shed in Horsefly, BC. This picture was taken in March! That's a lot of snow. ...

Safety and the vision fast

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Next vision fast: July 5 - 11, 2009 at Monkey Valley This week I had the great pleasure of giving a presentation on the vision fast to the Vancouver chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. Our March STC program was a Pecha Kucha event, in which speakers each discuss 20 slides for ...

Vision quest—maintaining sacred tradition

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Cultural misappropriation of sacred ceremony Cultural misappropriation is a danger in adopting traditional ceremonies for contemporary use. It is true that peoples on every continent have used solo time in nature for spiritual purposes. It is a human birthright—a way of connecting directly to the natural world and to deeper realms ...