August 8, 2023
Teasdale, Utah

Few in our culture have experienced the profound power of the Vision Quest, and many think this is not even a possibility for their own lives. 

In many ancient, indigenous cultures, Vision Quests were considered an essential part of life’s journey – an initiation to finding one's path and becoming a complete human being.

There are various reasons to conduct a Vision Quest. First, because our ancestors found this to be the most effective way to find your path and your “medicine.” 

It is up to each individual to find their purpose and asking the right question is of primary importance.

The medicine question is: What am I here to learn right now?

A Vision Quest is also useful if you are initiating a profound change in your life, such as getting married, becoming a parent, changing careers, choosing a field of study, or deepening your connection with your soul. And it is helpful when you are questioning the path you are already on, looking either to reaffirm your path or make necessary changes. 

The Vision Quest is also a wonderful opportunity to review, bless, and let go of the past. 

And it is a place to let Spirit know about the seriousness of your intentions, and your willingness to become the best person you can be.

This is not a quick fix – it is a lifelong journey.

And remember this, once you’ve made the decision...the journey has begun.

“It was a deeply moving experience and this program came just at the right time, as I am dedicating myself fully to birthing something new into the world.” ~ Ileana Rontea, Founder, Phoenix on the Rise

When I was a young man, I reached a point in my life when I found myself as a ship without a rudder on a vast and mysterious ocean. I had no sense of direction or even a meaningful purpose for being here. I was lost and it was painful. I needed to find purpose and meaning. It was time for a change, and I could not continue business as usual.

In that void of emptiness and not knowing, the clues and pieces began to emerge and fall into place. My Native American friends started telling me about their Vision Quests, and I began to notice the same type of quest being conducted in long ago times and far reaching traditions. For example, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, would send his followers to the bodhi tree until they got it. Or Jesus, fasting in the wilderness before his ministry began. These are two men that changed the course of human history. It began to make sense, and I felt that I was in good company. 

My heart cried out with hope and my warrior heart said, “With Spirit's help, I will do this." This direction and intuition took me from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Sierra Madre mountains, and eventually to the wilderness of Southern Utah. I found my sacred place in Dark Canyon, deep in the Abajo Mountains. 

Spirit answers when we ask the right question.

I was tested. I cried out and told the Spirits of that place that I would die rather than leave without a vision. Mercifully, I was granted a vision, and so my life's work began to unfold and reveal itself quite rapidly. 

What I experienced on that Vision Quest led me to become a wilderness guide for many years and eventually to the founding of iAwake Technologies.

"This Vision Quest was a new and very powerful experience for me. It opened a door to a rich inner world, and showed me a new way to communicate and find guidance from a higher self." ~ Doris

“But…a virtual Vision Quest?” you might ask. Surely, Vision Quests involve solo journeying in the wilderness, fasting, and hardship.

During the pandemic years, a friend asked me, "What are you really good at?" I answered, "Well... Vision Questing!" During the preceding years, I had done a number of additional Vision Quests and helped start a wilderness program that put hundreds of people out on Vision Quests in the wilderness. In addition to that, I have worked with other individuals and friends who felt called to find their path and their purpose.

The idea began to emerge that, perhaps, I could lead a Vision Quest online. I was rather shocked at this notion, not knowing if such a thing was feasible or would be effective. But the powerful voice I sometimes hear said, "Do it!" And I did. 

There were 100 people in the first 5-day Virtual Vision Quest... and those of us who worked on putting this together and the participants were gobsmacked!  Not only did it work, but it worked very well. There was a palpable sense that Spirit was with us and wanted us to do this work.

After that experience and the overwhelmingly positive reviews from the participants, we did it again. And it worked - AGAIN! We refined the journey a bit the second time around but still met with the same powerful results. In my experience, Spirit seems to honor the noble intention of finding your path in service and asking the right questions.

Another remarkable thing that emerged out of these experiences was that although a Vision Quest is a very individual, personal journey, it became a collective journey as well. 

All of us matter in the mind of the universe.

This is quite different from the traditional Vision Quest in the wilderness. Every day, we had a time for sharing, where people would talk about their experiences and ask questions. What emerged was a very collective field that not only spoke to us individually but spoke to us as a community. Our insights and visions began to overlap and become part of something bigger than ourselves. The words that come to me when I think about this are “sacred, holy, and higher power guidance.”

“I never did such a quest before and really loved doing it in my ordinary life. This is the place and space I'm in day by day. Now, with the experience of this quest, there is a lot more possible. I don't have to be somewhere, in special places, to have such experiences.” ~ Steffen 

So, dear friends, we are getting ready to do it again. Each day, there will be a teaching or dharma talk by yours truly, and a time for asking questions and sharing, as well as a collective meditation/prayer, which we do online together using iAwake's powerful transformational tools. 

There will also be assignments to do on your own, again meditating and praying with iAwake's technology, journaling your experiences, and, very importantly, keeping a dream journal. 

Ask and you shall find, knock and it should be open unto you, Jesus said. These words were confirmed to me many times in my experiences as a vision quester and as a guide for others. I take this responsibility and guidance as a very sacred endeavor. This is a part of living out the visions I have been granted.

I am honored and humbled to support you on your journey. We start on August 23, 2023. Join me!

With gratitude and love,