“If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence, we would rise up rooted like trees’ – Rilke
Throughout human history, our ancestors all over the globe have developed practices to help individuals and communities make sense of life, find meaning and purpose, and navigate key transitional periods such the transition from childhood to becoming adult.
These ‘rites of passage’, as they have become known by anthropologists, have almost always involved rituals, ceremonies and connecting deeply with the wild to help find the answers to big questions like ‘Who am I?’, and ‘What are my gifts that I can offer to the world?’.
A vision fast is a modern rite of passage that involves spending time alone in nature for an extended period of time – anywhere from a few hours to several days – with minimal or no food, leaving behind human-made distractions and daily comforts.
The practice can produce deep insights into our lives, our aspirations and the stories we choose to live by. The process follows three stages, recognised by anthropologists in rites of passage across the globe – Separation, Threshold & Incorporation.
At The Visionaries, these stages look a little like this;