What Does the Vision Quest Mean to Me?

Oki Niksokowa,

When I was asked to give my interpretation of what a Vision Quest meant to me I was floored. What could I write that has not already been written and by more talented authors than myself? I would love to be original in what I write but today how original can one be? So I don't know what to say but I do have some unique and from what I have read around the earth as yet unsaid ideas about what a vision quest is.

To most a Vision Quest means long preparation, getting in the 'Zone', becoming one with Creator and prepare for a long journey into the mountains with nothing but a blanket and a pipe! Becoming prepared to go without food and water for up to four days or more depending upon the traditions of your people. You begin to realize that you and your people have strayed so far afield that you have no more traditions to follow! Then the panic begins: What have we lost, where have my people even gone, who can I depend upon for instructions, support, guidance and strength? We look high and low in the library, on the internet even in the faces that we pass on the street. "Oh great Creator what has happened to us, I am frightened and I do not believe I will be able to go on this Quest that you have clearly put in my mind to accomplish before I pass on to the waiting Sand Hills beyond the beyond!" "What will become of me? How will I be perceived and who will do the perceiving?" Then it is that we realize that we have no one qualified to perceive us in a teaching way. There is no one there to provide that much needed guidance that true Human Beings need to become beyond themselves. Why do I feel so alone and useless? What can I pass on to life that comes after me? Are we as a species truly lost and waiting for the annihilation to begin?

Then I hear my father "Two Feathers" come through to me in my spirit and say all problems can be solved – there is no question without an answer. It is up to you my son to hear and believe the answer no matter how discordant it may sound. You know many things and yet you know nothing and that is why you allow me and your grandfather Fools Crow to come and guide you. At 64 you know you are too unhealthy to go out into the mountains and sit alone! You will surely die from such an experience and yet you need to connect to the High Spirits now for guidance in the things you are yet unsure of. Time to change, Two Feathers and become a man once more. Time to realize that there are many ways to solve a problem and a Vision Quest is no different. Realize too that in the instructions we give you will remove the barriers of the Holy Mountains and distance. They are where you are. You can take the stresses of no food and water into your spirit and manufacture them at will with your mind. Remember all these practices are a way for you to separate yourself from this society you have been subjected to so that you can truly SEE reality. You can train yourself to reach a state of separation at will so that you will hear voices in other tongues, and the cries of the helpless in other lands, and the voice of the Eagle as he becomes one with you! You will hear the questions and the answers at the same time; you will know the coming of the future, and the pain in the hearts of those that seem to have no pain or disharmony. You will also know the solution to those cries of anguish that the people feel for the Earth and the grandfather Sun and the continued fear injected into them by a society that is as afraid as your brothers and sisters. You can be that place of guidance, solace, understanding and love – all you need to do is do it!

No, you do not necessarily need to Vision to find the answers to your life. You just need to "Show Up, and be Present" If you can prepare physically and mentally to go out on that Mountain and if you have the proper support mechanisms in place to assure your safety, then do so, but do not let obstacles get in your way. Always remember you have a WAY………………..

 

TO WALK THE RED ROAD

Long road winding

began in the stars

spilled to the mountain tops

carried in the snow

to the streams

to the rivers

to the ocean

it covers Canada

Alaska

America

Mexico

to Guatemala

and keeps winding

around the indigenous

 

The Red Road

is a circle

of People standing

hand in hand

People in this world

People between

People in the Spirit world

Star People

Animal People

Stone People

River People

Tree People

The Sacred Hoop

 

To walk the Red Road

is to know sacrifice

suffering

It is to understand Humility

It is the ability

to stand naked before God

in all things

for your wrong doings

for your lack of strength

for your discompasionate way

for your arrogance

because to walk the Red Road

you always know

you can do better.

And you know

when you do good things

it is through Creator

and you are grateful.

 

To walk the Red Road

is to know

you stand on equal ground

with all living things

It is to know that

because you were born human

gives you superiority over nothing.

It is to know that

every creation carries a spirit

and the river knows more than you do

the mountains know more than you do

The stone people know more than you do

the trees know more than you do

The wind is wiser than you are

animal people carry wisdom

And

You can learn from every one of them

because they have something

you don't

They are void of evil thoughts.

They wish vengeance on no one

they seek Justice.

 

To Walk the Red Road

you have God given rights

you have the right to pray

you have the right to dance

you have the right to think

you have the right to protect

you have the right to know Mother

you have the right to dream

you have the right to vision

you have the right to teach

you have the right to learn

you have a right to grieve

you have a right to happiness

you have the right

to fix the wrongs

you have the right to truth

you have a right to the Spirit World.

 

To Walk the Red Road

is to know your Ancestors

to call to them for assistance

It is to know that there is good medicine

and there is bad medicine

It is to know that Evil exists

but is cowardly as it is often in disguise.

It is to know there are evil spirits

who are in constant watch

for a way

to gain strength

for themselves

at the expense

of you.

 

To Walk the Red Road

you have less fear at being wrong

because you know

that life is a journey

a continuous circle

a sacred hoop

mistakes will be made

and

mistakes can be corrected

if you will

be humble

for if you cannot be humble

you will never know

when you have made a mistake.

If you walk the Red Road

you know that every sorrow

leads to a better understanding

every horror cannot be explained

but can offer growth.

 

To Walk the Red Road

is to look for beauty

in all things.

 

To Walk the Red Road

is to know

you will one day

cross to the Spirit World

and you will be

not afraid

 

Copyright Bloodpoet/2001

 

 

May your Walk on the Red Road

be one of courage

for it takes a strong person

to learn and grow in The Creator

A person of Bravery

will seek Justice for all living things

with a steady ~ compassionate hand

 

May you never be afraid

to speak your truth

and may you

'sing your death song

like a Warrior going home'

as you

'are recognized in the Spirit World'

 

Hau