The Quest Experience

Lisa making her quest prayer ties: Praying with Mind, Heart and Hands.

In our culture we do not often take the time or make the space for deep awareness and relatedness with life itself. Each questing experience is precious, unique, powerful, and life changing!

Life is deeply inter-connected, inter-related. Quest is an experience of this, interconnecting with other life forms in the family of Life - "All Our Relations."

The begin the first afternoon sitting together in circle. We ground ourselves in a contemporary Origin Story that weaves us back into the Oneness of Life, so we can more deeply understand our relatedness to everything around us.  We clarify and express our intentions to ourselves, each other, the land, the nature intelligences and Great Spirit. 

Heidi and Keith in the prep circle.

Then we walk the land together and it speaks of each of quester calling each one to the particular secluded spot where they will quest in your their own medicine wheel.

Each time I marvel at how sweetly this happens.  I watch when we come to a questing spot and it is easy to see the body of the person being called to the spot responds almost immediately and then there is the brief process during which what is already known in the heart is translated into consciousness, recognized and expressed by the quester.

When a quester is chosen by their spot, they spend some time there, coming into relationship with the neighborhood of spirits, nature intelligences that have chosen them.

The first evening we share a final communal meal together and camp in the 'living room' area on the ridge.  The next morning each quester moves whatever they will need to their questing spot, prepares their medicine wheel and perhaps their prayer ties.

In late morning or early afternoon we come together, build the fire to heat the grandfather stones for the sacred sweat lodge ceremony. We prepare the lodge and watch the grandfathers slowly turn red hot; we make our prayer ties; chant our spirit songs, going deeper into our hearts.

Preparing the pre-quest Sweat Lodge Ceremony

Tania tends the Sacred Fire and the Grandfather Stones

Grandfather Stones heating

Chanting and relaxing while the Grandfather Stones heat.	Jeremy making prayer ties for the sweat lodge.
Brad making prayer ties for the sweat lodge.	Tara chanting while the Grandfathers heat.
Monique Chanting	Cyndy Chanting

A Community of Heart

Tricia and Jeremy Chanting.

Lori and Monique Chanting Prayers.

When the grandfather stones are red hot, we enter into the lodge, the womb of Grandmother Earth.  There we are 'reborn' through the power of our prayers.

When the Lodge Ceremony is complete, each quester goes directly to their questing site where they will spend three full days. While they are out in their individual questing site, a fire is kept going all day and all night in the 'living room.' This fire is demonstrates are constant prayers for and with them. Morning and evening chants are song in support of the quester's.

Jeremy and Tania singing while the questers are out.

On the fourth day we go out to each quester and greet them and invite them to come out.  Each year it is deeply moving to witness the amazing glow of transformation on each of their faces.  Each one has had a powerful experience of connection with Spirit, their own true Self and the radiant Life around them.

Katie's coming out glow in 2006.	Katie's Glow coming out glow in 2007.
Tricia's Glow	Kim in The Glow
Brad's glow coming out of his fifth quest.	Ginny didn't believe it was day four. She was expecting to stay another day.
Cyndy beaming after keeping the fire going all night for three nights.	The coming out glow after going to her site during the day.
Jamie's coming out glow.	Jamie in Grateful Bliss.
Lori's glow	Lori giving thanks to Grandmother Earth at her coming out.
Jennifer's Communion	Mary' Glow
Monique's Joy	Monique's Gratitude
Tara's Wonder	Tara's Gratitude
Maureen's Joy	Lisa's Amazement

After all have returned to the 'living room' circle we give thanks with a sacred prayer pipe ceremony.  Then we return to the well -kitchen area and share a celebration meal together.

Questers Hug after coming out.	Quester Gives Thanks with Peoples Sacred Prayer Pipe.

Quest Celebration Feast

After we return to the ridge top, the sharing circle follows.  At this time, often others in our family or community come to hear the gifts that have been received during quest by each quester, not only for themselves, but also for their family, their larger community and the world. It is powerful to witness as each expresses what they received during their time on quest.

Jeremy and I Calling in Spirit to hear the Questers Sharing Circle, while I receive the smoke blessing of the Fire.

That evening is spent in community, often sleeping around the fire together.  The following morning we give a final thank you to spirit with sacred prayer pipe ceremony before each begins the process and journey or re-entry into their community.

Questers some times know each other from other connections or previous years questing.  Often they don't, as they have come from California, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts as well as Maine. But the experience often creates an a connection inside of us that creates an immediate bond with those around us.

Sisters Unite At Coming Out

Questers Bond

Questers Connection

Questers Connecting	Sharing the Joy of Questing
The embrace of friends at Coming Out.	The deep questing connection.

To Learn more about Earth Circle Quests

Call 207-443-7001, or email maryanna@lightcoach.com
Or Jeremy Youst at 603-363-4331 or jeremy@powerofbreath.com

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