Sept Vision Quest Prep - week #2 of 4 - South

2nd Sept 2024

(Ofra Amit, ‘Behance’)

"The baby new to earth and sky
What time his tender palm is prest
Against the circle of the breast
Has never thought that ‘this is I’
But as he grows he gathers much
And learns to use the ‘I’ and ‘me’,
And finds ‘I am not what I see’,
And other than the things I touch.”
Alfred Tennyson

I hope this finds you feeling chilled out and content after a week of gratitude practice. From this beautiful place of peace and contentment we now walk further around the medicine wheel from the East into the South – this is the place of the child, as spirit comes into form. The animal is the Coyote – the trickster, the element is water and the colour is red. As the baby new to the earth and sky we are innocent, from an existential perspective we are yet to have our possibilities limited by those that have come before us – we still see with open eyes.

Recall the existential framework

From our place of innocence we are yet to construct an interpretive story of who we are – we are free. It is this innocence and freedom that we seek to reconnect with in the South.

The problem is that as soon as we are born we begin to be told how it is that we should interpret and make sense of the world. This gives us comfort because our understanding of the world is reinforced by others – however it limits us to a view of what is actually possible.

In previous posts we have considered the notion that what you do not yet know is more important than what you already know. On the surface this seems simple however if we stop for a moment and dig into it in more depth, then it conveys more meaning. What you do not yet know is more important than what you already know – why would this be the case? And why is it important to grasp this? If we consider the existential model above – we stand in the present moment and the future comes towards us regardless of what we do – even if you sit really still, time will still move and as the Buddhists say – there is nothing that exists that does not change. As the future comes towards us we try to interpret what is happening – we try to make sense of the world – because if we cannot then we are losing our sanity. How then do we interpret the world? We need a framework and a belief about how the world actually works – this framework comes from – yes you guessed it – the Past and the things that we have learned that have been taught to us by others. By definition this is limited and many writers, artists and philosophers have considered the idea of lifting this veil and the implications of what can happen if this is done.

“When you change the way you look at things,
what you look at changes.”
Max Plank

“If the doors of perception were cleansed,
everything would appear to [human beings] as it really is, Infinite.
For [human beings] have closed [themselves] up, till [they]
see all things thro’ narrow chinks
in [their] own cavern.”
William Blake, ‘The marriage of Heaven and Hell’
(my edits to update gender in square brackets)

We know too from the neuroscience that the human brain is inherently lazy – it wants to default into reflexive pattern matching and is endlessly looking for matches in what it experiences in the present moment to experiences that it has had in the past. If it finds a match or even a close match then before you have even consciously thought about it you are recreating the same event – yes – bringing the Past back into the Present moment. Recognising the futility of this process and maybe the frustration of doing the same dumb things over and over again – our task is to find ways to free ourselves from this.

Interestingly enough we should also be aware that until we have changed we won’t necessarily see what we are looking for.

What??

Ok – imagine at the start of your life you begin walking on a trail and you can see a big beautiful mountain in the distance – so you think that your task is to get to the top of the mountain. Along the journey of life you have lots of challenges as well as fantastic experiences until finally one day you arrive at the top of the mountain – only to see that there is yet another mountain range beyond the one you have been climbing that you were not able to see from your original position.

Get it?

“If understanding is linked to being,
then certain types of phenomena can only be comprehended
when the observer has changed. (“There are things for the
understanding of which a different being is necessary.” Gurdjieff)
This transformative process takes place in stages over time.”
Daniel Pinchbeck, ‘Breaking open the head’

Some of us have this ‘awakening’ due to left field disruptive challenges that cause us to see the world and our lives through a different lens. The aim of intentionally doing a Vision Quest is to try and tap into this new awareness without having to experience the disruptive trauma. The preparatory process of walking the four directions of the medicine wheel is about shaking things up a little.

So, the element of the South is water and it is all about emotions. If you recall the analogy of the drop of water falling into the pond and creating ripples into all of humanity then our ability to connect with our inner most emotions and express them in a healthy way is key.

“True genius is saying what is in your heart,
because it is in everyone’s heart.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘Self Reliance’

The problem is that we have learned what is possible and what is not so we need to pull back the layers and find our inner dreams.

“No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search
of its dreams, because every second of the search
is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”
Paulo Coelho, ‘The Alchemist’

There are many stories about the Coyote and why it is called the trickster, however the central message is that we can trip ourselves up by taking life too seriously and that we need to lighten up, learn to laugh at ourselves and learn from our mistakes. If we consider this message in the context of connecting with life vision and purpose then the message is to listen closely to our heart and allow it to speak to us before we jump in with all the reasons why something is not possible and why it is unreasonable or irrational to even consider such a crazy idea. In our world today other people can ridicule our world view and effectively gas light us into denying ourselves possible futures outside the norm.

The task this week then is to try and free that inner child up and connect with our deepest heartfelt dreams and desires.

Week #2 then – Freedom

Freedom to believe in dreams

Freedom to believe in possibilities

Freedom to believe in future visions

I walk around the medicine wheel with my intention into the South.

I open my heart to innocence and possibility.

I give myself permission to dream.

Scurry around your life this week like a child – for 24 minutes every day – one minute for every hour of the day – jump backwards and forwards in time to connect your childhood with your future.

Think about the dreams you had as a child. The crazy out there ideas and aspirations. The things that got you excited. Remember what it feels like to have the boundless energy and innocence of the child.

Write these stories down.

Draw pictures of possibility.

Connect with the children in your life.

Play with them and allow them to teach you (put away your mobile phone for starters!!)

Listen to the stories they tell you about their dreams and imaginations.

Give thanks for this childlike connection.

Remember the superpower of curiosity.

Ask – what brings me joy?

Ask – what puts me in a state of awe?

So now…

Can you write your own story?

If the Coyote comes to trick you up with serious thoughts that undermine your ability to dream shoo it away and return to your visions.

You can also use water this week to cleanse and refresh you – when showering or bathing intentionally choose to release the old limited ideas of who you are. Take some time to sit by the sea, by a lake or walk to a waterfall – connect with the rhythm and flow of water.

“The heart has its reasons
which reason does not understand.”
Blaise Pascal

In peace and love always.

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28 day Guided Vision Quest is on now 😊

Next 8 week Self Mastery Program begins April 2025

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