Vision Fast

WILDERNESS RITES OF PASSAGE, VISION FAST, AND SCHOOL OF LOST BORDERS
--Vision Fast
--Boys Wilderness Camp
--Diamond in the Rough
--Diamond Approach and Primitive Ecopsychology
--Wilderness Rites of Passage (longer article)
--Wilderness Rites of Passage (from ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION AND NATURE)
--School of Lost Borders

ECOPSYCHOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS

AUTHOR INFORMATION

"Truth can always be found in those who are willing to lose their borders,
for lost borders are birth-passages and homecomings.
Beyond these borders, we find ourselves at home in the world,
grounded in our true nature."

THE SCHOOL OF LOST BORDERS
A training center for rites of passage in nature
offers a

VISION FAST

Check the School's website for 2008 dates and locations

• Renew your connections with the natural world

• Support your life transitions, awakening, and development

• Deepen your connection to your guidance, aliveness, and fulfillment

• Foster a joyful, authentic relationship with your world, yourself, and your journey

Renewing our connections with the wild world helps renew our connections with our essential human nature, our vision of our work in the world, and our place in the whole. Through the ages and across the world, wilderness rites of passage such as vision fasts have supported life transitions, personal growth, and the awakening and development of the spirit. They are ancient and living means of answering the call to lose the borders of limiting beliefs and to confirm who we are.

On this journey, you cross a threshold (a doorway), go beyond your boundaries, and return. You have a chance to discover meaning and power in your life transition, deepen your connection to your sources of guidance and fulfillment, and foster a supportive, loving, enchanted relationship with your world, yourself, and your life's journey.

And so long as you haven't experienced this:
to die and so to grow,
you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth.

Goethe

FORMAT

This trip has three phases: a period of preparation and severance from old life-stages and out-dated self-images (before the trip and its first three days); a three-day threshold period alone and without food in a wildland setting; and a return to an expanded understanding and a greater task (the last two days of the trip--and the rest of your life).

Prior to the trip, we will help you prepare and clarify your intentions for your solo. Our group will gather about 4 hours west of Denver in the canyon country of western Colorado. A short drive takes us to our basecamp site, an isolated but accessible area, starkly beautiful, solitary, slightly wounded, and easily overlooked by those hurrying by--ideal for our work.

After two and a half days of preparation, you will leave basecamp for a time of solitude, fasting, and vigil. Three days are spent alone, opening to yourself and the world around you. There, you will find yourself in the company of cedars, sage, stars, and the occasional owl hoot or coyote yelp.

After your return, we spend one more day together in basecamp, listening to our stories and beginning the reintegration into everyday life. Ongoing reflection after the trip supports you in integrating and embodying this journey's gifts.

GO HERE FOR A MORE COMPLETE ARTICLE ON VISION FASTS.

PARTICIPANTS

Previous wilderness experience is not necessary, but participants should be in good health. This trip is limited to ten participants.

TRAINING AND APPRENTICESHIP

We offer the opportunity to apprentice in a training capacity on this trip. If you have experience on vision fasts, feel called to this work, and are interested in field-based training in wilderness rites of passage, please contact us for more information.

THE GUIDES

John and Nancy have a long history of working together in different contexts, and they bring a broad range of richly complementary styles, skills, and experiences to this work.

JOHN DAVIS

John has been leading wilderness rites of passage retreats since 1984. On the staff of the School of Lost Borders, he leads vision fasts for adults and youth and trains rites of passage guides. He is a founding member of the Wilderness Guides Council and has initiated wilderness rites of passage programs in colleges and universities, public and private schools, and a youth intervention program. John teaches the Diamond Approach and, at Naropa University, ecopsychology, wilderness therapy, and transpersonal psychology. He has three children.

NANCY JANE

Nancy leads youth vision fasts and has pioneered wilderness rites of passage in school settings. She is a guide/instructor for the Psychology of Wilderness Experience course at Naropa University and teaches related topics there. Nancy has trained in wilderness rites of passage with the School of Lost Borders and with Earth Rites and in the way of council with the Center for Council Training, Ojai, CA. She facilitates councils for several organizations, including schools and universities. For many years a naturalist and forester, Nancy is also an author and editor. Nancy is the mother of a teenage son.

COST

We use a sliding fee scale with a range from $800 to $1200. The final amount is up to participants. See the School of Lost Borders website for more information on cost.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO APPLY

Contact John Davis (jdavis@naropa.edu, 303-449-5579) or Nancy Jane (nancyjane1@earthlink.net, 720-494-1989) with questions. To begin the application process, write us a letter of intent detailing your reasons for wishing to participate, why now is a good time for you to participate, and the personal strengths and challenges you bring with you.

Upon acceptance, a nonrefundable deposit of $250 will secure your place on the trip, and you will receive other materials to help you prepare. Email your application to both John and Nancy, or mail your application to Nancy Jane, 1835 Cambridge Dr, Longmont, CO 80503 USA. Deposits and fees may be mailed to the School of Lost Borders or paid via PayPal through the School of Lost Borders website.

THE SCHOOL OF LOST BORDERS

For over thirty years, the School of Lost Borders has offered a variety of trainings focused on vision fasts and wilderness rites of passage. Founded by Steven Foster and Meredith Little, the School continues to offer a rich variety of training in the four shields (or seasons) of human nature, living and dying, the way of council, mirroring, and other earth-centered practices.

Contact the The School of Lost Borders for more information.

The School of Lost Borders
P. O. Box 796
Big Pine, CA 93513 USA

Email staff@schooloflostborders.com

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