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Vision quests, anyone?


littlebrowndragon

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I had my second vision quest today.  The first one was just over a year ago.

 

The image I got in my first vision quest was of swirling black dust in a yellow background.  The black dust gradually took on the shape of a black claw.

 

When I told a friend about it next day, she said that whenever she drew a mandala and the predominant colours were yellow and black, then she would wake up in a really bad mood next day.  As it happened, the next day after that vision quest I also woke up in a really bad mood.  This may have been down to nervousness about doing a vision quest.  I was a bit worried about what could arise from the depths of the unconscious and this fear may have caused the bad mood.  So, if I get those colours in a vision quest again, I’ll know what to expect next day.

 

The vision quest I did today was not at all unpleasant.  The images I got were of pale green blobs of light rising up through a dark background.   Like any dream, these images can be interpreted.  My interpretation is that the green signifies being new at something i.e. I am new to vision quests.  Then an additional interpretation came to mind i.e. that I was getting “the green light” i.e. the go-ahead to do more vision quests.  So, since one interpretation does not contradict the other, but adds more information, then I’m going with both.  I’ll have another go at a vision quest when inspiration strikes.

 

Has anyone else on this forum attempted vision quests? 

 

Any comments in general re vision quests?

 

Anyone tempted to try them but hasn’t yet?  

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Are you a native American? 

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Hello @littlebrowndragon

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

What kind of vision quest/process have you involved yourself in? How does it work? How does the process start and go on?

 

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2 hours ago, freetoroam said:

Are you a native American? 

No, I'm not.  But I do have an interest in those sorts of cultures.

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10 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said:

No, I'm not.  But I do have an interest in those sorts of cultures.

Vision quest is a native American custom that is why I asked. Obviously you can have an interest in it,  but am not sure if a non native American trying it has the same meaning,  actually I think it does not.

But I will leave you with Piney. He may come and explain it better than me.

Edited by freetoroam
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So you fasted for 4 days in solitude while asking the spirits to give you a vision of your purpose in life? If not then this is just the imagination.

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I don't know what kind of vision quest you are describing.  Could you say a bit more about the tradition, the method and the teaching?  Piney is best to talk about this. My experience is limited to the type XenoFish described..

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3 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

I don't know what kind of vision quest you are describing.  Could you say a bit more about the tradition, the method and the teaching?  Piney is best to talk about this. My experience is limited to the type XenoFish described..

I already explained to the OP how a NDN one works in another thread. :yes:

 

6 hours ago, freetoroam said:

But I will leave you with Piney. He may come and explain it better than me.

See above. :yes:

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21 hours ago, ant0n said:

What kind of vision quest/process have you involved yourself in? How does it work? How does the process start and go on?

It is not a "kind of" vision quest in that I have not read anywhere how to do this e.g. from Native American traditions etc.  I have adopted the same method as a friend who has done some vision quests.   I call it a vision quest because I am hoping to get some dream images.  Another name for it might be a dream quest, however. 

Piney has kindly given me some information on vision quests already, but obviously from his point of view.   As to how I think this is working, according to my understanding, what is happening is that I am accessing my unconscious mind, the same part of the mind as dreams come from.  Unlike with lucid dreaming I am not forcing anything.  (For that very reason I will not attempt lucid dreaming - ever.)  

My technique is to first quieten my mind by meditating.  If I am going to attempt a vision quest later at night, then a little alcohol also helps me relax.  The first vision quest I did was a late night one, this because I was at the time having trouble getting off to sleep..  Now, however, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and so daytime sessions are best.  Following a meditation, I then sit in the same quiet room with lights off etc, and imagine myself going down a tunnel or going down into a cave entrance.  This last session it took about 40 minutes before I saw anything.  The images don't seem to happen inside my head the way regular dreams do.  Instead it is as if my eyelids are a projection screen. I work a lot with my night time dreams anyway and so this is an interesting extension.  It will be interesting to see how this develops.. .

I shall try another vison quest as and when inspiration strikes.  Meanwhile I can also obtain dreamlike images i.e. access my unconscious mind, by drawing a mandala. These, when I can interpret them, often give me access to advice concerning my thoughts/preoccupations at the time of doing the mandala.

Edited by littlebrowndragon
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8 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

By the way @littlebrowndragon I wish you well.  Be safe.  I hope you find what you are looking for.

Thank you.  Not sure what I am looking for anything exactly, other than to explore aspects of how the mind works relative to how I think the world works.  Well, now that you mention it, I am looking to find out more about myself, too.  These explorations of dreams are a means of self-discovery.

Edited by littlebrowndragon
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1 minute ago, littlebrowndragon said:

Thank you.  Not sure what I am looking for other than to explore aspects of how the mind works relative to how I think the world works.

Perhaps meditation would be an efficient approach. 

 

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2 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Perhaps meditation would be an efficient approach. 

Meditation had its uses, and still has its uses e.g. quieting my mind.  However, it is of limited value to me because it is not a technique I can use to come up with dream images.  Actually, no, now that I think about it, meditation does have other uses.  By relaxing and quieting my mind, it allows me better access to intuition, which, like dream images, comes from the unconscious mind.  I use my intuition often when, say, decision making or thinking about the future or even to access advice.  So, meditation does have more to offer than I was giving it credit for a moment ago.  In fact - and this is an example of how I use my intuition -  my intuition is telling me to take what you said as encouragement to do a little more meditation anyway.  (My mind has been buzzing with ideas recently and I do need to quiet it down.)  So, thank you for that.

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2 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said:

Meditation had its uses, and still has its uses e.g. quieting my mind.  However, it is of limited value to me because it is not a technique I can use to come up with dream images.  Actually, no, now that I think about it, meditation does have other uses.  By relaxing and quieting my mind, it allows me better access to intuition, which, like dream images, comes from the unconscious mind.  I use my intuition often when, say, decision making or thinking about the future or even to access advice.  So, meditation does have more to offer than I was giving it credit for a moment ago.  In fact - and this is an example of how I use my intuition -  my intuition is telling me to take what you said as encouragement to do a little more meditation anyway.  (My mind has been buzzing with ideas recently and I do need to quiet it down.)  So, thank you for that.

In that case look into lucid dreaming.

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14 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

In that case look into lucid dreaming.

Thank you, but no.  I do not wish to do lucid dreaming because it is a means of controlling dreams and I believe that controlling them is harmful.

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Just now, littlebrowndragon said:

Thank you, but no.  I do not wish to do lucid dreaming because it is a means of controlling dreams and I believe that controlling them is harmful.

It's also a method to be more aware while in dreams, but to each their own.

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5 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

It's also a method to be more aware while in dreams, but to each their own.

Have you tried lucid dreaming then?  If so, what was it like?  

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4 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said:

Have you tried lucid dreaming then?  If so, what was it like?  

Just a very 'realistic' dream. 

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1 minute ago, XenoFish said:

Just a very 'realistic' dream. 

Did you make anything of the dream, at all?  Did it seem relevant to your preoccupations/interests at the time you had the dream?

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7 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said:

Did you make anything of the dream, at all?  Did it seem relevant to your preoccupations/interests at the time you had the dream?

Not always. Dreams can reflect our deeper feelings at times. That's about all I know. I don't do dream analysis. 

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It was a now largely forgotten 'Brat Pack' style film from about 1985, I believe, from my extensive knowledge of largely forgotten movies, which was however noteworthy for giving us the first sighting of Madonna's classic 'Crazy for You'. :yes:

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3 hours ago, littlebrowndragon said:

It is not a "kind of" vision quest in that I have not read anywhere how to do this e.g. from Native American traditions etc.  I have adopted the same method as a friend who has done some vision quests.   I call it a vision quest because I am hoping to get some dream images.  Another name for it might be a dream quest, however. 

Piney has kindly given me some information on vision quests already, but obviously from his point of view.   As to how I think this is working, according to my understanding, what is happening is that I am accessing my unconscious mind, the same part of the mind as dreams come from.  Unlike with lucid dreaming I am not forcing anything.  (For that very reason I will not attempt lucid dreaming - ever.)  

My technique is to first quieten my mind by meditating.  If I am going to attempt a vision quest later at night, then a little alcohol also helps me relax.  The first vision quest I did was a late night one, this because I was at the time having trouble getting off to sleep..  Now, however, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and so daytime sessions are best.  Following a meditation, I then sit in the same quiet room with lights off etc, and imagine myself going down a tunnel or going down into a cave entrance.  This last session it took about 40 minutes before I saw anything.  The images don't seem to happen inside my head the way regular dreams do.  Instead it is as if my eyelids are a projection screen. I work a lot with my night time dreams anyway and so this is an interesting extension.  It will be interesting to see how this develops.. .

I shall try another vison quest as and when inspiration strikes.  Meanwhile I can also obtain dreamlike images i.e. access my unconscious mind, by drawing a mandala. These, when I can interpret them, often give me access to advice concerning my thoughts/preoccupations at the time of doing the mandala.

You answered my question, though I would call this a guided meditation rather than a vision quest.  You may  not have someone telling you, but you have a script, going down a tunnel or into a cave entrance.  A vision quest requires a lot more and you usually get more clear information.

I have known people who did vision quests, white people who wanted to be natives and they had different results but always very extreme as like someone pointed out, it requires fasting, then dancing, or hanging from a pole connected to cords that are clipped to your chest muscles, or doing something else extreme nonstop until you drop.  Maybe it doesn't matter that you call what do a vision quest, but it does bother me and apparently a few others.

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1 hour ago, Desertrat56 said:

You answered my question, though I would call this a guided meditation rather than a vision quest.  You may  not have someone telling you, but you have a script, going down a tunnel or into a cave entrance.  A vision quest requires a lot more and you usually get more clear information.

I have known people who did vision quests, white people who wanted to be natives and they had different results but always very extreme as like someone pointed out, it requires fasting, then dancing, or hanging from a pole connected to cords that are clipped to your chest muscles, or doing something else extreme nonstop until you drop.  Maybe it doesn't matter that you call what do a vision quest, but it does bother me and apparently a few others.

Ok, thanks for the advice.  And apologies to all.   I have no intention of causing offence. (I am not trying to mimic Native American traditions/rituals etc.  As I said, I'm trying to explore the unconscious mind.)   I'll call it something else.

 

As to going down a tunnel, that's not really, as far as I am concerned, a script as such.  In dream language, as I think of it, going down a tunnel represents accessing the unconscious mind.  It is merely, as it were, scene setting.  What happens after that is just what happens.  I do not control, or try to control, what happens.

 

Anyway, thanks again for keeping me right.

Edited by littlebrowndragon
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