Incorporation- Embodying the Vision
In a rite of passage ceremony there are three distinct phases one must pass through. Each of these phases carry it’s unique and challenging work. The first of the phases is Severance, the stepping away, severing from and relinquishing the old behavior, places and situations that no longer serve and continue to hold you back…
Read MoreLiving the Practices- applying the bare bones
Many years ago, after training with School of Lost Borders’ founders Steven Foster and Meredith Little, I remember their strong urging to future guides: “Take the ceremony and make it your own.” Those words, I think, capture the innovation and originality of the programs under the branch of the School called Living the Practices. Here the personal interests, unique skill sets, and specialized passions of individual School guides find expression in offerings that apply the bare bones of the vision fast ceremony…
Read MoreAre You Queer, Different, Odd, Singular, Strange? The Importance of Belonging
Queer: “1. Differing from what is usual or ordinary; odd; singular; strange.” To belong: “1. To have a proper or suitable place. 2. To be part of; be related or connected (to).” For the first 42 years of my life—42 of 65—I believed that if ever I were to join a new group, I was…
Read MoreLike A River – Earth Converse with Emerald North
Description from Earth Converse Podcast: Ready to flow like a river? Penelope’s first guest conversation is with the wise wonderful Emerald North. “A woman of the earth, artist, poet, a guide and most of all, a human being that is deeply connected and living with, on and through the living earth around her day to…
Read MoreAncestor Preparation: On Becoming a Good Dead Person
Note: This short piece has been submitted to Circles on the Mountain for publication. For better or worse, wilderness rites of passage programs have gained a great deal of popularity over recent years. For better, because many of us have worked hard to see meaningful rites regain their importance within modern culture. We know that…
Read MoreTurning Into Life
Thirty years ago Steven Foster and Meredith Little founded The School of Lost Borders, offering rites of passage experiences based in part on Native American vision quests.
Read MorePodcast: Nature and The ‘Me’ Problem with Larry Hobbs
Whether you are digging in the soil or digging in your past, pointing a finger at the moon or contemplating your future, we and the universe are inseparable.
Read MorePaying Homage to the Dark
In other words, while it may be the dark that contains the unexpected, unwanted, and incomprehensible, it is also that which illuminates and grants us the ability to see what is hidden there.
Read MoreHow to Prepare for Your Vision Fast Ceremony
The more time and effort you take to prepare, the more meaningful your ceremony will be. It is important to keep in mind that the vision fast ceremony is not a quick-fix deal.
Read More