Customer Reviews

Book Of Vision Quest

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is a mountain we all must climb. Some of us never see the mountain. Some of those that do see cannot make the climb. This is a very personal collection of stories of individual journeys - journeys that attempt to solidify the bond between the body and the mind. It is also a universal pattern, as we begin to see in "Vision Quest", that we who call ourselves "human", must find and connect with our personal mythos. Always different in its instantiation, always the same in its requirement. And always there.

This book is published by Fireside Books, a part of the Simon&Schuster empire. They are also the publisher of "Coyote Medicine", which I panned pretty heavily in a review last year for being unsubstantial and largely anecdotal in its evidences. "Vision Quest" is also anecdotal, which means that Foster and Little could have cut and paste, publishing those stories they saw fit to tell their side, and leave out the rest. However, there are two things that are quite different about their style which makes this book a smashing success. First, they held nothing back, so far as I can tell. Some of their customer's journeys weren't success stories at all. Some were clear failures, and some were still just hanging on to bare existence. Their message still came through. The second point is that these stories can only be told in this fashion. Science is not clearly in the picture here - skirting the edge. There's no way one can publish statistics on this topic, saying "of so many voyagers, x percent achieved total succees". No, this book is about mythology. And as false as the stories are that comprise mythology, their lessons are deeply engrained in the body - no, the spirit - of every one who dares to be human.

Reading "Kinds of Minds", by Daniel Dennett, may make some of what I speak of more clear. Humans differ from other animals because of our recursive patterns of thought. This recursion - the ability to subject the mind to analysis by that same mind - is both a blessing (in that it helped with our survival), and a curse (in that endless recursion into a black hole of despair is a definite possibility). Your mythos is the terminator to this endless analysis. Some call this "God". Some of us have no name for it, but all the same, it must be there. Foster and Little recognize this, and at the same time, they are quite sensitive to the lives on the edge of our grand society who need, but do not have, this connection.

Knowing full well that the connection itself does not assure a comfortable place, they nonetheless have created a venue for people to make this voyage of self discovery. This book is a brief recounting of many of those voyages. It is also an invitation to the rest of us to follow wherever that path leads.

Read this book.

This book clearly speaks to people who increasingly find something missing - either through a tiny crack or glaring hole - in their life; perhaps direction, karma, a clearer sense of what this is all about, whatever you want to call it.

I only considered a vision quest a sci-fi novelty, something good for stories, not real life. This book changed that perception forever. The author describes the process and the results many people found as they went through thier own vision quest.

I plan on going on one in 2001 through a related organization. This book clearly communicated a possible solution to that 'missing something' many people feel these days.

The only minor criticism I have is that in my opinon, the authors poetic, mystic and self-agrandizing descriptions and metaphors go a little overboard - a little heavy-handed for my taste... perhaps that's only since I haven't been on a vision quest, I don't know. This in no way diminishes the clear and no-holes-barred message delivered straight and to the point for the majority of the book. Don't let this stop you - it's worth every penny and more...

I really liked this book. I keep having to re-buy it because I keep giving my copy away.

It wasn't too preachy or loaded with new-age hooey, and the different experiences related gave me good ideas for my own vision quests. I've done two in Colorado and one in Arizona at times in my life when I really needed to get into the wilderness and re-orient myself on what truly mattered and was important to my past, present, and future.

The book helped me articulate some of the most important questions to ask myself, and how to keep the experience meaningful but not cluttered to the point of distraction. Now I go out with sleeping bag, tarp, water purifier and bottles, journal, pens, whistle, lighter, map, compass, and a harmonica. That's it. My next VQ will be in Idaho.

I've guided others along the journey as well, and am getting ready to do so again soon. The rockpile method of communication described in the book is unbeatable in terms of allowing people to stay in touch and safe without treading on one another's private experiences. Be well, and be safe! Eat the view...

Please avoid this book by all means. I'm not sure how the author justifies this book as being a guide to the Vision Quest. There is NOTHING in this book that is even remotely similar to the Vision Quest Ceremomy of the American Indians. This is an insult and a rip-off of our spirituality.

If you want to learn the true meaning behind the sacred ceremonies of the Lakota peoples, then I would most strongly recommend your read The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux: Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala or Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux or Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux by Black Elk, John Gneisenau Neihardt, Vine, Jr. Deloria.

The book was informative and interesting. The first 66 pages provided a nice overview on vision quest and what to expect.

If you do, then it may be the right time for you to take this journey - the Vision Quest. Once you read the stories in this book, you will most likely know if it's right for you. I did, and have repeated the ritual several times since. It's a fine way to reconnect with all of nature, including and most importantly, with your own human nature.