Beyond the Threshold - Vision Fast Australia

A vision fast is a time spent away from the company of others, removed from the usual rhythms and demands of your life. Without food for a period of time, you gradually have only yourself and the natural world around you to pay attention to. In this place, what is essential for you may finally begin to become clear.

"What initiates us also strips us down to the inner essentials and releases qualities and powers that were hidden within."

Michael Meade

Some people undertake a vision fast to mark a time of change or transition in their life, such as adolescence, mid-life, entering elder-hood, loss of a loved one, divorce or marriage, or a career change. For others it may be to reawaken their sense of joy and liveliness, or move through a period of confusion or disillusionment, finding inspiration and support through an intimate connection with nature.

What nature reveals to you, what you see and hear, what you perceive and experience at this time, all of this reflects back to you aspects of who you are. This can be a new sense of connection with the world and our place in it. Out of this ground a fresh vision of what has been, what is, and what may be, can occur.

This process is a time honoured way that humans have valued and marked moments of change in their lives and reaffirmed their relationship with the world. Vision fasts have existed throughout history. They have occurred in different forms in different cultures but share a structure common to all rites of passage.

An interview with psychotherapist Anne Yeomans

This is a half hour interview about Anne's Vision Quest, a four night journey into the wilderness alone without food. Anne describes her encounters with fear and how her sense of connection to the stars and to those who love her, sustained her through dark nights alone.

Rites of passage have always been important for individuals and the health of the society to which they belong. They generally follow a three-fold pattern:

Remembering Rites of Passage

Different guides speak about the importance of rites of passage in our culture. Including Meredith Little, Bill Plotkin and others.

A completion or separation from an old way (leaving)
A moving through or stepping across the threshold (challenge)
A return into the world anew (incorporation)

Throughout the passage rite - but particularly during the threshold time - individuals investigate the meaning associated with their current relationship with the world. They are free to dance, sing, shout, laugh, or be still; to respond creatively to those precious aspects of their lives they wish to explore.

This marking of significant elements in a person's life, be it through an act of celebration, honouring or grieving, makes conscious what is necessary for that person to move forward. The intention is to give a new sense of purpose and meaning; a way to bring completion to the old and the freedom to embrace the new. In this way a rite of passage - such as that represented by a vision fast - contributes to a person's ability to move fully through life's natural cycles of decay and renewal.