After my hike on Mt. Wrightson, I entered a space of "little preparation". Rather than planning and organizing this journey down to the last detail, which was my approach in the past, I created a small list of items that I required for the journey and called them to me. In a beautiful display of grace in action, friends and family either gifted or lent me all that I required for the journey: a water filter, down sleeping bag, wool blanket, poncho, a small knife, backpack, and even tobacco and mole dirt, which play a significant role in the vision quest ceremony. In an uncanny display of Divine Humor, the one item I purchased for the journey, a butane wind-resistant lighter, actually malfunctioned beyond use. Good thing I brought a back-up lighter!
I chose to focus my 'planning and organizing' skills on ceremonial items that I incorporated my prayers and blessings into. I created and blessed direction flags to mark the directions in my vision quest circle. I also made prayer ties for my journey, attentively weaving my prayers and outcomes into each tie:

    * Purple - Heart - I know and trust my heart's guidance.
    * Black - West - I joyfully view my shadows and receive my gifts of wisdom. I choose to consciously enter into and identify my darkness, release all of the stories and attachments that do not serve my highest Truth, and fully rebirth into an enlivened and enlightened state of presence.
    * Red - North - I am grateful for the guidance and love that surrounds, supports, and permeates me at all times.
    * Yellow - East - I see myself from the Eagle's perspective and I soar into the realms of my highest Self, bridging and anchoring my soul's expression into my human expression.
    * White - South - I re*member and fully embody my joy and playfulness in my life. I choose to make this journey fun and easy!
    * Green - Mother Earth - Thank you, Gaia, for this amazing invitation, and for your support, protection, guidance, and love.
    * Blue - Great Mystery - Wakan Tanka, I walk fully awake into the Great Mystery with an open heart and mind. I fully receive all I am offered in my vision quest journey.

Noticing an especially strong resonance with purple, black, and green, I invested more attention with these directions. Purple holds the power of transformation and transmutation. For me, this signifies my heart's power to heal and to love. Black beckons me to explore the darkness of my shadows and my dreams. Green calls me to remember and fully honor my connection with Earth and all who call Earth home. After making the direction flags and prayer ties, I sat in silence and enjoyed this experience:

...(breathe)...
I feel the fullness of my breath moving through my body ...(breathe)...
I feel and embody each of my prayers ...(breathe)...
I drink in the silence, stillness, peace, and fullness of my blessings ...(breathe)...
I seal my experience with vocal harmonic tones that emanate from my heart...(sing)...
...(breathe)...

Feeling centered in my Bliss, I tied the prayer bundles together and tucked them in my backpack.

Just a few days before the vision quest began, Dan and I learned that the Elders chose to hold an inipi (sweat lodge) and keep a fire burning to both honor and anchor our journeys. It was Dan's and my responsibility to find volunteers to tend the fire while we were gone for 3 days - actually almost 4 days in total - from Thursday sunrise to Sunday after sunset. This offered another opportunity to trust and have faith.

We divided fire watch hours into 3 and 4-hour segments plus overnight watches, and asked trusted friends to tend the fire. In another beautiful display of synchronicity and Divine Love, this process was quick, easy, and fun. We gracefully filled the 14 available watch positions with trusted friends who were both excited and honored to volunteer. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty, grace, and love!

I felt inspired to make prayer ties for each fire watch supporter, so I created and blessed two more bundles in each color. I put the 14 bundles in a glass jar and set them near the fire, asking each supporter to add their blessings and prayers to a bundle during their watch. At the end of the watch I invited them to offer their bundle to the fire to carry their blessings and prayers to their intended destinations and recipients.

Wednesday afternoon we built the inipi. After this, Cloud Dancer shared wisdom and guidance with Dan and I. He shared the prelude to the first story ever told...and encouraged us to find the rest of the story on our journey; or perhaps we would receive the gift of the ant song, or another song. He advised us to be alert and receptive to all of our surroundings. Everything around us has a gift for us.

Cloud Dancer told us that he would check-in on us during our journey - maybe as the butterfly, raven, or hawk. I know I am always surrounded by love and guidance - perhaps I will recognize Cloud Dancer's butterfly on my journey. I am blessed with loving friends' and Mother Nature's guidance, protection, support, and love, and I am eternally grateful!

Special Note: It has now been about two weeks since I completed my vision quest. An elder who is one of my dear friends decided to embark on his personal journey this week. I gifted my direction flags to him. I imagine the blessings and prayers I infused into the flags for my vision quest are holding a strong and peaceful space during his journey. Blessings to you, Star Horse. May you find that all you seek is eternally within you!