The Vision Quest in our Daily Life

I remember those days well. I would get out of bed at 4:30 a.m., drive my son to a bus stop about forty minutes from home in the darkness before dawn, then drive to work. I taught all day and would sometimes need to pick up my son from school and then drive ninety minutes or more back home in traffic. After dinner, family activities, and taking care of other responsibilities for our family of six, it wasn’t often that I had a moment to think about answers to big questions I had  – much less even think about what the questions might be. I felt driven by what I thought needed to be done without seeing whether the steps I was taking were leading me to a place where I wanted to be. Many times, I would not even slow down until the school year was over. By then, I was exhausted and needed to recover from the busyness of the past year.

While I did create opportunities to get away, to go on retreats and spend time in nature, I soon became aware that I needed to incorporate elements of retreat time into my daily life in order to experience more joy and peace. What I felt like I needed most were opportunities for stillness, where I could just be, where I could watch for signs and listen to the truths that my soul already knew. The beginning of this new journey involved a great deal of experimentation as I sought what would work in my life. What could I do to connect with my soul on a daily basis? How could I hear messages from my soul? Where did I see signs in my life?

The first step I took was to set an intention for what I desired to experience. I wanted to be present in order to hear and listen to how I was being directed in all areas of my life. It didn’t take long after setting my intentions that I became aware of the messages and signs that were all around me throughout the day. Sometimes they came in the words of a song, or a statement from one of my children or a student, or even an unexpected rainbow outside my classroom window.  I was also guided to live in the moment, release worry of the future, and to actually take action on the messages I received.

In times when I would have experienced stress in the past, I tapped into becoming the sacred observer by stepping back and being open to receive the answers in different and unexpected ways. I also learned to release judgement on how and where I received the message. It was often while engaged in the activities of daily life that these messages would come through rather than in times of meditation. Being open to the messages of my soul throughout my daily life has also enabled me to connect even deeper with Spirit when I do completely step away from life to explore even deeper questions. What I remember most, though, is that all the answers are there, when I create the sacred space to receive them.