EAGLE MAN'S VISION QUEST

Eagle Man’s Vision Quest

"One time, I had a medicine person put me up on the hill. Another time, I had two
very powerful medicine people as my mentors. They simply said, ‘Go up on this place,
and vision quest.’ They never accompanied me, nor did they have a sweat lodge waiting
for me. They just took me up on the hill and placed me. They told me to do it and I just
did it.

"I went to the mountain, and I parked my car down below. I took my peace pipe, and
I simply walked up to the top of the mountain. In those days, believe it or not, when you
went to Bear View Mountain, there was nobody there. Now it’s quite crowded because
Native spirituality has become so popular. But when I used to go there, I would be the
only one on the whole mountain. So, I’d walk way up there and I’d fast. I’d
drink no water. I’d simply take four little flags--red, white, black, and yellow--and
place them around me, in a square. I’d stay in the square. If I had to go to the
bathroom, I’d go away, of course, and then come back. But that’s it. I’d
sit in my square, and watch the sun come up in the morning, and set at night. I’d see
the moon come up, and I’d see all the phases of the earth. When you’re fasting,
your mind becomes more alert. You simply contemplate your life. And when you fall asleep,
your dreams become more vivid.

"As each day goes by, the phases of life go through their cycles. At night, the
stars come out. Pilades will actually dance for you if you’re a vision quester. They
light up, almost like a neon sign. I know people find that hard to believe, but
that’s just the mystery of the ceremony. An eagle will hover right over you knowing
that you’re in ceremony. Thunder and lightning come by, and you just endure it.
It’s no problem. Lightning can be flashing all around you, and you’ll laugh. The
Great Spirit is not going to take your life up there while you are vision questing. And if
it does, who cares? You’re in a good state. But you don’t fear nature or God.
The Great Spirit made you. Why should you fear it? You become more confident once you
follow this natural road.

"So, this is a vision quest. It’s performed by you and it’s for
yourself. You don’t have to go through anybody. You can communicate to the Great
Spirit through observation. Of course, it’s nice to have a medicine person there to
help you interpret the experience. When I came down from the mountain, the medicine man
asked me, ‘What did you see?’ I said that I didn’t see too much. ‘This
eagle just came and hovered over me, and lightning cracked close to me.’ ‘Were
you afraid?’ he asked? ‘No, I wasn’t afraid. In fact, I laughed. And I saw
four horses before I went up the mountain. But they were real, live horses.’
‘What color were they?’ he wanted to know. He was even interested in these
pre-vision quest scenes, as well as my dreams."

Eagle Man suggests that most people attempting a vision quest go into the mountains for
one or two days at most, as the majority aren’t stronger to go up for long periods of
time. Also people should take their medication, and drink water, if this is a necessity.....SCORPIO53XX