I was never going to participate in Rose Khalsa’s Vision Quest – it sounded utterly dreadful. Three nights fasting and camping…all alone in the woods? And never leaving my circle? No way, Jose. (Because Rose was super tapped into the spirit realm, I could only imagine what strange things may go bump in the night.)
In 2005, I told Rose, my super spiritual, hippie, craniosacral teacher that I’d attend her shamanic journey info session…but to only learn about her Vision Quest at Rune Hill, NY since I already knew I definitely would NOT be attending.
Spirit had other plans.
I’ve only done psychedelics a small handful of times – it’s a powerful experience but it’s not really my path. Yet this stone cold sober, shamanic journey at Rose’s house in Takoma Park about the upcoming Vision Quest was nothing less than a psychedelic experience.
Rose lead us with her drum beat and I immediately felt an intense pull in my 3rd eye (ethmoid region). I found myself immediately encircled by Native Americans receiving an initiation at a ceremonial fire.
Then I was taken by torch light into a vast cave with walls covered in glowing orange petroglyphs…the cave gave way to a dark tunnel that spiraled further and further into the earth so deep to only be shot back out of an erupting a volcano. Then landing in the middle of a rainforest on top of an ancient pyramid. It was a mind blowing experience, I’ve never had a shamanic journey like that ever since.
I was to change my mind about the Vision Quest as it was about spiritual discovery.
You see, Spirit KNEW that I needed bells and whistles to say yes to that Vision Quest with Rose Khalsa. It would be the spring board that launched me on my (now very eclectic) spiritual path.
Wow, was I scared (💩less!) to attend. For the several months leading up to it, I thought about the upcoming Vision Quest every.single.day. I’d never fasted. I’d camped quite a lot, but never alone. What if I passed out from hypoglycemia, who would know? What the heck was I going to do all day, surely I’d go nuts from boredom? And what about the rain?
Rose has a divine main line to the Thunder Beings so we were guaranteed to have one night of rain while camping and I hated being wet.
The details of what happened on that quest is a story for another time…I returned with an open heart and a potent commitment to a spiritual path that persisted from that day forward.
I attribute my commitment to Rose, she was the most devoted and authentic teacher I’d had. She’s also dealt with more hardship than the average bird, and the amazing thing about her is – she’s devoted as ever.
I wanted to introduce you to Rose, because we will be leading our first shamanic immersion retreat in Haramara, Mexico on Feb 4 – 10, 2024! And we’re so excited.
You’ll learn about the cardinal directions from the Sacred Medicine Wheel cosmology and the associated elements. You’ll participate in intentional ceremonies, receive healing through breath work, guided meditation, and shamanic journeys. It will be a time to connect to a powerful landscape, to be held safely, go deep and transform.
I love shamanism because at its core, it’s about reclaiming our connection to Earth (a living, breathing ecosystem), and this is what heals us. When we all remember as a collective that we can’t live without this, you’ll experience Mother Earth with more reverence.
This retreat will be Feb 4 – 10, 2024 and it will sell out quickly as we only have 13 slots and and several people have expressed interest. You may want to mark your calendar now.
To our devotion to Mother Earth,
Dr. Marie