The Vision Quest - a quest seen in all cultures in one form or another, employing diverse symbols.
It seems to me it is in essence a form of questing to discover meaning and purpose in a life path. A journey, In one way or another, we all must eventually take - though always with varying degrees of success....
Baha'u'llah said of the one who would journey on the path of truth...
"O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth."
"Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the Mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of heedlessness. Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul."
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pp. 263 - 265)The vision quest today must, of a necessity, broaden in scope to include finding meaning and purpose in a life path that is inextricably bound up with the lives of all the peoples of the world, whether from a spiritual, economical, ecological or political aspect. Speaking of the period in history we currently face, Abdu'l-Baha said...
"It is an age of universal reformation. Laws and statutes of civil and federal governments are in process of change and transformation. Sciences and arts are being molded anew. Thoughts are metamorphosed. The foundations of human society are changing and strengthening. Today sciences of the past are useless. The Ptolemaic system of astronomy and numberless other systems and theories of scientific and philosophical explanation are discarded, known to be false and worthless. Ethical precedents and principles cannot be applied to the needs of the modern world. Thoughts and theories of past ages are fruitless now. Thrones and governments are crumbling and falling.
All conditions and requisites of the past unfitted and inadequate for the present time are undergoing radical reform. It is evident, therefore, that counterfeit and spurious religious teaching, antiquated forms of belief and ancestral imitations which are at variance with the foundations of divine reality must also pass away and be reformed. They must be abandoned and new conditions be recognized. The morals of humanity must undergo change. New remedies and solutions for human problems must be adopted. Human intellects themselves must change and be subject to the universal reformation. Just as the thoughts and hypotheses of past ages are fruitless today, likewise dogmas and codes of human invention are obsolete and barren of product in religion. Nay, it is true that they are the cause of enmity and conducive to strife in the world of humanity; war and bloodshed proceed from them, and the oneness of mankind finds no recognition in their observance.
Therefore, it is our duty....to investigate the essentials of divine religion, seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity and discover the source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind in the heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radiance of eternity, the divine spirituality, the effulgence of God and the bounty of the Kingdom. We must investigate the divine source of these heavenly bestowals and adhere unto them steadfastly. For if we remain fettered and restricted by human inventions and dogmas, day by day the world of mankind will be degraded, day by day warfare and strife will increase..."
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 143)My "tribe", my "people" are the people of planet earth.
My "vision", my "quest" is to foster the manifestation and realization of the inherent "oneness" of all human kind.
The Players:
Mike Ward: Bass, Harmony Vocals & Music Co-Writing
Eugene Smith - Drums
Auberte Campeau - Percussion
Laurel Dewitt - Keyboards
Bob Ryan - Guitar & Lead Vocals
Recorded in 1999 at Lightkeeper Music Recording Studios
(LYRICS)
Music: Bob Ryan & Mike Ward
Words: Bob Ryan
(c)1984
My days were troubled
and my nights were long
When a wing-flapper answered
my heart’s prayer-song
The mountain shades my people far below
The peak’s alive to the northern glow
And my spirit sings of life as one
With every living thing I move in time
The mountain I climb sits there in my mind
My fast is the fast of the spirit kind
The Word’s revolved by a myriad of signs
A vision unfolds of the grand design
And on my steed I ride
On a quest I cannot deny
For a land never before trod
For the tribe of the world of man
The brothers of man are being drawn toward
The center of the circle where the eagle soars
The spirit of the land is alive again
A vision comes to life in a springtime rain
Center of the Circle
