Simple Question, but I'd like to hear the "why" of it.

TIA

Chris

I’ll bite, at the risk of talking about something I don’t know anything about. I’m assuming you’re asking for some kind of preference of phrase, and not two similar effects for sale somewhere.

Personally, I prefer Riding the Drums, or embarking on a Shamanic Journey.

Vision Quest sounds too much like a video game. Either that, or it’s too strongly associated with a coming of age ritual. I have difficulty thinking of it outside of those terms. So it becomes something I couldn’t fully embrace in any kind of performance; unless, I created some kind of Native American persona, or claimed guidance from one, and was describing a kind of spiritual rebirth as an adult.

Walkabout is a bit closer to something I could embrace, but it still lacks the spiritual punch I’d be looking for. A walkabout is a very spiritual process, and it has interesting implications. Finding yourself by seeing what you can’t truly run away from. I view it as a bit secular though, it’s more of a psychological survival exercise. Great for personal insight, but not so much my cup of tea.

As for Riding the Drums or Shamanic Journey, that has all the romance I want. Ride the beat of the drum to the spirit realms to retrieve a lost soul, visit a dead friend who has yet to be reborn, or meet with powers older than mankind.

Hi Chris
Again, venturing an opinion about something I don't really understand (What's new), I agree with Steve's points above.
Plus, if you 'companions' (audience) aren't familiar with the term or concept, you have the opportunity to define it in your own terms; a Vision Quest could also 'fail' but a Waklabout is open-ended, and open to suggestions/natural occurrences which may occur in the waking state.
By explaining the experiences possible, you obviously invoke the old "definition=creation" strategy.
Sometimes when I'm walking alone I 'look' for meaning in random things - the path of a bird, the layout of some stones, the 'attitudes' of insects,etc etc. The minute I try to relate these things to me, or what's on my mind, I'm already in light trance and performing what I guess the NLP guys call a "trans-derivational search", or something.
Either way, it works for me

Doc Steve, I submit the following suggestion.
It may be of interest to you in your current quest.

A walk about in a large city; gaining awareness of structure, materialsm lay out and balance might orevent the ills of megamopolimancy.


Kotah

I'm looking for insight and opinion, but not necessarily for a performance piece.

Chris

In my experience, a choice between the two depends upon what you are seeking. I found the Vision Quest to be an overview of coming changes in my life. A getting in touch with who I really am. Something that only fasting alone in a 10 foot circle for 4 days can give you. All the changes I foresaw in my quest did in fact come true over an 18 month period. Walkabout, as I have experienced it, has merely been journeying on foot in the wild and by car to wherever my intuition has drawn me. I'm sure in Australian aboriginal culture there is much more to a "Walkabout", but I suspect the theme is the same. The result of one Walkabout? I got on a road leading from a hotel I was staying at in Oregon feeling very distracted and too much in my head. Next thing I knew I had entered the next town over, and pulled up to a used bookstore. This was downtown and there was only one parking space open on the entire block...and it was right in front of the used bookstore. I walked in and found 8 selections in the metaphysical section I was interested in. Most were hard to find at the time and at least one was out of print since the 1970's. These books were very useful to my spiritual understandings at the time.

From my experiences, a Walkabout is simply a destination without a destination that bypasses all conscious reasoning. A Vision Quest is an experience that is important to understanding our paths in this life and who we are. Our society would be much better off if everyone committed to a Vision Quest atleast once in their lives.

Not sure if this was the input you were looking for Chris, but it's what I have experienced and is my opinion on the subject. You're welcome to it

Michael

After reading what I wrote, I'll add: I've only personally done one Vision Quest, but have wanted to return to the purity of this space many times. My mentor told me that for most people, one Quest was all that was needed in life; but for a spiritual seeker many quests were needed....at least once a year and maybe even once a season. Also these quests may be longer, 10 days or more sometimes.

Michael

The way of the Pilgrim and the Pilgrim continues his way are a good start if its a walkabout your after.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_a_Pilgrim

I'm not too sure what a vision quest is but it sounds similar to a mystical experience and there are a few ways to achieve this. The above mentioned book talks about one.

Fasting can also be used in conjunction with both.

There are plenty of places you can wander into and never be found again. Water and food are essential but not with the right practice.

A 10 day Vipassana retreat will also work miracles. A 40 day and night walkabout in the mountains might be nice. A meditation retreat at a Buddhist center or mountain retreat... pure bliss. I'm going on one in NY in a month which I'm really looking forward to.

But its why you ask???

Well death is approaching. Swiftly... and if birth, aging, sickness and death and the processes of reality really do have meaning, we must use this short and precious human life to realize it. This is what the practices spoken about help you to do and is the true meaning of our precious human life.

These experiences of understanding the nature of reality are spoken of through the ages... by the Sages. The Saints of all religious traditions talk about the same thing. People who have put the wisdom of the Sages into practice and understood for themselves wtf in going on. Indian, Hindu, Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Muslim and Buddhist Saints or Mystics or Holy men ... The list is endless. They are born amongst us, lifetime after lifetime,speaking our language, trying to help us, waiting for us... to WAKE UP!!! All you yourself has to do is look deeper...

This is the why.

I can personally recommend some stuff if you want to PM me..

Vision Quest...Usually chemically induced, therefore imo, bogus.

Walkabout...hands on experience and display of learned skills in a survival situation.

Do the math.