The Soul’s Red Thread is my life story. Going forward, my
great wish is that this book inspires its readers to drop
more deeply into the telling of their own.
At the book’s very end, I might have provided a book club
guide: an invitation to discuss the ideas of this book. Instead,
I offer here suggestions for day walks where a person
might explore the themes presented.
If you do a day walk, of course, be sure to speak about
what happened. Our stories must be told!
About the Day Walk
A day walk is the short form of a vision fast. Here are its basic elements.
Intention: Before you go for a day walk, consider what your intention will be. What question, relationship, query, or other issue do you want to explore? How can you drop more deeply into the telling of your own life story? Click the button below for suggested intentions inspired by themes in each of the book's chapters.
Or before the walk, you might simply ask yourself: What's up for me right now?
About the Day Walk
A day walk is the short form of a vision fast. Here are its basic elements.
Intention: Before you go for a day walk, consider what your intention will be. What question, relationship, query, or other issue do you want to explore? How can you drop more deeply into the telling of your own life story? Click the button below for suggested intentions inspired by themes in each of the book's chapters.
Or before the walk, you might simply ask yourself: What's up for me right now?
Landscape: Choose a natural setting that will serve as a suitable mirror for what you are looking to explore. Do you want the dark enclosure of a forest? The vastness of an ocean? The steady climb up a mountain to a big view? What outer setting will best reflect the inner exploration that awaits?
Safety: Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Bring a day pack with all that you will need for the day: plenty of water, suitable clothing (especially decent shoes), a map of the area, food for an emergency, a small first aid kit, a flashlight, and perhaps a journal. Check back with your friend when you return.
Timing: The classic day walk is from sunrise to sunset, but a half-day—even just two to three hours—can be plenty powerful. If possible, start as close to sunrise as you can, as the altered state of a day walk is more readily accessible before you have fully engaged with the vicissitudes of modern life. Camping overnight close to the walk’s starting place can shorten the early morning transition from waking to walking.
Threshold crossing: Start the walk by creating and stepping across a gateway that physically marks entry into sacred time, sacred space. This could be stepping across a line drawn on the ground, walking between two trees, or crossing over some other physical threshold. At the end of the walk, create and pass through another gateway, marking your return to the ordinary world.
Three sacrifices: As you walk, offer up three sacrifices: no human company, no four-walled shelter, no food. Sacrificium is the Latin word for sacrifice, a combination of sacer (“sacred”) and facere (“to make”). These three sacrifices will help this day walk become a ceremony, rather than just another walk.
The mirror of nature: As you walk, carry your intention on the inside while looking for symbols on the outside. This could be the lullaby of a songbird, dark brooding clouds in the sky, a snakeskin on the trail, or whatever else grabs your attention. What do these outer signs have to teach you about your inner life, about the specific intention for this walk? Let the natural world be your mirror.
Imaginal conversations: One option for a day walk is to have a conversation with someone in “a Death Lodge”—or if you prefer, “a Life Lodge.” Create a physical lodge, either by finding a suitable place in nature (e.g., sitting under a tree) or by building something from things you gather (e.g., creating a circle of stones). Sit in the lodge and either invite someone specific or see who it is that comes. This could be a person who is still part of your life, or someone alive but with whom you do not want to have contact, or a person who has already died. As in chapter 6: “When someone arrives, speak to them out loud. Don’t be shy. Shout and scream if you must. Or murmur quietly if that’s what’s needed. But best you can, fully embody your emotions. When you’re done speaking, listen for what the person might say in response. Listen deeply without putting words in their mouth. Then go back and forth, as often as is needed.”
Tell your story to another person: If possible, do the day walk with someone else (or several others), with each person walking separately and then coming back together at the end of the walk. This allows you to finish with a shared breaking of the fast and a storytelling circle. If you do go alone, see if you can find a person (or a group of people) where you can tell your story, either that same day or soon after. The way we humans make meaning out of our lives—the way we make the internal maps that guide us forward—is by telling stories. Our stories must be told.
Safety: Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Bring a day pack with all that you will need for the day: plenty of water, suitable clothing (especially decent shoes), a map of the area, food for an emergency, a small first aid kit, a flashlight, and perhaps a journal. Check back with your friend when you return.
Timing: The classic day walk is from sunrise to sunset, but a half-day—even just two to three hours—can be plenty powerful. If possible, start as close to sunrise as you can, as the altered state of a day walk is more readily accessible before you have fully engaged with the vicissitudes of modern life. Camping overnight close to the walk’s starting place can shorten the early morning transition from waking to walking.
Threshold crossing: Start the walk by creating and stepping across a gateway that physically marks entry into sacred time, sacred space. This could be stepping across a line drawn on the ground, walking between two trees, or crossing over some other physical threshold. At the end of the walk, create and pass through another gateway, marking your return to the ordinary world.
Three sacrifices: As you walk, offer up three sacrifices: no human company, no four-walled shelter, no food. Sacrificium is the Latin word for sacrifice, a combination of sacer (“sacred”) and facere (“to make”). These three sacrifices will help this day walk become a ceremony, rather than just another walk.
The mirror of nature: As you walk, carry your intention on the inside while looking for symbols on the outside. This could be the lullaby of a songbird, dark brooding clouds in the sky, a snakeskin on the trail, or whatever else grabs your attention. What do these outer signs have to teach you about your inner life, about the specific intention for this walk? Let the natural world be your mirror.
Imaginal conversations: One option for a day walk is to have a conversation with someone in “a Death Lodge”—or if you prefer, “a Life Lodge.” Create a physical lodge, either by finding a suitable place in nature (e.g., sitting under a tree) or by building something from things you gather (e.g., creating a circle of stones). Sit in the lodge and either invite someone specific or see who it is that comes. This could be a person who is still part of your life, or someone alive but with whom you do not want to have contact, or a person who has already died. As in chapter 6: “When someone arrives, speak to them out loud. Don’t be shy. Shout and scream if you must. Or murmur quietly if that’s what’s needed. But best you can, fully embody your emotions. When you’re done speaking, listen for what the person might say in response. Listen deeply without putting words in their mouth. Then go back and forth, as often as is needed.”
Tell your story to another person: If possible, do the day walk with someone else (or several others), with each person walking separately and then coming back together at the end of the walk. This allows you to finish with a shared breaking of the fast and a storytelling circle. If you do go alone, see if you can find a person (or a group of people) where you can tell your story, either that same day or soon after. The way we humans make meaning out of our lives—the way we make the internal maps that guide us forward—is by telling stories. Our stories must be told.
I offer a deep bow to Meredith Little and Steven Foster
who developed this day walk practice as an adjunct to a four-day wilderness fast.
