Explore Upcoming Programs:

 

 JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN
OPEN TO WILD NATURE
STAND IN YOUR POWER AND PURPOSE
INITIATE INTO THE NEXT PHASE OF YOUR LIFE

 

2017 Mixed Gender Vision Fast, Central Oregon

WELCOME!

Cascadia Quest offers wilderness rites of passage, and other nature immersed personal growth and educational experiences. This website will give you basic ideas about us and what we do. Look around. It's an introduction. If we are of interest to you, human connection is the best way to understand us.  Attend one of our events. Contact us. Let's see what is possible. We hope to hear from you.

At Cascadia Quest we place high value on the sacredness of Nature, involvement of Community, recognition of Spirit, and engagement of all generations particularly youth and elders. Our programs are modern
yet speak to a deep, ancient knowing in our bones.

Interview with Rob Miller, lead guide and Executive Director, about his rite of passage

What is a Rite of Passage?

Throughout human history, traditional cultures around the world have all developed customs and ceremonies to mark life’s transitional periods; these are generally referred to as Rites of Passage. They are designed to facilitate and support a change from one role or state of being to another – whether it be birth, the universal evolution from child to adult, marriage, or the many other turning points in our lives.

The desire for such Rites of Passage is something we carry in our bones. We recognize it even when we’ve lost the language to describe it. It is not enough to simply grow older or enter a new phase – we need guidance from those who have gone before us; a powerful, transformational experience to serve as both catalyst and affirmation; and the acknowledgment and acceptance of our new selves by our community. In turn, the community benefits by its members becoming more fully realized participants, especially in the case of youth taking on the mantle of adulthood.

Rites of Passage typically include a period of separation and challenge in the wilderness, a focus on connection with spirit and the natural world, and finally reintegration into family and community. Each part of this process is vitally important to both individual growth, long-term communal cohesion, and ultimately the well-being of society and the world.

Cascadia Quest provides meaningful and effective wilderness rites of passage appropriate to our time, place, and culture. Our focus is on initiation for youth into young adulthood at the time they are ready for it, and for adults through the various stages of adulthood. The latter often provides the initiation into adulthood that they have longed for since youth.

Our mission is to provide high quality wilderness rites of passage to youth and adults in the Willamette Valley and beyond as a catalyst for a whole, healthy, and truly sustainable society. 

 

We encourage you to watch this short film about youth rites of passage:

Visit the creators of this film and support their work, which is so generously supporting ours, at warriorfilms.org.

 

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