The Soul of the Modern Woman

A Soul Quest:

Your Journey to the Meaning of Life

Part One of Three

By: Lore Raymond

Motivational Speaker ~ Writer ~Coach~ Chacacuna:World Traveler

It is said that...A long time ago, the gods got together and decided that the search for the meaning of life was the most rewarding endeavor of human beings. Not to make the search too easy, however, they discussed where to hide this wondrous gift.

"Let's put it at the bottom of the ocean," said the first god.
"No, they are sure to look there," the other replied.
"Let's put it on the moon," the second god suggested.

"No they are certain to look there also," the others said.

After thinking long and hard, the third god smiled and said,
"Let's put it inside of them; they'll never look there."

And they all agreed.

Have you ever asked, "Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? What am I meant to do on this earth?" You join eons of women who have asked these questions and found the divine answers by going within through a vision or a soul quest.  

What is a soul quest?

Native Americans and numerous cultures around the world know the value of a soul quest. Lauren Rama, a shamanic healer and teacher, based in Cochrane, Alberta suggests that: "A vision quest is a solitary retreat, usually in nature for the purpose of receiving spiritual guidance. The practice has been an important part of many tribal cultures. A vision quest was not a time to go and figure something out; it was a time to receive divine guidance to benefit oneself and one's tribe."

To expand, soul quests are multi-dimensional; you can contemplate taking one or combining aspects from three different levels:

1.  The transpersonal or spiritual
2.  The physical
3.  The mythic

My First Soul Quest Begins

Twenty years ago after a summer graduate class in Bethel, Maine, this former Girl Scout began a soul quest to parts unknown. The night before my adventure began, a classmate heard my intentions. He offered camping gear with hurried instructions about setting up his 6-man tent. Seeking simplicity, the large, complicated tent was politely declined, while the other items were happily accepted.

Renting my car for this spiritual sojourn made me giddy with excitement. This was real. I was going to be alone for ten days. All that was certain were the details of my return airline reservation. Anxious to start, I needed to buy a tent. No worries, right? After all this was Maine--New England's Mecca of discount shopping centers.

Shopping Synchronicity

It made sense to head north on U.S. 1 from Portland to seek the Holy Grail for the cheapest tent at L.L. Bean.  And as though the same gods mentioned earlier, another Divine Voice was heard: "As a quester, Lore, you don't need any distractions." The car radio stopped within minutes of starting the rented car and never worked after that. If I was to hear any music, I would have to provide it-and I did, singing every frickin' song I could remember from Girl Scout camp to church and making up a few crazy tunes, too! What fun.

Suddenly amidst joyfully singing a Girl Scout camp song, large road signs pointed the way to L.L. Bean's main store and discount outlet. Choosing the later, I chanted:

"I now quickly find the perfect tent as I need to check into Acadia National Park before nightfall!"

Walking in the store was a table stacked with boxes that read: "Special two-man tent for $99." Done! With the cashier paid, I drove northbound on U.S. 1, joyfully singing "This land is your land, this land is my land from California..." (Somehow "my land from Maine didn't fit the stanza.)

The Transpersonal, Spiritual Soul Quest

In this first type of soul quest, I sought self-knowledge enriched by the wisdom of the unconscious speaking symbolically though dreams, visions and synchronous events. The two-man tent, now renamed the "blue bubble," confirmed that my soul quest was unfolding and its appearance provided fuel for many stories about synchronicity.

According to Carl Jung (1875-1961) a Swiss psychiatrist and creator of this word explains synchronicity as "meaningful coincidences.

One profound example was a beetle flying into his room while a patient was describing a dream about a scarab. The scarab is an Egyptian symbol of rebirth. Therefore, the propitious moment of the flying beetle indicated that the transcendental meaning of both the scarab in the dream and the insect in the room was that the patient needed to be liberated from her excessive rationalism. He believed that "synchronicity is an a causal principle that links events having a similar meaning by their coincidence in time rather than sequentially.

Driving with absolutely no agenda or reservations for 10 days freed my Type A+ personality which had started out tightly shrink-wrapped in a mind of managing seconds in my workaholic life--only to come up short at the end of 11 hour work days. Imagine camping from Portland to Nova Scotia. This simplified, precious time of "unplugging to plug in" as I suggest in my soon to be published book, 7 Conch Pearls for Spiritual Mastery, provided the blank canvas for many dreams and visions to appear. It was a powerful and luxurious time to just be.

Going Deeper

This soul quest ended too soon. While flying home, my heart ached for this quiet time of contemplation to continue; some of the answers to my soul's questions had appeared in different dreams, people, feelings, and ideas. However, clear directions had not yet formed to my questions: "What am I to do with my life? How can I be really happy?"

The "angel psychologist" seated next to me on the plane heard my tales and suggested: "You needed more time to go deeper and further into your spiritual journey, Lore. Be happy for where you did go and for what you did learn."

He was right. A soul quest is an ongoing, multi-layered, and ever-calling journey. Little did I know that it would take me to the Caribbean years later for my next profound journey-this time it would combine both the spiritual and physical levels of a soul quest.

Are you listening?

Copyright © Lore Raymond 2008

Please visit  www.LoreRaymond.com for a full schedule of upcoming events and speaking engagements including VisionMapping workshops and the Writing Circle at Casa de la Fe.

Organizations, non-profits, or churches wishing to schedule one of Lore's dynamic programs or keynote speeches can email lore@loreraymond.com.

Articles Coming Soon!

Part Two:  The Physical Soul Quest

Part Three:  The Mythical Soul Quest

Click Here to check out Lore's latest travel article

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