The Emergent Quest
A three-month, small-group journey offered in North Carolina
Next program: To Be Announced.
Dates, details, and registration form below.
What shape waits in the seed of you to grow and spread its branches against a future sky?
—David Whyte
This program is an opportunity to fully embrace the unfolding initiatory journey at the heart of one’s life. With a special emphasis on further discovering and living your most authentic direction and offerings in the world, this quest-based journey amplifies what’s waiting to emerge on the continuing path into one’s deeper nature and greater purpose. Up to eight participants will gather in person over the course of three months as we move toward a three-day quest ceremony that includes a full-day wilderness solo based on pan-cultural patterns of vision fast practices*. Over the course of these three months, we will encounter layers of ourselves and our conditioning that are ready to transform, heal, and shift; we will open to the core of who we are; and we will listen to the authentic direction, soul, and creative expression that wants to come to life in us. Together, we will step into new and unknown territories as we approach the threshold of the larger conversation with life that is wanting to emerge.
This program is suitable both for those who already feel they are following some of the threads of their deeper purpose, as well as for those who feel drawn to discovering these threads or are in a period of transition in their lives. Our journey will incorporate several bodies of work into an integrated, experiential arc, including contemplative processes, somatic inquiry, models of adult human development, and in particular depth-psychology and traditions of nature-based practices. The Emergent Quest also includes the 12-module Purpose Discovery Program created by Purpose Guides Institute, a process aimed at uncovering and refining one’s most authentic purpose in the world through the eight facets of Vision, Values, Core Powers, Essence, Giveaway, Task, Message, Mission, and Delivery Systems. We will work with these eight facets both as bridges into a deeper knowing of authentic purpose and as bridges from the core of ourselves to the world through our offerings and roles, while also moving toward glimpses of one’s “mytho-poetic” identity—that is, one’s most essential, soulcentric niche to inhabit in the world.
The Purpose Guides Institute’s Purpose Octagon
Between meetings, participants will engage in soulcentric purpose discovery practices and curriculum with the guidance of the facilitator. During our in-person meetings, we will draw on a variety of sources to deepen our work experientially through guided journeys, contemplative processes, triad and dyad exchanges, nature-based experiences, and council work. We will also discuss relevant materials, exploring themes such as soulcentric models of human development and the role of the imaginal realm, symbol, and mythic and poetic sensibilities. This arc will culminate in our three-day quest in June as follows: The first solo day of practices formally opens the three-day container of your quest; each participant spends the second day (sunrise to sunset) in solo ceremony and fasting (water only—except where precluded by medical needs) while immersed in the natural beauty of one of our nearby state parks; the third day of the quest is one of solo and group integration. The quest does not involve any camping or overnight travel, and only minimal outdoor equipment is required for the solo day of fasting. Following the three-day quest weekend, we will begin integrating the shifts, insights, and openings of our journey as we prepare for our final meeting as a group.
Together, we will venture into the potent unknown, preparing to release parts of who we are and allowing ourselves to be awakened and transformed by life. Ultimately, we live our most authentic path by recognizing the journey that is already beckoning and saying yes. In doing so, we discover that listening to our deepest call and living in alignment with our inherent wholeness is the doorway to fully discovering and living our gifts in the world.
“I began this journey feeling stuck and a bit lost. I’ve been going through some big changes and knew I needed some guidance. I now feel more clear than ever about who I am, having gained perspective of my personal challenges and strengths. And I feel emboldened to step across this new threshold having had all of the gems and highlights of my journey mirrored back to me. It’s been powerful to experience someone willing to hold space for me, to question and explore the deepest parts of my soul. I would recommend this purpose work to my best friends; to anyone who isn’t satisfied living life on the surface. Anyone ready to open to their Larger Self. It’s a beautiful, intense journey that will challenge you beyond your comfort level. It’s no easy task, but it is oh so worth it!”
“Can’t thank you enough for the Emergent Quest and the new chapter it has ushered into my life. You are doing incredible work.”
“Simon is a very skilled and knowledgeable guide. Our group had a wide range of backgrounds, life stages, and hopes for their quests, and the breadth and depth of his life experience gave him the resources to gently accompany each of us, giving a lovely balance of encouragement, insight, and challenge all along the way.”
“I decided to join the 2021 Emergent Quest because I knew something was missing in my life. For a long time I’ve had a post-it on my wall that says ‘Find Soul’s Purpose.’ I was aware of the quest from a previous offering but it was not the right time for me. This time around I decided to take the leap. Simon didn’t reveal too much before the quest as it is really something that has to be experienced. The three month-quest was very well structured. Simon deftly guided us along the way with ceremonies, group and individual investigations and buildup to the solo quest weekend. It was wonderful to be on the journey with others to share the experience. Simon crafted a beautiful container where we were all able to share and support each other along the way. Through Simon’s guidance and tools, I was able to open the door to my soul’s purpose. I highly recommend the program to any who feel the calling.”
“My journey with the Emergent Quest and Simon and my group continues to be a soulful and inspiring experience. The effects of the Quest are reverberating and continue to offer wisdom and guidance as to ‘what would soul do.’ I could not have imagined how powerful the quest would be, but thankfully I followed my intuition and signed up for the course. Simon is a gem and deeply compassionate witness to me and my fellow Questers. I want to do it again!”
“This was enlightening for me. Simon is an amazing interpreter of one’s emotional thought. He is practiced in transforming one’s ideas and perceptions into a process for life’s continuation. My love and gratitude goes to him and to each of my fellow questers. The music of this experience will guide me in motions I’ve not expressed since youthful moments of the past. I carry an emotional beat with every step and gaze upon the changing colors of my life before my eyes. A whisper from the tree. A hoot in the night. Everything natural returns me to focus. Seeing the forest through the trees, just takes a walk with the music of your soul. Thank you Simon, Jeffrey.”
Program Details:
Our outdoor meeting space
Three-month program
Maximum of 8 participants
In-person format organized around 5 in-person group sessions and a long-weekend quest. Also includes a one-on-one session with program facilitator; group check-in calls; a private, online forum for our small group only; and practices and curriculum to engage with between group sessions. In-person meetings take place 15 minutes from Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC on 20 acres of private, wooded land.
Quest format (culminates in a full-day wilderness solo as part of a three-day quest in June)
Incorporates the Purpose Discovery Program curriculum created by Purpose Guides Institute
Program Schedule: (previous year’s schedule displayed below; new format coming for 2025)
Our indoor meeting space.
April 4 (Sunday), 11am-5pm: Meeting 1
April 19 (Monday night), 7pm-9pm: Call 1 (online)
May 2 (Sunday), 11am-5pm: Meeting 2
Your included one-on-one session with the program facilitator takes place sometime between Meeting 2 and Meeting 3
May 17 (Monday night), 7pm-9pm: Call 2 (online)
June 6 (Sunday), 11am-5pm: Meeting 3
June 11–13, all day (Friday–Sunday): Solo quest and preliminary integration
June 13 (Sunday), 1pm-5pm: Meeting 4
June 27 (Sunday), 11am-5pm: Meeting 5
To Register:
2025 dates to be announced. Submit your email address here to be notified as soon as dates are announced.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the program, please feel free to contact me: simon@emergentinquiry.com
It's not possible to save the world by trying to save it. You need to find what is genuinely yours to offer the world before you can make it a better place. Discovering your unique gift to bring to your community is your greatest opportunity and challenge. The offering of that gift—your true self—is the most you can do to love and serve the world. And it is all the world needs.
—Bill Plotkin
“Simon leads from his heart and offers a beautiful program for exploring soul connections! I highly recommend Simon’s Emergent Quest group for anyone who wants to become more intimately acquainted with the mysteries of the wilderness and hear their sacred longings. The group format is incredibly supportive and provides a beautiful path for this meaningful endeavor. ”
About your facilitator:
Simon is a contemplative, depth-oriented, and somatic practitioner and teacher. He brings to his facilitation years of exploration of self-inquiry, non-dual wisdom traditions, and embodied meditative practices; the perspectives of depth psychology; and his long experience with artistry and the creative process. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Auckland and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University; is a Certified Trainer of Focusing, a mindfulness-based, somatic approach to psychological healing and development; and has completed a yearlong Soulcraft and vision fast immersion with Bill Plotkin and Animas Valley Institute while also certifying as a Purpose Guide through Purpose Guides Institute, where he has also served on staff as a mentor, and studying in Thomas Hübl’s Academy of Inner Science. He has worked as a director with organizations active in international sustainable development and social entrepreneurship, leadership development, and mental health, and remains active with organizations involved in systems change, economic organization, and cultural-ecological innovation. He was led from his New Zealand homeland to the US by his career as a recording artist and songwriter.
Note:
*The term vision fast is used here to denote contemporary expressions of wilderness fasting rites. These practices often draw upon a long history of wilderness fasting practices from around the world; they often especially owe much to the practices of certain Native American peoples, practices sometimes referenced by earlier anthropologists using the term vision quest. In keeping with other contemporary schools and writers, and as someone of European heritage navigating these histories, my intention is to use the term vision fast as a means of indicating that any comment or content of mine is limited to current expressions of fasting rites that exist outside of Native American traditions, while at the same time seeking to implicitly acknowledge some of the historical and cultural sources of such practices, the lands on which this program takes place, and the debt owed to vision quest traditions.
Photo location: Milford Sound, New Zealand.