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New Perspectives - Apr, 1993 Issue #21 

PASSAGE WAY
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Carol Wilburn
208-267-7297
Review by Lon Woodbury

Founded in 1992 by Carol Wilburn, the goal and focus of Passage Way is self-empowerment, to help young adults, and older, to demonstrate to self and others in a real, physical way the readiness and ability to leave childhood behind and to be self-responsible. The heart of the experience is fasting alone for 3 or 4 days and nights in a natural setting. With four days of preparation, and three days after to "incorporate," the usual program lasts 10 or 11 days. Scheduled programs for this Summer and Fall will be in the Bonners Ferry, Idaho area, a community just south of Canada nestled between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges. Out-of-town programs are available also. Group size is normally a maximum of six.

Carol points out that "Many traditional peoples around the world have fasted alone 'on the mountaintop' to mark their passage into adulthood, to face their fears, to seek their life's meaning. Similarly, Passage Way participants fast with an intent, usually to mark the ending of an old life stage and their readiness to assume new responsibilities." 

Carol participated in her first fast in 1989, and subsequently did intensive training with Steven Foster and Meredith Little of The School of Lost Borders in Big Pine, California, who authored THE BOOK OF THE VISION QUEST, first published in 1980. She also trained with The Bear Tribe, a non-profit educational organization with a Native American focus in Spokane, Washington. Prior to founding Passage Way, her work included professional engineering, small-scale farming, and timber-frame carpentry.

"Fasting for Vision: What Is It?....With the distractions of our modern life, it is a powerful way for today's people to reconnect with who we really are, to seek answers, to celebrate our lives, to take on new life purpose."

"Passage Way draws on broad, cross-cultural traditions, emphasizing a rite of passage which candidates fill with their own value systems, life-stories, and needs."

Copyright © 1993, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)

PO Box 1671 | Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 | 208-267-5550
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