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The Vision: The Dramatic True Story of One Man's Search for Enlightenment
Tom Brown, Jr., the bestselling author of The Tracker and the acclaimed Field Guide series, simply and eloquently shares the beauty and enlightenment of his own spiritual awakening.
An ancient mystical experience, the Vision Quest was undertaken by Native American Indians as an odyssey of self-knowledge and fulfillment—a spiritual journey into the wilderness and the soul. The peace, insight and sense of well-being they gained on the Vision Quest is a lasting testament to man’s relationship with nature.
Now, America’s most respected outdoorsman reveals the secrets of this dramatic and profoundly moving ritual.
An ancient mystical experience, the Vision Quest was undertaken by Native American Indians as an odyssey of self-knowledge and fulfillment—a spiritual journey into the wilderness and the soul. The peace, insight and sense of well-being they gained on the Vision Quest is a lasting testament to man’s relationship with nature.
Now, America’s most respected outdoorsman reveals the secrets of this dramatic and profoundly moving ritual.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 1988
10 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
Tom Brown Jr.
30 books217 followersTom Brown Jr. was an American naturalist, tracker, survivalist, and author from New Jersey, where he ran the Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School.
In his books, Brown wrote that, from the age of seven, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (whom Brown stated was Lipan Apache). Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.
Brown spent the next ten years working odd jobs to support his wilderness adventures. He then set out to find other people in New Jersey who were interested in his experiences. Initially Brown met with little success, but was eventually called on to help locate a crime suspect. Though the case won him national attention, he and authorities in the Ramsey, N.J. area were subsequently sued for 5 million dollars for charging the wrong person. Despite this controversy, he was able to build on this exposure to develop a profession as a full-time tracker, advertising his services for locating lost persons, dangerous animals, and fugitives from the law. According to People magazine, "He stalks men and animals, mostly in New Jersey."
In his books, Brown wrote that, from the age of seven, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (whom Brown stated was Lipan Apache). Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.
Brown spent the next ten years working odd jobs to support his wilderness adventures. He then set out to find other people in New Jersey who were interested in his experiences. Initially Brown met with little success, but was eventually called on to help locate a crime suspect. Though the case won him national attention, he and authorities in the Ramsey, N.J. area were subsequently sued for 5 million dollars for charging the wrong person. Despite this controversy, he was able to build on this exposure to develop a profession as a full-time tracker, advertising his services for locating lost persons, dangerous animals, and fugitives from the law. According to People magazine, "He stalks men and animals, mostly in New Jersey."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 17, 2012
Really enjoyed reading (and pondering) this book. I had to take my time with it, to really mull over the stories and morals, and generally just absorb the message. Which is, without giving too much away, that we have to return to nature, or we're all fucked. (Pardon the language.)
September 8, 2019
This book changed my life and strengthened my path
February 21, 2024
Apart from his wilderness guides, this was the 3rd book that Tom Brown Jr. wrote about his experiences growing up with his teacher Stalking Wolf. While the other books touched on the spiritual and meditation aspects, this book goes more deeply into it, and enters into a kind of realm of non-reality, which some readers might enjoy and some might find unreadable.
I enjoyed the journey that this and the later books like this one took me on. Is it really non fiction if the story extends into imagination and perceived realities beyond the physical, or is that more imagination? And the question that will naturally be asked - is it real?
The most question to ask about this book, and the two that followed it, "The Quest" and "The Journey" is "did these stories really happen". Did Grandfather really have visions about the future, and did he relay those visions to Tom, and let me stop you right there. We don't know. We weren't there, and this is ultimately a book review. I had little problem setting aside my disbelief and enjoying the stories told in this book. Very interesting, unique and inspirational. Stories about courage and sacrafice and being true to oneself, even finding oneself. To me, this book is very moving.
The obvious comparison between the spiritual aspect of this book and the 2 similar books that followed it, would be Carlos Casteneda, but I think that comparison is a mistake. I've read and enjoyed Casteneda, but it's a completely different type of story. Casteneda is about the acquisition of power. At least, that's what I remember, though it's been years. What Tom writes about in this book, is much more basic. He says that the spiritual world (or worlds) exist beyond the physical. That the spiritual world is real, but most of us don't see it or experience it. It has nothing to do with acquiring power, but changing what we perceive.
There aren't many books like this one, and I was a huge fan. It made a big difference in my life, when I read it, and interestingly, on a personal note, I went hiking one time, many years ago and I asked, internally, a kind of prayer, for an adventure, like the adventures in this book, as I began a 4 day hike in a circle through the high peak sin the Adirondak's.
Early in the hike, I had a hard time finding the campground. I knew where it was on the map, and I knew where I was, but I kept walking back and forth unable to find it. The full moon was rising, low in the sky and it looked too bright to be the moon and in my mind, I thought it was someone with a flashlight, following me, but never getting any closer.
Finally, I found the campground and was across a raging river. I'd walked past it back and forth several times before I happened to see it. Snow melt had raised the river more than usual and trying to cross, I fell in. So, everything got wet. But I was able to drag my backpack and my wet self through the river. My sleeping bag, heavy and well wrapped, was mostly dry and I was fine for the night once I was unpacked and settled.
That next morning, I noticed that I'd lost a few things. My compass was gone, and my watch and my flashlight. All my technology. At first I thought that I'd lost it in the river, but then I remembered setting it on a rock when eating and I'd forgotten it there. I felt like I'd slept a long time and it was cloudy, so I couldn't see the sun. I had no idea what time it was, but the trails were pretty well marked, so during the day I knew I'd be able to find my way. I just had no idea what time it was, or which was north and no flashlight for the nighttime.
Other things happened during that trip. Things that don't think I'll do justice hear. Leading to a vision, seeing something I'd seen years before, and a sign. Things that are hard to explain.
This book was part of, or an introduction to a journey I took, A door that i was able to open, however briefly, and a time that seemed magical. I live in a house, I take care of family and I work so . . . the spiritual world is pretty far removed from my life, but I feel that I touched it, for 3 days, once, many years ago. That means a lot to me.
I enjoyed the journey that this and the later books like this one took me on. Is it really non fiction if the story extends into imagination and perceived realities beyond the physical, or is that more imagination? And the question that will naturally be asked - is it real?
The most question to ask about this book, and the two that followed it, "The Quest" and "The Journey" is "did these stories really happen". Did Grandfather really have visions about the future, and did he relay those visions to Tom, and let me stop you right there. We don't know. We weren't there, and this is ultimately a book review. I had little problem setting aside my disbelief and enjoying the stories told in this book. Very interesting, unique and inspirational. Stories about courage and sacrafice and being true to oneself, even finding oneself. To me, this book is very moving.
The obvious comparison between the spiritual aspect of this book and the 2 similar books that followed it, would be Carlos Casteneda, but I think that comparison is a mistake. I've read and enjoyed Casteneda, but it's a completely different type of story. Casteneda is about the acquisition of power. At least, that's what I remember, though it's been years. What Tom writes about in this book, is much more basic. He says that the spiritual world (or worlds) exist beyond the physical. That the spiritual world is real, but most of us don't see it or experience it. It has nothing to do with acquiring power, but changing what we perceive.
There aren't many books like this one, and I was a huge fan. It made a big difference in my life, when I read it, and interestingly, on a personal note, I went hiking one time, many years ago and I asked, internally, a kind of prayer, for an adventure, like the adventures in this book, as I began a 4 day hike in a circle through the high peak sin the Adirondak's.
Early in the hike, I had a hard time finding the campground. I knew where it was on the map, and I knew where I was, but I kept walking back and forth unable to find it. The full moon was rising, low in the sky and it looked too bright to be the moon and in my mind, I thought it was someone with a flashlight, following me, but never getting any closer.
Finally, I found the campground and was across a raging river. I'd walked past it back and forth several times before I happened to see it. Snow melt had raised the river more than usual and trying to cross, I fell in. So, everything got wet. But I was able to drag my backpack and my wet self through the river. My sleeping bag, heavy and well wrapped, was mostly dry and I was fine for the night once I was unpacked and settled.
That next morning, I noticed that I'd lost a few things. My compass was gone, and my watch and my flashlight. All my technology. At first I thought that I'd lost it in the river, but then I remembered setting it on a rock when eating and I'd forgotten it there. I felt like I'd slept a long time and it was cloudy, so I couldn't see the sun. I had no idea what time it was, but the trails were pretty well marked, so during the day I knew I'd be able to find my way. I just had no idea what time it was, or which was north and no flashlight for the nighttime.
Other things happened during that trip. Things that don't think I'll do justice hear. Leading to a vision, seeing something I'd seen years before, and a sign. Things that are hard to explain.
This book was part of, or an introduction to a journey I took, A door that i was able to open, however briefly, and a time that seemed magical. I live in a house, I take care of family and I work so . . . the spiritual world is pretty far removed from my life, but I feel that I touched it, for 3 days, once, many years ago. That means a lot to me.
September 16, 2018
I believe Tom worked with a writer, nonetheless, his description of an inner state while laying in a bog with a straw in his mouth in order to catch a deer who will come to drink still blows my mind.
If it were historical fiction, if it were a tale of fear and loathing mysticism, if it were science fiction it would be laudable.
In re-creating this state my own neurons recall times, mostly during discovery, that the line between myself and other blurred into nothingness. The everythingness will leave you haunted by its call.
If it were historical fiction, if it were a tale of fear and loathing mysticism, if it were science fiction it would be laudable.
In re-creating this state my own neurons recall times, mostly during discovery, that the line between myself and other blurred into nothingness. The everythingness will leave you haunted by its call.
October 5, 2017
Powerful. Amazing. Perspective altering.
March 27, 2025
Touched me like nothing else has. Everyone should be required to read this at least once in their lives
February 17, 2008
I loved reading this. It provides insight into the world from a Native perspective as well as being accessible and non-fictional. I love the insight it provides into the spirit also. It is a great book to read. My daughter went to a niture school based on these teachings and one of Tom Brown's students started the groups meant to create more attachment to nature again. We have become disconnected and need to work to become connected again. Check his books out!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2015
I liked the spirituality and some of Brown's opinions on the current state of our society and cultural values. However, some of his opinions were a little too strong and came off as him being judgemental. The way he criticized society but then profited off the very things he spoke against rubbed me the wrong way. I will say though that some of his teachings left a positive impact on me and changed my perspective on life.
December 26, 2007
This book left me frighthened of what modern man has become and our possible future, but now that a few years have gone by, I have a sense of hope for us all.
August 26, 2008
This book provided me with a major shift in perspective! It may not be true, but I would love to think that it is and live my life as though it is. Read it!
August 12, 2009
An inspriration to read.
November 29, 2009
I consider this book my bible. He relays his story of an Native American that taught him the native ways as a child. I love this!!!!
July 9, 2011
Amazing insights into the path of real spirituality.
August 1, 2012
One of those books that altered my course.
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August 22, 2023
top 5 1989
March 19, 2013
Tell me something you are dedicated to in life?
March 24, 2019
I adore this book and the wisdom contained in it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews