RIVER OF VISION
18th Living/Learning Adventure in the Grand Canyon
with Alton Wasson and Andrew Brightman
July 30–August 8, 2025
Join Alton and Andrew and two river guides for a journey of self-discovery in community while rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
Space for this experience on the river is limited so please contact Alton Wasson as soon as possible to discuss your interest in participating and request an application form.
Context and Purpose
In this workshop Alton and Andrew, our two river guides, and up to 14 participants journey by raft down the Colorado River, which runs through the entire Grand Canyon. The beauty of the river and the constantly changing, elemental immensity of the Canyon create the context for genuine life-changing experiences. This is not your ordinary river trip. It is designed to generate a deep sense of community, to develop mindful awareness of inner and outer conditions, and to enhance the transformations that arise naturally and inevitably in this extraordinary place.
As we flow for eight days with the power of the river, we explore our individual experiences in the Canyon and our collective experience as a learning community. We invite the insights that are forged in this context and consider how they reflect and inform the challenges in our lives. By developing daily rituals and practices, by sharing powerful personal and communal moments, we aim to develop balance, respect, humility, imagination and courage on this inner and outer journey.
Focus
Some of the questions we will explore together include:
- What is the inner work of transformation that can sustain us in our outer responsibilities?
- What nourishment of mind, body and spirit is essential to help us create balance in our lives?
- What unique gifts does each of us bring to personal, social and organizational change and healing?
- How does seeing ourselves as co-creators of some of our problems enable us to co-create the needed response?
- What lessons from the natural world can inspire our work and our personal transformation?
Process
The days include floating quietly down the river, running rapids, and walking or climbing into beautiful side canyons. The flow of each day on the river will be gently structured. There will be time in the early morning before breakfast and in the late afternoon after we make camp to explore and process our experience of ourselves and the canyon. We will use various forms of group sharing and Active Imagination practices. There will be time for engaging with each other, journaling, solo time, hiking, music and movement, as well as helping with loading and unloading the boats, cooking and clean up. We will run over 240 miles of wild-river, visit archeological ruins, and learn about the unique desert ecology of the canyon and its 1.9 billion years of geologic history.
Logistics
Our outfitter and guide for this trip will provide everything we need for the perfect combination of comfort, thrills, safety, and delicious food. They provide all necessary camping and river running equipment. The guides are knowledgeable in the history, geology and biology of the Canyon as well as being superb rapid runners. You need no previous camping or boating experience to come with us, but you should have a level of physical fitness that will allow you to enjoy the wonderful hikes possible in the Canyon.
Itinerary
Plan to fly into Las Vegas on July 30 to meet the group that evening for orientation and to spend the night there. We leave for the bus to the river very early the next morning (July 31st at 5am). We return to Las Vegas from the river on August 7 and will have dinner together and spend the night there. You may leave the next morning, August 8, or stay longer if you would like. We will provide you with additional information on lodging and a list of personal items once you have registered for the trip.
Payment
The cost for this experience: $4000. Cost includes the workshop and everything you will need on the river, as well as a hotel room in Las Vegas on July 30 and August 7 (info in details letter following application). Additional costs will include your round-trip airfare to Las Vegas, meals in Las Vegas, and tips for the crew.
Payment Schedule
You may either
- Pay the total $4000 now with your application
- Pay the first $2000 now with your application and the second $2000 before February 1st, 2025
Depending on advice from your tax accountant, a major portion of this cost could be deductible as education. If you want to split the tax deduction, pay half now in 2024 and half in 2025.
About Alton Wasson
Photo by Holly Jaycox.
Alton co-founded the River of Vision Workshops with Gary Howard, a leader in education and diversity. Benjie Howard, his son, followed in this tradition for several years. Alton has been down the Grand Canyon more than 25 times; he has been on private trips, natural history research trips, psychological/spiritual transformation workshops, and the River of Vision.
Alton began his institutional and personal transformation work as a chaplain at Yale University and the Director of Dwight Hall, the Yale Center for Social Action and Spiritual Growth. His training in T-groups, Gestalt Therapy, Active Imagination, group process, and diversity work has continued through the years at the National Training Laboratory, REACH Center, Elsie Y. Cross Associates, Esalen Institute, and The Center for Depth Psychology and Jungian Studies. Alton began his exploration of mindfulness in 1971 in Bodh Gaya, India, and has woven it into his work and practice ever since.
Alton did his graduate work at Yale University Divinity School (M.Div., S.T.M.). He was professor of religion and humanistic psychology at Prescott College in Arizona, where he served as chairman of the Center for the Person and of the Human Development Program and Chairman of Academic Programs. Alton has served as a core faculty of the Center for Depth Psychology and Jungian Studies. He co-directs the Contemplative Dance / Authentic Movement workshops and its Year-Long Training Programs with Daphne Lowell. He has consulted with educational institutions on issues of self-directed learning and creativity, leads transformational workshops at centers and private venues in the U.S. and Europe, including Naropa, Interface, Omega, The Open Center, Common Boundary, and Jung Societies. Alton also served as a diversity consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He has a private coaching practice in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.
Websites: www.awasson.com // www.contemplativedance.org
About Andrew Brightman
Andrew and his wife Holly have participated in three River of Vision trips in Grand Canyon with Alton and he was Alton’s assistant on the 2024 trip. In 2012, Andrew completed three years of facilitator training in Contemplative Dance/Authentic Movement under the expert guidance of Alton Wasson and Daphne Lowell. Andrew participated in three previous River of Vision trips in Grand Canyon (along with his partner Holly) and then was Alton’s assistant on the 2024 trip. Andrew has been facilitating contemplative movement groups in Indiana (with Holly) since 2015. Andrew also has trained in somatic awareness and mindfulness mind fitness practice. He dances, teaches, and hosts Contact Improvisation events in the Midwest. Andrew is a professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue University teaching ethical design and development of medical technologies. Andrew lives in Indiana, but grew up on the coast of New England, and loves sailing and all things ocean and river. He is currently building his own wooden sailing dory in his garage.
Comments from Past River of Vision Participants
“The journey really was more of a spiritual adventure than I had imagined.”
“My birthday celebration on the river was one of the most memorable of my life.”
“All the words of caring and love will be remembered for a long time.”
“Many people I am working with tell me how much they get from the way I share my experiences of the trip.”
“I can’t imagine that any group could be better or more diverse or more special. The combination of physical, spiritual, intellectual, and aesthetic experience made it perfect.”
“How naturally issues of leadership arose, and how directly the experience addressed them, both in actions and discussions.”
“If you bring any question to the Grand Canyon, it’s answered in profound and unexpected ways.”
“The river teaches us that we must sit in the uncertainty of where we are and create the future from there.”
“It’s been nearly a month since my return from the River of Vision, and I’m still smiling, remembering all those who were with us on this one-of-a-kind, life-dream experience.”