Between them the seeker walks ceremonially at a very slow pace so that a round would take an hour or more to complete. There are accounts of seekers remaining dry in the circle during rain storms. In brief, the individual cleanses himself or herself in mind and body in order to be a fit vessel through which the Great Spirit might work. One's earthliness is removed by purification so that it does not in any way impede the Great Spirit. The Beings who come to befriend a man or woman on the Vision Quest vary.
Spirits are also possible as guides.
He was to cultivate his senses and use the powers he had already been given. He would then go far. The differences among men, he was told, grow out of the use or nonuse of what is given them by the Great Spirit when they are born. All men have a natural power within them to cope with life's demands. Plenty Coups had a will, and he must learn to make it work for him.