DESTINY AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY #2

 

THRESHOLD

"A threshold is a point of entry, a new beginning, an opening. A crossing." John O'Donahue

 

The Hero/ine now enters the Sacred Space of the Threshold. It does not have to be in nature but can be the dark night of the soul resulting from loss of a loved one, one's vocation, health or any other catastrophic event which pushes the sufferer to go inwards into his/her sacred space wherever s/he finds it. Nature, however, because of its multiple polarities is a preferred location.

 

“… Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won …” J. Campbell

 

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
Joseph Campbell

 

“The meeting of oneself is, at first, the meeting of one’s Shadow.” 

C.J. Jung

 

The sacred space is classically numinous and luminous (hence the power of nature.)  During the Threshold we will usually encounter the dark night of the soul when we confront our inner (shadow) and outer fears. We return with the grail of a new awareness to bestow it on those who can benefit.

The “grail” is given by grace or less dramatically, one comes back with an enlightened idea or an aha as how to better proceed with one’s life. For this reason, there are many hero’s journeys, some profound and some more subtle as we slowly fine tune our paths. 

Primal experiences can help us reach another part of our forgotten selves. Sadly we often have little awareness of how much of the hero archetype arising out of our indigenous nature we have lost on the altar of modern-day technology.

“We cannot today recreate the original wilderness human in shape form or habitat. But we can recover him because s/he exists in us. S/he is the foundation in spirit or psyche on which we build and we are not complete until we have recovered him..." L. Van der Post

 

Our teachers include ...

The “Soft Fascinations.” The sites, the scenes, the sun and moon risings and settings, the sounds or the mantra of nature, the smells, aromas and diurnal cycles. One does not have to navigate wild places in order to connect with this "magic of the ordinary." Hard skills are not the focus and should prevail only when absolutely essential. The intention is not to put oneself in a survival situation but to go inwards.

Use any form of spiritual practice to support and balance the encounters that present themselves. These inner techniques include journaling peak events or dreams so as to retain the details of any “aha.” 

Avoid performance behavior and time restraints (if possible.) Five days is optimal to peel away the layers of ego and civilization getting in the way of our Higher Selves. 

Stay inwardly rather than outward directed. 

Avoid the “Need to Know” the cognitive things in order to allow the inner experience to emerge. 

When in an altered state of consciousness, we can connect with and fuse with various metaphors in nature which can guide us; such as power animals, the rocks, the earth, a flower or tree that may have a message for us.

 

To experience the Still Beings of nature one must touch them.
… the Growing Beings - listen to them.
… the Wild Beings - dance with them.
and the Talking Beings - feel with them.

We are all connected, some of all in each.

 

Ultimately when we emerge from the journey we should return to the talking beings and be able to feel with them or relate to them more intimately than before.

“We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them: we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them but to find out the way to do them the most good.” 

Thomas Merton

Reentry

This too will pass!

As one emerges out of sacred space one may have a Reentry Depression which can last a few weeks. This state is a testament to the power of the journey as well as the insights both profound and subtle that have emerged. It may be aggravated by the fact that one has to return to the frustrations of ordinary life. Often the harder the home and work circumstances, the greater the depression. Paradoxically this depression occurs in the face of a demonstrable restorative effect. 

The Re-entry Depression seems to be a result of having been in an altered state of consciousness (parasympathetic relaxation response) and upon the return there is a dramatic shift as one is propelled back into a normal state of awareness. The alfa relaxed vibration one has been in on then gives way to sensory and sympathetic nervous system overload on the return and our usual state of being. Spiritual practice is essential during the reentry.

 

Inner Effects 

(especially but not exclusively if performed in Nature)

Being or feeling more like one’s true self.  

An appreciation of awe, oneness, wonder, transcendence – peak or oneness experience, (wilderness) rapture, unity consciousness. 

Humility and a realization that any control one thinks one has over nature (or life) is an illusion. 

 Feelings of connection and comfort in nature. A sense of renewal, and aliveness, feeling less cluttered, more mindful and focused. 

An appreciation of alone time.

Experiencing major life style changes and releasing from addictions of the past from minor to major. 

"We inter-are..." Thich Nhat Hahn

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there." Yasutani Roshi

Becoming more pleasant and affable with others.

Previously there may have been a greater sense of duality with nature and other beings and on the return this duality is lessened especially if spiritual practice is maintained.

We are all one, though not the same.

Realizing this is key to the Incorporation phase where we give the "grail" away to others.

The Warrior's journey differs from the Hero's journey. The Warrior at this stage keeps the gift for themselves, their family or the corporation... There are countless warriors, fewer real heroes.

 

DESTINY AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY #1

 

“The Hero ventures forth from the world of common day; into a region of supernatural wonder. 

Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won. The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”  J. Campbell

 

Before discussing destiny, we need to look at the Hero/ine’s Journey  in relation to our own destiny. The journey can be key not only to finding our core or signature strengths but ultimately also to our destiny or true purpose on the planet. 

Fear is an integral part of all three phases of the journey. Fear usually arises from concern for the loss of life, limb, function or can be religious and superstitious. The greatest fear we all have is to our ego and losing a sense of our inner power especially relating to embarrassment and worse, guilt or shame.

The Hero’s journey can help us find out who we truly are. There may be more than just one hero’s journey. We are always fine tuning our destiny. The first one or ones that we take may be the most impactful and lead the way.

"We are all here on earth to help others. What on earth others are are here for I do not know." W.H. Auden

We are all totally unique and each of us has a special role in helping the planet and all its Beings. Those that have given bigger destiny “cups” to fill have more expected of them. Others with smaller ones may have an easier time of it. No matter what destiny “cup” we are given we will be required to overcome the obstacles of our respective fates that get in our way. Our destiny will depend on how we handle fates’ challenges. Our calamities and crises can also be opportunities depending on how we look at them and what we do with them. 

“There came a time when staying tight within the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” Anais Nin

Although embarking on the journey usually comes out of a longing for the extraordinary it may also be prompted by a catastrophe that forces us into the dark night of the soul and a hero’s journey. This may be loss of a loved one, one's health or livelihood. We do not go into it willingly but are compelled into awakening to a better and new reality. 

We have to find our own way and merely following a path fashioned by others for us will also mitigate against our karma. 

“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path.
Where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path.

You are not on your own path.
If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize
your potential.” J. Campbell

For the journey, take what you need from the past and leave the rest behind. It’s not easy – very few of us are congruent with who we truly are. There are so many temptations and enticements to distract us. 

Arnold Van Gennep delineated the three seminal aspects of rites of passage and the hero’s journey in indigenous cultures: 

Separation, Threshold and Incorporation.

 

SEPARATION

 

Separation occurs when we move away from our “Safe Harbor” leaving behind who we are to whom we may become.

Joseph Campbell above also delineates the first of these three phases of the journey in line with Van Gennep.

 

”The Hero ventures forth from the world of common day; into a region of supernatural wonder…” J. Campbell

 

It’s better to experience the learning than to learn the experience. 

The process is experiential – one cannot read it in a book or learn it in a lecture.

 

“Kabir talks of only what he has lived through. If you have not lived through something it is not true.”

 

“How shall I talk of the sea to the frog who has never left his pond? How shall I talk of the forest to the bird of the summer-land if he has never left the land of its birth?  

How shall I talk of life with the sage if he is prisoner of his doctrine?" Chung Tau

There will be resistances that need to be overcome. Inner resistances arise as do outer pressures from love ones or peers that are concerned for you or maybe envious that they do not have the courage to undertake what you are about to do. 

Usually one is given an object of power. In days of old it might have been a sword to kill the wolf that was marauding the village. Now it is more likely to be an inspirational lecture, book or person who has induced you to embark on your own journey.

Classically one would enter sacred space in order to separate. Nature, wild places and wilderness are preferred environments since they offer the possibility of the sacred in Her many polarities. Whatever the space chosen it is good to go into nature as well in one way or another for more or less time to experience the metaphors, signs, messages and power animals that may assist. These metaphors often come out of observing the smaller beings of nature including the rocks, plants and trees while in an altered, alfa state of relaxed consciousness. Fear is a catalyst but not if its overwhelming.

Preparation requires the following; Nurturing an inner intention to change, keeping it simple, letting go of goals and doing the journey for its own sake. Focusing only on needs and not wants so as not to become distracted – for instance taking a journal but not a camera. Of necessity one is alone - at least most of the time.

Nature has all the tension we require with its multiple polarities; up/down, hot/cold, terrified/tranquil, hungry/satiated, thirsty/quenched, day/night, sun/moon ... 

The fundamental notion of equilibrating the opposites is omnipresent in all beliefs. This universal truth is crucial to our understanding of how we, heal, transform and “Become.” To achieve is to be externally oriented but to attain deeper effects we need to let go of the attachment to accomplish anything. 

We begin with the purpose change but once the intention is set we need to disengage our cravings for an explicit outcome. This is the crux between balancing the inner and the outer - having courage, being unattached to outcome, not grasping, going with the flow, connecting with the "Field" and surrendering to the process and something greater than oneself.

 

THE TRIAD OF BECOMING #10

The light and the dark each exist. We may choose to go towards either but will always be pursued or lured by the other.  It is the way to God, it is the way of God.
The ambushes, the side paths, the pot holes are all clearly marked and may be guarded against if you choose to read the map, scope the terrain, plot the journey.

The two Triads of Love and Ego (Humility) need to be mastered to fully compliment the first Triad. 

Seminal to this also are the Laws of Karma

Finding one's destiny.

Healing the planet.

Subordinating ego.

Doing no harm.

Loving others and acknowledging their divinity (one does not have to like them or have anything to do with them.)

Being in joy and gratitude - having appreciation for being in a sentient body.

CONCERNING THOSE DARK FORCES OUTSIDE OF US

The dark forces know everything about us that our guides do, especially our vulnerabilities on which they play. They will try to enhance our doubt and confusion. 

Their greatest strength resides in our belief that they do not exist. Most people deny that they do or belittle them and say have them under control.

CONCERNING THOSE FORCES INSIDE OF US AND OUR OWN TOXIC EMOTIONS WHICH FACILITATE THEIR POWER.

Our desires, compulsion, bad habits, addictions, anger, rage, hatred, envy and a desire for vengeance against those who have wronged us.

“Hatred does not cease thru hatred at any time. Hatred ceases thru love. This is an unalterable law.” The Buddha 

“Malice sucks up the greater part of her own venom and poisons herself.” Montaigne

"Anger and hatred are like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." The Buddha

FACTORS THAT TEMPT THE DARK FORCES

When the spiritual stakes are high (one is being successful in navigating the Triad of Becoming or the Crown chakra.)

There is a total commitment to the light, virtue and sacredness.

Being capable of subordinating Monkey Mind, Ego and Shadow (Evil Inclination) to the Higher Self, one's Inclination to do Good and  Spacious or Big Mind.  

Being on one's Destiny path which includes healing the planet.

Having many Guides as well as faith in the Creator.

Being capable of rising above the challenges and material temptations. 

FACTORS THAT ENHANCE THEIR POWER

Doubt, Anger, Confusion, Pride.

Being vulnerable to the material and especially to Power, and Greed.

A lack of Trust, Impatience.

Offering them a Challenge (makes them up the ante.)

Fear and over estimating their power.

Disrespect for them and under estimating their power.

FACTORS THAT DETER THE DARK FORCES

If you would dispel the darkness, seek the sacred.

Total Surrender and Commitment to the light.

Will, Passion, Courage for good.

Impeccability.

A dedicated Spiritual Practice  and a relationship with ones' Guides and the Creator.

Being aware of and attending their wily and devious behavior.

Vigilance for the testing.

OTHER ADVISEMENTS

If you don’t want to see the shadow, turn your face to the sun. Aboriginal wisdom

This too will pass.

"No matter how long the night the dawn is sure to come." African proverb

Love, Laughter and Light. Being in Joy.
Faith, Belief, Trust and Hope.
Sacred Sound.
Incense.
Imbibing something sacred.
Spiritual Practice.
Gratitude.

Patience in the face of evil.

  

THE TRIAD OF BECOMING #9

There are true dark forces on the other side of the veil.

The specific purpose of a true dark force is to diminish, dilute and dissuade your interest in transformation, frustrate your interactions and defeat your efforts.

When it comes to navigating this Triad - and the same is true for the yogi striving to reach the Crown chakra - it does not get easier, it gets harder. More is expected of us on our spiritual, Hero's journey to Self-realization. Moreover, it's no longer about us at all. 

"We are here to help others. What on earth others are here for I do not know." W.H. Arden 

There will be forces outside of us on both sides of the veil between worlds that are trying to neutralize our mission. To them anything that is of the light is a reproach that they must undermine. 

The sages teach that without the sacred there is no mundane and without the mundane there is no sacred.
They are different sides of the same reality.
They are unique but not separate from the whole.

In Genesis after Creation, the balance between light and dark became part of our conundrum relating to the Creator's plan. If there was no dark and no opposition there would be nothing to challenge our resolve and fortitude. It would be like spiritual diabetes. Hence, everything becomes a test of our spiritual resolve. 

Lucifer who became Satan - the most beautiful of all the angels - fell out of heaven because of his greed. He took with him many other fallen angels. Light and dark have existed since the beginning of time.

…"I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 
On the farthest sides of the north; 
 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.” Isaiah 

"Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor."  
“… you have set your heart as the heart of a god.”  Ezekiel 

 

These dark forces want to keep us bound to the Tree of Knowledge and acquisitiveness. However, we can reenter Eden if we get to Keter on the The Tree of Life.

When one has reached the Triad of Becoming and is intent on reentering the “Garden” (the Causal or the Pure Land of Buddhism) the confluence of dark and light becomes the most intense. The forces of darkness will try their best to deter us. These will play on all of our weaknesses and especially the power of our faith, belief, hope, trust and surrender. 

The closer we come to the Light the more the negative inclinations and forces plague us. 

They attempt to interfere, dissuade and corrupt .

The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high (we are reaching for Keter) and so we may expect to be challenged, tempted and dissuaded in any and all manner of our weaknesses - be they physical, mental or emotional - all of which are attributes of the spirit.

Their biggest strength is making us believe that they do not exist. Moreover, just like our guides, they have access and will know  our deepest feelings and thoughts. They will try and undermine the weakest links in the chain of our spiritual endeavors. They play on our Monkey Minds, Egos and Shadows (our own Evil Inclination.) Their biggest ally is fear.

This was true for the final struggle of the Buddha before enlightenment as well as that of Jesus who met Satan in the wilderness. So it will be for us lesser beings.

 

Mara brought his three daughters, Greed, Hatred, and Delusion, and dazzled the Buddha with temptations of beauty and pleasure. 

 

Jesus was tempted 

"in every way that we are - except without sin.”

The Devil, "the prince of this world", having no power over him.” Epistle to the Hebrews

"... without sin..."- Jesus was impeccable.

 

For some there is no choice but to proceed.

 

 “Discernment is choiceless …” Krishnamurti

 

However, many fall by the wayside …

 

“Kabir says: Listen my friend; there are very few that find the path.”

 

The gates are wide but few will enter.

We are continually being tested - not about how much we know or how well we perform but that our trust, our love and our faith are being always tested at unexpected times in often unrecognized guises…

I was in the woods one day listening to some trees. One of them whispered to me that the higher the branches into heaven  the deeper the roots into hell.

The confluence of light an dark becomes the most intense at Keter. The Crown represents the highest order of light. The concentration of dark usually resides at Malkut, the lowest sephira. It is here that they strive to remain unchallenged.

There will be opposition all the way up the three Triads - those of Ego and Love as well. When we are negotiating Ego our tricksters are light duty ones. Our task is easier. The Ancestors describe them as mosquitoes at our spiritual picnic. When we are challenged at the Triad of Love the dark forces are more intense - maybe wasps at the picnic. And finally when we reach the Triad of Becoming we will encounter rattle snakes, mambas or the spiritual Mafia.

 

Witches and sorcerers as well as others with evil intent (which are always from this side of the veil,) rely knowingly or unknowingly on the dark forces on the other side of the veil for their success just as we must rely on our guides and the Creator for our defense.

Witchcraft can deprive us of choice - their malicious intent being to control for often demonic, usually destructive and always self-serving purposes. 

Envy is at the heart of witchcraft and those with an Evil Inclination.

Our defense is assured by being impeccable. If we are not, we lose our protective spiritual shield.

The principles are simple but difficult.

It will be given to you according to the measure 

of your humility, 

the measure of your love,

and the measure of your faith.

The only limitation to God's design for you is the measure of your faith.

If we can follow the direction of the Ancestors and remain impeccable and without fear...

Actually no defense is needed in the face of total surrender to the Divine despite the intensity of the attack, temptation or persuasiveness.
If commitment to the light is total then the dark forces cannot prevail.

THE TRIAD OF BECOMING #8

NON-ATTACHMENT

We see as we think.
We are as we believe.
We transcend as we surrender.
We transform as we trust.

The journey itself is the place of being. It is never finished. The being is always becoming. The road to this place is the road of surrender.

Trust leads to Surrender. 

Surrender and Non-Attachment go hand in hand.

“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the wind in your sails. 
Explore, dream, discover.”  
Mark Twain

“Zidele amathamba – Give yourself up, bones as well.” 

Ndebele Saying

“Give up owning things and being somebody. Quit existing.” Rumi

Non-Attachment is really about being non-attached to our self-cherishing and desirous attachment to "stuff",  to the material and all of its attractions as well as our ego and persona.

 Non-Attachment understands all the ramifications of Impermanence. 

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill
Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt
Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench
Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner
Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.” 

Tao Te Ching

Do not think to store in cisterns for they will break and crumble and the water will be lost. 

Non-Attachment does not exclude a higher consciousness expectation. We should be attached to our spiritual transformation!

 

Faith, belief, trust, hope and surrender all have subtle but important distinctions which reinforce one another. 

They help to lead us to Non-Attachment.

THE HERO/INE'S JOURNEY

There are three phases to this journey. 

All require Non-Attachment for their success.

All three involve the fear of loss.

SEPARATION

from the old small self.

THRESHOLD

The dark night of the soul where we receive the "grail," an "aha" or some form of enlightenment for the path ahead.

INCORPORATION

We come back to serve the greater good with our new vision.

SEPARATION 

Requires letting go, not grasping.

“Be willing to give up who you are (the old familiar)  for who you might become - to reach that which is beyond you.” 

Rev N. of Braztlav

“In order to possess what you do not possess you must go by the way of dispossession. In order to arrive at what you are not you must go through the way in which you are not.” T.S. Elliot

We have to let go of our comforts and attachments which are many and go with the flow in spite of the fear of taking our "boat" out of its safe harbor into unknown waters. 

“…put out to sea! Save your boat’s journeying soul and your own pilgrim soul, cost what it may.” Dom Helder Camara

On the journey all we take with us are our-Selves and the bare minimum.

"S/He who would be what he ought to be must stop being what he is.” M. Eckhart

Leaving the old you behind can be terrifying.

“There came a time when staying tight within the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” Anais Nin

Embracing the fear and doing it anyway - realizing that this is the only way if we want to actualize our yearning for the extraordinary. 

Accept surprises that upset your plans, shatter your dreams, give a completely different turn to your day and who knows, your life. Leave the Father free to weave the pattern of your days.”
Dom Helder Camara

One is usually given an object of power or has faith or can believe that the Field, your guides, the Creator will assist you.

“Out there beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a Field. I’ll meet you there.” Rumi

"The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf." 

Shakti Gawain

If we are willing to open up to it then it is just the unknown, the unplanned, the unexpected, the unfamiliar which can best teach us. In the tiny prefix “un” which so often spells trouble, lies the potential for change, for the new, for the hitherto unconsidered, unimagined, unrealized.”  
R. Hinshaw

That includes being Unattached or being Non-Attached.

Surrender and Non-Attachment have spiritual power and are a giving in to something bigger than ourselves - even bigger than we can even imagine. Resignation is a giving up which leads to detachment.

When trust is lacking there is no surrender or non-attachment but simply resignation; a sometimes non-caring, sometimes hopelessness, sometimes fearful giving-up that is prompted by Narrow (Monkey) Mind.

THRESHOLD 

Also requires Non-Attachment.

To stay the coarse in spite of the physical, material, psychological and spiritual difficulties encountered.

“If a person wants to be sure of the road s/he treads on, s/he must close his eyes and walk in the darkness.”

St John of the Cross

To not submit to the accumulation of all the fears encountered on this critical part of the journey.

INCORPORATION

“Everyone has in him something Divine, something his/her own, a chance of perfection and strength, however small, a sphere which God offers him to take or refuse. The task is to find, develop and use it.” Sri Aurobindo

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” C. Jung

Becoming reattached to the old you.

In this final third phase of the journey the fears are more subtle. One must not deviate from the lessons of the Threshold and fall back into old patterns. This has been called 

"The Fall." 

Rather to hold to the vision in spite of the temptations of civilization and that of peer pressure to be the old you - the one they remembered and liked or preferred.

When we commit to Non-Attachment ...

“We return to our places these kingdoms, no longer at ease here in the same dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods.”
Journey of the Magi

And follow our "bliss"or mission.

“Hold to your vision - be true to your myth.“
J. Campbell

 "I implore you to submit to your own myths. Any postponement in doing so is a lie.” William Carlos Patterson

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Goethe

Harrison Owens' teaching can release some of our concerns when things do not go according to plan. Everything that happens is a lesson and a test of our resolve. Its not what happens to us but what we do with it.

 Whoever are present are the right people.

 Whenever it begins is the right time.

 Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.

 When its over - its over.

With this vision, no matter how small, we find a way to help the planet and any of the Four Beings of Nature.

A vision without a task is a dream
A task without a vision is drudgery 
But a vision with a task can change the world.”
Black Elk

“I think I have told you but if I have not, you must have understood that a human who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed the vision for the people to see.” Black Elk

We are not asked to embrace all that makes claim on us – we are asked only to embrace that which ennobles us. We are not asked to be other than who we are – we are asked only to become all of who we are.