INCORPORATION #4

There are four basic archetypes each with many diverse aspects. These are:

Healer

Teacher

Warrior or Leader

Visionary

The Visionary stage can arise from a Hero's journey which in turn can help us to find our destiny.

“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

Many of you have talents in all four archetypes so it may be difficult to know which to choose. There is usually only one core or signature strength (Seligman) where your potential and power reside. The others must serve the one. If you have doubts head in the direction of the one or ones you want to explore and rule them out by a process of elimination to find the most true fit. In time you will know if this is it or not. There is no loss - you have gained knowledge and skills from the experience. The more tools you have in your tool box the more they can serve the power of the one meant for you. If you are unclear which to choose its best to focus on spiritual practice and obtaining knowledge for transformation. Knowledge, wisdom and inner practice are the wings that will help fly you to your true purpose. Alternatively you may pursue the spiritual life and the realization of Self through any one of the four yogas; Karma (service,) Bhakti (devotion,) Jnana (spiritual knowledge) and Raja yoga (control of the mind.)

 

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

J. Campbell

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs

Incorporation

"The priviledge of a life time is to become who you truly are." C. Jung

Now is the time to settle in and not take any serious risks until the experience is reintegrated back into one’s life. Eventually it may lead to giving up a partner, one’s job or selling one’s house but the supply lines for security must be taken into account, If you are in survival mode you will be propelled out of actualizing any meaningful change. 

It is important to take time out and look at one's life after the journey. New year is coming up and so one can also take one or some of one's warrior journeys to find the grail that was left behind on the way and use that or those for a new resolution. It pays to have a skillful, trusted witness who can listen to your story, embellish and expand it to help you find your archetype. Indigenous peoples had a council of elders for this. 

Many of us have to learn to live in two worlds; the one that pays the rent and the other that is our mission. One may have to carry out one's true purpose for its own sake without pay back and in one's spare time. That is perfectly ok as well as good karma.

“Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” H. Thurman

Seek congruence – who is the real you? Attend to needs not wants – simplify. 

After the journey and the sense of knowing or the aha, walk the talk do not talk the walk. 

Do not put your experiences on the mantle piece for those who do not understand to invalidate. If it's necessary to be polite, talk to them about context rather than content in words they can understand rather than challenge. 

These insights may be very subtle but vital. They usually are not like neon lights blazing in the dark. Its all well and good if they are epic but its wise to be careful of these, they can delude you and arise out of grandiosity. Oneness experiences when the Knower, the Known, and the Process of Knowing fuse into one tell you your energy body is in sync with the cosmos but may not tell you what to do about it.

If you cannot change what you do, maybe change how you do it. 

Inner practice and group synergism or just one other person can be supportive. 

Beware the “fall” out of the grace you have received with all the hard work you have done. Many will lose the way and slip back into old patterns and the allure of the material. Maintaining a regular spiritual practice is essential.

One may find that there are recognizable inner experiences that confirm you are opening up to the spirit world - such as; synchronicity, coherence and "super-fluidity." Sometimes there may be nuances of remote viewing, telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance, ... audience or ... sentience. These can occur both in the awake or the dream state. There can even be kundalini-like vibrations occurring during sleep or other awakening experiences during your meditations. Validate, savor and honor them rather than rationalize or trivialize them away. Remember that the talent or talents that you have - no-one has all of these - will be the one or the ones that your guides or the Great Spirit know to be those most accessible to their messages. It is wasteful of your time and theirs to practice those that are not part of who you truly are. Just because some enlightened guru tells you this is the meditation for you does not mean that it is.

"Continuing with a spiritual practice that no longer works for you is like carrying a raft on your back after you have crossed the river." The Buddha

 

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

 

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” Patanjali

 

“Once what you are living and what you are doing has for you meaning it is irrelevant whether you are happy or unhappy. You are content, you are not alone in your spirit, you belong.”    

L. Van der Post

Click and play

 17_Your_Quest.mp3

 

THE HERO/INE’S JOURNEY #3

THRESHOLD

Just a recap on the three phases of the Hero's journey's 

Separation (last week)

Threshold

Incorporation

Threshold

The Hero/ine now enters the Sacred Space of the Threshold.

 

“The meeting of oneself is, at first, the meeting of one's Shadow.” C.J. Jung

 

Here we usually will encounter the dark night of the soul where we have to confront our physical, psychological, social and spiritual fears.

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.

Some years ago I founded a small organization called Inward Bound. The mission was to take like-minded folks into wild places and simulate as much as possible the San Bushman hunter-gatherer lifestyle. We would "hunt and gather" all that was needed for the journey but nothing else unnecessary. 

I had spent significant periods of time with these amazing people after a seminal visit in 1987 when I experience the primal power inherent in this extremely austere lifestyle. I also felt like I had dropped into a "spiritual community" where judgment and ego were put aside, there was an unconditional positive regard for each other and an unconditional love for the children. Also to survive, it was one for all and all for one.  Amazing spiritual powers seemed to be a natural byproduct of their hunter-gatherer experience. In order to survive in the Kalahari they had to exist beyond the five senses that limit so many of us. I learnt from these amazing people that there was tremendous power inherent in having as little between one and nature as possible. 

The force of the primal manifest as love, is the glory of the Creator.

That was the model I tried to replicate on the Inward Bound journeys and we followed the three phases of the hero's journey using nature and the four directions as a catalyst. It worked! The story is outlined in the book Inner Passages Outer Journeys and also in one of the very earliest of these blogs.

Here are the general recommendation that I recommend now for anyone attempting such a journey. One does not have to be in pure wilderness but nature is a powerful catalyst.

Balance is achieved by harmonizing polarities. 
Dualities come into harmony by negotiating a third or middle path, a path not of assimilation but a path of coexistence.

Nature is an ideal place to balance polarities and find harmony and equanimity... 

"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 a purpose but once the intention is set we need to disengage our craving for an explicit outcome. This is the crux between balancing the inner and the outer." 

Dave Cumes Inner Passages Outer Journeys

Find your own means of access, the sacred space that will work for you. 

Set an inner intention but let go of specific goals- allow what comes to arise on its own.

 Do it all for its own sake, not for reason of outcome other than to allow change to happen. 

Keep it simple; do not let “stuff” like a camera, books or paraphernalia get in the way of the experience. 

Attend to needs not wants. Provide the basic necessities only. Allow for alone time or even go alone. 

Tune in to the “Soft Fascinations;” the sun and moonsets and their risings, the scenes, the scents and aromas, the sounds or mantra of the bush, the daily and even the monthly cycles.

Use any form of spiritual practice to support and balance you. Inner techniques can include drumming, journaling any peak event or dream so as to retain the details of any "aha." 

Avoid performance behavior and time restraints (if possible.) Stay inward not outward.

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

 

“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

“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

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 occurred. It may be aggravated by the fact that one now 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 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 the journey often gives way to sensory overload on return.  Intensifying one's spiritual practice will help to manage these fluxes. The depression is temporary and "normal," lasting about three weeks.

Inner Effects

Being or feeling more like one’s true self.  

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

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

You cannot control result only your actions. You cannot predict outcomes only your choices.

Becoming more pleasant and affable with others. 

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 on returning. Release from addictions of the past from minor to major. 

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

Click, play and ponder

 01_Let_the_Days_Go_By.mp3

 

 THE HERO/INE’S JOURNEY #2

SEPARATION

“S/He who mounts a wild elephant goes where the wild elephant goes.” R. Bournes

"A possibility is a hint from God - one must follow it."  Kierkegaard

 

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

 

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

“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

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

Dom Helder Camara

(One needs to move away from one's "Safe Harbor.")

 

The Hero's journey arises from a yearning for the extraordinary but resistances 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  did 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 is 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. As mentioned before nature, wild places and wilderness are preferred environments since they offer the possibility of being more numinous and luminous. Whatever the space chosen it is good to go into nature in one way or another for more or less time to experience the metaphors, signs, messages and power animals that may assist. In South Africa game viewers talk about the "Big Five" animals, but the metaphors usually come out of observing the smaller Beings of nature including the rocks, plants and trees.

“Believe one who knows; you will find something greater in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from the masters.” St. Bernard de Clairvaux

 

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” 
Kahlil Gibran

“The sun shines not on us but in us. The river flows not past but through us.” J Muir

 

“Ask of the wild animals and they shall teach you and the birds of the sky shall tell it to you or speak to the earth for she shall guide you and the fishes of the sea will declare it to you.” Job

 

Remember the wisdom of wild things, the holiness of elements and the healing powers of waters. Water trickling from the top of the hill is but a drop of the deep spring within.

 

The breath that created us is the same breath that created the worm and the stone and thus we share a oneness.

If we immerse in nature we may experience the magic of the ordinary or even what I have called Wilderness Rapture which can assist in the Threshold phase. It is best to go on your own or be alone for the experience.

“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.” 
Joseph Campbell

Meditate on any unrealized or not fully realized yearnings. Also examine the fears that may have prevented one from taking this plunge into the unknown.

 02_Do_Not_Let_Me_Fear.mp3

 

 

DESTINY AND THE HERO/INE'S JOURNEY

DESTINY

Our destiny is preordained but not predestined. Free will allows choice and so it may take us many life times to find it. We have to juggle the cards we are given by our respective fates and the opportunities that we make of them. Finding our true destiny is a karmic requirement but once realized we are also required to carry it out within the laws of spirit. There is a direct link with destiny, the search for the Self and the Hero/ine’s quest for his/her archetype, mission or purpose. It might be useful to review the prior blog on destiny in the series on Karma.     

This blog is an introduction to the Hero/ine's journey which can help us to find who we really 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.

Here is a summary of the prior Destiny blog.

We are all totally unique and each of us has a special role in helping the planet and all its Beings.

The Creator want to co-create with us. There are things that S/He requires us to manifest which the Supreme Being cannot. The Supreme Being created something out of nothing. We are required to take something and then make something else out of it - so helping to perfect the creation. Kabbalah looks to the metaphor of the creation of bread. The Infinite one gives us the potential ingredients but we then have to make the bread. Yeast - another tiny microcosmic representation of divine power makes the bread "Rise" as we do when we arise into our destiny and co-create with the Infinite One. 

Finding our destiny is also one of the vital requirements for fulfilling our karma.

 Some have been given bigger destiny "cups" to fill and more is expected of them. Those of us 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. Fate is the cards we are dealt with in life. Our destiny will depend on how we handle fates' challenges. Can we can turn the excrement into manure for the way? Our calamities and crises can also be opportunities depending on how we look at them and what we do with them.

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

I only went out for a walk and finally decided to stay until sundown, for going out, I discovered, was actually going in.” John Muir

The Hero/ine's journey has the potential to lead us to our destiny. Historically, especially for indigenous peoples, nature was a preferred environment for the journey. However, She is not essential. The path only requires we go inward with the intention of finding our true purpose. Nature, however, can pave the way. It does not have to be in wild places.

Nature’s rapture is a way of being, a way of experiencing which can be sought wherever one is. We can hear it in the sound of rain, feel it in a fallen feather and see it in a spider's web . There are everyday wild wonders that are unheard and overlooked which seem far remote from wilderness until we realize how perception of the smallest bit of wild can connect to our higher Self. Nature reveals, inspires, encourages and shows the way.

 SACRED SPACE

The journey requires that we undertake the task in sacred space. This space can be found purely within our inner being or outside of us. There are many possibilities. Nature can offer all the challenges as well as the remedies that we require. She also inspires the senses which can assist us on the path. Nature is another manifestation of God's masterpieces.

"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye... It also includes the inner pictures of the soul.”        

 Edward Munch

The way to God is through the Senses.

The soul's conversation is not of the mind. It is best heard with the senses.

The Vision Quest of the Native Americans is a hero's journey that always occurs in wilderness. Other indigenous peoples have had their own initiations. They were always in wild places, there was no urban environment.

Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness' and only to him was it 'infested' with 'wild' animals and 'savage' people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."  

Luther Standing Bear

 The classical journey is best taken in nature's sacred space. She is a room with many doors and windows to spirit that can help us find the middle way of the Buddha. She provides all the needed polarities for change: up/down, exhausted/rested, terrified/tranquil, hungry/satiated, thirsty/quenched, dark/light, sun/moon, day/night and much more. However, sacred space can also be created anywhere just by going inward. Going inward into one's own inner being may be prompted by a kick in the rear such as loss of a loved one, one's job or one's health. Nature can still be called upon to help in whatever way She fits.

“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

 

“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

 It's important to realize that the path is like a cybernetic, negative feedback mechanism. We are always going a bit wrong in order to go right. We turn left, make a mistake and then go right. We should not be disconcerted if we land up in the wrong place. Learn the lesson, self-correct and move forward. 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. After acknowledging I was in the wrong place in my life it still took me 13 years to begin to find the way. The commitment also does not mean discarding the supply lines needed for our survival. Being in survival mode is antithetical to the purpose. Most of us have to learn to live in two worlds and still actualize our archetype.

Click, play and ponder

 02_Your_Search.mp3

So many distractions and so much to contend with. This does not look like a You Tube link but it is - click, view and listen - skip the add. It's only two minutes.

2:36