My apologies !

It appears that the last blog was posted before this one. This one should have preceded it instead of the other way around. Separation and Threshold should come before Incorporation.

Next week we will leave the Hero behind and talk about the fear of having no meaning in life.

THE HERO/INE’S JOURNEY (the unknown, unexpected, unplanned, uncomfortable and unfamiliar) # 5

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

“Wilderness holds the answers to questions we do not yet know how to ask.” David Brower

The fundamental notion of equilibrating the opposites is omnipresent in all beliefs. This universal truth is crucial to our understanding of how we “Become."  

Wild places, wilderness and nature provide all the polarities we need to balance and to self-actualize the ego so we can move from the survival centers into the growth centers.

Any initiation must depend on a resolute intent to induce change. This requires the following: 

A certain receptivity towards the humbling of one’s ego. 

Being prepared to undergo some level of stress and fear in a search for one's purpose.

 Committing to entering an appropriate sacred space for a certain period of time to accomplish the task. 

If we do so we can become receptive to the metaphors, signs and even power animals presented by this journey. Going primal as indigenous peoples have done for eons for the quest, and the added fear this presents, helps us to peel away the layers surrounding the ego.

This also involves “soft” (spiritual) rather than hard (survival) skills and some method of going inward. Fear is the catalyst but not if it becomes overwhelming and puts us in flight of fight and back in our ego self. People like to do things that matter and are not contrived to induce fear just for its own sake. However, the journey is unpredictable and ...

"Shit happens."

If we do this we can connect with the meditative mantra of nature including; sound (the wind in the trees, a babbling brook,) and other soft fascinations (the sights, sunsets, sunrises, scenes, aromas.) Nature can meditate us if we set the right intention.

The conditions for an inward experience include; keeping it as simple as possible confining ourselves to the basic necessities, with the minimum of “stuff’ while not being hungry, cold, wet, lost or terrified. Take a journal to log your revelations rather than a camera to distract you from why you are there. Some form of meditation is key. Avoid survival situations, minimize the “need to know” and the complexity of what is around you unless it takes your inwards.

 “It must be a poor life that achieves freedom from fear.” Aldo Leopold.

All three phases of the journey are associated with fear which is the catalyst for change. There are three stages to the journey.

"The Hero ventures forth from the world of common day; into a region of supernatural wonder (Separation.)

 Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won. (Theshold.)

“The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. (Incorporation.)"               J. Campbell

These three phases essential for any hero’s journey were described by Arnold Van Gennep in relationship to indigenous rites of passage. In a sense we are going primal on the quest.

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

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

Separation involves a call to adventure and a yearning for the extraordinary. One overcomes the first level of resistance which is fear driven. Others will also try and dissuade you from taking risks possibly because they would be afraid to do so. Also, an object or instrument of power is provided. In days of old it was likely to be a sword or a weapon. Now it’s more likely to be an inspirational book, workshop, or a description of someone’s epic journey of transformation.

“The meeting of oneself is at first, the meeting of the shadow.” 

C.J. Jung

“To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light.” C.J. Jung

It's better to experience the learning than to learn the experience. The Ancestors

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

Threshold involves entering the sacred space one has chosen. This is numinous and where one encounters an adversary (physical and or psychological.) The "adversary" allows us to witness our fears, our shadow side and our ego and overcome them. Victory is won and the “grail” is obtained. The grail is often an aha kind of experience which will facilitate the hero embarking on future journeys of transformation.

Next week we will talk about Incorporation and Integration.