DESTINY AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY #3

Incorporation (continued)

 

Alternatively, you may choose to 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.) 

 

“May the hero awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow.” The Upanishads

 

We know much more than we think we know and are much more than we believe ourselves to be. We only need to remember. This mean tapping into the “soulular” memory of our Store Consciousness – the accumulation of our past lives and our subconscious memories. We may have a sense of de ja vu and that we have heard these spiritual concepts before or that they are now easily understood and remembered. In this way we can transcend anxiety and the sorrow arising out of fear. At the end of the day and a series of hero’s journeys one comes to realize that the quest is a sacred one to connect with the Higher Self and its greater mission. 

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 even lead to giving up a partner, one’s job or selling one’s house but the supply lines for security, must be maintained. Relinquishing one’s survival needs may prevent us from actualizing any meaningful change. 

It is important to take time out and look at one’s current situation after the journey. One could also scrutinize prior warrior journeys to find the grail that may have been left behind on the way and also use that or those for any new resolution. It pays to have a skillful, trusted witness or witnesses 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. Inner practice and group synergism or just one other person can be supportive. 

 

“At first you must learn to do the humble things and often they are the most difficult to do.  In those humble things, be busy about helping someone who has need of you ... and then only will you begin to find true happiness.

 

I do not know what your destiny will be but I know one thing, the only ones among your who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” A. Schweitzer

 

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 fine as well as good karma. If we can find a sense of flow, fluidity even superfluidity and being in the “zone” and with that unique talent, you will – as Thurman says – come alive. This happens when you are using your core or signature strength (Seligman.)

 

“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? The real you is likely to be the one on your journey. Embracing this one can avoid returning to the old you. Attend to needs not wants – simplify. Are you marching to the sound of your own drum or that of someone else? Karma does not endorse a copycat destiny.

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 mantel piece for those who do not understand to invalidate or trivialize. To be polite, talk to them about context rather than content in words they can understand rather than want to challenge. The insights may be very subtle but vital. They usually are not like neon lights blazing in the dark. It’s all well and good if they are epic but it is also wise to be careful of these, they can delude you and arise out of grandiosity. If you cannot change what you do, maybe change how you do it. 

 

The worship most pleasing to God is service to others.” L. Boff

 

The Peter Principle states that we rise to the level of our own incompetence, in other words, “cream rises to the top and then it sours.”

Many of us, because of our ambition or because we are perceived as being competent at one thing may be logically be graduated to something out of our archetype or yoga. We must have the resolve not to be tempted to leave that sense of flow and aliveness and become mediocre in spite of the compelling perks that may be offered.

 

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” Abe Lincoln

“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water (your work.) After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water (your destiny through service.)“  Zen teaching

 

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, complacency and the allure of the material. Maintaining a regular spiritual practice is essential to holding to one’s truth, vision or myth. As Campbell says; follow your bliss.

 

“When you find your place where you are, practice (or service) begins.“ Dogen

 

With time one may find that there are recognizable inner experiences that confirm you are opening up to the spirit world – such as; synchronicity, coherence, a sense of flow or “super-fluidity,” and other intuitive powers. 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 them away and do not boast about them, they are sacred. 

Oneness experiences when the Knower, the Known, and the Process of Knowing fuse into one (Maslow’s Peak Experience) or wilderness rapture tell you your energy body is in sync with the cosmos but may not tell you what to do about it.

Remember that the paranormal talent or talents that you have – no-one has all of these – will be the one or the ones that your guides and the Great Spirit know to be those most accessible to their messages. It is wasteful of your time and theirs to follow those that are not part of who you truly are. Just because some well-informed person tells you that this is the way to go or the spiritual practice to embrace, does not mean either are the ones for you. Be wary of others relating their own epic experiences if they belittle your own.

 

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

 

 

DESTINY AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY #2

 

Threshold

 

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 which pushes the sufferer to go inwards into his/her sacred space wherever she 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 should prevail only when absolutely essential.

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.) At least five days is usually advisable 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

 

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 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 the return.  Intensifying one’s spiritual practice will help to manage these fluxes. The depression is temporary and “normal,” lasting up to three weeks.

 

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. 

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 and releasing from addictions of the past from minor to major. 

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.

Incorporation

 

“…The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow humans.” J. Campbell

 

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” W. Churchill

 

“We are here to help others – what on earth the others are here for – I do not know.” W.H. Auden

 

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

Healer

Teacher

Warrior or Leader

Visionary or Elder

There are many ways to teach, heal or be a warrior. The warrior-leader should be a spiritual warrior guiding the “tribe” with wisdom for the sake of the tribe and not him or herself. The Visionary can be a sage, elder , crone, guru, priest, shaman, poet, author, artist or musician ... One’s destiny can also be actualized through any of the other above archetypes with the vision to help others.  

 

“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

 

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

"Most men (and women) live lives of quiet desperation." Thoreaux 

 

Many have talents in all four archetypes making it difficult to know which to choose. There is usually only one core or signature strength where your potential and power reside. The others must serve the one. If you have doubts, then 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 best 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 Creator does not want us to be “a Jack of all trades and a master of none” - but a master of one. The power is in that “one” which will be supported by the Field, your guides and even the Great Spirit who wants a personal relationship with us all.

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

Do not rely on the hope of results …

“Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and achieve no worth at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea you will start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.” Thomas Merton

If you are unclear which to choose it is 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. 

 

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 again but more briefly and in relation to 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. 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 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  we are required to manifest which the Supreme Being cannot. The Infinite One  created something out of nothing. We are required to take something and then make something else out of it with our own, individual, unique talent – so helping to perfect 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 Creator. 

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. Frequently it is a catastrophe that forces us into the dark night of the soul and a hero’s journey. We do not go into it willingly but are compelled into awakening to a better reality. We have to find our own way and merely following a path fashioned by others for us will mitigate against our karma. The quest may be prompted by a kick in the rear such as loss of a loved one, one’s job or one’s health or other calamities. 

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

 

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

 

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

Joseph Campbell also delineates 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 frost 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

 

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 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. 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.

 

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 the extraordinary – contemplating a spider’s web or being in the splendor of the Andes. 

Preparation requires the following; having an inner intention to change, letting go of goals and doing the journey for its own sake, keeping it simple and focusing only on one’s need 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 for perfection with its multiple polarities. 

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.

 

“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

 

FORGIVENESS #3

  

 

FORGIVING OTHERS

It is worth considering

 

Was it intentional? 

Is there another side to their story? 

Is there a unique cultural issue? 

Have you managed to walk in their moccasins for a day? 

Are or were they victims of their own circumstances – recent and past? 

Was the insult true or worthy of attention? 

Was harm done? 

Was any form of an apology offered and how sincere was it?

If major or critical, is it reconcilable with some form of compensation or not?

 

Truth can be ego clinging to its own image.

 

Was one’s ego the issue? Is ego related, self-righteous indignation predominant? 

Is a lack of forgiveness causing contraction rather than expansion, fear rather than love? 

Is there a possibility of relating positively to the conflict rather than further aggravating the issue? Is it better to be effective rather than right - creating more balance than resentment?

 

When you no longer need to be right, the purity of your soul will shine through.

 

These teachings from the sages can helps us to find the way.

 

“Mercy to the point of recalling only the good qualities of our tormentor.
Remembering them in the innocence of their infancy.
Mercy beyond the letter of the law.
Patience in enduring evil.” Cordovero

 

Forgiveness was at the heart of Mandela and Bishop Tutus’ Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the fall of Apartheid. Their idea was that it was essential to forgive the atrocities for the healing of the “Rainbow Nation.”

 

“It is vitally important that we see these mens’ humanity”

Albie Sachs the lawyer who presided over the commission.

The commission wanted healing and their only hope was to reach out with compassion and not revenge. Remorse and contrition were to be openings for repentance. The truth and the whole truth needed to be told and a sincere apology for the atrocity was key. many disagreed with this policy but it did lead to healing of the rainbow nation during Mandela's presidency. It could have lead to a blood bath.

 

“What are the ways of the Holy One. A God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving, iniquity, transgression and sin.” Exodus 

 

Just as the Creator judges the action and not the Higher Self - made in the divine image so should we judge the action and not that person's higher Self. Karma takes care of the rest. The Ancestors teach us to sweeten our judgments.

 

Forgiveness before and beyond the grave

 

When it comes to our mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers we owe and honor them with our forgiveness. They gave us a live birth and without them we would not be on the planet. Hence the commandment...

"Honor your father and mother ..."

You do not have to love them or even like them, or have anything more to do with them. Just to forgive, release and let that angst go – physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. 

The dead often hang around the living looking for forgiveness since forgiveness will release them from that particular karmic burden and make for a more functional reincarnation. There is nothing good about being haunted by the ghosts of the past that were responsible for our neglect.  Their intrusive energies - intentionally or not - get in the way of the flow of our life force. Forgiveness will release them and also us of their spiritual intrusiveness even if they are not haunting you from the other side. Neuroscience has shown that forgiveness is often more important for the one doing the forgiving than the one receiving it.

Giving forgiveness and asking for forgiveness is best done before death.  Forgiveness is much more difficult when they have passed on but possible with expert help. One should also release the other from unkept promises and unresolved commitments.

Forgiveness is focused on the degree to which we are holding our anger.
This does not mean we have to embrace someone who has done  something despicable. 
It is an internal process totally dependent on us where negative feelings are released.
It can be kept secret if we want – there is no necessity to reveal.

There is also no need to reconcile.

ASKING FORGIVENESS FROM THOSE WE HAVE WRONGED

It may help to define the insult for which one is asking forgiveness as:

 

Minor or Petty

A threat to their value system or ego. 

As kids we would rhyme; sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me– would that it were so.

We do not have to take responsibility if we have done nothing wrong but we can always empathize and apologize sincerely for any hurt rendered to the other as in; "I am sorry if I hurt your feelings." You are not admitting culpability.

 

Serious

Acts causing harm require a sincere apology on behalf of the perpetrator and possibly some form of compensation.

 

Critical.

These are actions that require the most attention - those causing a threat to not only the ego but to; life, limb, organ, function, livelihood, a relationship and anything else of this nature. Asking forgiveness and trying to compensate in some way is not only good karma but could prevent retribution. This pertains especially to those with vengeful inclinations.  In indigenous societies it is a major catalyst for witchcraft and sorcery, in the West - for legal action. Grudges are never good. The apology should be done karmically for its own sake out of remorse and not only for preventing negative consequences.

For ourselves we need to be sure that our unskillful actions result only in remorse and regret and not ongoing guilt and even worse, self-condemnation and self-recrimination which can lead to shame. The sooner we set things right the better for us and those concerned. Waiting aggravates the situation. Cleaning the slate can release one from a huge burden.

 

According to Maimonides there are several steps to ensure that our attempt will release us karmically from what we have done.

 

Be aware of the action, admit to it and sincerely feel regret and remorse. 
Confess and ask forgiveness unconditionally without any excuses as to the why ...  If appropriate it may have to be a communal apology. Rationalizing one's action mutes the intention.
Return what was taken if possible or compensate in some way.
Picture a better way to have handled the incident.
Determine never to repeat the action.

 

If the apology is not heart felt it is karmically neutral or even negative. 

One must confess, admit, acknowledge any wrong without justifying the action. When asking, allow the other to be where they are. Regrets may not be accepted especially if the damage cannot be repaired or allowing of compensation. At least show willingness to do so. If done with good intent it should unite and not divide. Giving or asking for forgiveness does not have to be associated with reconciliation of the relationship.

Maimonides adds that for complete karmic resolution – if the apology is not accepted – it should be delivered a total of three times. If a sincere effort has been made to ask for forgiveness, more than once and this is denied, the karmic burden shifts to the one holding a grudge. If the person rejects your offer nothing is lost.

 

“… What you give to, if not received, is still not lost. Not getting back what you give, and or, not having what you give being received – neither way is a waste or loss.” John O’donahue

 

Our politicians and others in high places understand how important it is to apologize, but the offering is often without contrition or associated with a rationalization and trying to excuse the behavior. Usually those concerned will be able to see if there is true regret.

The Ancestors teach that we should repent with joy and forgive with joy because we are returning to the Self and are back on the path.

The three questions we should ask ourselves are:

What have we done to our Higher Selves (made in the image of the divine.) Forgive ourselves and make rectification.

What others have done to us? Give forgiveness.

What have we done to others? Ask forgiveness.