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