THE HERO/INE’S JOURNEY # 3

"This above all, to thine own Self be true and it must follow, as the night

follows the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." Shakespeare

"Be what you is, coz if you be what you aint, you aint what you is."

 Tombstone in Arizona

 Nature or wilderness is a preferred environment

for the Hero's journey. Whether preferred or not,

the 'Magic of the Ordinary' in Nature can always be used as a catalyst or metaphor for change (a bird, an animal,

a spider's web.)

A. Van Gennep studied rites of passage, any recognized these three phases.

Separation - Threshold - Incorporation 

       A. Van Gennep 

Joseph Campbell eloquently confirmed them.

 

"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. 

(Threshold).

The Hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons

on his fellow humans. " 

(Incorporation). 

The ultimate Hero's journey is aligned with a search for the Self which is also linked

to our true destiny or at least, at first, our core strength. Our destiny may come later.

This process can help us connect with the Four Basic Archetypes each one of which,

can carry many faces and expressions.

Healer

Teacher

Warrior

Visionary

The Teacher may teach through any medium...

The Warrior may be a CEO. or a visionary...

The Visionary, an artist, musician, shaman...

The Healer a wilderness guide or body worker...

Before the initiator process we may be doing the same work as after the journey but doing it in a different way, in helping others.

"Before enlightenment, cut wood, carry water. 

After enlightenment, chop wood carry water." Zen teaching

The Four Yogas

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

The yogi (or anyone) may also embrace the Hero's journey on the path to Self Realization or Enlightenment.

There are four basic yogas just as there are four basic destiny archetypes.

Karma yoga is the yoga of service with mindfulness (the Mother Theresa archetype.) 

Bhakti yoga is devotional yoga – love of the Creator (David, the psalmist or the Sufi poet archetype.) 

Jnana yoga is the intellectual pursuit of knowledge of the scriptures (or the teacher archetype.) 

Raja yoga is the path of the Buddha and that of control of the mind with meditation 

- the most challenging of the paths.

Self-realization and Hero can be achieved through any one of these four yogas.

The search for one's destiny is the search of one's life. Stay on the scent, stick to the spoor.

Its important to realize that many of us have more than one core or signature strength but only one true destiny given by the Creator that no one else can fulfill. However, those so gifted may get confused because they have strengths in all four archetypes -

Healer, Teacher, Warrior, Visionary

(or any of the four yogas.) 

The strengths that we have in the other archetypes are there to support the one.

The power is in the one! This is the challenge of being a jack of all trades

and true master of none. We will be accountable to fulfilling our single unique talent.

 

“When you find you place where you are, (your true purpose) practice begins.“ Dogen

It is important to distinguish between the Warrior archetype

and the Hero archetype.

The Hero brings back the "grail" to the community by fulfilling all three stages.

"We make a living by what we get (Warrior,)

we make a life by what we give (Hero.)" W. Churchill 

The Warrior completes Separation and Threshold but not the Incorporation phase.

S/he rather keeps the grail for him/herself, the family, the corporation or institution...

We have all have had many Warrior journeys, fewer Hero ones.

It is never to late to actualize a prior Warrior’s journey into

a Hero’s journey. It is worthwhile revisiting those that may have had

that potential. and see what 'Aha' we may have ignored on the path. However, it probably will require another Hero’s journey to fine tune the prior experience.

There is usually more more than one Hero's journey. The way is not an easy.