Love is a Hero’s Journey, and the Hero’s Journey is a noble but difficult path.
– Marianne Williamson
After last weekend’s newsletter, many of you wanted to know more about the Hero’s Journey. Therefore, this weekend I want to share with you a little bit about what is known as “The Five Stages” of the Hero’s Journey. (Please note that the term ‘Hero’ in this description refers to both men and women.)STAGE 1 – The Call
It’s the invitation to journey and the response: the initial restlessness and the apprehensions, the move toward accepting the invitation to make significant life changes.
If you answer that call then you move to the next stage which is…
STAGE 2 – The Preparation
STAGE 2 – The Preparation
What The Hero (YOU) will need along the way and at the crucial moment of encounter, the virtues and values, the core beliefs that will be used to move through the obstacle, to ‘slay the monster’. It’s like packing your bags for a trip. From a psychological point of view. it means making some sacrifices and letting go of what you no longer will need.
Having prepared, you move to the next stage which is…
STAGE 3 – The Encounter
The hero meets an obstacle; to move through it, the spiritual provisions brought on the journey must be used. The ‘monster’ must be slayed. Perhaps that is what you’re going through now?
Having slayed the dragon, you move to the next stage which is…
STAGE 4 – The Homecoming
The Hero begins the trek back home (the old way of doing things, the old life) and finds that changes are necessary; re-orders the realm, cleans house, establishes the new person in a new environment.
And then, finally…
STAGE 5 – The Recounting
After the homecoming, The Hero becomes The Teacher, identifying and reviewing the lessons that have been learned, recounting the tale of the journey, sharing with others the transformation that has taken place.
Now, you can do that in a lifetime, or a day, or a period of your life. But, I’ve learned that if you apply this and remember it while you’re going through your challenges, you can be in better touch with your own soul. It’s about being awake to the journey!
Now, you can do that in a lifetime, or a day, or a period of your life. But, I’ve learned that if you apply this and remember it while you’re going through your challenges, you can be in better touch with your own soul. It’s about being awake to the journey!
Are you ready to begin your Hero’s Journey? Click here to find out how you can participate in the first Hero’s Journey Retreat this August, or in the second in November.
Beverly (docbeverly@aol.com)
