Joseph Campbell, author of THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, showed how the idea of the hero's journey is a universal motif in the mythology of the world's various cultures. Each of us is involved in many such journeys in our lifetime. They may last years, or be completed over a weekend.
These hero's journeys encompass the major changes of our lives, the coming of age stories, the transformations into parenthood, the military, or spiritual awakening.
There are four essential steps:
1. The Call: Can be from within you (the most common) - the small voice urging you to dream of something greater for you, the next step (or leap) to be taken. It can also come from without - the military draft is a great example of this. Often, the call comes from without only when you have refused the call from within. Refusal of the call leads to great frustration in life - the feeling that something is "missing."
2. The Wilderness: When the call is accepted, or when you are coerced into acceptance, you enter The Wilderness - a state of being in the unknown. You feel awkward, out of place, fearful (this was Dorothy in Oz). You will meet people who will be your teachers - some by becoming obstacles, others by becoming helpers - and you have to discern which is which. If you make it though The Wilderness phase, you are ready to seek the jewel.
3. The Quest: This is the phase where you must traverse significant internal challenges to gain "the jewel" or "the Grail," meaning your true identity. When one discovers his or her true identity, he or she has successfully traversed the journey to this point. Failure to find the inner identity means that you fail at this stage of life. It might be learning to find the sergeant in yourself after being promoted in the military; it might be finding the Christ Consciousness (The Holy Grail) within yourself on your spiritual journey.
4. The Return: When one has found the true inner identity relating to the stage of life covered by this particular hero's journey, one must then return to the community (or consciousness) that you have left and bring back your gift - your new self. There, it is either accepted or rejected. When it is rejected (as when a gay man comes out to his family and they reject him), there is a great sense of loss, but the true hero is not defeated. He or she simply turns in another direction with the new self and creates a better life. The danger at this stage is that one will collapse if the gift is rejected.
These journeys can overlap in life. The key is to become aware of the process and move through them with purpose and power (a bit like Indiana Jones). I highly recommend Campbell's HERO book, and another, REFLECTIONS ON THE ART OF LIVING, A Joseph Campbell Companion, by Diane K. Osbon. Both walk you through the aspects of the journey and provide excellent road maps fro growth.
Love and Light,
RevLockard
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