Be the Hero of your own Story

I get asked every day Why I write and speak on this. The answer is simple I want to see my clients succeed.

In the 20th century a number of thinkers

studying comparative mythology and

religion noticed something peculiar

about the myths of different cultures

throughout history many of them shared

fundamental similarities in theme

structure and symbolism this led to the

question as to how such similarities

could arise in cultures separated by

both space and time Carl Young and

Joseph Campbell two of the more

prominent thinkers studying this problem

proposed that the reason for such

similarities was due to the fact that

many mythological themes and symbols

emerge from an area of the Mind called

the collective

unconscious in addition to the Mind

consisting of a personal unconscious

which is composed of elements drawn from

an individual's life experience the

collective unconscious contains elements

or cognitive structures which evolved

over human history and are therefore

common to all these evolved cognitive

structures which young called archetypes

cannot be observed directly but manifest

various images or symbolic patterns

which form the basis of many myths

explaining how similar myths can arise

in cultures separated by hundreds or

thousands of years as Joseph Campbell

the 20th Century's foremost expert on

world mythology noted the symbols of

Mythology are not manufactured they

cannot be ordered invented or

permanently suppressed they are

spontaneous Productions of the psyche as

manifestations of the deepest layers of

the unconscious myths are thought to

reveal Timeless truths about the

yearnings fears and aspir ations common

to every individual in the words of Yung

myths are first and foremost psychic

phenomena that reveal the nature of the

Soul myths have served various functions

in different cultures across time one of

the more common of these functions has

been to provide individuals with a

template or model to assist in their

psychological maturation and development

psychological development via what Young

called the individuation process occurs

when unconscious contents of the psyche

are integrated into one's conscious

personality resulting in the formation

of what Yung called the true personality

there are various ways in which

unconscious content can be made

conscious becoming aware of one's dream

life is the most wellknown exploring

mythological symbolism is a lesser known

but equally effective way to bring

unconscious content into the light of

Consciousness as Campbell explained

these symbols stem from the psyche they

speak from and to the spirit and they

are in fact the vehicles of

communication between the deeper depths

of our spiritual life and this

relatively thin layer of Consciousness

by which we govern our daylight

existences activating unconscious

content is important because the

unconscious contains unrealized

potentials which if discovered and

integrated into one's Consciousness can

result in a personal transformation to

discover and nourish these potentials

within Campbell called the pathway to

Bliss myths of individuals undergoing

Heroic Adventures as they attempt to

actualize their higher potentials and

find their own unique Pathway to Bliss

are abundant in many cultures throughout

history while these myths vary in detail

depending on their time and place of

origin they share a common pattern which

Joseph Campbell coined the myth of the

hero's journey in myths which follow the

pattern of the hero's journey the hero

Ventures forth from a familiar world

into strange and sometimes threatening

lands be it a passage into the desert a

dark forest or an adventure into the

deep ocean Campbell proposed we viw this

as symbolic of the individual's

departure from their conscious

personality into the unexplored regions

of their unconscious in search of the

ultimate Boon the unrealized potentials

hidden within for the remainder of the

video we'll briefly trace the pattern of

the hero's journey noting its relevancy

to those who feeling lost and

disoriented in life could benefit from

venturing forth into their unexplored

unconscious

psyche the hero's journey always begins

with a call to Adventure in myths this

call is often personified as an animal

the hero encounters symbolic of one's

instincts or gut feelings which are

insightful but too often ignored in the

words of Campbell often in actual life

and not infrequently in the myths and

popular Tales we encounter the dull case

of the call unanswered for it is always

possible to turn the ear to other

interests refusal of the summons

converts the adventure into its negative

walled in boredom hard work or culture

the subject loses the power of

significant affirmative action and

becomes a victim to to be saved while

the call is often initially refused not

all who hesitate are lost there are

forces within which understand the

importance of the adventure and act to

ensure the call does not remain

unanswered forever in mid these forces

are often personified as Supernatural

helpers in fairy Lord maybe some little

fellow of the wood some wizard hermit

Shepherd or Smith who appears to supply

the amulets and advice that the hero

will require the higher mythologies

develop the role of the great figure of

the guide the teacher the Fairman the

conductors of souls to the afterworld

assisted by internal forces the hero

eventually answers the Call to Adventure

and Ventures off into unknown territory

at the boundary of the familiar and

unexplored regions the hero encounters

the threshold Guardian in myths this

Guardian is often a menacing being or

mephistophelian figure which represents

one's Shadow the portion of one's

personality which has been rejected over

time and thus relegated to the surface

layer of the unconscious in midst the

threshold Guardian instills Panic among

those unprepared to meet him just as in

real life confronting one's rejected

personality can be difficult and

distressing yet if one finds a way to

accept their rejected personality one

gains access to an inner strength which

will be of assistance as one descends

into the deeper and sometimes

threatening layers of the unconscious as

Campell explained and so it happens that

if anyone undertakes for himself the

perilous Journey Into the Darkness by

descending either intentionally or

unintentionally into the Crooked Lanes

of his own spiritual Labyrinth he soon

finds himself in a landscape of

symbolical figures any one of which may

swallow him descending deeper and deeper

into the psyche overcoming trials and

experiencing moments of ecstatic Insight

eventually one's previous self begins to

disintegrate and a new more impressive

self begins to form in myths this stage

is symbolized as a death and rebirth in

which the hero enters a dark area such

as the belly of a whale a tomb or dark

cave and after a period of time emerges

from it reborn reborn with a new sense

of strength and purpose the ultimate

Boon or unrealized potential within is

discovered soon after finding the

ultimate Boon is described in different

myths in a variety of ways yet it is

always meant to signify an expansion of

consciousness and their width of being

illumination Transfiguration Freedom

while the discovery of the unrealized

potentials Within is a highly

significant moment it is not the end of

the journey one still must determine how

to nourish these potentials and bring

them forth in the world this can be

exceedingly difficult as Campbell

explained the whole idea is that you've

got to bring out again that which you

went to recover the unrealized

unutilized potential in yourself the

whole point of this journey is the

reintroduction of this potential into

the world it goes without saying this is

very difficult bringing the Boon back

can be even even more difficult than

going down into your own depths in the

first place as you attempt to bring

forth your potential into the world

there's the possibility that nobody will

care or pay attention there is also the

possibility that the Applause of others

will divert you from your authentic path

leading to a life of mimicry or

enslavement to the opinions of others

the optimal possibility is to carve out

your own corner of the world where you

can nourish your potential and offer

your work to others without concern of

Applause or fear of rejection in doing

so you will have found your own unique

Pathway to Bliss and your life will have

followed the thread of the hero's

journey what I think is that a good life

is one Hero Journey after another over

and over again you are called to the

realm of Adventure you are called to New

Horizons each time there is the same

problem do I dare and then if you do

dare the dangers are there and the help

also in the Fulfillment or the Fiasco

there's always the possibility of a

fiasco but there's also the possibility

of

bliss