Early in Natural Comfort’s story, we presented seminars on tools for transformation.  One of the topics of interest was the idea of the Hero’s Journey and how everyone has the possibility of transformation when they undertake their personal journey.  As you read this, you’ll no doubt recall stories such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and many others.  What is interesting is that there is always one person who embarks upon a “sacred mission” or “quest” in an effort to save the group. Upon closer inspection, it is also a personal transformation for that person, should they succeed.  The knowledge, skills and experiences they gather create the transformational gift of Wisdom for themselves.

Here is the excerpt from one of our seminars, entitled The Hero’s Journey

The ideas of quest, journey and retreat take root in the search for paradise.  The Hero’s Journey is a metaphor that infuses every magickal path and ties closely in with the ideas of retreat and self-sequester.  Joseph Campbell is credited with identifying the common threads winding throughout the world mythology and tradition as well as linking these under a common idea called the “monomyth”.

Campbell’s theories incorporate a great deal of what Carl Jung’s work is on the human psyche and collective unconsciousness – the idea that we are all born with ”memories” of a shared past, and that these memories may surface with powerful results.  The collective unconsciousness is a belief that we are all linked across time by a cosmic thread of shared human experience and that we’re all born intuitively understanding these shared experiences.  This explains why myths, rituals and shared stories resonate so deeply within us – they help us tap into the deep magick, a sense of something much older than ourselves.

Campbell also relied on Jung’s work with mythical archetypes:  the recurrent appearances of mother, warrior, Goddess, sage, fool and other characters found in the stories.  In the hero’s eyes, all roads lead to home – a place that feels like paradise, given the perils of the road behind.

Archetypes reside as energy within the Unconscious psychological life of all people everywhere; they exist both inside and outside the individual human soul.  They live in us, but even more importantly, we live in them.  We can, therefore, find them by going inward (to our own dreams, fantasies, etc.) or by going outward (to myth, legend, art, literature, religion, constellations, animals). Thus archetypes provide images of the hero within and beyond ourselves.

The Hero’s Journey has 3 stages:

• The Preparation (aka The Departure)              EGO
• The Journey (aka The Initiation)                      SOUL
• The Return                                                            SELF

The EGO is the “container” for our life, creates boundaries and mediates our relationship with the world; it helps us learn to fit into the world as we know it and to act to change that world to better meet our needs
The SOUL is the Unconscious which connects us with the transpersonal; it is the repository of human potential
The SELF signifies achievement of a sense of genuine identity; when the Self is born, we know who we are, the disjointed parts of our psyche come together and we experience wholeness and integrity.

In Carol Pearson’s model, the Twelve Archetypes of the Journey include:
Stage One:         The Innocent;  The Orphan;  The Warrior;  The Caregiver
Stage Two:         The Seeker;  The Lover;  The Destroyer;  The Creator
Stage Three:      The Ruler;  The Magician;  The Sage;  The Fool

Stage One:  The Preparation These first four archetypes help us prepare for the journey.  From these four guides we learn:

• To survive in the world as it is
• To develop Ego strength
• To be productive citizens and good people with high moral character

The developed Ego helps us meet our needs and balance our needs with the needs of others and in that way contributes to the survival and development of the individual, family, community nation and the species. Establishing a healthy Ego is the prerequisite for taking the Journey safely.

Stage Two: The Journey These next four archetypes help us on the journey itself, as we encounter our souls and become real.  The Essence of Life is Mystery.  Soul is also known as the Collective Unconscious, from which all archetypes emerge.  We now can become:

• Connected with the Eternal
• Provided with a sense of meaning and value in our lives

We move to a concern with Soul when we feel the need to know the meaning of life or of our own lives. Or, when we feel a yearning for some connection with the cosmos. Or, we contemplate our own mortality.

Stage Three:  The Return
The last four archetypes mediate the return to the kingdom.  They help us learn:

• To express our true selves
• To transform our lives

These final archetypes take us beyond heroism into Freedom and Joy – IF we bring the learning into consciousness. The Return is the entry point into a whole new way of living and being – moving us out of “life is a struggle” and into that of “abundance”.

Wherever you are on your life journey, know that the learning and experiences are for your highest good. Everyone’s journey is different, as we are all on different paths.  But ultimately, we are all searching for Home.  For Paradise.  For our True Selves.