Transcript Of The Seminar By S. Gilligen And R. Dilts The Hero's Journey

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

RD: As we begin to develop the overall structure of this journey, we'll start with the work of Joseph Campbell. Campbell is an American mythologist who has studied various legends and myths over the years involving men and women from different cultures throughout history. Campbell noticed that there is a certain "deep structure" in all of these stories and examples, which he called "the hero's journey." His first book was titled A Hero with a Thousand Faces to emphasize that there are many different ways in which a hero's journey can be expressed, but they all share a common framework, or framework. The following steps are a simple version of Campbell's travel map, which we'll use to help us navigate our own hero journey during this program.

Stages of the Hero's Journey:

1. Call

2. Committing yourself to the call (overcoming refusal)

3. Crossing the threshold (initiation)

4. Finding the keepers

5. Dealing with demons and transforming them

6. Development of the inner self and new resources

7. Transformation

8. Returning home with gifts

1. Call

RD: The journey begins with a call. We enter the world, and the world offers us circumstances that invoke or attract our unique vitality - or vitality, as Martha Graham would say. Eckhart Tolle, who wrote The Power of the Present, says that the main function of the soul is to awaken. We do not enter this world to be inactive. We have come to awaken and once again awaken and grow and develop. Thus, the call is always a call to grow, participate, bring more of that vitality or vital energy into the world, or return it to people.

SG: Often a call to action comes from a problem, crisis, foresight, or someone in need of help. From something lost that needs to be restored, or some power in the world has weakened - and it needs to be renewed, some central part of life has been damaged - and it needs to be healed, a challenge is thrown - and it needs to be answered. But at the same time, the call can come from inspiration or joy: you hear a fragment of some great music, and you awaken to the world of beauty that you passionately want to manifest in this world; you feel an amazing love for parenting, and she calls you to manifest this archetypal power in society; you fall in love with your job, and that's all you can think of. As we will see, the call to the hero's journey can come from both great suffering and great joy, sometimes both.

RD: We must emphasize that the calling of the hero is very different from the personal goal that comes from the ego. Ego would like another TV and some more beer, or at least be rich and famous for Hero's Journey.

The soul does not want this and does not need it, it wants awakening, healing, connection, creation, it awakens at the call of deep tasks, but not to glorify the ego, but to serve and glorify life. So, when a firefighter or policeman runs into a burning building to save someone, this is not the goal of their desires. It is a challenge, a risk, and no guarantee of success. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to be a hero. Thus, calling takes courage. It requires you to become more than you were before.

SG: Another topic that we will explore is that you may hear the call at different points in your life in very different ways. In one of our exercises, we will ask you to trace the chronology of your invocation. For example, here is a simple version of the request for this kind of clarification: "Take a few minutes to look back at your life, and allow yourself to realize those different events that really touched you, which awakened in you the beauty and deep meaning of life." Or here's a similar question: "What are you doing in your life that takes you beyond your usual state of I?" Your answers to these questions will reveal some of the ways in which you have felt the call.

We will continue to emphasize that when you hear the call, your soul rises and your spirit becomes clear. By paying attention to how this happens, you can begin to sense, track, and support your hero journey. This is what Campbell meant when he said, "Follow your bliss!" Many have misunderstood this as an endorsement of hedonism and misunderstood the meaning of Campbell: the place where your spirit flares up most - when you feel "blissful" - is a sign that this is where you must do something in this world.

RD: As Stephen said earlier, sometimes the call comes from symptoms or from suffering. When my mother was a little over fifty, she was again diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases throughout the body - not only on the other breast, but also in the ovaries, in the bladder and in the bone marrow of almost all bones in the body. Doctors gave her a few months at best. As you can imagine, this was the worst thing that ever happened to her. At first, she felt very much like a victim and not a hero at all.

I helped her with questions such as: “What is the message of cancer? What does he call me to become? My mother was deeply open to this exploratory journey, and it completely changed her life.

Much to the surprise of the doctors, she recovered perfectly and lived for another 18 years almost completely without symptoms. Later, looking back at that time, she said: “It was the best thing that ever happened to me! I'm lucky. I lived two lives, one before I was re-diagnosed with cancer, and one after. And my second life was much better than the first one."

The question we will explore in this program is "What is life calling you to?" This vocation is probably not so easy, it is probably not an invitation to go for a walk in the park. The vocation is probably the most difficult, it is a beautiful but difficult path. This path usually destroys the status quo. When I work with people in companies, I pay attention to the fact that calling is not just about improving the present. Calling and foresight bring the future into the present and can completely destroy the present, making it impossible for you to act in your usual way.

A key part of a hero's journey is accepting the call and committing to travel.

2. Denial of calling

RD: Precisely because the call can be provocatively difficult, it is often accompanied by what Campbell calls "rejection." The hero wants to avoid all the hassle that this will cause. "No thanks. Let someone else do it. It's too difficult for me. I don't have time for this. I am not ready". These are typical sayings used to refuse a calling.

SG: And while some of the negative responses to the call may come from within, some come from outside - from family, friends, critics (whom Campbell calls "cannibals") or from society. You may be told, "This is unreal." Or, as many girls and women say hypnotically, "That would be selfish." Such words sometimes force you to turn away from your calling, although, fortunately, not always.

I had a friend named Allan. He was one of the major figures in American postmodernism. For as long as he can remember, he always wanted to become an artist. But his father was a big lawyer in New York and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. He insisted all the time: “You will not be an artist. You will be my junior partner. He brought young Allan to his law firm and showed him the office that was already reserved for him. Incredibly, his name was already written on the door plate.

Allan had a very creative and stubborn unconscious. He developed severe asthma, which forced him to move to Tucson's better climate, Arizona, far from his father's hypnotic reach.

While growing up in Arizona, Allan developed his art. This is an excellent illustration of how his unconscious was insured so that he could realize his vocation. Many people tell similar stories - how they, in many ways, big and small, have shied away from oppression in order to continue to follow their spirit.

RD: In the case of my mother, when she began to look inside herself and make these changes in herself, her surgeon looked her straight in the eyes and stated in no uncertain terms that this method of research was "complete nonsense" and could "drive her crazy." And the doctor she worked for as a nurse remarked, "If you really care about your family, you won't leave them unprepared," which in itself is an interesting "hypnotic suggestion." This suggestion takes the form of a presupposition: “You will die, and trying to live is selfish. You must prepare yourself and all those close to you for your death, and stop making a fuss. " Soon after, my mother decided to stop working with him.

Interestingly, about six years later, this doctor became seriously ill.

He was not even close to being as advanced as my mother, and therefore, in response to his illness, he took his own life. So no one has ever been able to find out whether his wife was a voluntary participant in all this, but she died with him. Because, of course, he could not "leave her unprepared."

So there are messages that come from inside or outside to block the path of your calling. A key part of our work will be to recognize them and go beyond these messages.

3. Crossing the threshold

RD: Once you answer the call and commit to getting on the path and going through the hero's journey, that leads to what Campbell calls "crossing the threshold." Now you are on a journey, you are in a test. "Let the games begin." The word "threshold" has several meanings. One of them implies that beyond the threshold lies a new frontier, a new territory, unknown, uncertain and unpredictable, the ghostly promised land.

Another threshold value is that you have reached the outer limits of your comfort zone. Before the threshold, you are in a known area, you are in your comfort zone, you know the relief of this area. Once you cross the threshold, you are outside your comfort zone.

Therefore, everything becomes difficult, complicated, dangerous, often painful, and possibly even fatal. Entering this challenging new territory is a defining moment in the hero's journey.

The third meaning of the threshold is that it is a fatal line: you cannot go back. It's like having a child - you can't just say, “Oh, I made a mistake. It's too complicated. I don't want him anymore. Take it back. Once you cross the threshold, there is only one opportunity for you - to go forward.

Thus, the threshold is the moment when you are about to step into new and difficult territory - where you have never been before and from where you cannot go back.

SG: And this is where your normal intellect will fail you. Your ordinary mind only knows how to create different versions of what has already happened (a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic in an attempt to save the ship). It cannot create new realities. Therefore, as you understand, your ordinary consciousness cannot be the leading system in the journey, and then as a rule, disorientation reactions occur - paralysis, confusion, trembling, insecurity, fainting, etc. These are all "subtle signals" by which you are called go beyond where you've ever been before.

In this work, the idea that your ordinary consciousness cannot guide your hero's journey will be central. That is why one of our main practical tasks - how in such moments to transform your consciousness into what we call the generative self - only it is able to support you with wisdom and courage and pave the course of your hero's journey.

4. Finding the keepers

RD: Campbell points out that when you go on a hero's journey, you must find yourself guardians. Who are they - the ones who will sing my song and remind me of who I am? Who are they - those who have the knowledge and tools that I need and about which I know nothing? Who can remind me that travel is possible and offer me their support when I need it most? Who are they - my teachers, my mentors, my patrons, my awakeners?

This is a big part of your learning curve on the journey - the constant search. Of course, this is your journey and no one else can do it for you. You are the one you will most need to listen to, learn from, and consult with. But at the same time, you cannot make this journey alone. This is not an ego excursion. It is something that will challenge you beyond all the possibilities that you now possess.

In this regard, we find it helpful to distinguish between hero and champion. The hero is, in general, a normal person who is called by life to act in extraordinary circumstances. A champion is a person who fights for a certain ideal, which he considers to be the right path, the right map of the world. And all who are against this ideal are enemies. In this way, the champion imposes his own view of the world on others.

SG: Therefore, the champion will say something like this: "You are either with us or against us," and other unforgettable words that you hear from many priests and politicians. (Laughter.)

RD: "We are fighting for truth, justice and the American way … all over the world." (Laughter.) "And we're going to liberate your country by occupying it."

SG: One little note about the guardians. They can be real people - friends, mentors, family members. They can also be historical figures or mythical creatures. For example, when I think about my path as a healer and therapist, I sometimes think about all those who have walked along it before me, whole generations of people have given their love and dedicated their lives to forging traditions and developing ways of healing.

While in meditation, I feel their support coming through time, from different cultures and different places, and coming to me to support my humble journey. Therefore, the next important question that we have to find out is - "How can I feel my guardians and how can I stay in connection with them - with those who can guide and support me on my journey?"

5. Face to face with YOUR demons and shadows

SG: The key difference between a hero and a champion is their relationship to what Campbell called "demons." Demons are entities that try to interfere with your journey, at times threatening even your very existence and the existence of those with whom you are associated. One of the main challenges in the hero's journey is how to deal with “negative otherness” both within and around him. The champion wants to dominate and destroys everything that is different from his ego ideal. The hero acts at a higher level - at the level of relative transformation of demons. The hero is called upon to do something that will transform not only himself, but also the relatively large area in which he lives. This change takes place at a deep level, and, again, such a change requires a different kind of consciousness - which is one of the main themes of our journey together.

RD: In many ways, the climax of the hero's journey is a confrontation with what we call a "demon," with what is perceived as a malevolent presence that threatens you and is determined to prevent you from reaching your calling. Campbell points out that initially the demon is perceived as something outside of you and opposed to you, but the hero's journey leads you to understand that the problem is not what is outside of you, but what is inside you. And the demon is ultimately just energy that is neither good nor bad. It's just energy, a phenomenon.

And what turns this something into a demon is the fact that I am afraid of him or he confuses me. If I had not been afraid of him, it would not have become a demon. And what turns someone or something into a demon is my reaction: my anger, my disappointment, my grief, guilt, shame, etc. This is what makes the problem seem so difficult. The demon serves as a mirror for us; It exposes our inner shadow - reactions, feelings, or parts of our own selves that we don't know how to deal with. Sometimes I call them our "domestic terrorists".

SG: From a practical point of view, the demon could be addiction, depression, ex-wife … (Laughter.)

RD: For an organization, a financial crisis, a recession, a new competitor, etc. can become a demon.

SG: Your demon could be Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden or George W. Bush. (Laughter.)

RD: The demon can be a health problem or your boss, your mother, mother-in-law or child. The point is that ultimately we (and Joseph Campbell) believe that what makes something a demon is your attitude to it.

6. Development of the inner self

RD: So the hero's journey is always a journey of transformation, especially transformation of oneself. When I work in companies and organizations, I talk about the difference between the outer game of business and what author Timothy Golvey calls the “inner game”. Success in any activity - whether it is sports, your job, intimate relationships, artistic pursuits - requires a certain degree of perfect mastery of the outer game (for example, the composition of the players, the environment, the rules, physically necessary skills, patterns of behavior). Many people can master the outer game fairly well, but the highest level of performance can only be achieved by mastering the inner game. It depends on the person's ability to cope with stress, failure, pressure, criticism, crisis, loss of trust, etc.

One of the skills a hero must learn is how to play this inner game. It includes much more than our cognitive mind. It is a function of emotional and bodily intelligence, as well as spiritual wisdom, which includes establishing a connection with a wide field of consciousness - the deep perception of information beyond the ego and intellect. In the hero's journey, you must grow. You cannot be a hero and refuse to grow and learn.

SG: Cultivating inner play can be described in many ways. We will call it here the development of the inner I, the development of intuitive intelligence, which connects the conscious mind of a person with a wide field of consciousness, which generates more confidence, deeper understanding, more subtle awareness and increases the capabilities of a person on many levels.

7. Transformation

RD: As you develop within yourself new possibilities and find your guardians, you become ready to face your demons (and ultimately your own inner shadows) and participate in the great transformational task of travel. Campbell calls these tasks yours. "Tests".

SG: This is a time of great strife, loyalty and battles, which leads to the emergence of new knowledge and new means. It is here that you create within yourself and in the world that which has never existed before. This is what we mean by generative: going beyond what once already existed in order to create something completely new. This process, of course, can take a long period of time. It can take twenty years of marriage, a lifetime of work, or years of research and innovation. There will be many retreats and failures, there will be a time When it will seem that everything is lost and there is no future. These are all predictable elements of the hero's journey. The hero is the one who can meet this challenge and generate new ways and opportunities to cope with it successfully. The transformation stage is when you have succeeded on your journey.

eight. Homecoming

RD: The final stage of the hero's journey is the return home. He has several important goals. And one of them is to share what you've learned on your journey with others. After all, the hero's journey is not just an individual excursion of the ego, it is a process of transforming both the person himself and the larger community. Therefore, when the hero returns, he must find a way to share his understanding with others. Heroes often become teachers. But in order to complete the journey, the hero must not only share with others, he must receive their recognition. After all, during the trip you have transformed and are no longer who you were before. And you need others to pay tribute to you and accept your journey with respect.

SG: For example, I have a good friend - a famous psychologist who wrote a very interesting work. And he told me that when he was a child, he loved to watch old films about the lives of great scientists such as Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur and Sigmund Freud. Each of these movies serves as a generalized example of a hero's journey: early calling, commitment, great trials, hard-won discoveries, and so on. Usually, at the end of such films, the scientist stands in front of a large audience - in front of the same people who despised him before and attacked him during the trip - and receives some kind of big award, like recognition of his life's work. My friend noted that after watching such films, he always soars in spirit and feels within himself a vocation to bring something very significant into the world. And he told me about this very recently - after he was presented with an award for his life achievements in front of thousands of people, and he felt the ending of that movie take place in his own real world, as if he had been hypnotically tuned into this for many years before looking at what was happening on the screen. Those films reflected his call, and his reward was the recognition that he had succeeded in the great task of his journey.

However, as Campbell points out, even at this stage, there can be a lot of resistance. Sometimes the hero doesn't want to come back. He is tired, perhaps he is worried that others will not understand him, or perhaps he is exalted in his new state of higher consciousness. Just as people sometimes refuse to answer the call, they can also refuse to return. Sometimes, as Campbell explains, some other person or creature has to appear and call the hero back home.

Another problem is that the community may not welcome the return of a leader. Moses may come down the mountain and find his people partying; warriors can return home from battle, but they are not expected there … or no one has seen or noted the horrors they experienced; people may not want to listen to the story of a person whose journey shows them that they must heal themselves. Therefore, once the great battle in the state of higher consciousness is successfully completed, the next big task arises - its integration into the ordinary consciousness of everyday life.

And at the same time, there are many examples of heroes who have gone through this final stage. We mentioned here Milton Erickson, who was the main mentor for both of us. He is a good example of a completed hero's journey. Here is one of the many interesting details of his life: as a result of severe polio, he was paralyzed at the age of 17, which, incidentally, is close to the age of initiation into adulthood, in which the classic "wounded healer" is seriously ill or injured. Therefore, instead of following the traditional path of mainstream society, such a person is separated from ordinary life and must begin his own healing journey. In Erickson's case, the doctors told him that he would never move again. And instead of simply submitting to this negative suggestion, Erickson embarked on a long line of research into the body mind just to understand what can be done to heal his condition. It is amazing that he succeeded in this process, regaining his ability to walk, and in addition, developed new concepts and methods of healing through the body mind. Subsequently, he applied this new radical knowledge in his long career as a psychiatrist, helping others to learn about their own unique ability to heal and transform.

When we met him, he was already in years. He had severe pains, he was rather weak and could not accept difficult patients, so he mainly dealt with students. I met him as a poor college student. I lived on ten dollars a week, which was barely enough for food. But I knew for sure that I had to learn from him, because he awakened something very deep in me. I asked him: "Dr. Erickson, can I come to you regularly and learn from you?"

“Yes,” he replied.

“How much should I pay you? I asked. "I'm sure I can get some college loan, so if you tell me how much, I'll make a deal."

He replied, “Oh, it's okay. You don't have to pay me anything. " This is what he said to all of us young students. He himself was retired, the loan for his house had already been paid off, his children lived separately, he had no major financial obligations. He simply gave - donated the hero's gifts, which he had so hard won, to others. I came to him for almost six years and never paid any money. He allowed us to stay in the guest room or in the office. And this is what he told us: “You can repay me by giving others something from what you learn here, from what will be useful to you. Here's how you can repay me! " Many times I just wanted to pay him off with money to do my duty (laughter) … but not really. I think you understand that this is a really beautiful story about a hero's journey. When I met him, he was in the final phase of his journey - returning to society and transferring his knowledge to others.