For the past two years, I have started my 200-Hours Mindfulness and Yoga training with a long seated meditation on The Hero's Journey. Over 20 minutes, I would take the students through the cycle of The Separation, The Initiation, and The Return. I would ask each student to imagine themselves as The Hero in this story.
We are all Heros of our Life; whether we live a tragedy, a romantic comedy, or a transformational sci-fi is partly up to us.
My Hero's Journey meditation practice is based on Joseph Campbell's work. He is one of my favorite authors, best known for his work in comparative mythology. In his well-known book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he combines insights of modern psychology with comparative mythology and outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal cross-cultural motif of adventure and transformation. The Hero Journey is a storytelling structure that can be seen in countless stories, in every culture's mythology and screenplays— it is essentially a blueprint for developing resilience. With this blueprint of the hero's journey in hand, you can see your personal journey through life in a new way.
This year, my students alerted me to this short film that explains The Hero’s Journey, it is perfect for children and adults alike; it is a simple but lovely view of his work.
If you are interested in diving into understanding this journey, with deep insight into psychology and world mythology, there is no substitute for the book.
You will learn in full detail about our cycle in life.
This journey binds us together; it is the same no matter what color your skin is, what culture you grew up in if you are rich or poor.
This is human existence, resilience, and beauty.
The Ordinary World
The call to adventure
The refusal of the call
The meeting of the mentor
The crossing the threshold
Test, allies, and enemies
Approach to innermost cave
Ordeal, death, and rebirth
The Return
The master of two worlds
Freedom to Live
We all relate to this; we all tell this story; we all live this story. This is life. This is our common humanity. THIS WE CAN CELEBRATE. We can celebrate our common values.
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