What we all humans have in common? We born, we die and we have struggles. Each one of us has its own unique hardships and we embark on a journey to face them. This is The Hero’s Journey, an archetypical metaphor that represents what we all humans deal each day of our lives. Some journeys are small, some are huge, sometimes we reach safely to our village, sometimes we don’t even start at all or get lost in the desert. So, why some are lost and some find their way ? How can we all succeed in this big journey that we call life ? Are there steps we can take that will lead us to where we want to be ?
Joseph Campbell in his work studied myths and transformation stories throughout various civilizations, cultures or religions and discovered repeating patterns. It seems there common characteristics that can provide us with a useful roadmap on how to deal with challenges and changes especially in turbulent times like the ones we’re living.
Judith Delozier takes Joseph Campbell’s concept and presents it in combination with 3rd generation of NLP techniques that embed principals of self-organization and a complete view of the system. They were created from a deep understanding that the seed of the solution lies within the problem and that we can learn to create the space to unravel the solutions in a natural way.
NLPinGreece is an organization that founded 20 years ago with the purpose of spreading the NLP message in Greece. It’s founder and an amazing teacher Alexandra Efthimiadou thought that there was no better way to celebrate those 20 years other than to bring the First Lady of NLP Judith Delozier to give a seminar. So, here we are creating our own Hero’s Journey with the help of those two wonderful ladies.
Now let’s see the steps of the Hero’s Journey.
Awakening to the call
The call has to do with our indentity , our purpose or our mission and it comes through transitions in our lives. For example becoming parents, change proffesion , suffer from a disease or a loss. It’s an extremely challenging and demanding situation or else it wouldn’t call for a hero…
Accepting the call
When we commit to the call we confront a boundary or we go beyond a threshold of abilities or of a way we see the world.
Facing and Transforming Fears
Crossing a boundary takes us to new territories outside of our comfort zone and this forces us to develop and evolve. Facing a challenge or a “demon” is the natural result of going beyond a threshold. But the demons aren’t necessarily evil. They could just be a reflection of our inner fears, our shadows, our beliefs. When we are set to face the demon, there is no turning back. We have to step ahead into the unknown. And in these times we need support and guidance.
Gathering the allies
Finding allies, “guardians” or mentors comes out naturally when you take the courage to cross a boundary.These are relationships that support us so that we develop new skills, believe in ourselves and stay focused in our goals. Although the Hero’s Journey is strictly personal, we cannot take it alone. We have to be open in receiving guidance. And when we are open, new opportunities will come out of seemingly nowhere. Open your eyes , open your heart and help will come in your way.
Finding the Gift
The Hero’s Journey is a journey of learning and self development. We develop new beliefs, skills behaviors and tools to face the complexity, the insecurity and the resistance. And as we develop we expand. We expand beyond our former selves and thus we are able to successfully complete our Journey.
Returning Home
The Journey is completed when we create a new model of the world, that it integrates the discoveries that led to a new level of maturity and development. We return home transformed and we are able to share the knowledge gained during the Journey. Everybody sees and accepts our new identity. This is crucial to close the circle of personal transformation.
I can’t wait for tomorrow that we will continue our Hero’s Journey. Of course after we finish, Part II will be published here and you will be the first to know about what happened.
And until we all embark on our Hero’s Journey ,
Be healthy , smile and Steem !
Additional Reading
Judith Delozier’s bio
Joseph Campbell Foundation webpage
The Encyclopedia of NLP webpage
NLPinGreece webpage
Alexandra Efthimiadou bio
PS: Now, that you’ve reached the end of this article about the Hero’s Journey, I suppose that you know what you could do and that is upvote, resteem and follow, because this way we can create more. Right ?