The Heroine’s Journey

This is a little tidbit on the steps of the Hero/Heroine’s Journey for those of you that have heard me refer to it. I didn’t want to bore the others who don’t geek out on this stuff;)

Joseph Campbell studied mythology and made the claim that nearly all myths have similar ideas or archetypes – no matter the culture they come from. The Hero/Heroine’s Journey is represented in all cultures. My fave examples are Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, but you can also see it in stories like The Odyssey. The different stages that make up this myth are referred to as the “hero’s journey.” Since I’m a woman, I call it the Heroine’s Journey.

I have already planned out 4 solo trips to the wild over the next year, during which I will go on vision quests and soul crafting journeys to open up more deeply to what is next for me. I am creating the causes and conditions to embark on these steps of the Heroine’s Journey:

Heros-Journey(image from: https://engl200x.community.uaf.edu/files/2012/04/Heros-Journey.png)

1.    Ordinary World: This step refers to the heroine’s normal life at the start of the story, before the adventure begins. That’s life before I had my spiritual crisis.
2.    Call to Adventure: The heroine is faced with something that makes her begin her adventure. This might be a problem or a challenge she needs to overcome. For me, this is my identity shift, and thus purpose shift.
3.    Refusal of the Call: The heroine attempts to refuse the adventure because she is afraid. You bet your ass I stalled this for a few months.
4.    Meeting with the Mentor: The heroine encounters someone who can give her advice and ready her for the journey ahead. This is a secret…for now.
5.    Crossing the First Threshold: The heroine leaves her ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure. This will be my first vision fast in the Fall.

The following steps also can occur on the vision fast:

6.    Tests, Allies, Enemies: The heroine learns the rules of her new world. During this time, she endures tests of strength of will, meets friends, and comes face to face with foes. Visioning, baby. I’m a little nervous about this part.
7.    Approach: Setbacks occur, sometimes causing the heroine to try a new approach or adopt new ideas.
8.    Ordeal: The heroine experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, such as a life or death crisis.
9.    Reward: After surviving death, the heroine earns her reward or accomplishes her goal.

Clarity. Ahhhh.

10.    The Road Back: The heroine begins her journey back to her ordinary life.
11.    Resurrection Hero – The heroine faces a final test where everything is at stake and she must use everything she has learned. (TBA)
12.    Return with Elixir:  The heroine brings her knowledge or the “elixir” back to the ordinary world, where she applies it to help all who remain there.

This, my Freedom Junkie friends, means I also get to find out what juicy next step is in store to offer you too! I have a good idea of what it is…but want to be have more Ziji (radiant inner confidence) about it before telling you.

Interestingly, Maureen Murdock suggests her version of the Heroine’s Journey with the following stages:

STAGES

  1. SEPARATION FROM THE FEMININE
  2. IDENTIFICATION WITH THE MASCULINE & GATHERING OF ALLIES
  3. ROAD OF TRIALS, MEETING OGRES & DRAGONS
  4. FINDING THE BOON OF SUCCESS
  5. AWAKENING TO FEELINGS OF SPIRITUAL ARIDITY: DEATH
  6. INITIATION & DESCENT TO THE GODDESS
  7. URGENT YEARNING TO RECONNECT WITH THE FEMININE
  8. HEALING THE MOTHER/DAUGHTER SPLIT
  9. HEALING THE WOUNDED MASCULINE
  10. INTEGRATION OF MASCULINE & FEMININE

I can relate to some of these but don’t know much about the details and how Murdock arrived at this. But I thought it was worth pointing out.

To be clear, you don’t have to go on a vision fast to gain Clarity. You can go on the Heroine’s Journey in so many different ways. I help plenty of clients get clear without having to send them into the wilderness alone without food for several days. They arrive to me at some point along this Journey, and we dive into it together.

I just know that for me, at pivotal transitions where nothing else seems to be helping or able to get me to the depth of clarity I need, the vision fast and accompanying Heroine’s Journey is my preferred method. This is my path when I need more clarity related to a total shift in identity and purpose – beyond clarity about my next career or the next place I want to live etc. The clarity I have after such an experience is backed with unshakeable confidence in the next step. Zji, baby.

Note: Ziji is a tibetan word meaning “radiant inner confidence.” I use it a lot in my confidence programs, and it’s like a secret handshake in my tribe;)

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