Can't wait to read this book! The Other Within by Daniel Deardoff

Daniel Deardorff knows otherness firsthand. This highly regarded “singer” in the old sense of that word—musician, storyteller, maker of ritual—had polio as an infant and has used a wheelchair most of his life, giving him a lived perspective that deeply informs his views on this subject. In The Other Within, Deardorff starts with a radical notion: to disclose the blessings of outsiderhood, the many gifts and insights contributed to culture by the marginalized and outcast. Unlike studies that stress the plight of the outsider, this one asserts that to be cast down and out of the consensus-worldview affords a difficult yet significant opportunity: to encounter oneself, not as defined by society but as one actually is. An eloquent spokesman for “the man or woman on the weird road,” Deardorff presents dozens of powerful examples from myth and literature to illustrate his message in a richly allusive, complex series of essays. Drawing on the work of mythologians, poets, psychologists, and scholars, The Other Within takes readers on an initiatory journey, uncovering the roots of human identity and imagination and offering insights–including “trickster wisdom”—revealing the mythic underpinnings of everyday life. This second edition includes updated text, a new introduction, and a helpful glossary. ~Amazon Review

Thank you Charles Lawrence for this wonderful rec!

Jospeh Campbell Part 3 of 3

The place I love to focus on in my coaching is to help folks see that the map of the Hero's Journey is there for them to use to help them navigate the things that show up in their life. It's discussed in the Power of Myth but truly delved into in Campbell's other masterpiece, The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

In it he discusses the Adventure of the Hero. There are three main parts: Departure, Initiation, Return.

Within every Hero's Departure these occur in one way or another:
1. The Call to Adventure
2. Refusal or Heeding of the Call
3. Supernatural Aid
4. The Crossing of the Threshold
5. The Belly of the Whale

Then in the Initiation these:
1. The Road of Trials
2. The Meeting with the Goddess
3. Woman as the Temptress
4. Atonement with the Father
5. Apotheosis
6. The Ultimate Boon

And in the Return:
1. Refusal of the Return
2. The Magic Flight
3. Rescue from Without
4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
5. Master of the Two Worlds
6. Freedom to Live

Now of course some of these show up in different styles and experiences but these are the general outline all the hero's of time have found themselves in.

I believe that sometimes there are years spent on a Hero Journey's AND sometimes we can experience a journey in days, if not hours. Some of our journey's are epic and some are minor. But they are all important.

Here is what I want you to know. You can refuse the Call. You can turn away from it, at least temporarily. And no one might even know that you refused it. Or perhaps you were talked out of it by someone (most likely someone who ignored their own.) But here is the thing, one day you will have to heed it, all of us will. So the sooner you heed it, the sooner you will live the kind of life you've dreamed of. A life that is full of possibility and transformation.

You are who you've been waiting for. The Hero is you, isn't it time you save yourself?

www.jcf.org

More JC

I remember the first time I watched Bill Moyers interview Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth on PBS in 1988. I was mesmerized. Every story he told drew me in deeper and deeper. My family and I went right out and bought the cassette tapes of the interview and listened to those 6 hours of his interviews again and again. It was imaginative, eye opening and empowering.

I felt affirmed actually. I didn't know that was what it was doing for me at the time but now I am old enough to realize affirmation was one of the gifts the interviews gave me.

My yearnings to follow my own path were being validated by the stories Mr. Campbell told. And the frustration one has setting out on that lone path, was also addressed. He was telling MY story! And YOURS. This is why it became such a hit. He was addressing all of OUR stories. Yes of course it was a different wardrobe, set, cast of characters, a different landscape but the journey from fear to power is always the same.

Finding out that not only was this call I was hearing real and important to listen to, I discovered that other hero's had been called before and also were afraid to heed it. The feeling of having company was a relief. Instead of feeling like some odd-ball freak, I learned that I had some damn good company. And Luke Skywalker was the least among them! Also there was a map. There were particular markers that were the same for every hero - and now I had been given that map. And everyone knows when you are lost you want either a guide or a map to show you the way. With JC's Power of Myth - I was given both.

Part III tomorrow.
www.jcf.org

Happy Birthday Joseph Campbell!

"Your bliss can guide you to that transcendent mystery, because bliss is the welling up of the energy of the transcendent wisdom within you. So when the bliss cuts off, you know that you've cut off the welling up; try to find it again. And that will be your Hermes guide, the dog that can follow the invisible trail for you. And that's the way it is. One works out one's own myth that way." ~Joseph Campbell, from Pathways to Bliss

This man! Joseph Campbell! Well, where to begin? This might just have to be my first in a series of blog postings. I don't know how to express just how much this man and his work on mythology has had on my life, my coaching and my healing. His work has been so incredibly life changing for me that I feel as though words might not adequately express what his writings have done for me not to mention his legions of fans. And the best part is that he has impacted people who don't even know him by name. That's right. Want an example? Star Wars. Ever heard of that? Then, guess what? YOU have been a beneficiary of HIM.

As simple as his writings are, they leave you with an essence of wholeness in their wake. His writings transcend the day to day. And it's all because he is one helluva story teller. And who among us all doesn't like an incredible story!? In my new most favorite book in the world, A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, he speaks of Mr. Campbell: "In his 1949 book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell argued that all myths-across time and across cultures-contain the same basic ingredients and follow the same general recipe. There are never any new stories, he said-just the same stories retold. And the one overarching story, the blueprint for tales since humankind's earliest days, is the "hero's journey." The hero's journey has three main parts: Departure, Initiation, and Return. The hero hears the call, refuses it at first, and then crosses the threshold into a new world. During Initiation, he faces challenges and stares into the abyss. But along the way-usually with the help of mentors who give the hero a divine gift-he transforms and becomes at one with his new self. Then he returns, becoming the master of two worlds, committed to improving each. This structure underlies Christ, Homer's Odyssey, the story of Buddha, Muhammad, the legend of King Arthur, the story of Sacagawea, Huckleberry Finn, Star Wars, The Matrix and Campbell would have argued, just about every other epic tale."

Part Two of Three tomorrow!
(That's right, yesterday's posting was done with no relation to JC's birthday today so technically today is Part One.)

For more information on the late great Joseph Campbell please visit: http://www.jcf.org/

The Hero's Adventure

Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known. We have only to follow the thread of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outward, we will come to the enter of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we will be with all the world. ~Joseph Campbell

Today a conversation with my coach about my Hero's Journey took a surprising turn. And the first thing that I thought of afterward was this quote. When we travel on our Adventure - we will at times be so certain that we are there for one reason and yet hero's journey after hero's journey shows us that it rarely is the case. What we had thought was_____turns out to not be what we thought at all. The good news, as Campbell says, is that we do not have to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. What honorable company we keep when we walk our Hero's Adventure!

Are you walking yours?

Are You the Authority of Your Life?

This post has moved to my new site at The Coach Shoppe (http://www.thecoachshoppe.com). You can access it here.

Are You the Authority of Your Life?