Hero Journeys, Hidden Journeys
Not all hero journeys jump up and announce themselves.
They are often hidden within the fabric of society and are in fact so common that we fail to see them for what they are.
In other words many ordinary everyday events that we take for granted can be seen in a different light, once we understand the dynamics of the hero's journey.
THE MOVIE EXPERIENCE We have been to the movies so often that we don't really think about it much anymore.
All we care about was if the movie was any good or not, especially considering the prices of tickets these days.
But, just for the moment, let's do a perception shift.
Instead of viewing the movie theater as nothing more than a place to sit so that we can watch the action on the screen, let's view the movie theater as a large meditation chamber.
Please, bear with me...
This is a perceptual shift because we are NOT now talking about the CONTENT of the movies; we are NOT talking about what happens on the screen.
We are now talking about what happens within us.
And that is where the REAL hero journey takes place! Consider this...
As the movie is about to begin, the theater darkens, serving as a signal for the audience to enter another world and to descend into their own unconscious where the primal forces, symbolically represented on the screen, can manifest and play themselves out.
The movie thus becomes is a safe way to access these inner forces.
If the movie is good (believable) and if the actors portray their roles adequately (believably) then we can suspend disbelief and our identification with the hero on the screen is complete and we in fact become the hero as we battle the villains in the darkness of the movie theater and in the depths of our souls.
Once again, if the movie is a good one and acted adequately then we emerge from the experience strangely satisfied and fulfilled, not because of what happened on the screen, but because of what happened in ourselves.
We had just undertaken a Hero's Journey! It happens in the cinemas.
And it happens in the courts (of law)...
TRIALS The Prosecutor, the Hero, representing the ideals and values of society, is pitted against the Villain (the accused) who represents the forces of degeneracy and evil.
A battle ensues and the courtroom drama is played out.
And society always wins.
If the accused is found guilty, his punishment is seen as the victory of Good over Evil; if he is acquitted, it is still a Victory because an innocent person is set free by a compassionate society.
Goodness always prevails, consciences are always appeased.
It is satisfying drama.
It makes especially satisfying drama, and a worthy hero's journey, when the villain, the accused, mounts a strong legal defense and puts up a good fight and makes it difficult if not impossible for the hero, the prosecutor, to win.
Thus we see the quintessential element of the hero's journey in play: the presence of obstacles, the more of them the better and the more difficult the obstacles, the better the hero journey...
I mean we are not going to have a hero's journey if the obstacles are few and if they are weak.
The hero's journey needs something that will test the mettle of the hero.
So the Villain offers strong resistance and The Hero, the Prosecutor, presses on nonetheless and we, the public, enter the journey with him.
His evil becomes our evil, his difficult obstacles becomes our difficult obstacles.
It thus becomes OUR Hero's Journey, if only vicariously.
* Of course it can get a little convoluted because "right" and "wrong" have nothing to do with it.
The defining feature of the Hero's Journey are the DIFFICULT OBSTACLES along the way and the Hero's determination to win through at all costs.
Thus OJ Simpson (irrespective of whether he was guilty or not) entered on his own Hero's Journey.
He had the vast resources of the State arrayed against him and thus had to overcome difficult obstacles every step of the way.
He could have copped a plea; he could have pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and received a light sentence and thus saved himself and the State a lot of time and trouble, but Simpson was a Hero and he was determined to win through to his freedom despite any and all obstacles in his path.
Thus OJ entered on his own Hero's Journey and there were many who entered it with him and his journey became their journey.
Theirs was a vicarious journey, to be sure, but if the identification was complete, the journey was real.
* Like the movies, the courtroom ritual is enacted again and again, thousands of times everyday in courtrooms throughout the world.
Each time the Accused mounts a defense and battle is joined, a Hero's Journey begins...
Another way hero journeys are played out is in sport...
TENNIS, ANYONE? We think sport is just something we do because we like it and if we enter the competitive arena that is only because we want to be the best we can be...
Well, think again.
And ask why professional sports arouse such adulation and often enough hysteria amongst the fans.
Clearly there is more to it than merely running faster, or hitting the ball harder.
For example, look at the simple tennis court.
I mean, how simple can a game be.
You just hit a ball over the net and one player hits better than the other and that player wins.
Where is the hero's journey in that? The hero's journey lies with the observer...
the crowd, the fans.
An observer, a fan, will root for one of the players, right? Well, that player is the Hero and the other player is the Villain.
They battle each other.
One must Win, the other must Die.
There it is.
The Hero's Shoot-out at Wimbledon! And in a stadium near YOU! For this to work as a genuine hero's journey, the fan, the observer must identify COMPLETELY with one or the other player.
And if that player wins, then it is EXACTLY the same as if the fan wins, because the identification is complete.
That is why there can be such hysteria with football crowds - because their identification with their chosen players is total.
* Thus the players line up, ready to start.
And we line up with them.
The game begins and the opposing side, the villain, throws every obstacle he can in the way of our player, the hero.
But the hero does not flinch and presses on in an effort to overcome the obstacles and win.
And we are there, every step of the way, with the hero.
It is the player's hero journey.
And it is our hero journey.
And we are the Hero!
They are often hidden within the fabric of society and are in fact so common that we fail to see them for what they are.
In other words many ordinary everyday events that we take for granted can be seen in a different light, once we understand the dynamics of the hero's journey.
THE MOVIE EXPERIENCE We have been to the movies so often that we don't really think about it much anymore.
All we care about was if the movie was any good or not, especially considering the prices of tickets these days.
But, just for the moment, let's do a perception shift.
Instead of viewing the movie theater as nothing more than a place to sit so that we can watch the action on the screen, let's view the movie theater as a large meditation chamber.
Please, bear with me...
This is a perceptual shift because we are NOT now talking about the CONTENT of the movies; we are NOT talking about what happens on the screen.
We are now talking about what happens within us.
And that is where the REAL hero journey takes place! Consider this...
As the movie is about to begin, the theater darkens, serving as a signal for the audience to enter another world and to descend into their own unconscious where the primal forces, symbolically represented on the screen, can manifest and play themselves out.
The movie thus becomes is a safe way to access these inner forces.
If the movie is good (believable) and if the actors portray their roles adequately (believably) then we can suspend disbelief and our identification with the hero on the screen is complete and we in fact become the hero as we battle the villains in the darkness of the movie theater and in the depths of our souls.
Once again, if the movie is a good one and acted adequately then we emerge from the experience strangely satisfied and fulfilled, not because of what happened on the screen, but because of what happened in ourselves.
We had just undertaken a Hero's Journey! It happens in the cinemas.
And it happens in the courts (of law)...
TRIALS The Prosecutor, the Hero, representing the ideals and values of society, is pitted against the Villain (the accused) who represents the forces of degeneracy and evil.
A battle ensues and the courtroom drama is played out.
And society always wins.
If the accused is found guilty, his punishment is seen as the victory of Good over Evil; if he is acquitted, it is still a Victory because an innocent person is set free by a compassionate society.
Goodness always prevails, consciences are always appeased.
It is satisfying drama.
It makes especially satisfying drama, and a worthy hero's journey, when the villain, the accused, mounts a strong legal defense and puts up a good fight and makes it difficult if not impossible for the hero, the prosecutor, to win.
Thus we see the quintessential element of the hero's journey in play: the presence of obstacles, the more of them the better and the more difficult the obstacles, the better the hero journey...
I mean we are not going to have a hero's journey if the obstacles are few and if they are weak.
The hero's journey needs something that will test the mettle of the hero.
So the Villain offers strong resistance and The Hero, the Prosecutor, presses on nonetheless and we, the public, enter the journey with him.
His evil becomes our evil, his difficult obstacles becomes our difficult obstacles.
It thus becomes OUR Hero's Journey, if only vicariously.
* Of course it can get a little convoluted because "right" and "wrong" have nothing to do with it.
The defining feature of the Hero's Journey are the DIFFICULT OBSTACLES along the way and the Hero's determination to win through at all costs.
Thus OJ Simpson (irrespective of whether he was guilty or not) entered on his own Hero's Journey.
He had the vast resources of the State arrayed against him and thus had to overcome difficult obstacles every step of the way.
He could have copped a plea; he could have pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and received a light sentence and thus saved himself and the State a lot of time and trouble, but Simpson was a Hero and he was determined to win through to his freedom despite any and all obstacles in his path.
Thus OJ entered on his own Hero's Journey and there were many who entered it with him and his journey became their journey.
Theirs was a vicarious journey, to be sure, but if the identification was complete, the journey was real.
* Like the movies, the courtroom ritual is enacted again and again, thousands of times everyday in courtrooms throughout the world.
Each time the Accused mounts a defense and battle is joined, a Hero's Journey begins...
Another way hero journeys are played out is in sport...
TENNIS, ANYONE? We think sport is just something we do because we like it and if we enter the competitive arena that is only because we want to be the best we can be...
Well, think again.
And ask why professional sports arouse such adulation and often enough hysteria amongst the fans.
Clearly there is more to it than merely running faster, or hitting the ball harder.
For example, look at the simple tennis court.
I mean, how simple can a game be.
You just hit a ball over the net and one player hits better than the other and that player wins.
Where is the hero's journey in that? The hero's journey lies with the observer...
the crowd, the fans.
An observer, a fan, will root for one of the players, right? Well, that player is the Hero and the other player is the Villain.
They battle each other.
One must Win, the other must Die.
There it is.
The Hero's Shoot-out at Wimbledon! And in a stadium near YOU! For this to work as a genuine hero's journey, the fan, the observer must identify COMPLETELY with one or the other player.
And if that player wins, then it is EXACTLY the same as if the fan wins, because the identification is complete.
That is why there can be such hysteria with football crowds - because their identification with their chosen players is total.
* Thus the players line up, ready to start.
And we line up with them.
The game begins and the opposing side, the villain, throws every obstacle he can in the way of our player, the hero.
But the hero does not flinch and presses on in an effort to overcome the obstacles and win.
And we are there, every step of the way, with the hero.
It is the player's hero journey.
And it is our hero journey.
And we are the Hero!