What is the purpose of the Hero’s Journey other than to retrieve your very soul from the pits of hell to which you, your family, your community, your beliefs, and the limitations of conforming to societal expectations have condemned it?

During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived – everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn’t treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. “You fool,” he shouted as he reached for his sword, “don’t you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!” But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved. “And do you realize,” the master replied calmly, “that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?”

The Law of Least Effort: Defenselessness: “I relinquish the need to defend my point of view….to convince or persuade others to accept my point of view.  I remain open to all points of view and am not rigidly attached to any one of them.

I AM not the body.

The Body is just a subtle instrument of the Soul.

I AM not the emotion.

Emotion is just a subtle instrument of the Soul.

I AM not the thought.

Thought is just a subtle instrument of the Soul.

I AM not the mind.

The Mind is just a subtle instrument of the Soul.

    I AM the Soul.

I AM THAT, I AM.

                         I AM a Spiritual Being

    of

Divine Intelligence, Divine Love, Divine Power.

                   I AM One with my Higher Soul.

       I AM One with the Divine Spark within me.

I AM a Child of God,

Connected with God, ONE with God, ONE with ALL.

         I AM THAT, I AM.

 

This is the life giving treasure, the fountain of youth and vitality, the secret of eternal life that is revealed within the heart of the one who harkens to the herald and dares to walk into the darkness of the abyss. What is it worth?  It is priceless. This truth is the treasure the Hero brings back to the tribe, and the truth that the tribe often rejects in spite of their love of the story. This is why the Hero’s Journey is the only story worth telling. Perhaps the telling of it opens the hearing of another who then has the courage to answer his own herald’s call.

 

I invite all of you to tell your stories. What a gift of eternal proportion!  Your life is your gift. It’s the only gift you give, so give it!

Dare to live.