I recall the first time I ever learned about the hero’s journey**. I was immersed in my 300hour advanced teacher training in magical Bali when my teacher Carlos Tao, a mystical soul, master of movement, philosopher of wizzadry, pioneer and all round amazing compassionate human being, began storytelling us this journey.  

I was transfixed at the unveiling of the Hero’s journey. A simple man, living in an ordinary world, the one he grew up in, the one most of us are conditioned to accept, the one which we all lived in, before we discover what some may call a souls calling. 

The hero finds himself in a state of dissatisfaction, beginning to acknowledge a rumbling within him which yearns for more. The signs around him become more apparent, symbols, heightened awareness, numerology, imagery, subliminal messages appearing everywhere increasingly. These strings of moments become an aching inside for a calling to something unknown…. the call to adventure. 

Denial, denial, the first autonomous response, when the head takes over the heart, ‘it’s not possible’, ‘I can’t’ ‘Who am I to think..’ ‘How could I possibly..’.... Yet that rumbling, that yearning, pursues irrespective of the logic. Irrespective of what people may think, what they may say, there is a quiet, yet undeniable fearless roar within which will not stop until it is heard, until it is discovered. How long can the denial of the quest continue...

Like the famous quote ‘What if I fall,’ ‘Oh but my darling...what if you fly..’ Timidly, without an idea of how, the hero bravely accepts the call, to leap into the unknown, trusting the net will appear. Terrified, nervous excitement, entering the unknown, the journey to foreign, more magical lands, awaits with the hero’s first step. As the great Lau Tzu once quoted - ‘The journey to the unknown, begins with a single step’. No going back now, standing on the precipice of the journey of a lifetime, the hero courageously, has chosen himself. 

It was at this point of Carlos storytelling, that my eyes began to well up. I was so profoundly moved by the hero’s journey, how it spoke to me, how for each and every step, it seemed to correlate precisely to my own. I knew, like millions before me had taken this very journey, the personal sacred journey of choosing to leap into the unknown over what we have been conditioned to believing is the correct path to take, even against what we always knew never felt right, even if that something presented success in the eyes of another, the heart knows better. I paused, tears of gratitude and hope rolling down my face, knowing how blessed I was, to have been born a female into a world where I could work (my ass off) in a male dominated corporate sector to get me to a destination I had always dreamed about. I sat praying for millions to follow in their own unique footsteps, blessed to have the opportunity to dare to chose their dreams, able to take the leap. 

Crossing borders from ordinary world to a special world, the hero encounters what can only be described as the supernatural, signs become undeniable, synchronicities, all seem to align, magic in the air, the sense of being exactly where you’re supposed to be. I remember this so fondly, magic unveiling itself at every turn, the reward for trusting in the unknown. For every opportunity to lean into trust, it seems the rewards return tenfold.

The hero’s journey continues with the meeting of a Talisman, a special someone with that valuable piece of knowledge, or protection that will be revealed as needed further along the journey. As I write this, I recall a serendipitous moment in time, whilst backpacking India, unexpectedly meeting a friend from my home town, who coincidentally was travelling India also. My friend and I met her with her travel companion, and we spent some days in the Goan sun, sandy toes and sundowners. As we strolled back to our accommodation late one night, under the dim of the glimmering moonlight, we stepped precariously. I recall expressing my curiosity over why no-one could see the frogs like I could, even in the dark. They were crossing my path everywhere! Helen my travel companion, was virtually blind to them in comparison throughout our previous adventures in Nepal, it had become a joke between us. It was then my friend Tracey who responded without a thought, ‘They’re your spirit animal’ ‘My what?’, I responded? ‘Your spirit animal’. This led to an interesting discussion, which I obviously immediately dove into researching, to uncover the most magical of discoveries, which absolutely was without doubt one of my guides. My Talisman discovery awaited further along the journey. Another symbol to keep trusting, continue, I am exactly where I am supposed to be, reassurance and validation as the continuous rewards for taking the leap. Have you ever experienced these signs? Or come across your spirit animal? Keep an eye out, you never know what you may find, and in my experience they will likely change over the course of your life’s journey. 

So, to the winding path of this journey, it’s never linear, I’m not sure why us humans have been so conditioned to believing everything is linear, I don’t think I have come across one yet in this earth spin so far. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want it to. I’m not the girl who wants 9-5 for the rest of my life. I want travel, eplore the world, seek adventure, to live fully, to feel alive, to make mistakes, to learn, to grow, to have impact, to live heart wide open, to trust in the unknown, as I have experienced there is something greater at play here, we just have to trust. 

The hero’s journey can’t possibly end without a grand finale no? Well, the supreme ordeal is often the one within, the quest for answers, the search for the unknown, the journey of adventure, learnings, growth, all from answering that call… we can’t fail to be changed in some way. Our eyes opened, minds expanded and hearts burst wide open. Just like the story of the Alchemist, (Paulo Coelho) the answers are often already within us, we just needed the journey to uncover our truths, because life isn’t ordinary, life is a gift, and it should be lived in your own extraordinary way. So if it’s the career change you seek, or to remove yourself from the wrong relationship, if your inner critic is doubting the possibility of that something you’ve always dreamed about, I say leap. Leap wholeheartedly. This one precious life is brief at best, so when you come to that moment of looking back at the journey of your life, how do you want to feel when you look back upon it?  

**personal interpretation of The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell.
					

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