Star Wars and The Hero's Journey

Great show looking at the hero archetype as theorised by Joseph Campbell, why we are so intuitively drawn to it, and how heroic characters like that of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars can be a light and guide to us in our own life.

Check it out at : http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/458496650/the-heros-journey

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Odyssey, to Robinson Crusoe, to Star Wars — why are we drawn to stories about heroes? And what do they tell us about ourselves? This hour, TED speakers explore what makes a hero's journey.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"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." 

-Joseph Campbell

Take The Unpopular Route

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------

6. TAKE THE UNPOPULAR ROUTE
------------------------------------------------------------------

This is connected with number 3.

Many people are living what they feel to be a fake and empty life as a result of following what is popular over what they truly want to say, be, and do in their life. At the heart of this behaviour is fear; fear of rejection, fear of unpopularity, fear of being left alone. For a healthy and balanced relationship with ourselves though we must meet this fear head on, deciding more regularly with direction from our own inner voice as opposed to that coming solely from outside sources.

Take the unpopular route more often. Use the road less traveled. You may stand in solitude at times but better to be with a true centre and no public, than to have the public and no centre

Be Honest and Take Responsibility

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------

5. BE HONEST AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
------------------------------------------------------------------

With honesty comes pain and discomfort. This is why we avoid it. Yet, on the other side of this discomfort can be found tremendous freedom and autonomy and the possibility for truly deep and meaningful relationships.

As much as possible keep your heart clear and transparent and you will be more free in yourself and with others.

Let The Self Emerge

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------

4. LET THE SELF EMERGE
------------------------------------------------------------

In each of us there is a subtle indicator, a guide as to where best to go and what best to do in each new moment. 
 
We can connect with this inner nature more by shutting out socially-defined clues as to what we should think, feel and say and instead let our experiences enable us to say and do what we truly feel.
 

We know what is best for us in the moment. We are born knowing.
 

Use your intrinsic indication and it will never falsify your life.

Choose Growth

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------

3. CHOOSE GROWTH
------------------------------------------------------------

                 

           

Life presents us always with a choice between the immediate and the delayed, the short and the long, the easy and the hard. Each choice has its positive and negative side. To chose safety is to remain with the known and the familiar but to risk becoming stale. To chose growth is to open to new and challenging experiences but to risk the unknown and possible failure.

In which direction are you most often choosing?

Do Your Thing And Do It Fully

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------

2. DO YOUR THING AND DO IT FULLY
------------------------------------------------------------

                 

           

If worry of someone else's judgement is always in your mind you can never be completely total-you will always be divided and falling short of what you can be and do in life. Learn to drop this worry, to move more into un-selfconsciousness, like a child again, and all that you do will take on new power and quality. Think less about others - why they are judging you, how they are judging you. Instead give total undivided attention, in the moment, to what you are doing.

Do your thing and do it fully and completely. Let this be your new criteria.

Dive in more, deeper and deeper, to all that you do, and suddenly you may find things flowering in your life from seeds buried long long ago.

Remember in self consciousness you shrink; in un-selfconscious you open and spread. 

Do your thing and do it fully.

Find Your Calling

_________________________________________________________________
TOWARD SELF-ACTUALISATION 
_________________________________________________________________

--------------------------------------------------------

1. FIND YOUR CALLING
-------------------------------------------------------

The 21st century is awash with literature and ideas on self improvement and development, on how to realise your maximum potential and possibilities. In the 40+ years though since his passing, very few teachers and authors have been able to say anything new on the subject, or even provide a simpler, more actionable, and most importantly, grounded and direct framework than that of what Abraham Maslow shared.

Describing the nine behaviours which lead to 'self actualisation' (the terminology he used to define the achievement of ones full potential) Maslow walks us through what self actualisation may look like, right now, to me and to you, in the real world, at three o'clock in the middle of the day. It is this reachability and tangibility which sets Maslow apart in a genre so often detached from real life affairs, one lost in its own world of pretensions and impractical ideas and language. 

Here is behaviour number one.

Numbers 2-9 are to follow over the coming days.