Sorry for being absent over the past day or so. A lot going on in the world of 'social duty' and yesterday the 'dragons' were quite fierce and repetitive. I will try and catch up on posted comments and dreams later today.
In the meanwhile I hope the conversations will continue. Rook's post under The Relation Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Health is a heartfelt expression of his path and I thank him for being open and sharing his experiences. Often just voicing what is inside is great therapy in itself.

gerard/Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 58 Murfreesboro, Tn

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My work {job} at the moment is consuming. Having had to return to full time control of my contracting work is taking me away from my time working with dreams at the Forum. I appreciate those of you who are filling in while I am away and have addressed posted dreams and comments while I focus on slaying the social dragon. Spring is always my busy time work wise and having taking on business full time only increases the demand. It is hard to be fully focused on work and then trying to put my attention on dreams. That is why it is called 'slaying the dragon'.

But there is an aspect about having to return to work that let's me practice what I preach. And that is applying the spiritual aspect to everyday life. The rewards that come with being ethical in business are quite evident. Most of the work I have performed within the past 3 weeks are from referrals, people who tell others about our great work. I always have tried to treat people as I would want to be treated and have made even a more defined effort in doing that. As I stated in another post, you must live the true spiritual life to receive the benefits afforded those who follow the 'hero path'. It really is a simple equation. What goes around comes around. I've seen this so many times in my life, in business as well as everyday life. Times are hard economically but thus far my business is doing very well. Some of my competition is not doing so well. Perhaps it has to do with doing the best I can {I also have a great crew of men working with me} and having those people refer my work. A constant theme in my last four jobs, all of which I was under bid by other companies, was "I want you to build this project because I feel you will do what is right".

I mention the spiritual aspect in every day life because it is central to the hero journey. You can do everything right but if there is not that compassionate heart, that desire to do what is right for the other person and not focusing on self, going beyond what is expected, you will continue to search and search and search, and never find what you are truly seeking.

"Let go Luke, use the Force".

That is so similar to the phrase often used by Unity churches.

"Let go and let God".

I am not a religious person, I no longer hold to any one truth {religion}. Faith is not a concern for me, it is the deeds that I want to be remembered for. Jesus, and the Buddha, are great examples of living a spiritual life. But the example is in the deeds and the results of those deeds in life come back to roost. 'What goes around comes around'. I see that as one reason my business is thriving in such bad economical times. Not using religion as a crutch but being truly spiritual in every aspect of life. Live by the golden rule: WWJD
And doing so in every instance and not picking and choosing. I may fall short at ties but it isn't because I don't try. Too many religious people tend to talk the talk but not walk the walk. What good is faith without the deeds? Talking about it but not being the good example, that is not the hero path. If there is a lack of discipline in your life then work on that aspect. The body wishes for what pleases the body, the self. You must learn to listen to a higher authority, within you, and learn to live a disciplined life. Disciplined physically, psychologically and spiritually. That is the way of the hero path.

A bit of preaching but I feel it important to stress the spiritual aspect. From my experiences in studying Jung, and applying those philosophies of the hero journey that Campbell so articulately proposes, putting those aspects front and forward in my everyday life, I have no doubt those rules are the rules within nature. And they work.
I have a keen gift of being able to 'sell' people on an idea or project. Very good people skills and a great intuitive sense provide me with an advantage. If I were a 'Darth Vader' I could easily take advantage, be a high trader in the stock market, stealing other's money, causing grief for others and not have a conscious about it. But I choose to be different, disciplined and spiritual. I could not live with myself to do otherwise.

The spiritual relationship with the planet and all things that reside within, and on it, that's my religion. The Force is the light and what is right. The dark side is doing it wrong, going against what we know is right, taking advantage to please the self. There are choices to be made and those choices reflect what comes back to you. Most problems in a person's life are self made. Eliminating those mistakes, misdeeds, is only common sense. To do otherwise reveals a lack of discipline. The hero is all about discipline, staying the path. Not in just one aspect of life but all aspects.

No one said the hero path would be easy.

End of sermon.

gerard/Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 58 Murfreesboro, Tn

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Gerard,

I wonder sometimes what prompts you to post some of what you do, for I often find it very timely, for my self, though I trust it is beneficial for others too.

All you wrote holds value for me...and your last comment, about the hero path not being an easy one, is especially timely.

It takes lots of discipline, I am finding. Thanks for this.

Kristi

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Kristi,
Some of the postings I make are done so to help illustrate the great demands social duty puts on us in our struggle to wholeness. For those of us who are consciously aware of the hero path and are engaged in that path to wholeness there are many shared experiences having to do with the social requirements {social dragon as I like to call it}. Joseph Campbell said that life is a series of tests and revelations and it is in our social life we struggle the most. The struggles of social duty and requirements often lead us away from that path and it is important to understand what aspects of the hero journey that leads us back. I always think of Chretien's Parceval as a great example of how we can continue on the search and get so close only to lose the opportunity because of a failure of discipline. And in the end it is the spiritual aspect that throws us off the path and requires to again undertake those lost steps to enlightenment {spirituality is different from religion in that spirituality is a test of deeds whereas religion is a test of faith}.

Another reason for such postings is my own struggle to reach that final point of balance and harmony. If I could I would spend all my time working with dreams and my creative self {Myths-Dreams-Symbols}. Recently I resumed the responsibilities of the full time operation of my fence business {my son had brought it back to life full-time but has moved to Orlando}. I had for most of the past 15 years performed such tasks only parttime giving me much more time to put to my dreamwork and creative adventures. But now, at least for a year or so, I must once again become that social person and live according to the rules that often are opposite of how I wish to live. As a young man I was always gung ho about the business, selling, building, providing a good product with the lead of even more success. Now I only wish to achieve that in my other world, dreams and creativity. I could quite the business full-time but my son's resettlement requires some financial support on my part. And of course as all good parents would do I willingly make a sacrifice to doing that. But the daily grind is consuming, it requires a great deal of attention to detail to be successful no matter what the endeavor.

The good news is I am just 3 years away from early retirement. At the worst I will have to indulge the social dragon on its terms a few more years. My desire to reach that final happy destination is within sight and I keep my focus on that as I engage society. We all have to do what we have to do in this world of psychological emotion. Keeping the faith, no the path, is what matters most and living by certain principles I know I will reach those goals. It wasn't so long ago I had no idea what those goals were. Now I do and even with the demands of life of social duty I see the light at te end of the tunnel. By pointing to my own experiences I hope to share what I believe to be the crucial elements of the hero journey. We all learn from experiences, whether it be our own or others.

And finally to pinpoint what I mean about discipline, and a truly balanced life. Discipline of the psyche, discipline of the body, discipline to staying the path. Jung provides insights to the psyche, Campbell details to the hero journey. But the 3rd requirement, and one that many find so hard to do, is the discipline of the body, physical fitness. As we grow older life comes at us with such emotional verossity that following a path of discipline is so difficult. Death becomes reality, the body starts to 'fall off, illnesses, aging becomes a reality. The one thing that has kept me sane over the past 30 years, even before I discovered the hero path, was my active physical fitness routine {30 years since I first began}. I know I am getting older, my body doesn't react as it did when I was a young man. But by taking care of myself physically, I do not have the physical restraints most my age do have. I can still run without gasping for breath, jump without damaging a ligament, be youthful when everyone else my age is looking and feeling old. The only medication I take is a daily multi-vitamin and a twice daily douse of fiber. No medications for the heart, diabetes or other ailments that normally come with age. And I get up every morning feeling good, not hung over or wanting to lay in bed not to face the world because of bad health. It is a lifestyle change, just as it is psychologically, a discipline of doing what is best for the body, over ruling the ego and forgoing additions to food, drink, and inactivity. And no matter the age, no matter the shape you are in physically, life will improve when you begin a routine of physical fitness. This is not only my experience but also the results of so many studies.

So you do a great job in the psychological and spiritual search for wholeness. But what will you do when the body starts showing its age and you have to put all your energies into stabilizing the physical self? The trinity is body, psyche and soul. One does not find total happiness unless all three are addressed and the physical part is usually the one that brings us down. The body is the temple and if you are to survive to a ripe old age what good is your wisdom if you are unable to share it with others? Talk about discipline, this is the hardest of them all.

gerard/Jerry

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