The Hero's Journey

Lou will guide you through a transformative meditation that will help connect you to your purpose and help you to trust your journey. Inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell, you will find new appreciation for your path and open your heart to be able to share your unique gift with the world. In the first 3 minutes, Lou explains his insight and inspiration for the practice.

Transcript

So since many of you listened to a few of my meditations on here,

I figured I'd give you just a short snippet of my story because it relates to the theme that we're going to be practicing today.

About four years ago in January,

After a moment during a meditation,

I had this big realization that I needed to completely quit drinking in my life.

And once I made this decision,

I had this really beautiful experience and that experience actually led me to feeling like I needed to quit my job.

And I did that without really any plans or any money saved or really just kind of jumped into the unknown and just felt this call to serve in some way that I wasn't sure of.

And in doing my research after what happened and learning different stories,

I came across the work of Joseph Campbell and the work of his work of the hero's journey.

For those not familiar,

Joseph Campbell studied mythology and religions of all different cultures at all different times and he found that although they were at different times and different places of the world,

They were all telling the same story.

And they were telling the story of the hero and his work was used in many great films like Star Wars,

Like The Matrix,

And there's something about those films that speak to our subconscious because we can see ourselves in the hero.

And what Joseph Campbell would say is that we all have our own hero's journey to embark on and that story is the story of the human soul.

And my favorite hero's journey archetype movie is The Wizard of Oz.

So basically,

If you look at Dorothy,

Dorothy's in this normal world,

The black and white world of Kansas,

Where she feels like something's off and she wants to leave and then she kind of gets thrown out of her world.

There's a tornado and she gets put into this whole new magical,

Colorful world of Oz and it's very bright and she has to learn how to be in this new world and what do they tell her?

They tell her,

Just follow the yellow brick road.

What is that symbol of?

Follow your light,

Follow your bliss,

As Joseph Campbell would say.

And she follows the yellow brick road and she has to go on this adventure and on the adventure she faces these trials and she has to learn about courage and fear and she has to learn about her heart.

She goes all around and gets to this final boon,

As Joseph Campbell would say,

With the flying monkeys and it's all this crazy stuff and then finally she gets to Oz,

Who she'd been waiting to get to,

To finally figure all of this out and what happens.

Oz isn't what she thought.

And she finds that at the end,

That all that she had to do was to click her heels and she could have been home.

That she needed to go through all of that journey to figure out what,

That she had it within her the whole time.

And that's our lives,

That in our journey we have to go through the things that we have to go through to learn about ourselves,

To learn about the gifts that we have to share.

There's no other way to do it and it's always within us,

Even though we might not see it.

So let's begin our practice.

Go ahead and take any fidgets.

If you haven't,

Maybe you've already closed your eyes,

If you haven't please come down into your body.

And allow yourself to start to take just a few breaths to settle you in.

Maybe feeling like opening up space in some parts of the body that might feel a little stuck whether this is a morning,

Afternoon or night practice for you.

Just using your breath just to settle us to open space.

And with each exhale allow yourself to come into your own experience,

Connecting to yourself and the journey that we are going to move through for this practice.

To more good breaths.

We all begin our journey at different stages in our life,

Our hero's journey.

We might have many different hero's journeys in our life.

Having a kid is one,

We go from one world to a completely new world.

Changing careers,

Going to college or going to school.

All the same sort of archetype.

So I'd like you to look back on your life and think about a pivotal moment that you experienced that started you on one of your own journeys.

Maybe it was the decision to go to a certain school,

The decision to get married,

The decision to leave a job,

To embark on some sort of new path.

And see if you can just go in your mind's eye to that initial moment.

And seeing what you saw then,

Feeling what you felt.

And if you're having a hard time picturing a moment,

Maybe just scanning back through your life and finding a significant moment that feels like it's coming up right now.

Maybe you didn't even realize it was a start of a hero's journey of some sort.

Just take a couple breaths here,

Allowing yourself to be back in that experience of the decision.

Or maybe you didn't even have a choice in the matter.

Because when we face loss,

Or things happen to us that we couldn't control,

That is another way that we are put on our hero's journey.

When we get a sickness,

Or when we hear of a loved one that is ill or passes away.

Whatever it is,

Just breathe it into your body.

And we're going to go on a little journey of ourselves.

So keeping this image in mind,

This specific journey in your life,

We're going to imagine our own yellow brick road.

That is the symbol of us walking our journey.

So I'd like you to bring to mind,

It could be a yellow brick road,

It could be a yellow path.

And you can place your road in any setting that feels right.

So maybe you do imagine it in Oz,

You can imagine it in your hometown,

Or you can imagine it in the crazy streets of Manhattan.

Something that resonates and is symbolic of your journey.

Just imagine yourself sitting or standing at the beginning of this road.

And seeing if you can breathe the light that you stand on.

So as I mentioned,

The significance of the yellow road is that if we just follow this light,

Our own light,

It can't do us wrong.

It might lead us through some challenges,

It might lead us through some tough times,

But the light is below you and within you to teach you.

And it is always,

Always there.

So breathe in this light,

Maybe up through your feet,

Setting yourself up to begin this walk.

And let's take a deep breath in and let that go.

And slowly begin to go ahead and walk on your path,

Dealing each step.

And as you walk,

I'd like you to notice that over onto your left is a sign.

And the sign can be a post in the ground,

It can be a sign on a storefront.

But this sign calls to you.

I'd like you to go walk over and see what it has to give to you.

You notice that on the sign is a person,

A picture or a name of someone who has been there to help you on this journey that you chose.

It might be someone who came into your life after you started the journey or it could be someone that was always there.

Someone who has given you an insight that you needed,

Someone who has been there for you when you needed them.

Bring this person into your mind's eye,

Maybe you can even think of a specific moment.

And then with your breathing,

With this light that is within you,

See if you can appreciate this person for playing a part in helping you and supporting you on this journey.

Just showing them gratitude,

Showing them love.

A few more breaths here,

Just appreciating that people would come into your life and support you and help you.

It could be a teacher,

A friend,

A mentor.

Just thanking them or thanking any higher power that you might want to thank for the support.

And let's take a breath in here.

Let that go.

Say Namaste,

Say thank you to this person.

And we're going to continue our journey.

So beginning to walk back on our yellow brick road or whatever path that we imagine.

And notice as you're walking it's going to start getting a little bit steep,

Starts getting a little bit windy.

Maybe some clouds start to roll in.

And you notice over on the right is a sign.

And you walk up to it.

And you see on the sign is representative of a challenge,

A setback,

A failure,

Some sort of tough time that you went through on your journey.

Maybe a moment of doubt,

A moment of fear.

And so allow yourselves to sink into your body and maybe go back to this time.

Noticing what you noticed.

Maybe feeling some of the emotions that you felt.

And seeing if from this vantage point you are able to see what this challenge taught you.

Maybe you were able to see that this didn't take you off your journey.

That the challenge and the difficult period,

The darkness is what you had to go through.

They say we can only go as high as we've been low.

So just breathe and appreciate that you've made it through.

Maybe you're going through it right now and breathe and know that you will make it through.

And that it is all teaching and growing you into the highest version of who you're meant to be.

Hold more breaths here.

And take a breath in.

Say your final thank yous to this sign and this experience and what it showed you.

And go ahead and come back onto your path and continue.

Notice that it might get a little bit straighter.

The clouds might move away.

Sun is coming out.

And on your left is one last sign.

And go up to it.

You see that this sign is a joyful moment that you've experienced on your path.

One that maybe was a success,

An achievement,

A moment of clarity,

Something,

A gift that was given to you that was so,

So beautiful.

And again go back to this experience,

Feel what you felt,

Notice what you saw.

And take a few deep breaths just breathing into this.

Breathing this beautiful moment,

This moment of connection that the journey gave to you.

A moment of peace,

A moment of love.

Back to those feelings and celebrate it.

Rejoice.

And let's take another breath.

Let that go and we're going to move on to the last leg of our journey.

Continuing down our path,

Down our lighted road.

And I would like you to notice in the middle of the path is a little meditation cushion.

And if you're not on a cushion maybe you notice out of the chair that you are sitting on.

Or if you're on a bed maybe you notice that there's a bed.

And it's located just right before a finish line.

It seems like it's the end.

And I'd like you to go and just sit just as you're sitting wherever you are.

And you see this finish line and you're waiting for this final experience.

And up from the ground you notice starting to come up is a huge and reflective mirror.

And you're sitting there and you're looking at this mirror,

Looking at yourself.

And you realize that this entire journey,

The people,

The challenges,

The joys,

All of it were all to help you lead you back to yourself.

They were all to help you show you who you really are.

I'd like you to just look at yourself and breathe and see the beauty that this path has brought to you.

It can be tough but on the other side of that is so much purpose,

So much joy.

Maybe even if it feels comfortable bring one hand over your heart and the other hand over the other hand,

Both hands.

Just breathe in through your heart.

Breathe in all the light that's within you into your hands through your heart.

And giving yourself some words of love,

You're saying this to yourself in the mirror.

I see you and I appreciate you for all that you've been through.

I love you.

I see you.

I appreciate you.

I love you.

And then giving these words to ourself,

May I be happy,

May I be guided,

May all of this help me to share my gift.

And in all of that loving energy into your hands,

May all of it help me to share my gift.

I'd like you to release your hands forward offering a gift in front and you may not exactly know what this gift is yet.

You may have some idea of the gift that you're here to share,

But I believe we all have some gift that we give.

Our love,

Our peace,

Our knowledge,

Our insight,

Something that this journey helps us to share.

So I'd like you to just leave this symbol of light,

This symbol of a gift in front of the mirror and know that when it's ready for you in your own time on your journey,

It will open and reveal itself.

But to do this,

You have to keep walking one step in front of the other.

So I'd like you to get up from your chair or cushion.

Notice that this mirror turns into a door which opens into a sea of bright light.

And go ahead and walk out into the door,

Into the light,

Continuing and moving forward on your journey.

And then whenever you're ready,

You can come back into your body,

Come back into your room.

I know the journey that you might be on.

I understand this path.

I've been through the darkness.

I've been up.

I've been down.

And that's why I love sharing these practices with you.

I wish that you find peace and joy and that you share your gift with those that you're meant to share it with.

We'll see you next time.

Namaste.

Reviews

I learned a lot from this meditation. Thank you🙏🏾

Beautiful, Lou. I happened to search on Hero’s Journey and found this. Very reassuring and inspiring. 🌞

My light guides my path and heart shares the gift with the world.. wonderful 😊

Powerful and cathartic, this grounded me in who I am and helped me set a path for my future after significant loss.

Gunalchéesh, Lou for sharing your story and this journey. It resonates deeply for me and is what I needed to walk with this morning.

I am in the midst of the struggle, and learning to practice surrendering to walking in the light so that I can soften and open rather than resist and close in. Namaste

That was an extraordinary meditation! Thank you so much for sharing it with us… I will listen to it many times as I journey forward on my yellow brick Road! Namaste💝

Wow, I found so much healing light (divine presence for me) in this hero’s journey, in following my own path into the sunlight. Very healing & inspiring. 🙏

Very relaxing & taking you inside to explore past events positive & negative

Thank you so much!! I realized during this meditation that im on a heros journey right now: first time mother. 🙏🥹

Namaste Lou💕🙏🏼💕 thank you for sharing your lite to help, so beautiful🥰

Profound!
The Hero's journey helped me to realize and become aware of the signs/ messages and people that are currently in my life, are there to help support me on the path/journey of purpose in life. The WOO analogy resonated. Thank you Lou!

The Heroes Journey spoke to my heart of the journey I have been on and that had brought me to having nothing. What is this gift that I have that I must share?

Great meditation Lou. I really connected with the journey and how we are always journeying forward. Namaste

Thank you, Lou. It’s wonderful and helpful.

Your words help to give me the courage I need right now, as going through the hard and heavy moment of my path! Thank you so much! I love the story about the heroes journy! I think I should watch it again! NAMASTE!

Excellent as usual thanks Lou 🙏

Amazing and moving. Feel lighter. Deep bow and gratitude to you.

Namaste Lou 💚🙏

Thank you.... that was very meaningful.

I am one step further along now in my journey. Thank you Lou