March 14, 2011
8:31 am
Thank you all for participating in last night’s meetup. My impression was that everyone found value in last night’s offerings of Aharata and the 4th Phase of the Hero’s Journey which we call The Desert. I want to acknowledge and thank both our newcomers to the group and our “Quest veterans”: Joshua, Zach, Jackie, Morgana, Laurie, Mike W., Lynne, Karen, Martiena, Ricardo, Ruth, Karen, Kim and Melody.
A brief recap: Joshua led us in his summation of what The Desert is and how to master it from the Aharata standpoint. After Joshua’s summation we went around the circle and checked in with our new members and also the progression of everyone’s 60 Day Quests. We played the game “Voices” to simulate the feeling of being in the Desert and the mirages one might experience. After that, we talked about emotions and the ELC (Emotional Calibration Ladder) which asked all of us to explore 17 different emotions on a scale of least empowering (Shame through Fear and Anger) to most empowering (Love through Enlightenment.) After we put these emotions in action, Joshua led us all in the “Kata of Fury” before we closed with our meditation and focus circle.
There were a few points I wanted to cover last night so I’ll do that here in my blog and that will officially end my stint in the Desert.
- What we didn’t cover but an interesting exercise to note is combining the game “Voices” with the Emotional Calibration Ladder. This increases focus under stress and when the “Voices” cease you can literally FEEL a clarity of thought and action.
- These Emotional Calibration exercises are intended to be a daily practice. Just like the analogy of the weight used to strengthen a muscle. I’d like to challenge everyone to try this every day and let us know your results. (I’ll do one at the end of this blog entry.) The more you practice the deeper your experience will be in IDENTIFYING emotions, REDIRECTING emotions, and then finally PRODUCING emotions.
- There is POWER in being specific with yourself. Keeping things general during the ELC exercise intellectualizes and keeps you emotionally detached. The more specific you get (I.e. instead of “I want better relationships” more specifically “I want a healthier relationship with my spouse in regards to money.”) will make this exercise more emotionally engaging. Your emotion, or lack of emotion, will tell you whether or not you’re being truthful with yourself.
- This phase now represents leaving “ACT 1” which Unconscious Incompetence, or the feeling of trying something new and getting the immediate “fix”, to “ACT 2” or Conscious Incompetence and the feeling of getting frustrated because things aren’t coming as easy as they once where. It is the transference from the Mental or Intellectual experience of the Quest to fully committing Emotionally to the Quest. Finally it represents what I believe Joseph Campbell referred to as “The Crossing of the First Threshold”…
- Here’s a quote from Campbell: “The Crossing of the First Threshold: This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.”
- I also relate this phase of the journey as “The Road of Trials”. In the ACT 2 our trials are navigating our emotions successfully within the daily pursuit of taking action.
- Finally, please be aware that after you work with very high emotions like Love, Joy, Peace and Enlightenment it might cause a disorientation. You might not feel “grounded”. Sometimes the backlash after coming off that high can result in a fast slip back down the ladder. This is where the training comes in. Use the ECL to find an emotional balance and know when to stop. Balance should come before “Enlightenment”.
Another quote from Campbell on “The Road of Trials”: “Once having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials. This is a favorite phase of the myth-adventure. It has produced a world of literature of miraculous tests and ordeals. The hero is covertly aided by the advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance into the region. Or it may be that he here discovers for the first time that there is a benign power everywhere supporting him in his superhuman passage. The original departure into the land of trials represented only the beginning of the long and really perilous path of initiatory conquests and moments of illumination. Dragons have now to be slain and surprising barriers passed - again, again, and again. Meanwhile there will be a multitude of preliminary victories, unretainable ecstasies and momentary glimpses of the wonderful land.”
I’ll leave you now with my own ECL:
Courage: Courage is action even though defeat or no feedback is a possibility. Courage is not censoring myself. Courage is knowing I have to put forth an effort today. Courage is open and actively communicating. Courage is embracing my new role in the Plot Twist of my Quest.
Trust: I trust my emotions serve me. I trust that I’m given what I can handle. I now trust I’ll be feeling joyful by the end of this exercise. I trust this exercise works every time.
Willingness: I’m willing to do my daily activities (blogging, audio journal, video production) to increase my success. I’m willing to listen to feedback. I’m willing to ask for feedback. I’m willing to continue taking daily action.
Acceptance/Forgiveness: I accept that my life is a story to articulate this Quest process. I forgive myself for giving up in the past. I accept that I am now a successful culmination of all my past failures. I forgive my mother for implying to my subconscious that I was worthless. I forgive myself for accepting this belief that I was worthless.
Clarity: I find clarity in speaking and upholding my values. Clarity is upholding the value that we provide a sacred space at our meetups. Clarity is being intentional about this moment. Clarity is my honestly telling someone just now they will not be welcome in my meetup until they prove they will respect every member’s feelings.
Love: Love is choosing to feel. Love is letting go of control. Love is an open space. Love is looking for someone’s power. Love is intentionally giving strength to another.
Joy: Joy is unstoppable. Joy is an explosion of pleasure. Joy is alive in me at every moment that I choose to
see/feel it. Joy is inevitable. Joy is our circle. Joy is living my highest intention through these meetups.
Peace: Peace is knowing all I have to do is “to be”. Peace is knowing I don’t have “to do” anything. Peace is allowing the natural flow of my Quest, riding the waves of providence. Peace is the power of submission.
Enlightenment…is in the silence beyond words. Today it is less intense than the past few days. Perhaps I’m finding more balance with this concept of “Enlightenment”.
Mike
Michael Shoeman
Getting Comfortable on the Top Rung
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