A Hero's Journey - First Meeting

I led a small group of intellectually curious individuals today, all of whom felt an urge to effect change in their lives and gain insight about the change they go through.  The session's framework was based on The Hero's Journey with attention paid mainly to identifying a significant crossroads in the life of each person attending and then identifying stages of their own journey.  We talked about vision, dissatisfaction, resistance and obstacles as well as surprises we've encountered in work and life in general. How we deal with all these things transforms us.  Sometimes  we are unaware of the changes that have occurred unless we also take time to share our experience with people who are important to us.

This was my first attempt at group leadership - initiated and led by me - so I had a lot to experience myself as I was teaching others.  It seemed to go well and the group decided to meet again in a month.  I'll take that as a sign of success.  Now to prepare for that and successive meetings and potentially a seminar in the future.

The Hero's Journey is a wonderful model for understanding personal transformation, and to present it to people for the first time was a big first step.  Preparation is key, but readiness to be surprised by the reactions to questions that are asked is also essential.  And many questions are asked; it's part of the process of taking the journey.  

Taking on a personal challenge of daily writing this year has been my own journey on a personal level, but improving communication amongst peers on a professional level has also been a challenge I've decided to take on.  The more I understand the Hero's Journey model, the better I can evaluate what's happening as I run up against challenges as well as distractions.  Also, the more I study it, the better I can relate to other people who are expressing dismay, confusion or doubt in the face of their troubles.

Gaining insight into your self, attempting to answer the big questions in life - why am I here? where am I going? - and developing a sense of purpose in life can be daunting.  By studying the structure of myths and why they have always been part of  human culture, it's possible to gain insight more fully and cope with difficulties better.  I'm looking forward to much more study with this group in the months ahead.