The Benefits of Maintaining a Beginner's Mindset

I hope this weekly reflection finds you in a place of peace and contentment within your current life journey. Last week I had the opportunity to moderate an interactive discussion about the Hero's Journey as outlined by author Joseph Campbell in his groundbreaking work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In the book, Campbell reviews the similarity in structure between many historical mythological tales and hypothesizes that nearly all hero's journey stories can be outlined using a basic story arc template. Campbell uses the stories of Osiris, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed, just to name a few, as examples of the classic hero's journey tales in his examination. 

Modern authors and motion picture screen writers have utilized a similar story arc in creating the likes of Luke Skywalker of Star Wars fame, Meg Murray from A Wrinkle In Time, Harry Potter, Moana (my daughter's current favorite) and so many other modern day mythical heroes. It seems as if humanity never grows tired of following the path of a hero through their quest to some form of awakening and enlightenment. My belief is that one of the main reasons humans are fascinated with hero stories is because all of us are living in a series of concurrent hero's journeys at the same time. When we look at our own stories on the surface, we may at times see them as a bit mundane, but our hero's journeys are every bit as significant, inspiring and extraordinary as any classic archetypal hero and the similarities are unmistakable. 

One of the common themes I notice in all heroes, is the theme where the budding young hero wants to complete the journey as fast as possible and to do so entirely on their own without any assistance. Too often the novice hero has the idea that the skills and wisdom they already possess are more than enough to overcome any obstacles that they may encounter in the unknown world. Think back to how young Luke is mostly interested in demonstrating to Yoda how much he already knows, much to Yoda's frustration. It is only when Luke opens his mind to receive the training and wisdom that Yoda is willing to share, that he begins to understand the power and the subtle nuances of the Force. That same teacher and apprentice theme re-emerges many years later between Luke and Rey in the final three movies in the saga.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how many times in my own life journey I have robbed myself of the opportunity to be a beginner. Like many people, I have an inherent need for affirmation and I am a people pleaser to an extreme degree. On a positive note, those two traits have pushed me to strive to be the best that I can be and they have also helped me seek a path of servant leadership in life. The shadow sides of those two traits are my occasional resistance to feedback and my tendency to question my self-worth when I fail to please others. The good news is that the work is still in progress for me. I am blessed to have so many opportunities to continue on the path of learning. For example: 
 

• I am coming down the homestretch of an amazing year long Process Oriented Facilitation training course with my teacher David Bedrick. David has been training a small cohort of us in the numerous processes he has used in helping people heal from trauma and shame during his 35+ years as a therapist and coach. Our training has included parts work, somatic healing, shamanic shape shifting work, Jungian archetype work and many other channels. The training has already influenced my self work and my work with others in a profound way. 

• This weekend I will embark on my second Path to Spirit Warrior training weekend, this time as a staff member and newly inspired guide. My goal is to show up with a beginner's mindset and do the work both for myself and for others as I allow Divine Spirit to share the wisdom that I need to receive. I guess in a way, like Luke I continue to be a student in learning how to receive the training. 

• Last but not least, I recently completed my facilitator's training in the MenLiving community. In the month's ahead, look for me to be sharing opportunities for men to connect with me and other facilitators for virtual and in-person gatherings. I have also agreed to be a regular contributor to the MenLiving blog and just this morning my piece titled Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind was the featured piece in the MenLiving newsletter. The piece pays homage to Shunryu Suzuki's book of the same name and looks at how my near death experience in January of 2022 gave me the gift of starting my thirty year yoga practice as if I have never even done a single pose. You can read the piece by clicking on the link to the MenLiving blog right here.

I hope you'll give my new blog at the MenLIving site a look and if you feel inclined, leave a comment or send me a reply email with your thoughts about areas in your life you could receive more by surrendering into a beginner's mindset.

Well that's all for this week. Stay tuned for information about the next Water of Life Men's Community call and other chances to connect. Many blessings to you all for the week ahead. 

Jim