4 May 2012
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What we are essentially go on, as Jedi, is a hero’s journey. It is one
of a spiritual nature rather than physical, but it will bring us to a
similar place. Campbell says that the hero can go one two types of
quests: one of a physical nature (the saving of life or the giving of
one’s life) or one of a spiritual nature ( the finding of a supernormal
religious state and then the returning to expound upon it to others.
This can be seen in Christ and in Moses. Christ spent forty days in the
wilderness and Moses spent forty days in the desert. Each came back with
a clearer view of God in order to instruct their fellow man and more so
to direct their own lives. I submit that we all must go through this
spiritual journey, indeed I do not know if we can make a conscious
decision to do otherwise. Just as physically we grow up and go through
the stages of life in an order which is beyond our control, so we must
yield ourselves to the force and allow it to direct us upward to a
higher plain of spiritual maturity.
The only way that a person can become a hero is by trials and
tribulation. It is here that we put our knowledge and beliefs to the
test. All learning is preparation for a trial, so we must make sure to
learn fully and slowly because we never know when a trial can come.
Campbell says something interesting on this point as well. He says “the
adventure that he [the hero] is ready for is the one that he gets. Often
times I have thought of myself as over taken by my trial, but my
sentiment cannot be true if Campbell’s is to be. It will help me to
approach trials in a different manner. The feeling of being over come by
one’s trials is a feeling which should connote that there is some
hidden potential that has not been tapped in you or some knowledge or a
skill. This is demonstrated by the whale motif. Soon our consciousness
will be outmatched by the situation and we must call upon and use the
Force.
I also liked the English dragon symbolism. The dragon is a horder of
things he cannot use and a prison guard of people controlled by fear. I
believe it was said “You must let go of everything you fear to lose.”
This is the abandonment of the ego. It seems to be difficult to master,
to let go of everything we hold dear and our own selfish desires, but it
says something for YOU to be the one to slay your own dragon, when you
are ready.
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