If you were watching a movie, you’d know a threshold point as a pivotal moment in the plot – the place where all of the Heroine’s lessons and experiences to date were going to be put to the test through the choices or actions she takes.
The big heroic blockbusters normally charge these moments with the pressure of many eyes watching and counting on the Hero/Heroine to succeed. However more often than not in our lives, these moments are times of personal significance that perhaps only a few people are witness to.
They are more like the ‘Sliding Doors’ movie where the heroine shows how everyday there are choices to act from a place of self worth and belief, or one of low self esteem and self doubt. And, depending on where we act from, we take ourselves closer or further away from living the joyful, inspired life that we want.
When you start to look at your life through the lens of your Heroine’s Journey, you’ll discover these ‘inner threshold’ moments are offering an opportunity to step change areas of your life through courageously acting in a way that feels in greater alignment with who you are and you want to be.
Often you can find yourself propelled into awareness of your Heroine’s Journey through a cluster of threshold moments. If you are wondering – is that me? Here are 7 signs that you are at a key point in your Heroine’s Journey:
- You are dreaming vividly, with symbols and emotions that hold potency.
- You are entering into a new relationship with your body – be that around physical health (or challenges of it), sexuality, body confidence or understanding how your body intelligence speaks to you.
- You are curious about your relationship to ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’, perhaps through how you express yourself, how you relate to your partner or even your relationship with your parents.
- Challenges are arising for you that trigger emotions that you know are repeated, habitual and predicable although unwanted. E.g. your go to stress response is anxiety and currently it’s on high alert.
- You are letting go/grieving an end of something significant for you and about to enter a new or unknown period in a key area of your life.
- You are drawn to creative activities such as art making, writing, singing, cooking, textiles, essential oil blending – the list is endless, yet most important is that its a physical expression that feels creative, new, playful vs habitual or functional.
- A new opportunity has presented itself to you that you know means really stepping out of your comfort zone.
Can you relate to some of these signs? Do you also feel curious about some of the others? If so, you might want to know a little more about what the Heroine's Journey is so that you can set your inner compass to successfully navigate it:
The heroines journey in summary
As the Heroine you are embarking on a journey of transformation and like the Hero this involves delving into the underworld, the hidden and unseen in order to enter into your new future as you want it. In the Hero’s Journey myths, its story line is governed by battling the demons and dragons in outer and inner worlds. At key thresholds he conquers and wins by the sword (a representation, not only of strength but also clarity and truth that we have translated into the rational mind). He moves through the underworld to create new his world by bringing the elixir of life back to his tribe.
When you follow the myths of the Heroine’s Journey, the powers you bring to navigate your journey of transformation are different. When you take the Heroines path, you enter the underworld with humility and reverence because you know that so much of what is good and great about the feminine has been placed in the shadow. Your way of crossing key thresholds on your journey is by reclaiming the powers of the feminine through empathy, compassion and feeling the currents of emotion and sensuality that move through you. Your bravery is to look into the face of your full experience of life from strength to vulnerability, joy to grief and integrate all of it as one whole you. Your symbol is the cup overflowing. When you come back to your tribe, you are the elixir itself, having strengthened and aligned your mind body and spirit to be its container.
The Hero and Heroine's Journeys are equally valid and open for either women or men to undertake. It’s just that in our world we are collectively focusing on the Hero’s Journey and have forgotten the Heroine’s bravery.
Especially for women, the Heroines Journey is often the journey towards real fulfillment and success, precisely because we can feel alienated from the immense creativity, passion, purpose and power that has been collectively place in the shadow as unacceptable or devalued parts of the feminine.
6 keys to navigating the Heroine’s Journey
Want to start taking your Heroines Journey? Then it’s time to tap into your heroine’s guidance system; these 6 keys are your foundation for success:
- Listen to your intuition: The subtle, infinitely wise inner voice that nudges, prompts and insists that even without a rational plan of action, this is the right way.
- Love your shadow: You’ll learn perhaps reluctantly at times, that as Transpersonal psychologist Barbara Somers says, ‘In the shadow is the most vivid, alive, creative part of ourselves and it has to be taken back from others and returned to us.’
- Bring to every situation an equal measure of courage and compassion: Authentically, assertively express and stand for what’s important to you and, at the very same time, have compassion and empathy for your opponent (be that a part of your inner psyche or a specific person and situation).
- Embodiment is power: Your body hears, feels and senses everything you experience. The intelligence of the body is huge, the mind is just one part, and to tap into its greater experience gives you the power of presence to create in your life.
- Emotions are your vital life force: E-motion is the energy that carries you forward, when you know how to feel and move with your emotional experience (vs cut off, judge or numb it), you recover a huge amount of energy to use towards what you desire to create.
- Share your journey with others: When you are willing to voice your dreams and fears with trusted friends, you create allies on your heroine’s journey who empower and encourage you at vital moments when it would be easy to disengage or give up. Yes your journey of transformation is yours to live and dive into, however you don’t have to do it on your own!
If you are feeling drawn to explore your Heroine’s Journey, read 'What is the Heroines Journey?', join a Circle of Women event, or contact me for a 30 minute complimentary coaching session.
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