Introduction to the Hero-Heroine's Journey: A Spiritual Quest of Transformation

What do the journeys of Moses from the Hebrew Bible and Jesus Christ, Mother Mary and Paul from the New Testament all have in common? Each of their stories reveal the key parts of the archetypal Hero-Heroine’s Journey.  The hero-heroine departs from their ordinary world, faces the necessary trials and challenges, and returns home transformed. This narrative structure was first identified in Joseph Campbell’s 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and is reflected throughout biblical and mythological stories, as well as across literary and film genres. For example, we can identify the Journey in movies like Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings, as well as in the Christian allegory, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, the nineteenth-century Russian Orthodox classic, The Way of a Pilgrim, and in the widely popular contemporary novel, The Alchemist.

And it is also alive and well in us.

In this Day Apart Retreat, we’ll take our own experiential journey through the major archetypes of the Hero-Heroine’s Journey. We’ll explore the call initiating the journey and how it relates to the song of the soul, examine why tests and challenges are key to transformation, and how aligning our will to thy will brings victory. Finally, we’ll discover how the road back leaves us not where we began. Along the way, we’ll enjoy thoughtful discussion, beautiful Taizé chanting and simple circle movements, quiet journaling and drawing as desired, and heart centered sharing of the insights discovered along the way.

Come and delight in your soul’s quest for adventure and revelation.

Registration Fee: $84 for the day, including program (9:30-3:30), pastries, and lunch.