It recently occurred to me that there are huge parallels between the Hero’s Journey and the Healing Journey.
This is probably not new, but it hit me really powerfully and the idea is new to me, so maybe it’s new to you, too.
Our Hero, let’s call them River, is living their life, doing whatever it is that they do, not thinking too deeply about it, and suddenly, a precipitating event occurs, and their quiet, dull little life gets busted wide open. Doesn’t matter what it is; the important thing is, River is propelled on a Journey to deal with it. And on that journey, they leave the Ordinary World and usually descend to an Otherworldly place of dreams, where magic runs the show, mystery is in charge of the stage design and lighting, and up is actually down quite a bit of the time. River has a misadventure or two before meeting with a guide who helps them recover their sense of self, stands by them as they face their fears and overcome whatever obstacles are in their way, up to and including dragons and other beasties, and empowers them to do whatever must be done in order for them to put their world to rights and get back to it. When they do return to the Ordinary World, they are no longer ordinary themselves, and the World changes to shape itself around them, which traditionally involves rewarding them with their heart’s desire.
So let’s say instead, River has some kind of trauma happen, whether it’s a car accident, an abusive relationship, an act of violence, or a chronic illness. I know, yikes, sorry River. Help is on the way. So River gets physically sick and goes to some doctors who don’t help, at least not much, maybe they put them on a medication to treat their symptoms, but never get to the underlying cause, and so . . . nothing actually gets better and misadventures ensue. Eventually, River finds a healer, who takes them through a different kind of process to address their pain in a more holistic way; helps them face their fear; gently guides them to find to the root cause; engages their own, innate healing response; and empowers them to heal themselves from that very deep place. And once they have healed, their life begins to shift and bloom around them, because they are no longer stuck carrying this awful baggage around.
This, to me, is the most authentic kind of healing process there is.
When the healer acts as a conduit or a guide, the client is able to access their own healing power, and 100% own their well-being from that moment forward. It’s never me healing my clients; I’m just the instrument. The client is always the best healer. Unfortunately, we are almost never taught that we have this capacity, nor how to engage it. And sometimes, even those of us who understand that need a guide to get there. A lot of the time, in fact.
You know how you can’t proofread your own writing, because you know what you meant to write and often see that rather than the actual mistake? Same thing. Healers usually can’t heal themselves for the very same reason. We need to turn to trusted associates to take us on that journey because we’re too close to the story, because it’s our own, and we can’t see what we’re missing. But the best healers know that what we’re really doing is guiding you to awaken your inner healing power, and empowering you to use it.
The placebo effect is real, and this is part of it. Yes, this kind of healing works, but without belief and buy in, the healing is less deep, less intense, and less complete. The effects will wear off after a bit. By surrendering to the process, by engaging body and soul into it, by being aware that intention is driving this entire thing, the client is creating the perfect environment for miracles to happen. This is when you get somebody with stage 4 cancer going fully into remission within a few months and never looking back. This is when you get people with spinal cord injuries getting out of the wheelchair and walking their daughter down the isle to get married, or meeting their grandkids at the airport on their feet instead of on wheels. When there is true engagement, we can do anything.
In my own practice now I am beginning to explore this idea of the Hero’s Journey and the Healing Journey mirroring each other, and starting to encourage clients to write this story with me. What do you think is the best challenge you could face and overcome right now? How do you want to feel at the end of this chapter? What kind of happy ending do you really want? The more specific you can be, the greater the likelihood that healing will be profound, deep and lasting.
