Exploring Life's List: 5. Experience

[Exploring Life] A Journey Into Memory: It has now been nearly two months since my father passed away, and five months since my mother passed away. I am learning more and more about the nature and power of memory; the ways in which I interpret and explore my own memories are changing in response to the experience of losing both parents. While I have always understood that memory is more than a mere recollection of facts or a mental romp through past events, I am quite surprised at the vast perceptual landscape that memory embraces. Memory can reveal itself through powerful imagery that envelope our senses is the essence of an experience. Memory can be an echo originating in the resonance of a sound that is retrieved from the past. Memory can simply be a feeling that has no clear reference to either visual image or sound; memory can be a sensation of touch deep within the body. In this post I will share the memory of the immediate aftermath of my parents’ death in order to explore the deeper workings of memory.

[Exploring Life] Success means that we have achieved some desired goal, state, or level of achievement. When we succeed at something we integrate that success into our identity and persona. Success in this sense can be a mask we wear in order to project a certain image to people around us in order to attract attention. Often, success is interpreted with respect to our work or career. In its most ignominious sense, success is denigrated to the acquisition of material possessions and the delusional notion that having more stuff is somehow equated with having more success. Unfortunately, many of our cultural and social systems embrace the more facile and superficial meanings of success. Success has largely been amputated from its essential relationship to meaning and purpose.

The hero’s journey, once more:  The hero is introduced in his ORDINARY WORLD where he receives the CALL TO ADVENTURE.  He is RELUCTANT at first to CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD where he eventually encounters TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES.  He reaches the INNERMOST CAVE where he endures the SUPREME ORDEAL.  He SEIZES THE SWORD or the treasure and is pursued on the ROAD BACK to his world.  He is RESURRECTED and transformed by his experience.  He RETURNS to his ordinary world with a treasure, boon, or ELIXIR to benefit his world.