Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Step Three on The Raw Vegan Hero's Journey

3. I Am Open and Willing to Change
Inspired by the mythical Hero’s Journey first compiled in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (photos are of famous, recognizable characters on their own journeys)


You say you want to go raw because it sounds good. Who doesn't want perfect health? Who doesn’t want to be free of physical pain? Who doesn't want to wake up in the morning fully alert, refreshed, and ready to create a wonderful day? If you’ve been a raw vegan for even a few weeks, you’ve experienced those things. But then you fall off the wagon.

First, if you are not “thinking from the end” and have not written your core values, go back. Without clarity, the raw journey is a muddy one filled with stops and starts.

If you have completed Steps One and Two, then ask yourself, “Am I really open and willing to change?” Are you truly ready to live in alignment with your values? Are you terrified of breaking out of your comfort zone?

In the archetypical Hero’s Journey, the hero lives in his ORDINARY WORLD (Dorothy quietly lives in Kansas; Luke Skywalker, restless, lives on a farm on Tatooine; Shrek lives alone in his swamp).




Marlin and Dory in Finding Nemo



But there’s always a backstory. In Finding Nemo, Marlin’s wife and all of their unborn children, save one, are killed. After that one fish, Nemo, is born, Marlin is an understandably overprotective father. Marlin’s Ordinary World is the anemone. Never, ever leave the anemone. When Nemo is kidnapped, Marlin receives his CALL TO ADVENTURE. He must travel outside his comfort zone. What is at stake? His only child. Marlin wants to REFUSE THE CALL, because he is a RELUCTANT HERO. Marlin is “facing the greatest of all fears, terror of the unknown. 1.”



Go back to Step Two, I Align Myself with My Core Values.

Answer these questions:
1. What are you afraid of?
2. What is at stake if you do not pursue a raw vegan lifestyle, even partially?




I suffer from yeast-related health problems. I am afraid of never healing myself. I am afraid of feeling less-than-optimal for the rest of my life.



What is at stake? My relationship with my husband and children, family & friends, books, and teaching will never rise to their highest level. Living a raw vegan lifestyle is now personal.



Jamal and Latika in Slumdog Millionaire



Being open and willing to change is a concept Louise Hay writes about in You Can Heal Your Life. In movies, the protagonist is usually a reluctant hero, forced to leave the Ordinary World (Dorothy is transported to OZ via tornado; Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed; Shrek’s swamp is overrun with fairy tale creatures).

Health problems often force us to change our lives. They are a Call to Adventure. The adventure is a healing one. My yeast issues are persistent, and INSISTENT. They will not disappear with a magic wand. I have to ACT. But I have to be willing to act.

Exercise:
Say as often as you need to: “I am open and willing to change.” A thousand times a day is reasonable (smile). I’m serious.

Look around and see where you have not been willing to change in terms of raw food. Are you willing to make your juices and smoothies at night, so you can enjoy them in the morning?
Are you willing to try new recipes?
Are you willing to consider a one-day juice or smoothie fast?
Are you willing to invest in new appliances?
Are you willing to get support?

Being “open and willing to change” opens the windows of beautiful healing adventure to you.

Love,
Althea

1. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Volger

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1 comment:

bitt said...

I nominated you for an award:
http://bittsblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-101-award-10-things-that-make-me.html

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