Step #6: Confronting Evil
and facing defeat.
Key Concept: Balance
Along the road of trials the hero inevitably
faces defeat. This is not only unavoidable, it is desirable.
Why? Anyone who exercises using progressive resistance (weight
training systems) knows that the body only grows after it has
been pushed to its limits. You lift that weight until you have
reached "muscle failure." Similarly, in studying, you often
push yourself until it seems that your mind has numbed. If you
then back off, take a break, concentrate on another activity
entirely, you will often find that the apparent problem resolves
itself.
In psychology, this phenomenon has been mapped as the structure
of genius-level breakthrough:
- Define the problem
- Define the desired result
- Study and experiment along every known avenue of solution.
- When you reach the absolute end of rational thought and
conscious effort, CHANGE ACTIVITIES. Go swimming, make love,
read a book, take a nap.
- It is during or after this break that the "Eureka" or "Ah-Hah"
moment will occur.
In Physical training, the same phenomenon exists. Here, it is
the fact that MUSCLES GROW DURING REST, NOT DURING STRESS. So
in order to grow stronger, you must stress your body, nourish
your body, and rest your body. Too much or too little of any of
these three factors, and your body breaks down.
And spiritually, every seeker or meditator knows that the moments
of enlightenment or deep insight can never be planned - they
are the indirect result of dedicating oneself to years of focus
on the true self, or the divine, or service to community, or
love of family. True growth never happens when you force it.
"The watched pot never boils" is a core truism.
The concept of balance is so important because, in truth, each
of our three major aspects: Body (fitness and health), mind
(career and scholarship), and spirit (inner growth as manifested
in external relationships) are merely different reflections
of the same image. Each of the three tells us important things,
and must be examined in order to gain the deep faith in our
true selves necessary to face life - altering stress.
And make no mistake: as you strive toward your life goals,
life will test you in every conceivable way. Only a deep, rooted
faith in the rightness of your action will see you through.
In Musashi Miyamoto's magnificent BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, he speaks
of the "Two-Fold Path" of pen and sword, and how a student of
little talent can become a warrior merely by sticking assiduously
to both divides of the path.
I interpret this to mean that Sword (the warrior arts) and
Pen (specifically calligraphy and art) teach one to face both
life and death without flinching. The warrior arts deal specifically
with fear and death. And the fine arts teach us self-expression,
or expression of the true self. Together, each give the strength
to master the other.
Consider commitment to balances as a "The Three-Fold Path."
Body, Mind, and Spirit together give us the tools we need to
learn, do, or be anything that we need in this life.
Now, there are many who have made a voluntary choice not to establish
an intimate, personal, sexual relationship with another. This
is an honorable choice. In fact, Sri Chinmoy, the single most
evolved human being I've ever known, made this choice and recommends
it to his followers. Also, single parents might well decide that
their primary job is to raise their children, and that there is
no room in their lives for romance until this job is done. For
these and other reasons, a person might well decide to live alone.
However, if you seek love, and have been frustrated, or found
yourself in a series of painful relationships, then the answer
lies within. Relationships are mirrors. In life, you don't get
what you want. You get what you are.
Physically, your current physical condition is 95% due to your
values, attitudes, beliefs, priorities, clarity and discipline.
I love browsing people's book shelves. It is fascinating, and
sad, that almost everyone has more information in their homes
on how to fix their car than how to take care of their body.
Intellectually, if you haven't found a way be of sufficient
value to the "village" called society that it is willing to
support you in return, you have never learned to unite your
mind and heart. It is possible to make a good living doing almost
anything. True, a superb teacher will never get as rich as Michael
Jordan, but then teachers, on the average, have a much better
retirement package than professional athletes. One must examine
the trade-offs in life: greater risk equals greater potential
reward. If you are in a trade where excellence doesn't equal
greater monetary reward, that is fine. I assume you take your
pleasure in greater community service. But if you ARE in a profession
where performance directly influences compensation (sales and
we are ALL salespeople to one degree or another) and you can't
support yourself, then it is time to take responsibility for
your actions and situation and take steps to change.
Almost no one wants to really look at all three of these areas
simultaneously. Why? Because your unresolved pain and negative
emotions will hide in the place you don't look. If you look
in all three, you MUST deal with the realities of your life.
This "Three-Fold Path" will never lead you astray. If you work
on all three areas at the same time, you will gain self-knowledge
that cannot be put into words, and will sustain you through
the inevitable "Dark Nights."
| Film Example: "The Matrix". A
very clever Science-fiction reworking of Tibetan Buddhist
themes, Matrix deals with a world in which evil computers
control all humanity, keeping us in a vast dream-world
while they secretly drain our sleeping bodies of energy.
Only a very few rebels are awake and aware. To enter into
the dream-world and maintain complete awareness of its
unreality is to gain incredible power. Keanu Reeves' character
"Neo" is a computer hacker who is the Messiah - is the
one who can awaken in the dream world, and manifest sufficient
power to awaken others to the true battle. The tools for
the awakening are physical (martial arts), intellectual
(he is confronted by a series of philosophical puzzles),
and emotional (issues of love, loyalty and self-image
are core to the movie). While it can certainly be enjoyed
as pure entertainment, "Matrix" is the first popular film
in many, many moons to even attempt to touch a deeper
level, and as such, deserves every dollar it makes. Give
it a NINE.
|
For Writers:
- In your story, what is your lead character's moment of greatest
despair? Is it on-page or off-stage? In which of these three
arenas does it have its greatest impact?
- What will your character need in order to move through this?
- Is this an up-ending story, in which the character learns
the lesson? Or a down-ending story, in which the character
fails, and ends in defeat?
- What does your character's physical health, fitness, and/or
environment tell about her?
- What do your characters past and present relationships tell
about her?
- What does your character's finances, career and education
tell about her?
For Others:
- What does your status in each of these three areas say about
you? In what ways have you ignored or denied your own potential?
- Where and why have you let fear stop you in each of these
three arenas? When did this fear first enter your life?
- What are your beliefs about failure or success in each of
these three arenas? When you see people who are massively
successful or unsuccessful in these, what do you think about
them? (Examples of destructive beliefs I've heard: "It's easier
for a single woman over 40 to be killed by a terrorist than
to be married," "Money is the root of all evil," "If I stay
fat, only sensitive, spiritual people will see the real me.")