Journey
The Hero's Journey
The myriad diets, supplements, cleansing protocols, workout regimens, mindfulness exercises etc. that have become increasingly popular over the last several years can be a lot to sort through— especially for the novice. Health and wellness seems to be quickly replacing organized religion; different factions claiming that they have the Truth. Instagram Demi-gods like Ben Greenfield and Dr. Saladino launch crusades against an heretical pantry. Ex-communication of loved ones over a well-intentioned holiday meal that is left untouched. “Not all carbs are bad!” “Only the peasantry eat ancient grains!” “You are of a lower consciousness, Meat Eater!” “Your cognitive function seems to be impaired for want of saturated fats, Infidel!”
Who can blame us? In the trend towards secularism (on top of the current anti-social atmosphere), humans, now more than ever, need ritual in order to provide structure and meaning to this existence. What better starting point than finding that ritual within the Divine Temple that is the body, especially in the face of an unprecedented health crisis? As the ancient hermetic adage goes, As Within, So Without.
This non-dualistic approach to the understanding of being implies that everything is one: good cannot exist without evil, up cannot exist without down, inside and outside are one and the same. Our external realities are simply a reflection of the workings within our own psyche as well as that of the universal psyche, or collective unconscious— the web of energy and information we are all hooked into.
An interesting study conducted in the 1950s known as the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon demonstrates this well; isolated groups of monkeys spread across a chain of islands began to pick up the same evolutionary behavioral patterns regardless of the fact that they were not in contact with each other. In this specific case, monkeys on one island began to wash the potatoes they ate prior to consumption. Within days, all of the monkeys on the other islands began imitating this behavior, despite having no contact with the other groups.
How did they pick up on this? The same way a good business idea originates in a dream, or a sudden realization comes to you in the half-conscious moments before falling asleep. The undeniable fact that we are all connected to this collective fabric, and that this is where reality-building information is drawn from, is profound; Idea and Object are mutually dependent, one cannot exist without the other. Industry leaders, innovators, artists, and revolutionaries of every kind have pointed to this for ages; it is said that good ideas find people. This would imply that an idea, rather than being “our own”, originates from within this collective ether, and that the thinker is simply a conduit to bring that idea into manifest.
Understanding this, disruption (or “dis-ease”) within the personal psyche can have negative implications for the collective consciousness and the reality that we help to bring about, both within our personal life, and within extended social groups, greater communities and the world at large. A healthy psyche cannot exist without a healthy body, plain and simple, and a healthy body is one which metabolizes efficiently. An efficient metabolism results in balanced hormone levels, adequate neurotransmitter production, functioning amino acid and peptide formation, and ultimately effective DNA repair and replication, the Root of all Life. In order to build a healthier society, we need to start from within, understanding that the obstacles in our path have never been greater than they are now, but aware that evolution is only possible by transcending negative environmental pressures.
…You discover a well trodden forest path, long overgrown, yet somehow very familiar. Alongside meanders a babbling creek trafficked by blue and green damselflies, flickering in and out of the patches of sunlight filtering down through the lush canopy overhead which warms the morning air. The smooth stones underfoot, a worn root protruding across the path echo something of the Past. You are a child again; swimming, laughing, playing. Healthy. The creek continues on and swells into the roaring rapids of a river. The River is Life. No longer a child, you forge ahead, the River as your guide…
The journey to wellness is a rather familiar path that we have all been on before— after all, it’s the path that we started the Life journey on. At times we have all lost our way, but that’s what adventure is all about, half the fun is finding your way back!
In the coming days, CLRLY would like to share with you, piece by piece, valuable information in order to help you navigate the obstacles along your Path, introducing you to valuable Allies on your quest, unveiling ancient Lore and bringing forward the latest scientific Illuminations to your aid. Light, love, DNA, electricity, water, plants… and research chemicals— the nature of this absolutely marvelous Universe will be unveiled. Journey along into the ever-so-familiar unknown and forge the Healthy Hero of your own story. You already have everything you need.
--Zebedee