The Top 10 Thoughts on Preparing for Change (Approach to the Inmost Cave)

Originally Submitted on 3/27/2001.

The Hero's Journey is another way of viewing a rite of passage or personal development: adolescence, first career, sobriety, parenthood, retirement, self-peace, etc. Approach to the Inmost Cave is the seventh stage of this Hero's Journey. The hero has accepted the Call to Adventure and has received training with the mentor as well as support from a new group of experts in the Special World. Our hero is now one step away from confronting the shadow and prepares for this meeting in a variety of ways.

1. Some heroes choose to walk right into the ordeal without preparing. Do you easily accept change, or do you prepare for it?

2. The hero may go through a Shamanistic experience and transform through a figurative death. Have you ever had an illness or experience that prepared you for a latter change?

3. The hero could receive a warning that if he proceeds he may risk something of value. What have you risked in order to transform?

4. "As heroes near the gates of a citadel deep within the Special World, they may take time to make plans, do reconnaissance on the enemy, reorganize or thin out the group, fortify or arm themselves, and have a last laugh and a final cigarette before going over the top to no-man's-land." (Christopher Vogler)

5. The hero may spend the preparation time by getting inside the shadow's mind and studying ways to defeat him. How might mental sparring prove advantageous/disadvantageous for you?

6. Heroes often have to pass one more test before proceeding to the ordeal. How have external/internal challenges manifested in your life before attempting the big change?

7. Do you want to turn back at this stage of the journey or go forward?

8. What have you had to get rid of before the change?

9. What must you face before moving forward?

10. At this time in the journey, the hero may have learned how to accept unconditional love from himself or someone close to him. How does self-love prepare you for change?

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