The Seekers

Gents

I am a long time admirer of the writings of Joseph Campbell and am aware of
MKP's indebtedness to Campbell for the timeless, poetic and mythical
structure of the hero's journey central to the NWTA. I am currently dipping
into a book on screenwriting that draws heavily on Campbell to provide a
road map for writers wanting to construct a hero's journey in film scripts.
The author, Vogler, believes most popular films strike a deep cord with
audiences precisely because they are based around such a hero's journey.

To illustrate the mythical arc of a typical hero's journey, Vogler tells the
story of The Seekers. I am sharing The Seekers here as it seem to me to
powerfully describe the mythical journey undertaken by initiates before,
during and after the NWTA, and affirms the timeless and universal resonances
of the training.

The Seekers

The Ordinary World

Look around, sister, brother of the Home Tribe. You can see the people are
barely getting by, surviving on a dwindling supply of last season's food.
Times are bad and the country all around seems lifeless. The people grow
weak before our eyes, but a few of us are filled with restless energy. Like
you. You're uncomfortable, feeling you no longer fit in with this drab,
exhausted place. You may not know it, but you're soon to be selected as a
hero, to join the select company of the Seekers, those who have always gone
out to face the unknown. You'll undertake a journey to restore life and
health to the entire Home Tribe, an adventure in which the only sure thing
is that you'll be changed. You're uneasy, but there's a thrill running
through you. You're poised to break free from this world, ready to enter the
world of adventure.



The Call To Adventure

Trouble shadows the Home Tribe. You hear its call, in the grumbling of our
stomach and the cries of our hungry children. The land for miles around is
tapped out and barren and clearly someone must go beyond the familiar
territory. That unknown land is strange and fills us with fear, but pressure
mounts to do something, to take some risks, so that life can continue.

A figure emerges from the campfire smoke, an elder of the Home Tribe,
pointing to you. Yes, you have been chosen as a Seeker and called to begin a
new quest. You'll venture your life so that the greater life of the Home
Tribe may go on.


Refusal Of The Call

Gather your gear, fellow Seeker. Think ahead to possible dangers, and
reflect on past disasters. The spectre of the unknown walks among us,
halting our progress at the threshold. Some of us turn down the quest, some
hesitate, some are tugged at by families who fear for our lives and don't
want us to go. You hear people mutter that the journey is foolhardy, doomed
from the start. You feel fear constricting your breathing and making your
heart race. Should you stay with the Home Tribe, and let others risk their
necks in the quest ? Are you cut out to be a Seeker ?


Meeting With The Mentor

You Seekers, fearful at the brink of adventure, consult with the elders of
the Home Tribe. Seek out those who have gone before. Learn the secret lore
of watering holes, games trails, and berry patches, and what badlands,
quicksand, and monsters to avoid. An old one, feeble to go out again,
scratches a map for us in the dirt. The shaman of the tribe presses
something into your hand, a magic gift, a potent talisman that will protect
us and guide us on the quest. Now we can set out with lighter hearts and
greater confidence, for we take with us the collected wisdom of the Home
Tribe.


Crossing The First Threshold

The ranks of the Seekers are thinner now. Some of us have dropped out, but
the final few are ready to cross the threshold and truly begin the
adventure. The problems of the Home Tribe are clear to everyone, and
desperate - something must be done, now ! Ready or not, we lope out of the
village leaving all things familiar behind. As you pull away you feel the
jerk of the invisible threads that bind you to your loved ones. It's
difficult to pull away from everything you know but with a deep breath you
go on, taking the plunge into the abyss of the unknown. We enter a strange
no-man's-land, a world between worlds, a zone of crossing that may be
desolate and lonely. Or, in places, crowded with life. You sense the
presence of other beings, other forces with sharp thorns or claws, guarding
the way to the treasure you seek. But there's no turning back now, we all
feel it; the adventure has begun for good or ill.


Tests, Allies, Enemies

We Seekers are in shock - this new world is so different from the home we've
always known. Not only are the terrain and the local residents different,
the rules of this place are strange as they can be. Different things are
valued here and we have a lot to learn about the local currency, customs,
and language. Strange creatures jump out at you! Think fast! Don't eat that,
it could be poison! Exhausted by the journey across the desolate threshold
zone, we're running out of time and energy. Remember our people back in the
Home Tribe are counting on us. Enough sight-seeing, let's concentrate on the
goal. We must go where the food and game and information are to be found.
There our skills will be tested, and we'll come one step closer to what we
seek.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

Our band of Seekers leaves the oasis at the edge of the new world, refreshed
and armed with more knowledge about the nature and habits of the game we're
hunting. We're ready press on to the heart of the new world where the
greatest treasures are guarded by our greatest fears. Look around at your
fellow Seekers. We've changed already and new qualities are emerging. Who's
the leader now? Some who were not suited for life in the Ordinary World are
now thriving. Others who seemed ideal for adventure are turning out to be
the least able. A new perception of yourself and others is forming. Based on
this new awareness, you can make plans and direct yourself towards getting
what you want from the Special World. Soon you will be ready to enter the
Inmost Cave.


The Ordeal

Seeker, enter the Inmost Cave and look for that which will restore life to
the Home Tribe. The way grows narrow and dark. You must go alone on hands
and knees and you feel the earth press close around you. You can hardly
breathe. Suddenly you come out into the deepest chamber and find yourself
face-to-face with a towering figure, a menacing Shadow composed of all your
doubts and fears and well armed to defend a treasure. Here, in this moment,
is the chance to win all or die. No matter what you came for, it's Death
that now stares back at you. Whatever the outcome of the battle, you are
about to taste death and it will change you.


Reward

We Seekers look at one another with growing smiles. We've won the right to
be called heroes. For the sake of the Home Tribe we faced death, tasted it,
and yet lived. From the depths of terror we suddenly shoot up to victory.
It's time to fill our empty bellies and raise our voices around the campfire
to sing of our deeds. Old wounds and grievances are forgotten. The story of
our journey is already being woven. You pull apart from the rest, strangely
quiet. In the leaping shadows you remember those who didn't make it, and you
notice something. You're different. You've changed. Part of you has died and
something new has been born. You and the world will never seem the same.
This too is part of the Reward for facing death.

The Road Back

Wake up, Seekers! Shake off the effects of our feast and celebration and
remember why we came out here in the first place! People back home are
starving and it's urgent, now that we've recovered from the ordeal, to load
up our backpacks with food and treasure and head for home. Besides, there's
no telling what dangers still lurk on the edge on the hunting grounds. You
pause at the edge of camp to look back. They'll never believe this back
home. How to tell them? Something bright on the ground catches your eyes.
You bend to pick it up - a beautiful smooth stone with an inner glow.
Suddenly a dark shape darts out at you, all fangs. Run! Run for your life!

The Resurrection

We weary Seekers shuffle back towards the village. Look! The smoke of the
Home Tribe fires! Pick up the pace! But wait - the shaman appears to stop us
from charging back in. You have been to the land of the Death, he says, and
you look like death itself, covered in blood, carrying the torn flesh and
hide of your game. If you march back into the village without purifying and
cleansing yourselves, you may bring death back with you. You must undergo
one final sacrifice before rejoining the tribe. Your warriors self must die
so you can be reborn as an innocent into the group. The trick is to keep the
wisdom of the Ordeal, while getting rid of its bad effects. After all we've
been through, fellow Seekers, we must face one more trial, maybe the hardest
one yet.

Return With The Elixir

We Seekers come home at last, purged, purified, and bearing the fruits of
our journey. We share out the nourishment and treasure among the Home Tribe,
with many a good story about how they were won. A circle has been closed,
you can feel it. You can see that our struggles on the Road of Heroes have
brought new life to our land. There will be other adventures, but this one
is complete, and as it ends it brings deep healing, wellness, and wholeness
to our world. The Seekers have come Home.

From: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
By Christopher Vogler

David Wicht
c +27 83 254 3777 h +27 21 795 5698

1 Old Cottage Rd Silverhurst

Constantia 7806 South Africa