A REALM CALLED GRIEF: 

THE HERO'S JOURNEY

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What is Grief?

Everyone has a story, a mythology of sorts, that is not only very personal and intimate but also far-reaching and interactive. Our personal stories connect each of us to all of humanity; to what Carl Jung called the collective. Joseph Campbell described our collective mythology as "the Hero's (or Heroine's) Journey". Campbell asserted that regardless of how our individual stories play out in our lives, we are all influenced by the archetypal Hero with his challenges, dreams, passion and sorrow as he courageously moves forward on his path.   Hidden within this journey in the darkest of places is a realm we call grief.  It is a place in our soul that we all eventually have to visit along the way.  Grief is different for everyone;  dark yet illuminating, powerful yet frightening, it challenges the Hero to move forward into the fear of uncertainty and  ultimately into the fear of his own death.  It is in this very raw yet beautiful place that we discover the Hero's passion, purpose and true yearning for living.

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 The Reality of Grief

After the suicide death of my sons' father, I had my first truly conscious experience of the Hero dwelling within me.  My entire perspective on life itself shifted as our family was forever altered and consumed with grief.  I felt an intense need to not only understand this death on many levels but to approach the unapproachable in my mind--our mortality as human beings.  I was now faced with the reality of raising my two boys, one with autism, without their dad's presence in their lives.  Anger, sorrow, and guilt propelled me straight toward the exit door of my comfort zone and back to the idea of approaching the one thing constant in my life:  my intuitive knowing, my connection to spirit, the power of re-stabilizing my life.  I felt compelled to re-examine my childhood in an effort to understand who I am on a very fundamental level.  This exploration re-introduced me to my intuitive prowess that I had dialed down to almost zero during my academic years.  My Heroine was stirring, as all Heroes do, when the call to service is heard.

 

 Grace in Grief

As a child I knew deceased people were around me; I could feel their presence and see them in my dreams.  Sometimes comforting and sometimes unsettling, I would experience moments of extreme clarity about my life, future global events and the people around me.  As I started to remember and honor my past childhood experiences, I felt compelled to delve deeper into why this crushing trauma had touched my life.  I began to nurture and respect this innate knowing, this fundamental power and presence.  Some call it God, the Universe, Source.   I call it Grace.  It filled me up and inspired me to retire from my pharmacy practice of 20 years and begin an intense period of self-reflection and study.   This truly amazing Grace gave me the courage I needed to embrace my mediumistic and intuitive inheritance, and move forward to share the knowledge that we as humans are so much more than we think we are.  Connected by a universal and quantum phenomenon we are humans, Heroes, evolving to finally understand our true nature.  With this realization I was able to lean into this fascinating relationship I have with the other side of life, and living daily with grief became a learning experience rather than an unmanageable obstacle to happiness.  My Heroine was beginning to hear her calling.