"Now we must brave the long dark of Moria.  Let us hope that our passage goes unnoticed." - Gandalf the Grey, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring It is dark. You are alone, abandoned, lost. This feels like the loneliest place in the world. The Belly of the Whale is the point in the story in which the hero reaches her lowest point, or rather her "point of least self".  All the things she has known about the world and about herself must be transformed or discarded for her to re-emerge ready for the rest of her journey. The imagery of being "inside" something here is important. The hero appears to those outside the Whale as dead o

"We'll never survive." "Nonsense, you're only saying that because no one ever has." - Wesley and Buttercup (when preparing to enter the Fire Swamp), "The Princess Bride" This is Stage Five in the Hero's Journey.  The earlier stages are here: Stage One – The Call to Adventure Stage Two – Refusal of the Call Stage Three – The Helpers Arrive Stage Four –  Crossing the Threshold By the time we reach this stage, the hero has committed to the adventure.   She is on the plane; she has accepted the new job; she is pregnant; she has said “Yes” to a big opportunity. (Not all at once, obviously, but you ge

In previous journal entries, I talked about  The Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call and The Helpers Arrive. Next comes the crossing of the threshold - the stage where you take a decisive step that commits you to the adventure - to leaving the ordinary world, the status quo, and venturing into the unknown. "If I take one more step, I'll be the farthest from home that I've ever been." - Samwise Gamgee,  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingThis is a defining moment in the life of the hero, often the first active decision of responsibility and independence. This is stepping into a bold new world and is often a very scary act,