{"id":29147,"date":"2022-10-18T22:32:53","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T05:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29147"},"modified":"2022-10-18T22:32:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T05:32:53","slug":"the-mentor-in-the-heros-and-heroines-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-mentor-in-the-heros-and-heroines-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mentor-In the Hero’s and Heroine’s journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joseph Campbell rolls open the blueprints for constructing an epic tale in <\/span>The Hero With 1,000 Faces<\/span><\/i>. The Hero\u2019s journey consists of three main stages: departure, initiation, and return. A myriad of characters are introduced in the Hero\u2019s Journey during these various stages. One facet in the early part of the hero\u2019s journey caught my interest: the hero often encounters a mentor or \u201cSpiritual Aid.\u201d [1] A mentor takes the role of guide, helping the hero \u201crise from nobody to somebody.\u201d [2] With the desire to uncover the role of the mentor, I found an article by David Safford who encourages writers to incorporate mentor characters in their storytelling. Safford describes a mentor as someone who \u201cpasses on knowledge and teaches skill\u201d to the main character. [3] He asserts that there are five different mentor types: The Guide, The Trainer, The Father\/Mother, The Priest\/Monk, The Counselor. I couldn\u2019t help but wonder how my Marriage Family Therapist position might be viewed as one of these mentor types. I will attempt to assess my role as a Guide, Trainer, Father\/Mother, Priest\/Monk. I will describe each of these roles and share how a counselor aides true heroes: clients.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Guide is someone who knows the map and can bring insight as to what might lie ahead. Mr. Tumnus is a good example of a guide from <\/span>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/span><\/i>. [4] Mr. Tumnus meets Lucy soon after she enters Narnia, he warns her of the White Witch. Much like friendly Mr. Tumnus, God brought a kind couple into my husband and I\u2019s life who assisted us in premarital counseling. Upon completing our final session, I remember telling my husband that we should provide this experience for young couples in our future. We have done just that. I learned how to administer the Prepare and Enrich assessment and this tool is what we use with couples. Clients benefit from my husband and I working with them as they receive a husband and wife\u2019s perspective.\u00a0 Equipping couples in communication and processing expectations are two skills we hope to give couples as they begin their marital journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trainer is cast as a character who \u201cis a former hero who failed or suffered an injury that prevented them from success.\u201d [5] My favorite trainer is Mr. Miyagi in the movie Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi instructed the Karate Kid in detailing cars by applying \u201cwax on\u201d and \u201cwax off.\u201d As a trainer, he was not explicit in why he had the Karate Kid wash cars with this strategy. A trainer doesn\u2019t always make his lessons obvious. Often, I assess a client\u2019s self-care and promote different ways a client might pursue self-management. My clients may not fully understand how self-care might improve their circumstances, but the underlying principle is set in motion: once a person starts feeling better about themselves, they will have the energy\/optimism to work on their other relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am often cast in the role of a mother or a father with my clients. Clients need unconditional love and acceptance, and this has not been provided by their biological parents (to varying degrees). In E.B. <\/span>White\u2019s Charlotte\u2019s Web,<\/span><\/i> a simple spider provides love to a pig by \u201crevitalizing language and wields her authority in ways that transform Wilbur and ennoble him.\u201d [6] Charlotte may be the heroine in this story, but she can also be cast as a mentor taking a parental role. As an alternate parental figure in my client\u2019s lives, I can help them see themselves differently. When the spider web read: \u201cRadiant,\u201d \u201cTerrific,\u201d and \u201cHumble,\u201d Wilbur took on a new identity. This new identity helped him get to the fair and escape being butchered. It is my hope to help my clients gain a new self-affirming identity and find new ways in defining themselves to achieve heroic deeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are times I function as a priest or monk in the counseling office. Clients often come to counseling needing to confess their inner turmoil or inappropriate behavior. This confession is cathartic, and a client finds relief in experiencing acceptance despite their transgressions. In the movie <\/span>It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/span><\/i>, George Bailey, upon having suicidal ideation, is introduced to his angel Clarence Odbody. This obtuse character helps George see the value and purpose he has brought to the people in his community. Without quoting a Bible verse, I can relate truth into a client\u2019s situation by identifying the support system a person has and how they are loved by these people. I can also take a priestly role by helping to dismantle lies and focus on truth. It is my prayer that the boon in my client\u2019s lives will be discerning truth. Ultimately God is at work; \u201cIn their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.\u201d (Proverbs 16:9) Campbell\u2019s final words in his book are: \u201cIt is not society that is to guide and save the creative hero, but precisely the reverse. And so every one of us shares the supreme ordeal-carrying the cross of the redeemer-not in the bright moments of his tribe’s great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair.\u201d [7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a window of opportunity, only a few chapters in my client\u2019s lives, where I am invited to be a mentor. Meeting the mentor takes place as clients want to make changes in their lives at an intrapsychic\/spiritual level. I have the privilege of being included in their story and this is something I do not take lightly. My clients are the heroes of their own journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span>The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/span><\/i>, Joseph Campbell, p.28<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Meeting the Mentor: A Vital Moment in Every Hero\u2019s Journey Story. The Write Practice, David Safford.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] ibid. p.2<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] <\/span>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/span><\/i>, C.S. Lewis 1950<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Meeting the Mentor: A Vital Moment in Every Hero\u2019s Journey Story, p.3<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] <\/span>The Heroine with 1,001 Faces<\/span><\/i>, Maria Tatar 2021, p.49<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] <\/span>The Hero With a Thousand Faces<\/span><\/i>, Joseph Campbell, 2008, p.337<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joseph Campbell rolls open the blueprints for constructing an epic tale in The Hero With 1,000 Faces. The Hero\u2019s journey consists of three main stages: departure, initiation, and return. A myriad of characters are introduced in the Hero\u2019s Journey during these various stages. One facet in the early part of the hero\u2019s journey caught my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2398,2105],"class_list":["post-29147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlpg01","tag-joseph-campbell"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29148,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29147\/revisions\/29148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}