The Hero and the Goddess : The Odyssey As Pathway to Personal Transformation

All great stories can change our lives, and practically none is more transformational than Homer’s The Odyssey , which had a power so great that it launched Greek civilization and has influenced the West ever since. In this fresh approach to self-realization, human potentials leader Jean Houston provides empowering experiential exercises at every key stage of Homer’s epic to make The Odyssey our own journey. As we set sail with Odysseus, together we endure loss and suffering, the search for the divine Beloved, and the joy of finally arriving home. "Tapping the power of these archetypes," says Houston, "helps us effect healing in areas that have kept us immobilized and anguished. By raising our own tragic dimension to a mythic level, we awaken to a larger, nobler life." THE HERO AND THE GODDESS 1 Half Title Page 3 Title Page 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Foreword 9 Note on Translations and Spelling 13 Preface 15 Acknowledgments 19 Introduction 21 THE NATURE OF MYTH 23 MYTHIC ARCHETYPES: IN THE NATURAL WORLD 28 MYTHIC ARCHETYPES: IN THE INNER SOUL 30 SEEKING THE SOUL OF THE WORLD 32 SACRED PSYCHOLOGY: BECOMING THE MYTH 33 THE THREE REALMS OF SACRED PSYCHOLOGY 36 This Is Me 36 We Are 37 I Am 37 THE “WE ARE” REALM: DANCING WITH THE GODS 38 GROWING THE GODS 39 How to Use This Book 43 IF YOU ARE VOYAGING SOLO 43 IF YOU ARE VOYAGING WITH A GROUP 48 The Guide 52 Treading Gently 53 OF TIME AND THE MYSTERIES 55 CHAPTER 1: The Odyssey as Transformational Myth and Mystery 57 THE HISTORY OF THE ODYSSEY 63 A Major Neurological Shift 65 The Great Goddess and Partnership Societies 67 The Goddess and the Hero 71 Seeing Anew with Ancient Eyes 76 Athena: The Friend in Court 81 EXERCISE: The Friend in Court 84 CHAPTER 2: The Beginning of the Hero’s Journey 93 THE HERO’S JOURNEY 96 THE SACRED PSYCHOLOGY OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY 100 ODYSSEUS’ JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION 102 THE CALL TO ADVENTURE: THE SACKING OF ISMARUS 105 EXERCISE: The Call as Blunder 110 The Call-Blunder as a Personal Historical Happening 110 The Call-Blunder as a Chronic Character Defect 113 CHAPTER 3: The Lotus-Eaters 125 EXERCISE: Eating the Lotus / The Dance of Will 127 CHAPTER 4: The Cave of the Cyclops 133 EXERCISE: Self-Divestiture—Becoming Noman and Putting Out the Eye of the Cyclops 144 EXERCISE: The Great Homeric Brain 153 CHAPTER 5: The Island of Aeolus 169 EXERCISE: The Winds of Aeolus 177 CHAPTER 6: The Island of Circe 185 THE TRIUNE NATURE OF THE EVOLUTIONARY BRAIN 196 The Mystery of the Pig 199 EXERCISE: The Initiations on Circe’s Island 202 1. An Adventure in Evolution (Prolepsis) 205 2. The Leap of Hermes and the Gifting of Moly 210 3. Union with the Archetype 213 CHAPTER 7: The Descent into the Underworld 217 EXERCISE: Journey in the Underworld 229 ENTERING THE REALM OF THE ANCESTORS 234 CHAPTER 8: The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and the Cattle of Helios 239 EXERCISE: Meeting the Sirens 252 EXERCISE: Walking the Line between Scylla and Charybdis 255 CHAPTER 9: Calypso’s Isle 261 EXERCISE: Gestation and Rebirth on Calypso’s Isle 270 Part One: Remembering Stuckness 271 Part Two: Reweaving the Body and Mind with Music 273 Part Three: The Gestation through the Night 278 Part Four: Awakening 280 Part Five: Yearning for the Beloved 281 CHAPTER 10: The Isle of the Phaeacians 287 EXERCISE: Caring Like the Phaeacians 300 TELLING THE STORY 301 CHAPTER 11: The Initiation of Telemachus 315 EXERCISE: Creating a Night Journey 337 Before the Journey Begins: The Preparation 341 Telling the New Myth: Creating Sacred Ground 345 Ritual Scarring 348 Revelation of Sacred Objects—or Beings 349 CHAPTER 12: The Beggar and the Goddess 351 EXERCISE: Meetings with Remarkable Beings 367 CHAPTER 13: Penelope 375 EXERCISE: Weaving the World with Penelope 396 CHAPTER 14: Revenge and Reunion 411 EXERCISE: Clearing the House of Death and the Meeting with the Beloved 422 CHAPTER 15: Creating the New Myth 433 MYTH AS A MODEL FOR CREATING POSSIBLE WORLDS 435 LIVING THE MYTHIC LIFE 436 MYTHS TO COME 438 Epilogue 443 Notes 445 A Guide to Translations of The Odyssey 462 MODERN TRANSLATIONS 462 Selected Bibliography 465 Pronunciation Guide 471 Musical Selections 474 AREA I: BACKGROUND MEDITATIVE MUSIC 474 AREA II: EVOCATIVE MUSIC 476 AREA III: CELEBRATORY MUSIC 477 Index 479 About the Author 490 A blueprint for personal change inspired by Homer's classic shares empowering exercises that reflect every key stage of the story, a process that invites readers to work through loss and suffering, search for the divine Beloved, and share in the joy of arriving home. Original.