“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach hell”, C.G. Jung once said. After having taken my hero’s journey I can now understand this quote on a deeper level. Our defense mechanisms are constantly trying to keep our shadows unconscious but by numbing those parts we lose connection and curiousness for life. To rediscover our Wild Self, our soul’s purpose, facing all aspects of ourselves is inevitable.I was stuck in a state of latent dissatisfaction, sadness (aka depression) and self-sabotage for a huge part of my existence on earth, yet felt that there must be more to life. So I hit the road – together with courageous co-heroes who supported each other in a very loving way. Accompanied by trust-worthy guides we went through the steps of the hero’s myth narrative – and after five challenging and transformative days reached a place which feels more like home. The playful concept of the hero’s journey allowed me to get curious about the aspects of my soul I rejected for so long and get into dialogue with them. By working with an attractive mixture of methods and rituals I was able to become more aware of and integrate all parts of myself – those moving me forward into personal growth and those holding me back. I also realized the latter are not the enemy that need to be killed but rather we can find an agreement and co-create a powerful life together. I remembered my inherent power. Will I only have uplifting thoughts and be doubtless about my calling here on earth for the rest of my life? Probably not. But I have those embodied experiences and (mental) images I can resort to which will remind me of who I want be in this world. The hero’s journey is definitely not for everyone. It takes a big desire and a good amount of courage to go into the darkest caves of your soul. But if you feel the calling and venture on this journey I’m sure you will be rewarded! I’m curious which treasure it’s gonna hold for you.
Daniela F., Social Counsellor, HJ Nov. 2022 Austria
When I went to my first Hero’s journey, I didn’t know what to expect, nor did I look for any information in advance. When the journey started, I was drifting through the process. This allowed me to connect with myself, with my body, imagination, intuition, feelings, to devote myself to different levels of my own and real “I”. Safe space and cooperation within the group also allowed me to express a wide range of feelings and pay them close attention. Hero’s journey is for me an amazingly complex closed process, an adventure that takes place outside of everyday reality (spatial and temporal), but I see and feel the effects of deep and intense experiences in my daily life. Since my first participation, the Hero’s journey has been an integral part of me and my life.
Tomáš K., Slovakia, first HJ participation 2016
My first Hero’s Journey experience: The year 2012- Italy, region of Parma, I had no expectation, no idea what is about to happen. My only expectation was good Italian coffee. Till than my life routine was quite colorful and exciting, but my happiness was always depending of outside impulses. This kind of dependence-life-style was tiring, exhausting and a little bit sad.
It is not easy to describe what was going on during that process of one week. But everything I went through helped me to step firmly on the starting line of new discoveries of my inner universe. Step by step I got broken in order to start building very carefully my new SELF. One of my strongest memories: me, lying on the floor, completely powerless, asking Helga Weule: “Helga, I am feeling so empty, what is going on with me?” And she just answered passing by: “That is good, first you need to empty completely, afterwards you can start to fill up again.”Today it is nearly 10 years since that experience, and honestly, I must admit, for me it was and still is a life changing experience. So strong, so powerful, I fell in love with the method of Hero’s Journey and I am on my way to share it, to spread it out, to let it reach you if you allow.
M.K., Slovakia
In my first Hero’s journey I participated in, I had a very strange and beautiful personal experience, how everything is interconnected – that the mythological level, which we cannot feel in the normal mode of being, is like a web, that lies under the common reality level, and signs of its existence grow to the every-day-life like … like for example mushrooms. We walk in the forest of everyday functioning and sometimes we pick them but often we overlook them. Hero’s journey is a secure way to transport our consciousness into the other, mythological, level. You will become the Hero and you will suddenly see, what is your task in the adventure of your own life. You will get the information, own bodily experiences and feelings needed to navigate you in the everyday life in the direction of fulfilling your own life purpose and then you will be escorted safely again to the common reality level.
Have a safe journey!
Jitka, Czech Republic
When I participated in Hero’s Journey process for the first time it was in many ways a life-changing experience with a lot of personal and professional discoveries. I found for myself new inspirations and very new points of view on myself and the world around me. I also started a new, long, interesting journey of learning, discovering and diving into many themes, like work with symbols, deeper connection with nature, Gestalt therapy, ritual work, theatre work as a source of healing and many, many others.
Patrik K., Slovakia
Hero’s journey is one of a kind experience that everyone should take part in at least once in their lives. This journey took me deep to the hidden realms and wounds of my psyche where I was able to transform and integrate them into the wholeness of my being. It changed my life, and I am sure it will change yours too in the best way possible.
Linda R., Slovakia, HJ participant in 2021
For me, the Hero’s journey was the week where I met myself and those parts of myself of which I had no idea before. The discoveries, gifts and guides that I met on my Hero’s journey have become part of my journey through life, and I often return to them in my mind when I am dealing with an important situation.
Petra J., Slovakia, HJ participant in 2018
For me, the Hero’s journey was one of the most intense experiences I have ever had in my life. Despite the fact that I took part 2,5 years ago, I still come back to it and draw on some of the experiences that took place there. It was a challenging but very transformative week that I wish everyone to experience. I was lucky with the amazing people in the group, the facilitators and the beautiful environment that completed the whole process. Thanks for this GIFT.
Zuzana H., Slovakia, HJ participant in 2019
I think the Hero’s journey opened up to me a personal and not an exclusive potential to perceive myself as part of a larger whole. Experience has also shown me how to use the tools we have at our disposal, but our one-way perception may reject them, thus depriving us of growth. In my thoughts, I often return to the experience of the Hero’s journey, finding new sources of inspiration for my practice.
Šimon M., Slovakia, HJ participant in 2020