THE LOVERS' JOURNEY
The Hidden Code of Life and Evolution
by
William Pennell Rock
SUMMARY
Preface by Jean Houston
Prologue
Some half a century ago I was invited by the Maharaja of Varanasi to an ancient ritual performance of the great Ramayana epic. I attended one day of this month-long "Ramlila." Amazed by this spectacle, I became determined to discover what is so important about this Romance.
Introduction
The form of this epic is found in every story of Lovers separated and reunited. Their universal Journey dwells in our hearts as an intuitive understanding of transformation and evolution itself. The long process of understanding the meaning of this "monomyth" began before its discovery, a personal journey related at length in Part I.
The vision and promise of the form is ancient and universal, but it has been conceived and languaged in a variety of vocabularies that evolved in different cultures from time immemorial. Going forward, the wisdom and blessing of the Monomyth form has an astonishing range of applications, especially valuable in the global challenges of our time, projecting a realistic vision for their resolution.
There are differing ways to read this book. For instance, you can skip the journey of discovery in Part I and go straight to the form and its analysis in Parts II through IV. Also, to deepen the experience of the Monomyth, you can pick your own favorite Romance and analyze it following the guidance provided by questions at the end of each chapter starting with Part II.
PART I
JOURNEYS
Transformation
Journey is the process of transformation from one state of being into another. Understanding the form of the Hero's Journey Monomyth is preparatory for understanding the Monomyth of the Romance. My own Hero's Journey took place in the quest for the blessing of the Lovers' Journey.
MAP of the Hero’s Journey
MAP: Cinderella as a Hero's Journey
Chapter 1. HEROES
Joseph Campbell discovered the universal nature of transformation as found in the Monomyth of the Hero's Journey, the fundamental form of all stories of adventure. We are all Heroes constantly cycling through transformations in the evolution of our lives.
Drama of Transformation – Hero’s Journey
Chapter 2. THE PURSUIT OF GOD
Our fundamental Journey is to know our Source, the truth of what-we-are-actually-in. Some call this God, but early on, I soon realized that I did not even believe in common reality. While belief in a God is not universal, there is a universal "Religion" with proven, but diverse methods for arriving at Understanding, called gnosis, by which the Source can be realized. As a "methodist" my own way to this realization has been long and arduous. My first major guide was Martin Heidegger, who set out to discover the divine nature of what-we-are-in, which he called the "Foundations of Being." We have fallen away from these Foundations in a common reality that is solidified in Scientism, the rigid belief in fact as the basis of truth. Heidegger set out on the heroic task of disclosing and revealing the Source by formally re-viewing our existence as it originally shows itself, a discipline called "phenomenology."
The Perennial Religion – Heidegger and the Foundations of Being – Scientism – Disclosure and Revelation - The Difference - Being Heroic
Chapter 3. UNCOVERING THE SOURCE
Because we live in a delusional reality our true nature has to be dis-covered. Through the lens of phenomenology, Heidegger also found a way to reveal the Source by looking into poetic expression, and by carefully examining key words in ancient Greek and the roots of common words: in English, for instance, dis-covery. Another seminal twentieth century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, showed that there are no facts, just different ways we use language to create and dwell. He initiated a new critical method of looking closely at each use of language, which always has a characteristic context, each with its own relevant conventions and rules. These two thinkers exposed the delusion of "factual reality" and explored different ways of uncovering the real Source in this time when it has been "forgotten." True heroes of our time pursue this Source, because this is the only way to reach authenticity.
The Archeology of Language and Primordial Experience - Phenomenology – Uncovering as a Heroic Journey - Ludwig Wittgenstein and Language Usage - Language Games
Chapter 4. HEADING EAST: Lessons from India
In India I encountered the monist view, the way of seeing all as One. It is not whether there is a God; but there is only God. There are two basic ways or methods to arrive at this view. Each way has its own dangers and discontents. The way of yoga is to establish an ideal of the One and strive to live up to it. (This is what Christians do.) Its inherent danger is repression. The way of tantra is to surrender to all that you are and, through rigorous awareness, the vision of the One emerges in time. Its danger is addiction. Psychedelics changed everything. Those who experienced them lost confidence in common sense reality and looked for another kind of grounding. Turning to Jungian analysis, I was able to assimilate East and West internally. In Jungian theory, I came to understand the meaning of the Hero's Journey as the actual process of transformation and Individuation and the path to wholeness. This is not an intellectual endeavor, but a matter of rigorous Self-awareness.
The One and the form of the One - Yoga and Tantra: Ideal vs Wholeness - The Psychedelic Cataclysm – Jung Institute and Individuation - Transformation and the Monomyth
Chapter 5. THE MYSTICISM OF THE BODY
Establishing myself in California, I finally accepted that the authentic vehicle to the Source is not the intellect, but the contemplation of bodily awareness, called chi. My focus on methods motivated me to search for the tools to realize this Source. Bodily awareness brought me to a new understanding of Consciousness as the All and methods for realizing it.
The Golden State -The Body as Vehicle to the Source – The Divine Human - Consciousness - The Fullness of All
Chapter 6: Useful ToolsUSEFUL TOOLS:-- The Arica Mystery School
Finding truth is not a matter of belief or theorizing, but practices promoting awareness. I found the most useful methods in the body-based "work" of the Arica Mystery School. Its mission is to synthesize and distill the wisdom methods of world culture into one body of practice by which Humanity can realize its unitary consciousness in order to address as One the gathering planetary crises. Only thus united can we stand. This work became my basic practice and goal, and it remains so.
A Mystery School with a Vital Mission -- Efficient Means
Chapter 7. ORIGINS: Engineering Transformation through Mythogenesis
Looking for a specific method of my own to help others arrive at the Source, I turned to the medium of story. What-we-are-in is the stories that make up our beliefs and our reality. Archetypal Monomyths underlie all our stories. Through much experimentation, I put together a Jungian-based psychodrama workshop protocol called "mythogenesis," by which an individual can discover the story of their current transformation Journey, their basic "Dream," providing a valid universal context in which to understand and resolve present challenges. This method combines yoga and tantra, featuring "entheotic" performing, channeling and embodying the archetypal forces behind each character and step of the Monomyth. Called ORIGINS, the Process has four Stages in which each individual participant in a group creates and performs their "Dream," and the group then creates their collective "Myth," which they perform publicly in a "Ritual," a participatory public theatrical performance on the model of the Ramlila.
The Inner Adventure Process - Presentation of the Source - Creating your Dream - Conjuring your Characters: Magic Mirror - Conjuring your Dream: Magic Theater
Chapter 8. THE DREAM OF TRANSFORMATION
Carrying out many ORIGINS Projects in the US, Europe and Asia provided a laboratory for studying transformation and coming to understand its elementary and universal structure as the "mythologic" behind the Hero's Journey, especially the elementary and universal nature of transformation. The "mythologos" is the universal intuition of how transformation takes place. Becoming whole involves two levels of transformation: psychological and spiritual. Channeling archetypes through entheotic performing turns out to be a fundamental method for passing through these two levels into the divine state of the One.
Entheos and Authenticity – Transformation Theater -- Lessons of the Hero Monomyth -- Mythologic
Mapping the Lovers' Journey
MAP: The Ramayana
Chapter 9. LOVERS
Returning to India, I became a disciple of the infamous Tantric master, Osho, who heroically addressed the mystery of sex and love. He encouraged indulgence in romance, because it hastens disillusionment, producing the realization that the only true romance is with the Divine. The key to this, the power of surrender, is the feminine, because only through deep receptive piety can union with the Divine take place. Simultaneous studies in ecology brought me to realize that the feminine is the power to relate to the environment, external as well as internal - the Source. During annual projects in Bali, and traveling throughout South-East Asia, I saw many representations of the Ramayana. Then, recognizing that its basic form is in all romantic stories, I realized it is -- a second monomyth., the Lover's Journey, which accords with Jung’s understanding of psychological and spiritual development. I began to deploy this form in a second track of ORIGINS called the "Inner Romance."
The Ruler of the Night and the Lord of Heroes - True Romance - The Feminine as the Key – The Divine Union – Evolution and Ecology – The Lover's Journey - The Romance in ORIGINS
Chapter 10. MONOMYTH AND TRANSFORMATION
In the ORIGINS projects we began looking for the fundamental myths of Humanity One. The basic Heroic adventure is the Journey of the Soul. The basic Romance is the relationship of Man and Woman, as Yang and Yin. Two operas evolved, which enjoyed considerable artistic success. ORIGINS became a laboratory for the study of transformation. By working with both monomyths in extended projects, I came to understand them as different, but equally valid formulations of the transformation process. Each arises from a fundamental aspect of survival -- endurance and and reproduction -- and each projects a path of fruition into full enlightened maturity. Common to both forms is the eternal antagonism of the Light and Dark. The basic difference is that the Hero's Journey has one protagonist, whereas the Lovers' Journey has two. The Hero Monomyth and its applications are already understood in our culture. I focused more and more on understanding the Romance Monomyth, gradually realizing its vast relevance in our time. This book relates this quest and discovery.
The ORIGINS Operas - Transformation in two Forms – The Eternal Antagonists – The Protagonists – Origins of the Monomyths – The Quest for the Ultimate Romance
PART II
THE FORM OF THE LOVERS' JOURNEY
Taking Part
Between many chapters there are Maps of famous stories. To appreciate tangibly the universal Romance form, readers are invited to choose and review a favorite romance and map its structure following the questions at the end of each chapter.
MAP: Sex and The City Movie
Chapter 11. THE ELEMENTS OF THE ROMANCE MONOMYTH
Four Characters:
Hero, Heroine, Saboteur and Nurturer
Five Acts:
1. Primordial Union
2. Separation
3. Intervention
4. Battle
5. Reunion.
All stories of Lovers separated and reunited consist in these Four Character elements and follow the Five Act sequence. These elements provide a guide both to creating stories and evaluating them. Subtle, but critical themes are the futility of the use of force by the Hero and the importance of the relationship of the Heroine to the Nurturer. A third dimension is added by the teller of the story, the objective observer, the Witness. The structure of the Monomyth is encapsulated in a Plus Sign.
Four Characters – Five Acts – The Diagram -- Details and Subtleties – The Witness -- The Plus Sign
Chapter 12. EXCEPTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Every story is unique. There are infinite variants. One is the context of the story, the "Dramatic Situation" in which the story takes place. The entire setting renders the elements characteristic of a specific time and circumstance. The narrative of a story does not always follow the order of the Five Acts, because storytellers often order the sequence of events to create or heighten suspense. Whatever variations and exceptions are present however, the lawful elements, which constitute the mythologic, are necessary to make a Romance aesthetically and emotionally satisfying. This is because it follows the mythologos of the universal intuition of transformation.
The Context - Formal Aspects – Chronology of events and Sequence of Revelations – Exceptions and the Rule – The Critical Form
PART III
THE FOUR CHARACTERS
The Plus Sign is formed by the quaternity of characters in two intersecting dynamics. The Lovers are the horizontal dynamic and the Antagonists are the vertical.
Chapter 13. WITNESSING THE QUATERNITY
The Witness is critical to the development of the Lovers in a story just as it is decisive in discerning the Lovers within. We establish the features and meaning of the character elements by looking at their intersecting dynamics in specific stories and by describing how you experience the psycho/spiritual foundations of the Quaternity in the Inner Romance Workshop.
The Primary Role of the Witness - The Foundational Experience of the Quaternity
MAP: The Characters in Pride and Prejudice
Chapter 14. THE ETERNAL LOVERS: Man and Woman
The immortal lovers in Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Elizabeth, illustrate the horizontal dynamic of the Lovers by which couples thrown into opposition resolve anew into complements. The Lovers often reflect relative gender ideals and psychological opposites, but they always reflect oppositions that become complementary.
The End of the Romance - Opposites/Complements - Gender Ideals - Psychological Opposites
Chapter 15. THE PRIMORDIAL (AND EVENTUAL) UNITY
The primordial difference between Man and Woman is represented vividly by the anatomy and biology of reproduction. The essential dynamic displays active and receptive capacities rendered as Yang and Yin in the elegant symbol of the Dao. The heart of each lover is its opposite. The two, as one protagonist in the Inner Romance, dramatically represent the freedom and burden of self-responsibility.
Active and Receptive - Yang and Yin -- The Heart of Each is the Other - The Freedom of the Protagonist
Chapter 16. THE ETERNAL ANTAGONISTS
The Vertical Dimension of Light versus Dark, creative versus negating forces, is present in all journeys, expressed in varying polarities: for instance; Good vs Evil, vitality vs deadness, good sense vs vanity. We may not believe in any agent of good and evil, but the antagonism is always present, creating a fundamental drama behind every choice we make. We ignore it at our peril.
Light versus Dark -- The Vertical Dimension - Choice is Drama
MAP: Star Wars Trilogy 2: The Characters
Chapter 17. MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU
In Star Wars, the vertical dynamic and its Source are eloquently represented by Light and Dark sides of the Force, from which arise the epic's beloved hierarchies of Saboteurs and Nurturers, whose "war" ends with the resolution at the end of every Romance. The Journey of Princess Leia and Han Solo demonstrates how the force towards dissolution and the force towards evolution drive their Romance as well as the transformation of their far away galaxy. Both antagonists are expressions of the Force, the Source.
The Source of Light and Dark in Star Wars - The Force
Chapter 18. THE SABOTEUR
As illustrated by main characters in Star Wars, the Saboteurs in a Romance epic are best understood through an ascending hierarchy: negative character aspects of the Lovers, such as the negative cynicism of Han Solo; malevolent fantastical creatures, such as Jabba the Hutt; humanoid villains, such as Darth Vader and the Emperor; and finally the Dark side of the Force itself.
Character Aspects of the Lovers – Fantastical Creatures – Humanoid Villains – The Dark Side
Chapter 19. THE NURTURER
The Nurturer characters can also be seen in an ascending hierarchy: the nurturing characteristics of the Lovers; humans such as Luke and Obi Wan; fantasy characters, such as Chewbacca or Yoda; and the Light Side of the Force itself. The Nurturer always bestows a Magic Implement, such as the lightsaber, or some element, such as the Jedi training, that restores the power of the Light.
Nurturing Characteristics of the Lovers - Human Nurturers - Fantasy Characters – The Light Side – The Magic Implements
Chapter 20. THE ANTAGONISTS AND THE ONE
In the dynamic of the crossing polarities, two become one. The Lovers, potentially one, become separated but are reunited. The Saboteur separates the one into two, but the Nurturer finally fuses them into a new one. This is best understood in terms of a monistic view: the One divides into two but reunites as One in a higher unity. The Dark side of the Source separates and dissolves: The Light side of the Source reunites into higher unity. In this way, the dynamic of the Romance Monomyth produces evolution.
The Monist View - Naming the Antagonists
PART IV
THE FIVE ACTS
The Transformation Process
The intersecting dynamics of the Plus Sign play out in the Five Act mythologic of the Lovers' Journey:
1. Primordial Union - The Lovers belong together.
2. Separation - The Saboteur distracts the Hero and abducts the Heroine.
3. Intervention - The Nurturer clarifies the situation and bestows a Magic Implement.
4. Battle - The Lovers deploy force, reinforcing the Saboteur, but then use the Implement.
5. Reunion - The Magic Power neutralizes the Saboteur and the Lovers reunite.
Different perspectives on the Five Act process continue to be provided by our two famous stories together with experiential examples from the Inner Romance Process. The Monomyth form displays the lawful, intuitively understood stages of transformation, eventually producing a new emergent, one unit of evolution itself.
In the stories we see multiple transformations. The inner romance of each lover is nested within the couple nested within families nested within communities, etc. Thus we are approaching a view of the unfolding kosmos as many transformations happening simultaneously in multiple dimensions; whereby we will come to understand the monomyth form as the code of life and evolution itself.
The Transformation Process - Towards Evolution
MAP: The Five Acts of Pride and Prejudice
Chapter 21. THE DYNAMIC CYCLE OF THE LOVERS
In Pride and Prejudice we see the mythologic representing balanced active and receptive capacities as the beginning and end of the process. Each Lover is the heart of the other. In Act 1, the Lovers are established as essentially complementary. In Act 2, the Saboteur devours the receptivity at the heart of the Hero and the attentive activity at the heart of the Heroine thus accruing ever more power and control. In the thrall of the Saboteur -- here, two-headed Pride and Prejudice -- the Active Hero is distracted and misguided, whereas the Receptive Heroine is abducted and rendered passive.
Love and the Yin/Yang Symbol – Act 1. Primordial Union of the Lovers – Act 2. The Separation - The Distraction and Misguided Behavior of the Hero – The Abduction of the Heroine
Chapter 22. LOVERS AT THE CRUX
The crux of the process is found in the middle three Acts, illustrated by the denouement of Pride and Prejudice. Act 2, Separation, brings about the Intervention, Act 3, in which the Nurturer, reasserting the creative power of the Primordial Union, brings new clarity and bestows some token of love's potential, the Magic Implement, which reinforces the telos of the Lovers. In Act 4, the Lovers, having identified the Saboteur, enter into Battle. This is the fulcrum of the Process. One or both Lovers reflexively deploy force, which reinforces the Saboteur. But the Magic Implement helps the Hero to become appropriately active and restores the attentive receptivity of the Heroine. This rebalancing neutralizes the power of the Saboteur, so that in Act 5, the Lovers reunite under the aegis of the Nurturer. In addition to the passage into a new relationship, the cycle also culminates the Inner Romance of both Lovers resulting in a new maturity in each. Through the Nurturer the critical Witness activates clarity in each Lover and facilitates their unity and freedom. The process generates a new relationship, which is a form of Grace.
Act 3. Intervention: The Truth of the Lovers – Act 4. The Battle: The Crux of the Transformation – Act 5. The Reunion: The Transformation at the Heart – The Critical Witness – How the Two Become a New One - Freedom and Unity - The Grace of Reunion
Chapter 23. THE DYNAMIC CYCLE OF THE ANTAGONISTS
The mythologic of the dynamic development, the Great Dance of the Antagonists is shown in three ways. The ancient Greek law of Hubris and Nemesis displays the mechanism of the cycle. The "Neo-Exorcism" work in the ORIGINS Workshop demonstrates the internal experience of the process. The arc of the development of the Antagonists in the entire Skywalker Saga, composed of three Star Wars trilogies, perfectly and epically illustrate the Dance in two parts. The rise of the Saboteur and fall of the Nurturer takes place in the "prequal" the first trilogy. The rise of the Nurturer and the fall of the Saboteur occurs in the second trilogy, which is the context in which the Romance takes place.
The Great Dance of Light and Dark -- The Law of Hubris and Nemesis -- Neo-Exorcism in the Inner Romance Workshop - The Lawful Course of the Great Dance in the Star Wars Saga -- Trilogy 1: Rise of the Saboteur and Fall of the Nurturer – Trilogy 2: Rise of the Nurturer and Fall of the Saboteur
MAP: Star Wars, Trilogy 2: The Five Acts
Chapter 24. THE SABOTEUR SEPARATES
The Five Act structure of the Monomyth encapsulates the rise of the Nurturer and fall of the Saboteur. As the romance begins, the Saboteur, feeding off the power of the whole, is already in control, but the Primordial Union and the special connection of the Heroine to the Nurturer sets up a new hope. This is clearly demonstrated in Star Wars, where the Dark side powers the extravagances of the Emperor and his executor, Darth Vader. By the ancient law of Hubris, the excesses of the Saboteur spur the Nurturer into action.
Act 1. The Primordial Union: A New Potential – Act 2: The Saboteur Feeds off the Power of the Whole – Act 3: The Excess of the Saboteur Brings Forth the Nurturer
Chapter 25. THE NURTURER REUNITES
In Act 3 of the Monomyth, the Light Side empowers the Nurturer to marshal its forces, emboldening the Lovers through the Magic Implement, here the Jedi training symbolized by the Lightsaber. Act 4, the Battle is the focus of the entire trilogy, but in the decisive confrontation Nurturer Luke overcomes Darth Vader and the Emperor, and, connected to his twin sister, Leia, guides the Hero to destroy the Imperial Death Star, bringing down the Empire. The essential lesson of the Battle is that force changes situations, as illustrated by the countless reversals in the titular Wars, but it is only effort consonant with the Light side that transforms the whole, as illustrated by the denouement of the romance.
The Nurturer Marshals Its Forces – The Essential Power of the Nurturer Grows Stronger – Act 4. The Battle: The Way Carries the Day - The Victory of the Nurturer in the Final Confrontation – The Essential Lesson of the Battle – Act 5. The Reunion: The Dissolution of the Saboteur
Chapter 26. THE ONE THE TWO BECOME
The new emergent is a higher organization of the old, reconstituting and raising its elements into a new manifestation. In the epic we see transformations within transformations. The internal process of each Lover is nested within their process as a couple, which is nested within the process of the Galaxy. At the conclusion of the cycle, things do not simply return to a static harmony, but the configuration itself evolves to a new point of harmony. The destiny mandated by the Source is entelechy, which directs the outcome of the Great Dance and its many cycles. The Monomyth reveals the Antagonism as the propellant of evolution, displaying the providential winnowing essential to the unfolding of the Kosmos. Thus, the Monomyth is the hidden code of life and evolution itself.
Transformations Within Transformations – The Source and the Polarity in the Great Dance – Evolution Clarifies the Antagonism - Harmony Evolves
MAP: Romeo and Juliet
Chapter 27. THE CYCLE AND THE BLISSFUL SOURCE
Romeo and Juliet is a perfectly formed Lovers' Journey that ends in transcendent bliss. We analyze the story with particular focus on the lawful subtleties and details as we summarize the transformation cycle in the Monomyth form. We feature the perspective of the Source, whose nature is clarified by Shakespeare's imagery as divine, luminous, presence, the promise of eternity. Act 1 gathers the Primordial State of Order and Bliss. In the disorder of Act 2 the Lovers are separated from each other and the Source. In Act 3 the Source Intervenes. Act 4 shows the culling contradiction of force upon force. In Act 5 the Source reclaims the Lovers in eternity.
The Dramatic Situation -- Act 1: The Primordial State of Order and Bliss – The Primordial Union -- Act 2: The Lovers Separated from the Source and Each Other –- Act 3: Intervention from the Source –- Act 4. Force Upon Force: Tooth and Claw – Act 5: The Lovers Return to the Source in Eternity
Chapter 28. DEATH, TRAGEDY, AND ETERNITY
Many anomalies are encountered in Romeo and Juliet. A distinction is made between death as the psychological ordeal of the small, personal self, leading up to its inevitable catastrophic end, as opposed to death as the actual ontological transition into the greater eternity. In romantic tragedies, the conundrum of death plays between these two.
At the same time, eternity in this great Romance is shown in the complexity of transformations in the unfolding kosmos. Each of the Lovers has an internal romance, and their reunion in eternity is nested within the transformation of Verona. The Bard thus shows how lesser transformations may be sacrificed in greater, more consequential transformations. This is how evolution works. If your emotional focus is these Lovers in this world, this is tragedy.
Ongoing transformations of individuals within collective transformations of any scale, all having the monomyth form, is a subject on its own, the Great Romance.
Two Levels of Transformation -- Death and Transcendence -- The Eternity of That -- The Eternity of This -- The Great Romance and Beyond
PART V
JOURNEYS' END
MAP: Disney's live-action Cinderella
Ch 29. DISCOVERY THROUGH MONOMYTH
The two monomyths of transformation address the elements of survival: the capacity to withstand challenges and to reproduce. Reflecting our intuitional self-understanding of transformation, they provoke much discovery. As exemplified in my own experience, they inspire artists of all kinds and provide clear criteria for enhancing, interpreting and critiquing the art of story. They are invaluable to psychoanalysis and therapy in general. But there are broader discoveries now to be explored.
Artists and Critics – Psychotherapy – The Magic of Monomyth
Ch 30. FOUNDATIONS OF THE ROMANCE MONOMYTH
The differences between the two monomyths relate to significant developments in our cultural history: the Hero appearing out of heroic male triumph in two world wars, and the Romance out of re-evaluation of ecology and feminine power. The Hero’s Journey, having one protagonist is a formula specific to human development: the Lovers' Journey, with its double protagonist, has the same application, but far greater ones across evolution itself. The foundational referent of the Monomyths however is one's own intuitive experience of internal transformation.
Turning to the phenomenological foundations of the Romance Monomyth, we find the drama of forms of Will that may be contradictory or complementary. These are seen in small and large measure in the drama of decision-making and creativity. Critical to all of this is the crux of suffering by which the small self, though regularly "crucified," may be actualized and realized in the context of the greater Self.
Phenomenological Foundations -- Our Internal Romance of Will -- Our Drama of Decision -- Our Creativity -- The Crux of Suffering
Ch 31. GENDER AND THE PRIMORDIAL UNION
Aspects of the Monomyth address conundrums of Gender Identity. Biological Gender is determined in conception at a cellular level. Culture determines the actual expression of gender. Fundamentally, we are inherently androgynous and the underlying psycho/spiritual telos is towards androgyny. Some impulses require actualization; others, internal realization. Knowing the difference is one of life's great skills. To stabilize gender identity, follow the indications of your own inner romance. This holds true for sexual orientation as well. Clarified Inner Lovers make appropriate life choices.
Inherent Androgyny – Gender Identity – Realizing and Actualizing Gender -- Who You Love
Ch 32. THE ROMANCE ARCHETYPE
The universal elements of the monomyths are lawful forms of human existence, called "archetypes." The Monomyths are systems of archetypes that compose one greater Archetype. The general referent of the Romance Archetype is the emergence of one unit of evolution.
The Archetype - The General Referent
Map: The Romance of a Holon
Ch 33. THE PATTERN THAT CONNECTS
The universal elements of the monomyths are "archetypes." The Romance Archetype is the transformation process of any whole/part, called a "holon." Anything that can be designated as an I, we, it or they is composed of the four character elements -- self-preservation, self-adaptation, self-transcendence, and self-dissolution -- and transforms according to the Five Acts. The process of any holon is nested in a holarchy of greater and lesser holons, each in their own processes of transformation. The real meaning of the Plus Sign is how evolution takes place in the context of a Kosmos ever-unfolding according to the same laws.
Tenets of the Tendencies of Evolutionary Systems - Types of Holons - Holarchy: Nested Transformations - The Feminine Principle - Objections - The Sign of the Plus
MAP: The Dharma King
Ch 34. THE ULTIMATE ROMANCE
Bringing Being, What-we-are in, to word is a supreme challenge, most efficiently addressed in Sanskrit, which supports a monistic view. Passages and specific terms from the Upanishads are deployed to show how the holon formulation clarifies the way beings arise from Being and how we authentically respond to the fundamental need to know Being. All beings arise from Being according to the Pattern that Connects. The Archetype simultaneously reveals how we come to authentically know Being, the Ultimate Romance of gnosis.
Bringing What-we-are-in to Word - Beings Emerge: This comes forth from That - Knowing Being: Know That!
MAP: The Christian Romance
Ch 35. THE GIFT OF THE SOURCE
The Source is always giving itself and wants to be known. Being itself is entheotic, always overwhelming as present vitality. Two great Asian disciplines, Daoism and Highest Yoga Tantra, show how to attain and live the Ultimate Romance. Monistic Hinduism and monotheistic Christianity each feature an Ultimate Romance epic displaying the superstructure of transformation producing the state of gnosis.
That Makes Itself Known - The Entheos of Being - Tantra: Retrieving and Integrating Vitality - The Dao of Choicelessness - The Androgynous Mind - The How of the Ultimate Romance - Two Ultimate Romances: East and West
MAP: The Romance of the Earth
Ch 36. THE SEMINAL IDEA OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
The thought form of the Archetype can be deployed for gathering general themes and trends to understand the transformations occurring in the twenty-first century. Our Dramatic Situation is the present transformation process of Planet Earth as the human species attacks and sabotages its natural systems.
A New Religion? - What is the Meta-story? - Gaia and our Dramatic Situation - The Romance of Planet Earth
MAP: Gaia and The Lovers Within
Ch 37. THE TRANSFORMATION OF HUMANITY ONE
The story of the ORIGINS Romance Opera is used to analyze and diagnose the present transformation crisis of Humanity One. Big Mo, the Greed for Power has riven Man from Woman and both from Gaia. After centuries of exploitation, Big Mo has reached a point of destroying our planetary home. In distress Gaia calls out to attune to her spirit. Humanity One now confronts its Greed for Power in an epic, existential Battle.
The Lovers Within - Our Characters - Our Story - Separation of Man from Woman - Separation from Gaia - Individual Separation - The Intervention - Our Nurturers - Our Magic Implement - Our Battle
CH 38. THE GENERATIVE IDEA
Awakening to their course of self-destruction and attuning to Gaia's spirit and body, Man and Woman come together to save their home in a new cooperative partnership to confront the Greed for Power, deconstruct its ways and establish a new world order. Only through the reunion of masculine and feminine in each Man and Woman are the Lovers able to reunite and generate a new world, both personal and collective, thriving under the aegis of Gaia.
Reunion of the Lovers - Reunion of Nature and Human Nature - Homo Donans - Vital Energy Management - Sexuality - Sabotage and Nurture - Gaia Engineering - End of Story as Beginning
APPENDICES
Appendix A: SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
1. The Two Monomyth Diagrams
2. 100 Romances
3. ORIGINS
4. The ORIGINS Yantras and the Ritual of the Suns
Appendix B: FURTHER BOOKS ON THE ROMANCE ARCHETYPE
In three further volumes, written but not yet published, the Romance Archetype is interpreted and applied to the transformations of real, as opposed to fictional holons. Each book continues the basic presentation of maps followed by interpretations.
Volume 2: THE INNER ROMANCE: The Psychological Interpretation
Using actual cases from the Inner Romance workshops -- one man and one woman -- the psychological transformation process is shown according to the Dream created by each participant. The gestalt of the psyche is found in the four characters. The gestalt of the process is further analyzed by clarifying the configuration of the Source, Hero, and Heroine in the Primordial Union, grounded in the bi-hemispheric structure and function of the brain. The Dark force sabotages their freedom and union towards pathology and dissolution; the Light force nurtures their harmony and union towards evolution. A new psychodynamic theory based on the drama of existential choice, is clarified in original Daoism, from which arises a novel kind of therapy and a new iteration of the ancient form of Highest Yoga Tantra.
Psycho/spiritual Transformation – The Nature of the Primordial Union – A Psychodynamic Theory – A New Therapy – Tantric Yoga
Volume 3. THE GREAT ROMANCE: Sociocultural Anthropology
While the Archetype refers to stories of fictional couples, the referent extends to the dynamics of any relationship having a significant bond. Therefore, the form provides a framework and comprehensive protocol for any relationship therapy. The Archetype also serves to understand and analyze the dynamic of collectives of any size, from the neighborhood club, to businesses, to nation/states, races and Humanity One. It is therefore useful in analyzing history, diagnosing present collective challenges and projecting solutions, as demonstrated in the concluding chapters of Volume 1. Clarification of Humanity One's present crises comes from understanding its context in the present transformation process of Earth.
Relationships – Groups – Great Collectives
Volume 4. THE ULTIMATE ROMANCE OF ALL AGES: The Ontological Interpretation
Passages and specific terms used in the Upanishads are deployed to show how beings arise from Being and how we authentically respond to the fundamental need to know Being, the ultimate human achievement. Through the analyses of holons and holarchy in the Romance form, we see how all beings arise from Being. The Archetype also reveals how we come to authentically Understanding, or gnosis. The role of symbol is explored. The Way is described through entheos and the union of vitality and mind in the practice of Tantric Yoga and the Way according to the Daodeching. Ultimate Romances form the superstructure of transformation displayed in three great world religions the Monotheism of Christianity, including the Fall and the Birth of Christ, and the Monism of the Ramayana, each revealing the formula for ultimate gnosis, the "peace that passes all understanding."
Beings Emerge – Knowing Being – Symbol – The Way of Knowing – Two Ultimate Romances: East and West
GLOSSARY