Ilchi Lee

Why did we anticipate the release of the final Star Wars film so eagerly? Why do children get so excited about Harry Potter sequels?

It is simple—people love stories about heroes.

In a cynical time of shamed presidents and celebrity misdeeds, when the media alternately tears down then builds up our real-life heroes, hero stories still resonate in our collective psyche.

“Everyone is a hero in his birth,” wrote mythology scholar Otto Rank. If we follow Rank’s line of reasoning, we are the true heroes of our own lives. When we root for Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), we are essentially cheering for ourselves.

The Hero’s Journey

The story of the hero dominates the ancient literature of the Western world, in the classics Beowulf and Homer’s Odyssey, for example. While we may no longer gather in the mead hall to hear the scop recite his epic poem, the archetype is just as compelling today, as evidenced by the latest blockbusters Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

While the films are full of technical wizardry, they rely on the tried and true hero archetype to capture our collective imagination. Further, many of the classics that we return to again and again, from The Wizard of Oz to The Lord of the Rings, also employ the motif.

Hero stories such as these follow plots known as archetypes. In his book Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell reveals how the hero archetype plays out in stories from around the world. He describes the archetypal hero’s tale as one in which the protagonist ventures out into the world on a quest. He or she is faced with difficult obstacles along the way and confronts a formidable adversary. After conquering the enemy, the individual returns home more confident and powerful—in short, as a hero.

The summer’s most-anticipated film, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, is perhaps the best illustration of the genre. Director George Lucas, who author Campbell called his “best student,” wrote the Star Wars saga after reading Campbell ’s book. The long lines and ticket sales generated since 1977 indicate that the hero is alive and well in our imagination. The archetype can also help us fulfill our potential.

It parallels the human process of growth and transformation, and gives us courage to face obstacles, just like Dahnhak. In hero stories, the protagonist is often given a gift from an older, wiser counterpart; Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) got a light saber. Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz) received ruby slippers. Dahn gives us the gift of a practice, principles, and a network of support to help us overcome obstacles and transform ourselves and our view of the world.

Looking closely at each step on the hero’s path can provide us with renewed hope and inspiration during our own hero’s journey.

I. The Call to Action

The hero receives a task that must be completed—to slay a monster, to recover an item, or to fight for a cause. In many stories, the hero is often reluctant at first to accept the mission. Consider, for example, Luke Skywalker’s hesitation when Ben Kenobi first invites him to join the rebellion and learn the ways of the force. In Spider-Man (2004), Peter Parker at first rejects his vocation. In both cases, it would have been easier and safer for the hero to continue living an ordinary life.

Courage is the key attribute required to begin the hero’s journey.

Skywalker leaves his home planet, Tatooine; Frodo (The Lord of the Rings) leaves the Shire; Dorothy leaves Kansas . Home represents our current state of being, with all its attachments and obligations. While home is safe, it is also a trap, preventing the would-be hero from reaching his or her potential, just as choosing the safe route in life can lead to dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment.

This is why Dahn philosophy guides practitioners to watch themselves carefully for the three kinds of attachment that hold human beings back from reaching their true potential in life—attachment to security, control, and recognition. All of these things are pleasing to our ego selves, so breaking away can be difficult.

Becoming the hero of our own life requires great courage and determination—it requires stepping outside our comfort zone, into a larger, unfamiliar world. In a pivotal scene from Fellowship of the Ring, Sam says to Frodo, “If I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I have ever been.” At this point, Sam chooses to become a hero by stepping away from his old self and moving boldly towards his higher self.

Our own call to action may be to eliminate a small habit or to make a dramatic life change. Whatever our vision, we must have courage to begin.

II. Overcoming Obstacles

Once the hero has fully accepted the mission, he must face obstacles that test his mettle. Through overcoming them, he proves his readiness to achieve his ultimate goal.

In the stories we love, these are the twists and turns of the plot, the conflicts that keep us on the edge of our seat, wondering if the hero will make it through. In life these are the large and small crises of everyday living, the things that draw us away from reaching our goals. If we give up in the face of these obstacles, we lose our hero status, returning to our old state of safe, but stagnant existence.

The Matrix provides a particularly meaningful example of facing obstacles. In the film, the hero, Neo, is struggling to answer the question, “What is the Matrix?” At every turn, “agents” prevent him from discovering more about the true nature of his existence and experience. Eventually, it becomes clear that Neo is living within some artificially constructed reality. Neo received his call to action—to be “The One” to free humanity from “the machine,” but the agents are determined to keep him bound to a false life.

Neo’s journey perfectly represents the psychological nature of our own obstacles. There are many forces at work to keep us confined to a limited existence. The “matrix” could be interpreted as our own patterns of negative thought or the preconceptions that keep us bound to a mundane way of life. The “agents” are the people and events in our lives that tell us, “You are not good enough. You will never make it. You should play it safe.” If we wish to truly transform ourselves and discover the higher truths of existence, we must first break free of these limitations and obstacles.

Neo’s gift is his determination. Over and over, his enemies transcend the perceived limits of time, space, and gravity to defeat him, spinning in midair and dodging speeding bullets. Neo is told by one of the agents, “You are the plague, and we are the cure,” but he never stops believing in himself and his humanity. When his cohort, Trinity, says, “No one has ever done anything like this,” Neo replies, “That’s why it’s going to work.”

Similarly, Dahnhak is designed to nurture dogged determination and to help us find ways to recognize and overcome difficult obstacles. Shim-sung training, in particular, helps us realize exactly what kinds of preconceptions and self-imposed limitations are holding us back. In daily life it can be difficult to peel back the layers of our awareness and see what lies beneath the surface. Shim-sung is often a life-changing experience because it offers participants a rare opportunity to stop and look closely at themselves in a safe environment.

III. Slaying the Dragon

In the archetypal hero’s journey, there is one obstacle that is the greatest and most difficult to overcome. This confrontation is at the climax of the story, in which the hero must face his or her most formidable adversary. In mythology, the villain is often referred to as the “anti-hero” because he or she is similar to the hero in many respects. Almost always, the anti-hero is of the same gender as the hero, and he or she will often have some personal connection to the hero. Essentially, the anti-hero is a failed hero, someone who has turned away from the quest toward the side of evil.

Therefore, when the hero battles with the archenemy, he is essentially battling with his own worst self. In ancient and medieval lore, this was often represented as a monster or dragon that kept the hero away from his ultimate goal. Joseph Campbell wrote that the dragon is a symbol of the hero’s ego, and that the hero, by slaying the dragon, is symbolically destroying his ego in order to be reborn to a higher state of consciousness. The dragon embodies all the negative attributes—pride, anger, and envy, for example—that keep us from living according to the highest version of ourselves.

The Star Wars series is especially interesting in this regard because it depicts both a successful hero (Luke Skywalker) and a failed hero (Anakin Skywalker). In both cases, the two heroes are tempted by the personal power that is available to them through “the dark side of the force.” Anakin gives into temptation for the same reason that he has failed to reach the rank of Jedi Master—he cannot set aside his ego and emotions. Through the first three episodes, we see him grow from a boy wounded by the death of his mother to a man filled with envy, hatred, and resentment.

When he falls into burning lava in Revenge of the Sith, he is symbolically consumed by his own negative mind. His son, Luke, must face the same obstacles, represented by his face appearing in Vader’s mask in Star Wars Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back. Thus, when Luke confronts his evil father in episodes five and six, he is actually battling his own temptation to join “the dark side” of ego-driven power.

Just as Darth Vader found his refuge within the dark, lifeless Death Star, the classic anti-hero often lives in a dark, underground place of some kind. Psychologically, the anti-hero’s lair represents a state of hopelessness and despair. It is in the darkest places of our own lives that we face our own demons.

People who have faced very difficult obstacles, such as drug addiction, will often say that they “had to hit bottom” before their recovery could begin. The same is true for all of us. Only during the dark moments of life are we able to separate our ego self from our heroic True Self and see who we are. When life is easy, it is also easy to ignore the darker aspects of our own character. At this point, we can choose to drown in our dark emotions, like Anakin Skywalker, or transform into a true hero, like Luke Skywalker.

The Star Wars saga reminds us that there is always hope, no matter how dark our lives or our hearts have become. It is fortunate that the six installments of Star Wars were filmed in the odd order that they were. We already know that Anakin’s negative choices will be redeemed in later episodes through the actions of his son Luke, and that he will ultimately choose differently in his final hours. Vader’s final request of his son is, “Remove my mask that I may look upon you with my own eyes.” Anakin is finally able to detach from the mask of hate and look upon his son with loving eyes.

The same is also true for us. Even if we have worn masks of anger, fear, and hatred for many years, our True Self is always alive underneath. Ultimately, we must realize our power of choice. It is almost as if there is a bright Jedi knight and a dark Sith lord doing battle within our hearts and minds. Every unkind action and every judgmental thought gives power to the evil Sith. Every healing action or kind word revives the suffering hero. Just as the hero never dies and justice always prevails in the stories we love, so does our True Self live forever.

Luke needed training to reach his fullest potential, and so does our True Self. Programs like Dahn Healer School are a little like a Jedi Academy for the soul. In such programs, practitioners learn to pattern their lives according to their True Selves, giving indomitable power to the hero within. Dahn Healer School ’s “call to action” is deceptively simple: “Heal yourself and heal the world.” It may seem like a mere slogan, but living it everyday requires absolute resolve and commitment. During their quest, healers sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, but ultimately, it is the journey that matters. As they overcome the doubts and the obstacles they encounter, they slay the dragons that keep them from reaching their highest potential.

IV. The Transformation

Once the hero has slain the dragon, he is ready to return home once again. Dorothy returns to Kansas . Shrek returns to his cottage. Scarlett returns to Tara . In all cases, the hero has transformed in some fashion. Sometimes, the transformation is a literal change in rank, as in Luke’s attainment of Jedi Master. But more often, it is a psychological change, a change in perspective or worldview. Dorothy gains a new appreciation of home, and Shrek opens his heart to love. This growth of consciousness is the ultimate reward given to the hero at the end of the journey. It is the buried treasure we seek.

Just as the hero must have a quest in mind before he begins, Dahnhak practitioners set visions for themselves. The important thing is to make each vision just a tad beyond the preconceived limits of our abilities and endurance. Through making our minds resolute in the attainment of a vision, whether a small personal vision or a grander vision of world peace, we take on the attitude of a hero, and move toward the highest version of ourselves.

The mind of a hero, gains a hero’s power. We need no superpowers or magic potions, just the will to walk resolutely toward our goals. To be a hero, we do not need a light saber or a body made of steel. We simply need to never give up.

Nicole Dean is a Professor of Writing and Literature at California State University , Fullerton and a Dahn healer at Brea Center , Brea , California , USA .

Ilchi Lee

Ilchi Lee is a pioneering Brain Philosopher and Educator. Ilchi Lee is founder of Dhan Yoga (known as Dahn Hak or Dahnhak) state it to be a Korean yoga style. To know more about Dr. Ilchi Lee visit his official website.

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