The Adventure Of A Lifetime

Moving Beyond Society's Toys R' Us "Adulthood"

Some day, if you are lucky,
you’ll return from a thunderous journey
trailing snake scales, wing fragments
and the musk of Earth and moon.

So opens Geneen Marie Haugen’s, The Return.

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Where the Adventure Begins

Imagine for a moment a mysterious and unexplored terrain.

What comes to mind?

Perhaps you go historical and see the American West that Lewis and Clark set out to traverse.

Or maybe you’re more into fantasy and you picture Frodo and Samwise setting out for Mordor.

Then again, you might be an aquanaut and find yourself diving below the surface of the deep.

Whatever image you choose works, because the adventure of a lifetime, is one that steps into your psyche, and the best way to envision it is however you imagine it.

Mine is rugged, misty, and mysterious, but also endlessly inviting with new discoveries awaiting around every turn.

Whatever you choose, it is here, in this realm, where Erikson’s unanswered questions from childhood dwell.

• Can I trust the world?

• Is it okay to be me?

• Is it okay for me to do, move, and act?

• Can I make it in the world of people and things?

• Who am I? Who can I be?

But don’t be mistaken, they’re not lost.

They know exactly where they are.

And at a moment’s notice, they will leap out from the unknown and sabotage the life you thought you were creating without them.

What’s Your Sabatoge?

While we are all unique, there are common ways we tend to sabotage ourselves.

Most of us in Western society conform. That’s how we’ve become a nation full of Toys R’ Us adults.

More recently, victimhood has become a badge of honor and a tool to gain power, with the biggest victim being the most powerful.

In the dating world I came across a slew of princesses and learned the hard way just how much anger drives their lives.

And we haven’t even gotten to the imposter syndrome or those who seek to be a big fish but only in a small pond.

Then of course there is the whole world of addiction and escape.

All of these tools of sabotage are really just those lingering childhood questions longing to be answered. The only way to stop the sabotage is to step into the unknown, seek them out, and find your affirmative answer.

A Map For the Journey

The big question, is how?

Here I turn to the work of Bill Plotkin, founder of the Animas Valley Institute, which has been working on me for the past 3.5 years, both through Bill’s books and one of the Animas Valley guides, Dan Dolquist.

In his book, Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche (affiliate), Plotkin offers two maps, one intrapersonal (how we see ourselves) and one interpersonal (how others see us).

The first is below, and I will unpack its components over the next few posts. As I do, you’ll begin to find yourself in it.

But if the idea of this adventure captivates you and you find yourself ready to dive in, you can do that too. Schedule a discovery call and we can identify the right blend of psychedelic breathwork (no substances required) and holistic life coaching to help you step into your journey.

The Rest of the Poem

Oh, and for those who are curious, here’s the rest of, The Return. I hope someday, you are so lucky.

Some day, if you are lucky,
you’ll return from a thunderous journey
trailing snake scales, wing fragments
and the musk of Earth and moon.

Eyes will examine you for signs
of damage, or change
and you, too, will wonder
if your skin shows traces

of fur, or leaves,
if thrushes have built a nest
of your hair, if Andromeda
burns from your eyes.

Do not be surprised by prickly questions
from those who barely inhabit
their own fleeting life, who barely taste
their own possibility, who barely dream.

If your hands are empty, treasureless,
if your toes have not grown claws,
if your obedient voice has not
become a wild cry, a howl,

you will reassure them. “We warned you,”
they might declare, “there is nothing else,
no point, no meaning, no mystery at all,
just this frantic waiting to die.”

And yet, they tremble, mute,
afraid you’ve returned without sweet
elixir for unspeakable thirst, without
a fluent dance or holy language

to teach them, without a compass
bearing to a forgotten border where
no one crosses without weeping
for the terrible beauty of galaxies

and granite and bone. They tremble,
hoping your lips hold a secret,
that the song your body now sings
will redeem them, yet they fear

your secret is dangerous, shattering,
and once it flies from your astonished
mouth, they — like you — must disintegrate
before unfolding tremulous wings.

- Geneen Marie Haugen