1. T HE H ERO W ITH A T HOUSAND F ACES (R ETURN S TAGE ) Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

2. T HE R ETURN After the quest is won, the hero still must return with his life altering trophy (wisdom, the Golden Fleece, a sleeping princess, etc.) so that his boon may renew the community or world he left.

3. N UCLEAR U NIT OF THE M ONOMYTH (X) – Separation or Departure (Y) – Initiation (Z) – Return

4. R ETURN (Z) A life-enhancing return. Refusal of the Return The Magic Flight Rescue from Without Crossing of the Return Threshold Master of Two Worlds Freedom to Live

5. R EFUSAL OF THE R ETURN The hero often refuses this responsibility. Why? Fear Self-doubt Too tuckered out Too comfortable Original world was boring, why return? Buddha doubted whether he could communicate his message Muchukunda, now a giant, refuses to return to a world in which he no longer fits in. Both literally and metaphorically. Star Wars : “Luke, come on!” Luke wants to stay behind and avenge Obi-Wan The Matrix : Neo stays and fights agent instead of running.

6. Q UESTIONS TO H ELP F RAME THIS STEP Does the person refuse to come back to everyday life? Is the person concerned that their message won't be heard, or that their gifts will be unappreciated, or that the wisdom gained cannot be communicated?

7. T HE M AGIC F LIGHT Supernatural powers support the hero’s return with elixir to his original society. A lively, often comical pursuit. Complicated by magical obstruction and evasion. Objects left behind speak for the hero and delay pursuit A number of delaying obstacles are tossed behind the fleeing hero These objects left behind may represent a sacrifice

8. T HE M AGIC F LIGHT Examples! Gwion Bach Jason Neo chased by Agents in The Matrix "Fundevogal“ "The Water-Nixie" Click

9. Q UESTIONS TO H ELP F RAME THIS S TEP Are there obstacles to the person's returning to normal life? Given this person's background and experience, what kind of obstacle would make sense or be especially difficult or suiting to his or her situation? Will these obstacles further enlighten us about the person, their quest, or their boon?

10. R ESCUE FROM W ITHOUT The hero is brought back from his supernatural adventure by assistance from without The world needs to come get him. Society may be jealous of those who remain away from it. Strong connection with Belly of the Whale and Crossing of the Return Threshold steps

11. R ESCUE FROM W ITHOUT Examples: Muchukunda: Unwillingly rescued Raven of the Eskimos Connect with the Belly of the Whale The Matrix Trinity revives Neo after being shot Click

12. Q UESTIONS TO H ELP F RAME THIS S TEP Must the person be rescued from their journey? Can their original guides and assistants still help them?

13. C ROSSING OF THE R ETURN T HRESHOLD The hero’s return from the mystic realm into the everyday world (with his boon). Should be easy, right? Nope. This is difficult to do. How can one reteach what has been taught correctly and incorrectly learned a million times? This is the hero’s ultimate task. He must confront society with his elixir and take the return blow of reasonable questioning, hard resentment, and good people unable to comprehend. Easy to refuse, but outside forces might force him.

14. C ROSSING OF THE R ETURN T HRESHOLD Rip Van Winkle

15. Q UESTIONS TO H ELP F RAME THIS S TEP What marks the person's return to normal life? What challenges does the person face in integrating the experience of the quest into his or her life? Can/does the person share his or her experiences and the wisdom gained from them with others? How do others receive the person upon the return?

16. M ASTER OF T WO W ORLDS When the hero has the freedom to pass back and forth across the world divisions. The paradox of the two worlds in one. There is a balance between two worlds that the hero easily maintains.

17. M ASTER OF T WO W ORLDS The Transfiguration of the Christ The transfiguration was witnessed by men who had given up their lives for Christ. They had abandoned life itself. Jesus: “Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Click

18. Q UESTIONS TO H ELP F RAME THIS S TEP Given this person's background and experience, what would represent the two worlds in his or her life? Does this person demonstrate his or her mastery of both the spiritual and material, the inner and outer worlds?

19. “We do not particularly care whether Rip van Winkle, Kamar al-Zaman, or Jesus Christ ever actually lived. Their stories are what concerns us: and those stories are so widely distributed over the world – attached to various heroes in various lands – that the question of whether this or that local carrier of the universal theme may or may not have been a historical, living man can be of only secondary moment. The stressing of this historical element will lead to confusion; it will simply obfuscate the picture message.” - Joseph Campbell, p. 198

20. F REEDOM TO L IVE The result of the hero’s miraculous passage and return is the freedom to live. The hero no longer fears either of the two worlds or their inhabitants. He or she is free to live free of danger. The hero is. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” “Happily ever after.”

21. Q UESTION TO H ELP F RAME T HIS S TEP Does the person achieve the ability let go of the fear of death, to live in the moment, to neither anticipate the future nor regret the past?

22. “We have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path.”