{"id":772,"date":"2021-06-25T15:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T15:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/?p=772"},"modified":"2022-03-11T02:37:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T02:37:00","slug":"chapter-1-your-psyche-and-the-hero-of-your-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/25\/chapter-1-your-psyche-and-the-hero-of-your-story\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 1: Your Psyche and the Hero of your Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<body>\n<p>A HYPOTHESIS OF EVERYTHING part 1: You Are Here CHAPTER 1: Your Psyche and the Hero of your Story<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"1. Your Psyche and the Hero of Your Story\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yACUA0Puxjs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CHAPTER 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Your Psyche and the Hero of Your Story<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>In this chapter, the 7-dimensional hierarchy model will be the context of distinguishing your \u201chero core\u201d or \u201cimago Dei,\u201d as applied to the story of your psyche. This chapter has an intention to it. I desire that by the end, you view your life with more clarity and are empowered to embrace your trauma as access to personal confidence and a life that you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh to every Disney movie, it is clear that the most common and critical element in every story is redemption. Even if the moment of redemption seems dark and resigned, every storyteller must satisfy the listener with a reason to hear their tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Confrontation precedes redemption. In most stories, it is the protagonist or hero bearing the burden of the warrior battling against that which represents despair or doom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever wondered why many of our fictional and mythological heroes are orphans or are dramatically alienated from their families?\u00a0 Lilo and Nani\u2019s parents died in a car accident, leaving Nani to care for her wild and rebellious little sister before Stitch showed up. Superman lost his birth parents and his home, his people, and his planet as he was jettisoned in a capsule toward his new home \u2013 earth. Young Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents being shot to death outside a theater. 11-year-old Katniss Everdeen\u2019s father was killed in a coal mine explosion. After falling into a deep depression, her mother became useless, leaving Katniss to care for her mother and her younger sister, Prim. James and Lily, the parents of infant Harry Potter, were killed by Lord Voldemort trying to protect Harry from the same fate. Max Da Costa, the sacrificial savior in the sci-fi action movie, ELYSIUM, grew up as a troubled foster child with no parents. Merideth Quill, mother of Peter AKA \u201cStarlord\u201d in the film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, died of brain cancer when Peter was only eight years old. Peter\u2019s profound grief in losing his mother inspired his final victory over his estranged immortal father, who placed the cancer tumor inside Merideth\u2019s head. The STAR WARS stories are full of sacrificial parents. Leah killed herself so that her passing into the force would save her son-turned-dark-side, Ben. Both Rey Palpatine and Din Djarin, the Mandalorian, were hidden by their parents before they were attacked and killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The storyteller is compelled to present a hero that is acquainted with our deepest sorrows. What can be more brutal for a child than the loss of their parents? We require a hero that has endured crushing grief. We demand that our hero knows what it\u2019s like to be rejected and alone, abandoned of any sense of belonging. We don\u2019t want a hero that is strong and smart, and attractive. We want the Hobbit orphan, Frodo, that is not appealing to the eyes nor intelligent or powerful but has a heart of gold and determination to match. We want Harry Potter, who is small for his age, with messed up hair and those trademark round spectacles. Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek the Halls, Shrek Forever After, Shrek the Musical, Scared Shrekless, Shrek 5\u2026 yes, we obviously identify with this big loveable green ogre and his true love, Fiona.\u00a0 We want Forky from TOY STORY 4. Bonnie made Forky on her first day of kindergarten out of a spork, popsicle stick, mismatched googly eyes, and a red bendy pipe-cleaner for arms. Forky is convinced that he\u2019s nothing more than trash until Woody explains why he\u2019s Bonnie\u2019s favorite toy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why do we want this? It\u2019s because we long to know that even from the darkest depths of our anguish and despair can arise a broken yet victorious hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the comic strip on Earth Day 1971, Pogo announced, \u201cWe have met the enemy, and he is us.\u201d Don\u2019t you think that it\u2019s time to meet our hero instead?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who is your favorite hero?<\/strong>\u00a0While you\u2019re thinking about it, I\u2019ll tell you about one of mine. Most of my heroes are real people, as described in the beginning chapter \u201cBurundi and the Life of Riley.\u201d Still, one of my favorite fictional heroes is Alita in the 2019 movie ALITA BATTLE ANGEL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What makes your hero uniquely qualified?<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ll give you an example. At the beginning of ALITA BATTLE ANGEL, a doctor named Ido was scavenging through heaps of trash to find cyborg parts. He used them as prosthetics for potential clients. A unique object caught his eye in the debris. He uncovered it to discover a partial human girl\u2019s body that included a head, shoulders, and a chest cavity containing an artificial heart. That\u2019s it\u2014no arms nor legs. Using a portable scanner, Dr. Ido determined that there was brain activity. He carried the barely salvageable scrap back to his clinic. Dr. Ido had already built a cyborg body that he intended to use for his paraplegic daughter that was previously killed. He fitted the body to the remnant he found in the junkyard and brought the girl to life. She had no memory of anything, including her name. Ido named her after his deceased daughter, Alita. As the story unfolded, Alita began to notice that she was driven to be some kind of warrior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What made Alita uniquely qualified was that she had nothing to lose. She had no memory of the past to limit her, and her passion to be extraordinary, motivated her to get up every time she was knocked down \u2013 which was a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What are the biggest problems your hero faces?\u00a0<\/strong>For Alita, it was the gap between the innocent ignorance of her memory loss and the mighty battle angel in her DNA. Of course, she was also teased and mocked for being mostly a cyborg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is the percentage of your hero\u2019s likely success?<\/strong>\u00a0In our favorite stories, it is ZERO percent that the hero will succeed. That\u2019s why we love the story so much. It is the impossibility of success that keeps us turning the pages or sitting on the edge of our seats. That theme is consistent in all of the blockbusters and best sellers. It\u2019s Aladdin, a common street thief who fell in love with Princess Jasmine without any possibility of a relationship with her because he was not a prince. It\u2019s the unlikely boy, Arthur, that takes a turn at pulling the sword from the stone to become king. It\u2019s all of the orphaned and broken superheroes in comic books and movies. It\u2019s the favorite son, Joseph, whose own brothers threw him into a pit to die but then decided to sell him into slavery. Joseph ended up as a prisoner in Pharaoh\u2019s dungeon but eventually rose to power in the Egyptian empire by interpreting dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Consider that you are the hero of your story<\/strong>\u00a0and that your chance of having a fulfilling and successful life is slim to none. Now THAT is an exciting story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this Hypothesis of Everything, I believe that there are seven dimensions. By definition, a dimension is measurable, or its impact can be quantified as applied to the sixth and seventh dimensions of consciousness. Spoiler alert: Chapter 3 will dig deeper into this seven-dimensional model, but it is necessary to give a brief description here for this chapter\u2019s context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The First Dimension is a line<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 X \u2013 that has only length, no width, nor depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Second Dimension<\/em><\/strong> introduces an intersecting line \u2013 <strong><em>XY \u2013 a plane<\/em><\/strong>. There are height and width but no depth. This is the dimension of everything visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Third Dimension<\/em><\/strong> is another intersecting line to create depth \u2013 <strong><em>XYZ \u2013 a cube<\/em><\/strong>. This dimension is most natural for us to understand. It is the physical realm in which we and everything else exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>The Fourth Dimension is Time.<\/em><\/strong> For the physical realm to have movement, it requires time to arrive from one point in space to another. Time is the realm of the living. Before we are alive and after we are alive, there is no experience of time. While there is abundant evidence of the past before our existence, time is still the realm of only the living. The unique aspect of time is that it is linear and moves only forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some physicists suggest that the fifth dimension is frequency or vibration. I agree with them. Included in frequency are rhythm, patterns, energy, light, sound, and brain waves. Specifically, for this model, <strong><em>the Fifth Dimension is Language \/ Imagination<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagination is distinct from thoughts. We are thinking all of the time. We \u201chave\u201d thoughts, yet imagining is something creative. Imagination is a voluntary thought to create images in our minds. All images exist in language. Even if the image itself is unique enough not to have a label, we can give it a description. Language authors and manipulates all of the other dimensions. In the third dimension, things exist, but they do not become real until they are given a name. Not only does a name assign reality, but it also provides us with the power to manipulate it or use it. With language, great pyramids are built. With language, Great Walls of China are erected. With language, the Berlin Wall was torn down. Language elects presidents and ruins economies. Language wages war and declares peace. Language unites in marriage and gives our covenants and contracts existence. Language defines our beliefs. Language seeks out the cures for diseases. Language kills reputations and ignites genocides. In our stories and myths of creation, there is first, language \u2013 \u201cand God said\u2026.\u201d Language is the dimension of order and chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>There is a portal between the fifth and sixth dimensions.\u00a0<\/strong>This portal is <strong><em>motivation\/inspiration<\/em><\/strong> to ACT upon our language or imagination, even if it\u2019s language given to us by others. It doesn\u2019t always feel like a choice either. Fear is a powerful motivator, but there is no meaning of the sixth dimension inside of \u201cinstinct and survival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The portal is also where language finds agreement and becomes real. Reality is language plus agreement. That\u2019s why we have dictionaries and reference sources. But sometimes, the agreement can change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, before 2006, there were nine planets in our solar system. All of the textbooks and exams required us to acknowledge that there were nine planets. It was REAL. And then, the agreement of the definition of the word \u201cplanet\u201d changed, and Pluto dropped out. Reality changed because the agreement changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sixth and seventh dimensions are dimensions of consciousness measured by their effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Sixth Dimension is <strong><em>Responsibility.<\/em><\/strong> Responsibility takes language and translates it into intentional results. Responsibility is uniquely human. It is the dimension of meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Love\/Truth is the Seventh Dimension.<\/em><\/strong> The consistent pitfall of this dimension is that we understand it or know it fully. While \u201clove\u201d and \u201ctruth\u201d have entirely different definitions, they both have everything to do with connecting. Meaning, significance, and individuality fades or disappears into love\/truth when we get close to this dimension. We see glimpses and reflections of it and participate in it every day as we experience connections that feel like both love and truth. It manifests in the effects of gratitude, contribution, fun, play, peace, art, music, beauty, etc. Psychologists give it the label \u201cpositive emotion,\u201d but I believe that it is something more. It springs forth from a source deep within us that sometimes feels lost or smothered. I\u2019m convinced that the source is the intertwined double helix of love and truth, like the DNA in our psyche\u2019s nucleus. It is the seventh dimension belonging to every human. It is the dimension of the divine and, in this case, the essential hero inside of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>YOUR PSYCHE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The human cell is a brilliant model to illustrate and symbolize the human psyche. Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine an illustration of a healthy cell.\u00a0 It has a thin membrane that is soft, flexible, and semipermeable. The organelles and nucleus are vital and functional. Nutrients can enter easily, and waste products can exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now imagine the membrane of an unhealthy cell. It looks thicker and hard and rigid. Only some nutrients can enter and most waste products are blocked from exiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the illustration of the healthy psyche, there is first, the semipermeable membrane. It selectively absorbs what is necessary to thrive and endure. Critical to the cell\u2019s existence is also an external environment conducive to its survival as it interacts and cooperates with other cells for the health of that environment. Just like us in our multiple communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems that the human psyche is quite fragile and malleable. Here\u2019s an example. In a world where individual identity is paramount, definitions of words are changing, and even the slightest hint of offense is met with a violent tantrum of resentment and anger. Whatever size your psyche is, it can fill up quickly with information and emotions. Suppose you don\u2019t maintain a process of pushing waste out of your psyche. The results can be catastrophic. Those things can rot, fester, and infect you and everyone else close to you. A swift, fatal demise is inevitable. Think about it. In what context or environment does YOUR psyche dwell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with the human cell that houses organelles, there seems to be four in your psyche essential to life. The first one is your dreams and positive memories. The second is others in your life, and it\u2019s not exclusive to other humans. Pets and sentient beings valuable to you are included. The third is your physical, emotional, and mental health. Sexuality and spirituality are connected, responding to the effects of fear in oddly identical ways. Combined, it is the fourth essence of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The nucleus is the brain and heart of the cell. The DNA double helix inside your nucleus represents the Love\/Truth imago Dei or the origin of your story\u2019s hero.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the area on the left, there\u2019s another oval with teeth in it. Above it is angry eyes. It\u2019s not bad or mean; it\u2019s just aggressive and wants to consume like PacMan eating dots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I call this the \u201cFear Protein\u201d. Unlike the nucleus containing your core hero\u2019s intertwined love\/truth DNA, fear is initially foreign to you and not part of you from birth. Developmentally, it invaded your world when the protective word for your survival, \u201cno\u201d, was also used to defy you and your intentions. You figured out that you could use \u201cno\u201d to defy others as well. Here is where the fear protein set up business with a limitless inventory of entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WAIT A MINUTE!\u00a0 WHAT? But I\u2019m entitled to be entitled. No?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oxford dictionary defines the adjective \u201centitled\u201d as \u201cfeeling that you have a right to the good things in life without necessarily having to work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dictionary.com says, \u201chaving a right or legitimate claim to something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Merriam-Webster: \u201chaving a right to certain benefits or privileges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cambridge Dictionary: \u201cfeeling that you have the right to do or have what you want without having to work for it or deserve it, just because of who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elements of fear are\u00a0<em>entitlement<\/em>,\u00a0<em>equity<\/em>\u00a0or fair\/not fair, and\u00a0<em>morality<\/em>\u00a0judging good and bad. But they all can be melted down into the first one; entitlement. Your sense of equity or fairness is a function of entitlement. You may think you are benevolent in your idea of equity for all, but if you look closer, it\u2019s still all about you and what makes you feel better or more righteous. Entitlement is a vicious killer of your psyche and your fear protein\u2019s primary weapon to wreak havoc and chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although most of the planet\u2019s spiritual identity is based on some sense of morality, I believe that the source of morality is fear. English is an odd language. Morality is knowing the difference between good and bad and creating subjective values accordingly. The word \u201cmoral\u201d invokes only positive sentiments and similar to \u201cvirtuous\u201d, \u201crighteous\u201d, and \u201cupstanding\u201d. All of these words are included in the language of sufficiency. So are \u201csuccessful\u201d, \u201cabundant\u201d, \u201cpowerful\u201d, and \u201crich\u201d. All efforts of sufficiency are projected against the empty backdrop of lack and insufficiency. Fear is always the context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Morality gives you an entitled license to judge, assess, validate, and condemn with steadfast positionalism \u2013 especially toward yourself. Morality is the structure for assigning labels and classes to people and all subsequent prejudice and racism. It\u2019s also where your sense of looking good and pee-your-pants fear of looking bad comes from. Morality is one of the most insidious, perverse, and dark elements of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The core conversations of fear are \u201cSomething is wrong here.\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m not \u2018blank\u2019 enough.\u201d I\u2019m not old enough. I\u2019m not young enough. I\u2019m not big enough. I\u2019m not thin enough. I\u2019m not rich enough. I\u2019m not pretty enough. I\u2019m not strong enough. I\u2019m not smart enough. I\u2019m not popular enough. etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By its nature, the egocentric appetite of the fear protein wants to consume your psyche. It starts with the four organelles previously mentioned: dreams\/positive memories, others, your health, and your spirituality\/sexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fear protein has already killed off your dreams for the future and suffocated your positive memories leaving only despair and regrets to taunt you and haunt you. Inside of your identity\u2019s traumatic past, you have systematically obliterated your most precious relationships or are in the process of doing so \u2013 even to your pets. Your health is taking a blow because life is much smaller now and filled with little more than anxiety and stress. You have stepped into a bear trap that restricts any possibility of actions that support body health. With only negative memories left and no one to fight on your behalf, why should you be healthy anyway? Of all of the new things that you feel that you deserve in life, a positive self-image is not one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your spirituality and sexuality are connected, and both become blurry under the influence of the fear protein. The blurriness harbors an exaggerated hypersensitivity with the primal tendency of fight or flight to any disagreement or perceived condemnation. You train others to fear you and avoid any conversation about your spirituality or sexuality and possibly even politics. You force them to relate to you as someone they never knew you to be before. Your fear identity perverts your spirit and your sexual nature. And you wonder why people avoid you like a zombie that wants to eat their brain, yet you claim that it\u2019s them that marginalized you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ultimate purpose of the fear protein is to kill the hero of your story. This is when you contemplate how useless or unfair life is or turned out to be. Ending it all is probably the best option. You might even follow through and attempt suicide. But you\u2019re ALIVE today, so something is still protecting the sanctity of soul. Your core hero isn\u2019t dead quite yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The shell of your psyche thickens and hardens. It rejects any positive external stimuli, and anything less than positive stimuli is received as something personally annoying. Nothing meaningful can get out of your shell except useless or malicious speech and actions. The fear protein intends to create your own living hell and destroy everything you touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms of fear include selfishness, resentment, bitterness, hatred, betrayal, regret, superstition, anxiety, greed\/corruption, a victim mentality, revenge, suspicion, contempt, boredom, judging\/assessing, shame\/guilt, addiction, and fearful anger. Emotions like anger, sadness, and grief happen frequently and call us to action or change. Fearful anger is merely a temper tantrum designed to validate yourself and expand your sense of entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Useless speech is the predominant outcome. This includes complaining, gossiping, lying, making excuses, blaming, exaggerating, and sarcasm.\u00a0<strong><em>Every symptom of fear finds solace in useless speech.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fear, its elements, the core conversations, symptoms, and the outcomes make up your identity. It\u2019s what you usually see in the mirror and it\u2019s never pretty. How ironic that the ugliness of the fear context still avoids looking bad at all costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the walls of your psyche continue to thicken, the inevitable result is depression, narcissism, mental illness, or suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, professionals in dealing with matters of the psyche understand that fear can be treated and the thick shell can be softened. Fear responds to light. It wants to run into the shadows and darkness and hide in shame, but its position is weakened when exposed. Therapists dedicate their profession to helping their patients experience the security of truth and authentically wrestle with their symptoms. When confronted with authority, fear will often stop and submit. Parents can interrupt the trajectory of a child\u2019s fear-identity by a spanking or imposed isolation or even a glance of acknowledgment. A trained priest will use authority to exorcise a demon out of a possessed victim or command the fear-identity to cooperate. The military has no use for your identity and uses authority to compel submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States Department of Veterans Affairs reports that veterans are substantially more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans. The reasonable notion is that negative traumatic memories cause this. I think that it\u2019s more than that. The release of the full force of the suppressed identity back into the psyche away from the structured discipline of the military, coupled with traumatic memories, creates a judge, jury, and executioner scenario. The core hero doesn\u2019t stand a chance in hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prescribing drugs is another common solution. I believe that artificially manipulating serotonin with medication is risky. Still, it\u2019s better to have a numb patient that isn\u2019t killing themselves. The road to healing can begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But turning to chemicals to subdue the fear identity\u2019s ravaging nature is much greater than only drugs prescribed by doctors. We are taught by example from an early age to rely on things we can consume to make us feel relaxed or more alert or a little more numb to our pain. Naturally, chemical addiction in many forms is a culturally facilitated solution to assist in managing survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, where is the good news? I don\u2019t know that there is any. Your identity is big and ugly and intends to destroy your life. Your core hero is small in comparison, like the story of young David against a giant Goliath that seems to grow bigger and more powerful every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, <strong><em>your story is right on track<\/em><\/strong>. There is very little chance that your hero will be the champion in your life and lead you happiness. Yes, you have an intriguing story. It\u2019s full of scandal and drama and betrayal and resentment and death and destruction. That road is wide and everybody is traveling on it. But that\u2019s not what you want your future to be. It\u2019s not the story of your life that you want others to tell after you\u2019re gone. How do I know? I know because you are thinking of your hero from the beginning of this chapter. You ARE the hero of your story and you are uniquely qualified to win against all the odds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When trauma happens, your identity hides for a few seconds while your core hero manages it like a pro. And then, your identity shows back up to complain about it and blame others. The point is that your hero is the first on the scene, not your identity. The lesson to learn is that each trauma is an opportunity for love and truth to take over. Notice it or remember when it happened. You had a type of power not usually packaged into your identity. Love and truth were heroically at work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We witnessed this on a societal level with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning, every nation on the planet was in trauma response mode. The collective hero in us rose to occasion with decisive actions. The goodness of humanity was singing from the balconies and open windows to calm the neighbors, and generous citizens gave extraordinary contributions to care for employees hit hardest by the loss of business. Beer manufacturers set aside part of their operations to make hand sanitizer to give to first responders. Thoughtful people posted patterns and instructions online for thousands of citizens to cut and sew masks to send to front-line workers in hospitals, fire stations, and emergency clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The biggest question is, \u201cwhy can\u2019t we be like this all of the time?\u201d The answer is because our collective identity craves complaining, blaming, suspicion, equity, and playing the victim. Our national psyche looks a lot like our own and is on full display in every news media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trauma summons the hero. In our favorite stories and myths, it is the crisis or the series of crises that calls the hero to spring into action. Think about it. Clark Kent has a job at the Daily Planet for a reason. The media is always the first to know when something terrible is happening. It is the tragedies that pop the buttons on Clark Kent\u2019s white dress shirt to expose Superman. When your fear identity engages useless speech to deflect or transfer trauma, you lose the opportunity to overcome it and find meaning in the responsibility of embracing it. All that remains is the shame and blame and self-pity you see in the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your fear identity is perfectly satisfied with mediocre and boring. But life doesn\u2019t give you that \u2013 it traumatizes you with the death of loved ones, loss, betrayal, resentment, shame, and bitterness. There are significant problems to solve. Your fear identity convinces you that it has everything under control, but look at the results? Are your addictions designed to help you win at life? Is your anxiety providing forward movement on any level? Is your all-consuming egocentric mindset connecting you with positive people or finding love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re killing your hero, and my guess is that if you\u2019re still listening or reading, you want something different. Beginning the process of unleashing your hero and forging a pathway to a life of consistent confidence and contentment is simple but not easy. It requires grace and determination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are 15 hero exercises:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Look people in the eyes<\/strong><em> when you say, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/em><\/li><li><strong><em>Practice smiling<\/em><\/strong> with your ENTIRE FACE.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong><em>Look up.<\/em><\/strong>Practice lifting your head as you look up. You\u2019ll experience immediate results in your attitude and positive outlook on life. And look up more often as you are walking.<\/li><li><strong><em>Open doors for people<\/em><\/strong>without expecting gratitude or acknowledgment.<\/li><li><strong><em>Breathe deeply<\/em><\/strong> five times and then relax. Repeat as desired.<\/li><li><strong><em>Eliminate useless speech<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 complaining, gossiping, making excuses, lying, exaggerating, and being sarcastic. Notice that you might have a lot less to say than usual.<\/li><li><strong><em>Enjoy<\/em><\/strong> beauty in ordinary things.<\/li><li><strong><em>Explore your self-expression<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 whatever you love to do or want to love to do.<\/li><li><strong><em>Celebrate<\/em><\/strong> small moments.<\/li><li><strong><em>Notice your hygiene<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong><em>Move your body<\/em><\/strong> at least 20 minutes every day.<\/li><li><strong><em>Spend time in the sunlight<\/em><\/strong> if your situation, location, and weather permits it.<\/li><li><strong><em>Give yourself<\/em><\/strong> adequate time to <strong><em>sleep<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong><em>Practice<\/em><\/strong> leaving things in better shape than you found them.<\/li><li><strong><em>\u201cStop saying things that make you weak.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Dr. Jordan B. Peterson<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Now notice how the fear identity\u2019s core conversations of \u201cSomething is wrong here\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m not good enough\u201d show up when you see a list like this. These are NOT the fifteen commandments of being your hero. But be deliberate to practice a few of them and add more when you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your body is designed to naturally release hormones that make you feel confident, happy, and loving. Your fear identity has no room for that. However, you still recognize and experience pleasant emotions when you participate in what I call \u201celements of connection\u201d. Contribution, mercy, music, community, beauty, fun, and gratitude, which is practicing speaking the truth, are just a few. Elements of connection point you to something higher or more profound or encompassing. Your hero is attracted to them and becomes more present and powerful as you add them more frequently to your life.\u00a0 Here is a list of 100 common elements of connection that often feels like love:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Accepting<\/td><td>Contentment<\/td><td>Happiness<\/td><td>Peace<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Accomplishment<\/td><td>Contribution<\/td><td>Honor<\/td><td>Pets<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Acknowledgement<\/td><td>Cooking\/sewing\/hobbies<\/td><td>Humor<\/td><td>Prayer \/ worship<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Admiration<\/td><td>Courage<\/td><td>Innocence\u00a0<\/td><td>Presence \/ Being present<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Adoration<\/td><td>Creativity<\/td><td>Integrity<\/td><td>Productivity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Adventure<\/td><td>Dancing<\/td><td>Intimacy<\/td><td>Reading<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Art<\/td><td>Decorating<\/td><td>Invitation<\/td><td>Relatedness<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Attention<\/td><td>Discipline<\/td><td>Joy<\/td><td>Respect<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Authenticity<\/td><td>Eating\/Drinking<\/td><td>Kindness<\/td><td>Responsibility<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Beauty<\/td><td>Elegance<\/td><td>Laughing<\/td><td>Romance<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Belonging<\/td><td>Embracing<\/td><td>Leadership<\/td><td>Sacrifice<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Breathing deeply<\/td><td>Empowering<\/td><td>Learning<\/td><td>Satisfaction<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Caring<\/td><td>Empathy<\/td><td>Leisure \/ Relaxation<\/td><td>Security<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Celebration<\/td><td>Encouragement<\/td><td>Light\/Brilliance<\/td><td>Self Expression<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cleanliness<\/td><td>Enthusiasm<\/td><td>Illumination<\/td><td>Service \/ ing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Commitment<\/td><td>Exercise\u00a0<\/td><td>Listening<\/td><td>Sharing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Communicating<\/td><td>Fantasy<\/td><td>Meditation<\/td><td>Shopping<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Community<\/td><td>Fellowship<\/td><td>Mercy<\/td><td>Simplicity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compassion<\/td><td>Flirting<\/td><td>Music<\/td><td>Success<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Completion<\/td><td>Forgiveness<\/td><td>Nature\/outdoors<\/td><td>Teaching<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compliments \/ ing<\/td><td>Freedom<\/td><td>Order \/ organization<\/td><td>Touch<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compromise<\/td><td>Fun\/Playing<\/td><td>Participation<\/td><td>Truth-telling\/hearing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Confession<\/td><td>Giving \/ Gifting<\/td><td>Partnership<\/td><td>Unity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Confidence<\/td><td>Graciousness<\/td><td>Passion<\/td><td>Vision\/Purpose<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Contemplation<\/td><td>Gratitude<\/td><td>Patience<\/td><td>Vulnerability<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0You\u2019ll find some that you can adopt and use for yourself, but I encourage you to create your own list that best fits your hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Life <\/em><\/strong>isn\u2019t about a destination or a series of destinations. Life is about the journey and shared experiences with other travelers on the path. You get only one path and one chance to walk that path, and it doesn\u2019t last forever. By default, your fear identity is in control and will take you to the end. And people will put whatever they remember about your identity on your tombstone. Or you can choose to be the hero of your story instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The greatest struggle is the choice because your fear identity is the one that\u2019s choosing, and it doesn\u2019t want to let go. But don\u2019t worry, the fear protein will always be around. You\u2019ll wake up with it and go to sleep with it. Egocentric entitlement, equity, and survival will forever haunt your dreams, and every minute you spend in front of a mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your identity will never give you a life that you love, but your hero can. Take action. Make some declarations and talk to people that are close to you about your new intentions. BE the \u201chappily ever after\u201d of your story. Your friends will cheer, and some may be moved to tears to see how triumphant your hero is against the background of absolutely zero chance that you would ever find a life you love. Even though you\u2019re not doing it for them \u2013 you\u2019re doing it for yourself and your health. Still, everyone loves a good story of trauma, failure, struggle, redemption, and happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chapter 1\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/452018534?h=e72347dd62&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A HYPOTHESIS OF EVERYTHING part 1: You Are Here CHAPTER 1: Your Psyche and the Hero of your Story CHAPTER 1 Your Psyche and the Hero of Your Story In this chapter, the 7-dimensional hierarchy model will be the context of distinguishing your \u201chero core\u201d or \u201cimago Dei,\u201d as applied to the story of your psyche. This chapter has an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,107,1,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-hypothesis-of-everything","category-book","category-uncategorized","category-here-chapter-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1421,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772\/revisions\/1421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericriley.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}