The Quest
Discover A Way To Enjoy The Second Half of Life
A transformative journey through ten waypoints toward wholeness, enlightenment, and the holy grail of living fully in life’s second half.
“We are growing older. When America became a nation, only one in five people lived to age seventy. Now more than four out of five do. What are we to do with the second half of life that could last forty or more years?”
The Four Stages of Life
Stage 1: Development
Birth to ~25
Focus on Self
Building Identity
Stage 2: Establishment
~25 to ~50
Focus on Others
Career & Family
Stage 3: Enjoyment
~50 to ~75
Focus on Integration
Discovering Wholeness
Stage 4: Enlightenment
~75 to ~100
Focus on Transcendence
Wisdom & Legacy
The Ten Waypoints
1
Symbols
Tools of communication between conscious and unconscious. Your unique symbols help you understand your deepest parts.
Core Symbols Quaternity:
- 🔴 Mandala: The sacred circle representing wholeness
- 🔴 Self: Integration of ego, persona, shadow, and gender
- 🔴 Myth: Universal stories that guide your personal journey
- 🔴 Art: Creative expression of your inner being
Key Question:
- What are your four symbols that represent your essence?
2
Essentials
The four foundational aspects of your being that define who you are at your core.
The Four Essentials:
- 💪 Body (Physical): Your relationship with your physical self
- 🧠 Mind (Mental): Your intellectual and cognitive essence
- ❤️ Soul (Emotional): Your capacity for feeling and relating
- ✨ Spirit (Spiritual): Your connection to meaning and transcendence
Key Question:
- What four words describe your essentials?
3
Stages
Understanding how the first two stages of life (Development and Establishment) have shaped who you are.
Formation Influences:
- 🔗 Attachment: Early caregiver relationships
- 🎭 Play: Childhood play styles and preferences
- 📈 Themes: Size, skill, independence, cognitive ability
- 🏛️ Institutions: Family, religion, education, culture
Key Question:
- How were you formed by the first two stages of life?
4
Transitions
Universal journeys that provide templates for navigating life’s major transitions.
Universal Journey Types:
- ⚔️ Hero’s Journey: The classic path of adventure and return
- 👸 Heroine’s Journey: Integration of masculine and feminine
- 🧙 Elder’s Journey: From hero to sage, personal to universal
- 🌱 Healing Journey: Recovery and transformation from wounds
Key Question:
- What universal journey are you traveling?
5
Emotions
Understanding the nine biological affects and how they trigger your unique emotional responses.
The Nine Affects:
- 😊 Positive: Interest-Excitement, Contentment-Joy
- 😯 Neutral: Surprise-Startle
- 😰 Negative: Fear-Terror, Anger-Rage, Distress-Anguish, Dissmell, Disgust, Shame-Humiliation
Affect Quaternity: Trigger → Emotion → Script → Mood
Key Question:
- What are your healthy and unhealthy affects?
6
Conscious
Awakening to full awareness through open attention, focused intention, and continued growth.
Four Aspects of Consciousness:
- 👁️ Open Awareness: Self, others, ideas, world
- 🎯 Focused Attention: Meditation, thinking, active imagination, presence
- 💝 Kind Intention: Gratitude, gentleness, well wishes, compassion
- 📈 Continued Growth: Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual
Key Question:
- Are you awake and aware?
7
Unconscious
Exploring the vast sea of your unconscious to salvage shipwrecks and discover hidden treasures.
Vehicles of Communication:
- 🔥 Ritual: Sacred ceremonies and rites of passage
- 🍄 Psychedelics: Mind-manifesting compounds for consciousness exploration
- 💭 Therapy: Professional guidance for healing and integration
- 🌙 Dreams: Nightly journeys into symbolic wisdom
Key Question:
- Are you emptying your unconscious?
8
Catharsis
The purification process of life review and repair, leading to emotional release and healing.
Catharsis Process:
- 📝 Life Review: Examining each decade of your journey
- 🔧 Life Repair: Healing wounds and making amends
- 💫 Transcendence: Moving beyond limiting patterns
- 🦋 Transformation: Emerging renewed and integrated
Key Question:
- Have you completed life review and repair?
9
Enjoyment
Discovering how to truly enjoy yourself, others, and the world through integrated living.
Four Paths to Enjoyment:
- 🌈 Pleasure: Sensory delights and simple joys
- 💪 Strengths & Essentials: Living authentically in your gifts
- ❤️ Healthy Emotions: Cultivating positive affects
- ⭐ Gratification: Flow states and meaningful engagement
Key Question:
- Are you enjoying your self, others, and the world?
10
Enlightenment
The ultimate waypoint: achieving wholeness through shadow work, mortality preparation, and sage wisdom.
Four Aspects of Enlightenment:
- 🏃 Physiological: A resilient body prepared for aging
- 🧘 Philosophical: A serene mind through shadow work
- ⚖️ Psychological: An equanimous soul in balance
- 🌟 Cosmological: A transcendent spirit ready for legacy
Key Question:
- Have you done shadow and mortality work?
Begin Your Quest
Your Journey
Starts Here
Starts Here
The holy grail of The Quest is not perfection, but wholeness. Each waypoint offers tools for integration, growth, and the joy of becoming fully who you are meant to be.
“The Quest teaches that the path to finding your treasure, your holy grail, lies within you. Each of us has the truth we need deep inside ourselves.”
Leave a Reply