David Whitehead | Way Of The Truth Warrior: Becoming The Hero Archetype
Sensei Dave returns to InnerVerse to help bring out the Truth Warrior in all of us. In this eclectic conversation, we examine the "defining myth of our time," JRR Tolkien's LOTR trilogy, and finding spiritual guidance for our strange times through the archetype of the hero. We also look at the One Ring and what it says about the nature of fear and evil, the link between the Hero's Journey and the creative flow state, and a lot more.
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In this episode
Core themes
Lord of the Rings as Guiding Myth
David Whitehead explains why he launched a four-part Truth Warrior series with Laura Lee on The Lord of the Rings as the guiding myth of our time. Reading from her synopsis, he says the tale matters not because it is new but because it draws on a body of ancient knowledge obscured through distortion and deception, and he describes rewatching the trilogy during lockdown to find strength. In his view Tolkien gathered myths and legends from many traditions, with echoes of the Bhagavad Gita, into a story rooted in the Western magical tradition. Chance adds that he has read, heard and watched the saga repeatedly over the past year.
The Archetypes Live Inside Us
Drawing on Carl Jung, David lists the persona, shadow, anima or animus and self alongside the wise old man, the hero and the trickster, and suggests that the Fellowship, Sauron and Saruman are all figures within each reader, echoing Joseph Campbell's line that the heavens and hells live inside us. Chance describes meeting Gandalf as a spirit guide during a meditative exercise, and offers his view that ignored archetypes return in tyrannical outer form to tear down the ego. David argues that a priest class literalized myth, and reads the saying that the kingdom of heaven is within you as a call to inner relationship rather than worship.
Evil, Fear and the Ring of Power
Chance recalls David's line from the Laura Lee series that a moral victory requires choice, choice requires freedom, and freedom is exactly what the Ring of Power takes away. David points to Boromir, who wants to wield the Ring for good, as a picture of well-meaning people persuaded that the ends justify the means, and to Frodo's innocence as the quality that lets him bear it. He argues that evil must be admitted to exist, that meaning well is not enough, and that lingering fear and evil are closely tied. His remedy is to study fear and integrate the shadow through art, martial arts or calligraphy rather than repress it.
Creativity and the Next Step
Chance shares a pet theory that creative people are decisive: faced with a blank canvas or page, the artist takes the first step and trusts the next one to become clear. He links the artist's flow state to the synchronicity of the hero's journey, where the Fellowship never sees the whole road but takes the next step through Caradhras, Moria and Lothlorien, and he suggests that facing today's troubles is likewise one step at a time on the way to Mount Doom. David calls this a source of hope, recalling how often the story hangs on a thread, and says a voice of doubt accompanies every creative step.
Freedom Versus Liberty in David's View
David sums up what he believes is worth preserving in Western civilization as freedom, which he separates from liberty. Liberty, he says, is something a government grants, while freedom is the ground of your being and rests on individual sovereignty, free but not free to take another's freedom. He credits individual genius, quoting Walter Russell, with the West's achievements, and contrasts the histories of China and the West, arguing that communism turned Chinese civilization from its course, though he voices deep respect for its martial arts. Chance suggests communism may act like an egregore in the collective psyche, and that what people call God is, at root, freedom.
Quotes
“The way we're taught to view the world is that the world is something happening to us. We're not taught to view the world as something we're participating in.”
“The real battle with evil is our own inner struggle to do the small good things that we can do in the face of overwhelming opposition.”
“It becomes more about territorializing knowledge than it does about forming a relationship with knowledge.”
“Meaning well isn't good enough. It's not enough to mean well. That's not how you combat evil. Evil preys on the fact that you're just out there meaning well.”
“The difference between a creative person and a non-creative person is that the creative person is decisive.”
“Liberty is something that a government grants you. Freedom is something that is the ground of your being.”
“Love is the force that expands and allows us to see the infinite potential in things.”
“I didn't call my show Truth Warrior because I'm sitting there saying I've got the truth, listen to me. I'm not trying to start a cult.”
David Whitehead is the host of the Unslaved podcast and creator of the "Cult of the Medics" documentary series, which examines pharmaceutical industry practices, serpent symbolism, and institutional power structures around health and medicine.
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