This past weekend, I indulged myself in an other screening of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. On face value, an epic story such as this has little to contribute in an issue of Inner Tapestry that is focused on The Art of Simplicity. That is, unless you dissect this sweepingly complex tale and tickle out the story of Frodo.

Frodo Baggins is a simple young hobbit with his origins in the rural life of the Shire. He lives his life much like his peers and theirs is a relatively predictable existence. The people of the Shire are a hard working and fun loving lot. Their lives revolve around work and family. Even their conflicts seem to be largely benign – being limited to the bickering of neighbors and concerns about the harvest. Hobbits lead a quiet country life connected to the soil and the seasons.

Is there something in Frodo’s rural lifestyle, which contributes to his ability to become the hero of Middle Earth? Is living in harmony with the environment enough of a foundation to give him the single-minded determination to destroy the ring? No, I think this Tolkien character models something else for us. Frodo’s gift is following through with the actions that his heart demands. When Frodo hears that the world is in jeopardy he understands that the plague of evil that threatens the land must be halted. He doesn’t know how and certainly can’t understand how difficult it will be.

Throughout the long, and perilous quest, he stays the course. Supported by just one other who shares his commitment, more than his vision, he makes it through unbelievable horrors and over impossible odds. While this is a fictional tale, it is also true that in the real world impossible deeds become possible only when those committed to them follow through.

Doing the right thing, can mean hardship. This is especially true when the right thing at the moment is unpopular. At those times, following through can feel dangerous and impossible. So how can we become more like Frodo and keep going forward when the odds seem overbearingly stacked against us? How do we keep from abandoning our own quest?

It helps to begin with listening to our own desires and motivations. We need to ask ourselves whether our “quest” comes from the mind or the much deeper place of the heart. In my experience, “missions” that come to me from my heart center are difficult to ignore. It is for this reason that the mind may try to stave them off by staying busy. It wants to fill the “airspace” with it’s own ideas and demands to muffle the heart’s messages. Yet even unbidden or unwelcomed, the urges of my heart gnaw at my mind’s gate and seep into consciousness.

The heart’s voice speaks up in those moments when the mind is naturally quieter. For me, the time periods that bracket sleep—just before and just after—seem to be the most clear. It's those times when my conscious mind begins to drift “offline” that my heart speaks its messages to me in visions and feelings. It informs me about what needs to happen and what must be orchestrated or changed to produce harmony. It provides insistent intention.

Once I have the intent as was shown to me by my heart, I need to follow through. For this I use the mind. Instead of allowing it to arrive at a purpose, I call upon it for strategies and methods. This is the best use of the mind’s abilities. It is brilliant at “creating the way” and both hemispheres work together to make their contributions.

The brain is structured into two halves or hemispheres and their functions vary. For instance, the right hemisphere of the brain is the part of our mind that knows an object’s function, the left knows it’s name. The right presents possibilities while the left forms strategies. The right is an imaginative and creative risk taker, whereas the left hemisphere is all about logic, predictability and details.

In following the plan that the heart provides, my right brain hemisphere gift is seeing the big picture, feeling the “rightness” of my actions and coming up with new and creative possibilities. The left hemisphere is the trooper that puts the information into a pattern and process that can be accomplished.

Neither can follow through alone and each needs support to complete its task. If judgment—a left-brain voice—arises, it means that more of the right brain’s creativity is needed. It means the left brain is overwhelmed with it’s task and when the it gets overwhelmed in this way, it usually needs more input from the right hemisphere. For me that means stopping what I’m doing or thinking, taking time to breathe and beginning to look at the problem from a new perspective. At these times I try to turn the problem on it’s head or inside out. Take it to its ridiculous conclusion or unravel it down to its bones. This lets the right brain go kick into gear providing a fresh, new idea.

When the right hemisphere gets overwhelmed it needs more input from the heart. It needs more inspiration, more of the big dream to trigger its imagination to flow again. For that to happen, I need to tune in and allow my heart to sing the song of its dream and paint a picture with feelings. That is the “language” that my right brain understands. I make space for this interaction to happen in meditation, prayer and through shamanic journeying.

In fact there is scientific basis for this train of thought. Recent scientific information suggests that consciousness actually emerges from the brain and body acting together. Growing evidence suggests that the heart plays a particularly significant role in this process. The latest research actually views the heart as having its own functional “brain.” So in truth we are left, right and heart brained!

While this sounds awfully complicated, it actually gets easier and easier. It boils down to listening first and foremost. Once the voice of the heart is heard and the quest revealed, we unleash the brains and allow them to go to work. We then listen with an observer’s presence to when either of the two hemispheres needs either more support or input. In essence, the entire process can be looked upon as an exercise in expanding our awareness of ourselves. What is extraordinary about it is that it also means tapping into the wider world.

The heart is hard wired into what modern physicists refer to as the “quantum plenum.” That is, the “stuff” which pervades all of creation. It is the divine fabric of Light of which we and literally everything else is a part. Through this connection, the heart is able to perceive that which the brain-mind cannot. The heart-mind can access information that is beyond our brain-mind’s reach. Furthermore, because of its connection to the “All” it can connect us to other hearts who can assist us in completing our quest. In other words, our heart that can attract valiant friends—like Frodo’s companion Samwise—to lift us up when we lose faith or hope in our mission.

This is accomplished by first allowing the heart to really fill with its desired quest. Let yourself see and feel it already accomplished. This action produces the vibrations of the final outcome, which then radiates out into the environment. This will attract beings who resonate with this vibration. Through the brain of your heart, you will begin to notice these other beings.

The next step requires a bit of courage. You have to be brave enough to share your vision. More often than not, unlike dear old Frodo, the only risks that you will encounter are emotional ones. In fact, your biggest hurdle won’t be the other people, but the brain-mind’s worry about being judged.

Left-brain—where all those negative programs from childhood live—will try to protect you from “making a fool out of yourself” or “being laughed at.” Check in with your heart and if the resonance with the person feels right, go for it. Take the risk. If the other person doesn’t get it, or understand, keep speaking. If they can’t or don’t want to hear anymore release the judgment you may hold about them or the validity of your heart’s quest and move on. Reengage with your heart and fill yourself again with the feelings of the accomplishment fulfilled. Allow the feelings to radiate out again and then listen for your next set of clues about who might be your next potential “co-quester(s).”

Right now, your heart is ready to give you a mission. Listen and never give up on it. Don’t allow disappointment to steal your quest from you. It may take years and many steps. If you don’t feel ready, know that you will change as you go along in the process. Indeed, you will evolve into just the right person for the job. All you need to do is keep going forward. Make the emotional risks and take the actions that are placed in front of you. Do the right thing and keep doing it.

Tolkien’s view of life was crystalized in the trenches of World War I. In this most terrible of conflicts, the likes of which human memory had never before witnessed, he saw ordinary people acting in heroic ways. He witnessed that which was best and worst about humankind during the war. It also inspired him to create a timeless parable of how even the smallest of persons can change the world.

Like Frodo, we have the capacity to fulfill our heart’s quest. The next huge leap for humankind might be a direct result of your actions. Listen to your heart, follow its intent with action – do the right thing. It’s really quite simple.

© 2008 Evelyn C. Rysdyk

Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of the book, Modern Shamanic Living, is a nationally recognized teacher of shamanism, healer & artist in joint practice with C. Allie Knowlton, LCSW, DCSW as Spirit Passages.

Since 1991, they have offered workshops across the US and Canada. In addition, they have worked with hundreds of people in their private shamanic healing practice at True North in Falmouth.

Featured in the book, Traveling Between the Worlds, interviews with 24 of the world's most influential writers and teachers of shamanism, they may be contacted at: www.spiritpassges.com.