Steven Pressfield: One Writer's Cosmos

I view the world as a large system with a multitude of subsystems. While it may feel chaotic at times, most of these systems are driving toward order. This is true in science, business and art. Those who do not identify their systems and work within them will likely fail under the weight of disorder.

I have been following and reading Steven Pressfield for many years. I have never heard him refer to his approach to writing as a system. But I think he has an overall system for writing containing a number of subsystems. I started this article as a cliff note to myself. However, you may find it helpful as well.

The Muse. Self/Ego. Little Successes. Falling Upward. The Hero’s Journey. These are all parts of Steven Pressfield’s cosmos. And I think his journey represents a path that many of us follow, even if we do not want to admit it to ourselves.

I know I forget that I am on a journey at times and start fighting the flow rather than experiencing and learning from it. I have always liked Pressfield’s work, which is part historical fiction and part advice and counsel to anyone needing context for their journey, writing or otherwise.

That journey for him was anything but a straight path. In his telling, it was a path of landmines, mostly laid by himself and exploded on himself. A form of self-sabotage.

But it has been a successful journey. His works speak for themselves. Many books of fiction and nonfiction. He is an expert at historical fiction, be it Alexander the Great, St. Paul, the Spartans, Afghans, and many others.

His latest work is A Man at Arms. It brings back a character who has lived in three of his previous books, Telamon of Arcadia. For whatever reason, I love this guy. He is a warrior supreme. But within that mantle, he is searching for more—love and wisdom from his experiences as a warrior, I would think.

With this book, Pressfield has taken to its promotion with interviews and podcasts. Through these, he has opened up the latest edition of himself. Lots of this he has written about before in his nonfiction works. For my own edification, here is what I have stitched together as elements of his writer's cosmos:

The Muse:

I love this idea. Pressfield will say this is where he gets airy-fairy. But I think he is on to something. The Muse tasks Pressfield with assignments. His Mission. Sort of like the voice on the tape recorder of Mission Impossible. Of course, he will initially resist. But over time he accepts.

Pressfield imagines the Muse as “the collective identity of the nine goddesses, sisters, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory), whose charge it is to inspire artists.” He says, “It represents the unseen dimension of Potentiality that is either within us or beyond us. It’s where ideas come from.”

He believes that life exists on at least two levels. The lower level is the material plane. That’s where you and I live. The higher level is the home of the soul and the Muse.

But he also realizes that the Muse operates by certain rules. Stay within the rules or get slapped around. These include:

The Muse needs to be summoned and never commanded. The summoning is a practice of habits and rituals. These include: a series of habits including brushing his teeth, working out, and breakfast with friends. Each of these represent little successes. Entering his office (sacred space); and a prayer from Homer’s Odyssey, translation by T.E. Lawrence, to start. This leads to the doing. It is about commitment that leads to momentum. Go big and deep. The Muse does not like “pussies.” Yes, the water is cold, but just dive in. It does not get warmer looking and thinking about it. The Muse is hardcore, but in return you get ideas and inspiration.

Self/Ego:

Moving deeper into the metaphysical plane, Pressfield sees two dimensions. The first is the ego. The ego is our rational mind that lives by the rules on a day-by-day basis. Think of it as our jobs, banking, and the activities needed to get by. The second dimension is the Self, which he capitalizes. According to Pressfield, the Self includes “the deep, deep unconscious, the collective unconscious, the hero’s journey, the archetypes, all of these things that we’re not aware of until Freud finally discovered this, but that are driving us in a good way, many times in a really good way.” In his mind, this is where inspiration comes from. It is beyond mortality and the divine ground. The Muse lives here. It is the Zone that athletes seek.

I have been in that Zone a few times. Sports and writing proposals. But I find it hard to reach at will.

Hero's Journey:

Pressfield believes in Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. In story and real life, this journey repeats itself. Although discussed initially by Campbell in myth, it is real. Think about many of your accomplishments. Or a SEAL going through BUD/S training, a diet, an education and a career. They are all challenging, but we come out of them changed.

Pressfield believes that the Hero’s Journey is a piece of software imprinted in ourselves when born. We are not a piece of hardware with no software included. More can be found HERE.

Life is Long/Falling Upward:

Another takeaway from Pressfield is to have patience with yourself. I know that is a struggle for me. He quotes a friend telling him: “Life is long. They always tell you life is short, but actually life is long.” In part, I think this represents the Hero’s Journey. That journey is usually not a sprint. It reveals itself over time and through experiences. “Be kind to yourself.”

He also quotes Richard Rohr, a Fransican monk. Rohr has written a number of books, including Falling Forward. In it, he divides life into two halves. The first half is creating the vessel that is your life. The second half is filling that vessel. Creating the vessel is establishing your identity and presence. This is done through education, career, parenting, and a host of other avenues. And then in the second half of your life, you’re filling that vessel.

Overall, an intriguing framework. Pressfield is not leaving his work only in the human dimension. He is reaching to all planes to assist him in his work. An interesting system. Maybe not a bad plan for the rest of us.

Pat