jamesn.
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Let me add a quick reference to your previous points about uncovering something while: “rooting around in the attic of our psyche”; as you put it, and something gets triggered. Synchronicity and The Self, (not the ego), may become engaged as part of an overdue evolutionary process from one’s past that’s been triggered by something you “trip over”; (if that makes more sense). I came across a piece that goes into a longer explanation about Jung and this concept of Daoism which may or may not relate to what you are talking about. Plus, Stephen may have something to add here as well since he is much more versed in Eastern philosophies than I am. I’m mainly providing the link as a reference, not necessarily to be read through since you are busy and may already have thoughts on this anyway. But it is an Eastern, not Western concept, that seems to be part of the psyche’s evolutionary process toward wholeness if I’m understanding this concept correctly.
Sunbug, you may have thoughts to add on this as well. I’m just bringing this idea into the conversation since it’s something I’ve been curious about and seems relevant in some way to some things I’ve come across and might add a different dimension since Joseph was familiar with some of these ideas and cross-referenced a lot of mythological concepts. And this was certainly one of them he would know about. The “I-Ching” would be a perfect example many people might already be familiar with and would relate with a wider range of this kind of ancient Eastern cosmology. But I’m going to stop here and see if any of what I brought up rings a bell with anyone, (but) at the same time I don’t want to distract from Mark’s topic either.
Hello Mark, it’s so great to have you back with us. I have a quick question which you may or may not think applies here. It concerns an Eastern Daoism concept called: “Wu-Wei”; “of doing by not doing”; and I’m wondering if you see some kind of connection to this concept with your topic?
To me this concept seems to speak to this situation of being in limbo as it were. There could be different forms of course such as being stuck; or being blocked by some kind of obstruction you may be working through, or even just plain homebound by the pandemic and trying to figure out what to do with yourself. But your sense of movement, whether by emotional or physical concerns has become severely restricted for whatever reason which may “produce” a tension, blockage, obstruction, or feeling of frustration you may have to confront that is for some reason or another been conjured from out of your unconscious.
Now in some situations we could say we are being tested by some kind of “conflict”; which to me speaks to a very important Jungian concept concerning either depression or some kind of emotional polarity or blockage that must be resolved to move forward. (Note the term: “Axiom of Maria”); which I believe refers to what’s known as the “Transcendent Function” in relation to the “libido”.
However, your topic may not actually be addressing that kind of emotional turmoil situation, hence part of the reason I’m asking my question. It just seemed to strike me as possibly relative because one’s movement has become all of a sudden restricted where one’s unconscious might want to come out and play, so to speak, and something long buried decides it wants to pay a visit and demands your attention asking to be heard or resolved, or at least given proper attention to listen to its’ message.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this if you feel it has any relevance to what you have been discussing. Again, a warm welcome back.
Although my entries may seem a bit vague here is a link to a PBS news segment from yesterday concerning Ukraine’s multi-dimensional unfolding crisis and how its’ refugee situation is affecting aspects of the global food supply to other parts of the planet. This should help give a sense of at least part of what I’m attempting to describe. There are of course other dimensions to Ukraine’s ongoing nightmare that is literally unfolding by the minute, but the planet now in some ways is so interconnected that one crisis can often affect other countries as well. (Welcome to our “New Normal Collective Adventure”.)
I know the above is a lot to cram into this topic; but it seems; (at least to me anyway); a major concern looking ahead that not enough people are dealing with it in the larger scheme of things.
Stephen and jbonaduce, the above is a good counterpoint to the idea of self-governance established first by the Greek/Roman cultures from which the west gets much of its’ ethos. When the “Magna Carta” was signed, pretty much defanging the “Divine Right of Kings”, and the forerunner of the American Declaration of Independence and The Constitution with its’ Bill of Rights; this became a blueprint for many countries that followed up to today. However, as Joseph pointed out the Mythos of the Individual; (i.e., The Hero and what informs him or her), owes no allegiance to a government or a religion but to their own personal mythos so that the idea of being bound except by these older ideas of government alone goes out the window so to speak. Theocracy for example no longer fits the planet’s modern requirements because the idea of: “no God but mine” is just not workable where so many cultures are going to have to get along to survive. And the planet’s ability to feed itself and have enough clean water to drink and clean air to breath will be paramount for populations to endure.
When we think of a new lens or window toward the future of what these growing pains may look like the view of the earth from the moon serves as a reminder that the human race is still a work in progress. This is dramatically visible when reading the daily news feeds on the internet with constant updates on Covid and now the new crisis in Ukraine where entire populations are being affected along with the coming climate challenge from fossil fuels, is forced to consider the term: “New Normal” is no longer just an idea, it’s already here screaming for our attention.
If there is a challenge for a “Collective Adventure” looking ahead for the planet surely this is it. As Joseph mentions the individual must look inward as well as outward for the answers to the questions that beckon from the collective as well as from one’s inner most being. When we witness the horrific carnage of huge numbers of individuals being turned into refugees from either political conflicts or natural environmental disasters such as violent storms, floods, raging forest fires or droughts, losing everything they have one must consider: “what if this happened to me”; what would keep me going without cracking up in the midst of such total devastation.
(This to me is the coming storm where Joseph’s understanding of the relationship of the individual to their own mythos is so critical.) The old models are no longer relevant, although one can say a religion as most people think of it would suffice if interpreted metaphorically instead of concretely; even though it might be understood as a “Thou Shalt” system; Joseph also saw the coming critical confrontations between different religions as with the Middle East where allegiance to one interpretation of what we think of as God over another brings even more conflict threatening possible annihilation of one form or another just like conflict between political doctrines.
These are just a few considerations of hero challenges for both collective and personal or individual journeys or adventures that may lie ahead for both the constantly mutating Covid, or the next virus after that, and the surrounding context of Ukraine and their global implications are very much on our minds at the moment. And the human suffering that is being caused and where it is pointing is a huge concern for us all.
(John, I hope this fits in with your idea for this topic for it seems very much: “A Call to a Collective Adventure”.)
Tiago, I happen to think there might be something of interest to you in: “Joseph Campbell Correspondence 1927-1987”; where in the chapter: “Overture – About Joseph Campbell – On the Occasion of His Centennial” on page, xxxi:
“His first, full length, solo authorial endeavor, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series XVII: 1949), was published to acclaim and brought him the first of numerous awards and honors: The National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Contributors to Creative Literature. In this study of the myth of the hero, Campbell posits the existence of a Monomyth (a word he borrowed from James Joyce), a universal pattern that is the essence of, and common to, heroic tales in every culture. While outlining the basic stages of this mythic cycle, he also explores common variations in the hero’s journey, which he argues, is an operative metaphor, not only for an individual, but for a culture as well. The Hero would prove to have a major influence on generations of creative artists—from the Abstract Expressionists in the 1950s to contemporary film makers today—and would in time, come to be acclaimed as a classic.”
(That’s all it said word for word that I could find, but I am no research scholar, and the book was published by the Joseph Campbell Foundation in 2019. It’s over 400 pages that tracks much of his career if you are not familiar with it, but I hope this little bit of information is helpful for your query.)
Tiago, your reply was beautifully articulated and as I said I hope my response was helpful in some small way. I wish you much luck on furthering your quest. Warmly, James
So as not to confused thread paths I am attempting to clarify my own post with an addendum. One of my favorite aspects of the hero quest joseph often refers to is Parsival, “the fool” who doesn’t know what he is doing; and by following his own heart instead of what others may think he attains the Grail which others do not. This symbolizes the individual journey out of one’s own inner world to find the source the heart is calling for. “Any” of us are vulnerable to our own misconceptions and misinterpretations we are often affected by; and it is by the humility and compassion as well as the courage of the quest the cloth that covers the grail cup is lifted. Metaphorically speaking that is, and sometimes this journey can take a lifetime; and no one is exempt from its’ passage; (at least symbolically as far as I can tell); and this was one of Joseph’s favorite motifs. It’s not a destination; but an ongoing process as best as I can surmise. (The mid-life crisis as in: “enantiodromia”, would be a good example.) But back to the question at hand of the template origin.
Tiago and Stephen, this poses an interesting approach to how one thinks about and incorporates the idea or concept of the “monomyth’, or as is most often thought about with the term: “The hero’s Journey” in a number of ways. The reason is, as you have surmised, you have to go back to where Joseph deduced or formulated this concept as a personal approach, not just societal; and I would suggest 2 sources if you haven’t already pursued them. One at the top of the list would be his “evolving” idea of Jungian themes; (especially that of individuation); and the other would be that of: “Heinrich Zimmer”; whose ideas affected him profoundly. (After Zimmer died in 1943 Joseph spent 12 years transcribing and editing Zimmer’s work for publication to keep it from being lost. Joseph mentions in Michael Tom’s: “An Open Life”; on pages: 122-123; how he felt about them both; and that he was not a Jungian, but a “comparatist” who was more interested in cultural diffusion than Jung was but used him as a source for interpreting symbols.) He clarifies who he considered as his “guru” as Zimmer because Zimmer gave him the courage to interpret out of his own understanding of their commonality. But he saw Jung as his guide to let the myths and symbols speak or talk to him from what he had already gained from his own background of research by saying although you run a risk when doing so it is the risk of your own adventure instead of gluing yourself to what some else has found.
One of the things that might be helpful when cross-referencing some of these terms like what the “hero” and the journey/adventure represent in a Jungian sense is the glossary link I am leaving: Daryl Sharps: “Jungian Lexicon”. This also includes definitions of “individuation”; (as a process); and other terms which might help give a better sense of Joseph’s thinking before he wrote: “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” in 1949.
Also, the Foundation’s: David Kudler may be able to help add further background if he is able to stop by from his editorial duties. Stephen knows more about these things than anyone I know of, but from what little I know Joseph had not actually come up with the idea until his conversation luncheon with his friend: “Henry Morton Robinson”; and a book editor about writing a book on mythology. Campbell replied in the book and film: (The Hero’s Adventure): “I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot poll! The editor then asked: “What would you like to write about?”; to which Campbell replied: “How about a book on how to read a myth!” (Thus: “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” was born and came out of his lectures to his students in 1949. By 1971 Campbell was already writing things like the preface to the “Portable Jung” and many other notable scholarly works on a number of other related topics; (but as a “mythologist”; not a Jungian scholar or analyst); and a number of Zimmer’s works came out of this earlier editing of Campbell’s research such as “The King and the Corpse”; “The Philosophies of India”, “Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization”; just to name 3 right off the top as an example.
In the larger context of Campbell’s thinking my suspicion is Joseph was looking for a common symbolic motif that kept re-appearing in myth after myth that crossed cultural boundaries but was “psychological” in nature, and in Jungian terminology could be recognized as “The Self”; not to be confused with the ego; but as the central archetype or regulating center of the entire psyche which is seeking to know itself throughout the evolving life stages from birth to death. In other words: “The Hero” as individual; whether male or female, not to be confused with the “archetypal images” through which this process is engaged or summoned forth; (aka, the call to adventure), in whatever life crisis or zeal of the heart presents itself or is made known. In other words, “you as yourself” are the Hero; not the forms in which it reveals in you symbolically; but the essence of you to know and express that which is within you as your highest and unique potential.
If you are already familiar with some of these concepts, then I hope my humble and rather clumsy attempt is not too confusing; but this is my understanding of Joseph’s Hero Journey motif. We all have our individual “Grail adventures throughout our individual Journeys”; and your quest to find “this particular origin” is a noble one indeed. I hope this is helpful in some small way. Best of luck to you; Sir Knight! Namaste
Catherine. I wish I could express how deeply meaningful your kind and deeply considered response is appreciated; for it is something I have been struggling to: name, articulate, understand, and express for a long, long time. And you did so with such sensitivity; even though you had to navigate such a large amount of text I had given you out of frustration to describe it; I find it hard to express my appreciation in a way that fully illustrates it.
When I first came across the idea of one’s: “personal story” as a framework in which to access the process of finding one’s own: “unique personal myth” and living it I first came across it in the older version of CoaHO when moderator Michael Lambert first introduced the concept from his experiences as an English teacher to his students and it was a revelation like no other. (This is why I requested posting your extremely well-articulated composition: “Blisters on the way to Bliss”); as an individual guide one might use to find their own way. And I also think this template keeps reappearing in different forms; (like in the movie: The Freedom Writer’s Diaries”), as just one example. Why do I think this is so critical? Because by the individual using this process of attempting to find and understand their own experiences through realizing how mythic forms are references to what is at work within their own lives, they can begin to understand what is happening within themselves and use this reference as a compass to find their own way.
Shortly after I posted my entries to you, I went to bed and this morning came across this piece from: “Psychology Today” about some of the problem’s males are now experiencing which I feel provides at least one window into the male psyche and connecting it with the world they must learn to process. (Synchronicity perhaps; I don’t know, but a bell rang that seemed to say that it had some connection.) Although it is an extremely quick read, (maybe 90 seconds or so), in many ways it hits the nail squarely on the head of at least one aspect I was attempting to describe.
However, I think your description much more fully articulates the much larger and more comprehensive dimensions of why connecting these dots into one framework is so extremely difficult. Joseph Campbell was able to cross these huge divides in such a way that thinking metaphorically could provide clues out of our internal: “house of mirrors” we keep getting trapped in. And by understanding not only what Jung was saying, that we could do it in such a way as to “make it our own” without having to rely on worn-out stereotypes that no longer work in the modern technological wasteland we are forced to navigate. (That treadmill automaton system that says: “you must live a certain way or be ostracized”; and that a life of meaning and purpose on your own terms is not possible.)
If we can find the connection points; (which your piece so eloquently describes); it is not only possible but may help to provide clues on how to approach it.
Again, I sincerely thank you for such a warm and sensitive response to a question that has been haunting me for such a long time. Namaste
Catherine. I want to add a quick addendum concerning my reference to Don Quixote which may have seemed somewhat difficult to understand relating to why I used Chivalry as a behavioral model in Arthurian context and brought up the Cervantes character of this crazy old man imitating a knight out to restore a lost age.
Below is a piece of content I used in a separate MythBlast conversation in which I quoted Joseph Campbell’s thoughts from a question Bill Moyers asked in the: “Power of Myth”.
Me:
“I wanted to briefly bring up Don Quixote because there is an insightful thing Joseph mentions in his conversation with Bill Moyers in “The Power of Myth” that I think applies not only to this mythic realm they are discussing; (for instance knights, chivalry, and psychosis); but how we as individuals might think about play as it relates to this “Wasteland” we all have to deal with in the modern world; especially now more than ever.
On page 129 they are discussing the hero’s call and how it evokes one’s character, and that actually the adventure is a manifestation of one’s character because the quest is something that person is ready for and it’s how they respond to it that affects and helps to determine its’ possible outcome. Now we get into the challenge of living within a system, because everyone has to figure out how to meet and assimilate this challenge to create a life for themselves. This is important because as he said people have stopped listening to themselves- and herein lies the risk of the call of the left-hand path of the hero instead of staying warm and cozy in the village compound of the right-hand path. They may risk a mental crackup because the heart is not always interested in just following the herd and doing what one is told. People are not herd animals or slaves to social ideals unless they choose to be so. Something tells them inside this is all wrong; but maybe they have responsibilities that cannot be ignored; and the below is not about finding a hobby because that is not what is working on them from inside themselves.”
I don’t want to quote the whole conversation; just a few paragraphs should give you a general idea of what he is talking about. On page 130 Moyers asks:
“So perhaps the hero lurks in each one of us when we don’t know it?
Campbell: “Our life evokes our character. You find out more about yourself as you go on. That’s why it is good to put yourself in situations that will evoke your higher nature rather than your lower. “Lead us not into temptation.”
“Oretga y Gasset talks about the environment and the hero in his “Meditations on Don Quixote”. Don Quixote was the last hero of the Middle Ages. He rode out to encounter giants, but instead of giants, his environment produced windmills. Ortega points out that this story takes place about the time that a mechanistic interpretation of the world came in, so that the environment is no longer spiritually responsive to the hero. The hero of today is running up against a hard world that is in no way responsive to his spiritual need.”
Moyers: “A windmill?”
Campbell:
“Yes, but Quixote saved the adventure for himself by inventing a magician who had just transformed the giants he had gone forth to encounter into windmills. You can do that too, if you have a poetic imagination. Earlier, though, it was not a mechanistic world in which the hero moved but a world alive and responsive to his spiritual readiness. Now it has become to such an extent a sheerly mechanistic world, as interpreted through our physical senses, Marxist sociology, and behavioristic psychology, that we’re nothing but a predictable pattern of wires responding to stimuli. This nineteenth-century interpretation has squeezed the freedom of the human will out of modern life.”Moyers: “In the political sense, is there a danger that these myths of the heroes teach us to look at the deeds of others as if we were in an amphitheater or coliseum or a movie, watching others perform great deeds while consoling ourselves to impotence?”
Campbell: “I think this is something that has overtaken us only recently in this culture. The one who watches athletic games instead pf participating in athletics is involved in surrogate achievement. But when you think about what people are actually undergoing in our civilization, you realize it’s a very grim thing to be a modern human being. The drudgery of the lives of most of the people who have to support families—well it’s a life-extinguishing affair.”
Thank you so much for looking my addendum over first before posting because I now have a chance to clarify a bit what I’m attempting to address. I don’t want to wander too far off topic but there are a number of male issues that have now within “modern times” become: (at least in my view); very difficult in the maturation of male identity that simply don’t function as effectively as they once did because the models don’t work as well; (and sometimes even against each other); as models.
There is a running popularity pole about the best father role model that people hold as the gold standard to emulate, and for years “Atticus Finch” via Gregory Peck in: “To Kill a Mockingbird”; is almost always at the top of the list; not some rough and tumble figure whose character traits are that of taking out bad guys by beating them up; and this movie in fact depicts seeing through a very different kind of lens of what being a grownup actually represents.
In the “Power of Myth” Joseph addresses this problem by explaining you can see what is happening by the news reports of youth crime and violence being committed by young males who haven’t been socialized properly because the myths are no longer serving this need; Moyers asked: “Do we need a new myth?” And Joseph’s answer was, it’s probably not going to come in the near future because things are changing too fast for anything to constellate. Modern advances in technology and the borders which once separated countries and cultures that contain all the old religions and myths are out of date for the times which we are living in and are dissolving and no longer serve the proper functions in a realistic sense that they were designed for; (namely that of bringing or nurturing an individual through the various life stages from birth to death to live a civilized and successful life). So, we are thrown back on ourselves and now left to our own devices. We must find our own way and construct or cut our way through the dark forest and find our own path forward. We don’t know what we are doing; and that is part of our dilemma and part of the mission or process. We can no longer rely on social roles and mythic structures that no longer fit the needs for which they were originally intended. We are lost and groping which leads me back to the topic of the modern male psyche.
In a separate piece, which was an interview Joseph gave for Parabola magazine in 1975 which I can’t quote because of copywrite issues); he called the world we now live in an: “airport society”; because you can fly anywhere in the world in practically a day; and that cultures are now spread out all over the place and the only way to make the myths work is to use them metaphorically. So when someone says myth is a lie; some people think they are saying myths are not real. And the idea of having a personal myth instead of a “personal God” is blasphemy.
Now I don’t want to try and oversimplify this; but we are not living in a time when you had to go out and kill your food to eat something; you go to the grocery store or some fast-food place to get it. But male behavior role models have not quite made the entire historical or societal jump so we have all kinds of laws, police, and military to enforce them to make sure everyone behaves properly. And you could use the term: “Chivalry” as a code of conduct when talking about manners and being a “Knight in Shinning Armour”; but Don Quixote addressed that concern if used as a model within a modern context. In other words, Jung was very depressed when he considered man’s fate looking ahead because we haven’t learned how to control man’s inner animal instincts. And I think what we are actually talking about is the landscape has changed so drastically males and boys have been left to devices that not only don’t work but are in many cases detrimental for the roles they now must reinterpret.
He said: “The world hangs on a thread”; and he felt the “Shadow”, unless integrated properly, left us too vulnerable to our animal nature. Now we could get into all the myths, legends, and fairy tales that address male maturation but we are not really; (at least as far as I can see); addressing the young male’s problem of understanding their softer side in a “modern” context. The tenderness, kindness, compassionate and thinking side; as opposed to the dominate animal side; (Yes, the mixtures of functions, typologies, and attitudes Jung describes). In other words in simpler language – man’s ability to control his emotions – is just not being addressed the way it needs to be for a society to function properly as well as the child’s ability to understand their inner landscape in a way that will properly bring them to fulfilment as an adult.
I mean if you look at the number of displaced youth; which by now is staggering compared to what it use to be); disaffected teens, broken homes; not to mention human trafficking that is taking place because of their vulnerability; and especially the increasing overdoses from drugs like fentanyl and other addicting opioids I just don’t see the social will and understanding that needs to happen. We can blame Covid; but this was taking place long before that became a concern. No, I think this is a social disconnect, and males are having a real problem finding their feet. (And no, I don’t think all of this is just a male concern either); but that’s what I’m attempting to grapple with the specific question I raised; which yes; is gender related because we are addressing the specific social role they serve; especially later as fathers.
Now we could get into charts and studies about all manner of social dysfunctions like divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, (much less that of an emotional crisis). But I think there are a number avenues this could be looked at where male dysfunction can be traced to the “aloneness” that so many males find themselves in; and societies codes of social conduct just don’t quite meet the mark. If for example I say Ernest Hemingway and his love of Spanish culture where the word “Macho” or (much man) would apply you have a stereotypical influence informed by an archetype; the soldier, the fighter, the defender, the tough guy, and this list could get quite long. A lot of subsets would fit here as well. But what I’m attempting to establish is the inner child that is so often connected to the wounded healer and the wounded that is seeking help to unlock their inner prison is, (imho), directly connected to this development of an individual and a desire to understand some of these things that are going on inside themselves.
And so we go to an analyst or therapist or a clergyman or a best friend to help us figure out what’s going on inside our inner world. So let’s think about shame or guilt for instance, and complexes, archetypes, symbols, patterns of behavior, emotions, dreams; but what about all the males who have no idea what that is and feel cut off and alone with no way to understand what going on inside them. Usually a lot of the time what is prescribed as treatment simply does not work because no connection is established or made to this inner dynamic and society is really not set up to deal with it anyway because of funding issues or the people involved are using the DSM-5 manual and are misdiagnosed and this list could on.
Now I’m not saying mental health treatment is a sham; not at all. But what I am saying is much of society doesn’t really know how to deal with the modern male psyche in a way that’s going to work in a realistic way. Politics as well as unrealistic social expectations I think are part of the problem. But if you say to someone they have a mental health problem more than likely you are going to get a somewhat cautious if not negative response. Why? Because society is just now getting to the point where it’s acceptable to admit it. Say something like that to a male and often an immediate defense mechanism is triggered because of persona concerns.
I’ve been reading lately there seems to be a rising awareness of males; especially young males feeling of alienation from society, and the aloneness that has become an increasing problem. Youth gangs are definitely on the rise because they provide a sense of family or connection they have not been able to get at home or whatever serves as that kind of relationship where they feel needed and accepted instead of ridiculed or rejected because they don’t fit in and are made to feel different than the others. You could say that is a herd mentality; but the lack of a strong sense of self I think in this case works better because even though it may be social this is not politics.
Boys, young males, and men are struggling because society has not given them something to help them make this identity leap or transition into a world where someone like Putin can put his finger on a nuclear device and hold the world hostage or that Donald Trump can stir the pot of racism and pitch one side of the political divide against another for his own purposes. Authoritarianism is back in big way; and the human race is now confronting more than just a virus that can mutate at will; it’s got a climate crisis coming down the road to join the party.
I hope you’ll forgive this somewhat jumbled attempt to articulate my query about the struggle that I feel many men are facing. I don’t see this issue through the same timeless lens that normally would fit this profile anymore than women would frame gender inequality either. And “the world is mess” scenario just doesn’t quite seem to work either. It is in my mind a complete and separate divide that has to do with a cultural inability to understand what’s happening to young boys, young males, and many mature and older men as well. They are held prisoner in a stereotypical pattern that is almost impossible for them to break out of without help. To me this is not just an emotional awareness concern. It is psychological in nature without a doubt; but the social prisons with behavior patterns that keep them there are not being addressed but ignored as if to say: “it’s always been this way”; and I just don’t think that is going work any longer given Jung’s fears.
Thank you for lending your ear. I hope this humble description makes sense.
Catherine. Thank you so much for such a wonderful overview that reveals much of what I asked. I should clarify one thing that you thoughtfully pointed out I need to clear up which is “crafting or designing one’s personal myth”. Yes, I probably should have used the word: “discover or reveal” what lies hidden instead. As Joseph on many occasions stated in a number of different ways there is something that drives us and in following the “path that is no path” when looking back over our life we begin to see or understand; (at least to some degree), what this thing is. You can call it a pattern or see it through a Jungian lens as The Self, or the Campbell lens as your personal myth; that thing that is unique in you that becomes your: “task of tasks” to pursue; but yes, as you pointed out it is not something you can craft or design in that sense; it’s already there but many of us don’t know what drives us; (as in the Jungian crisis); and our insides initiate a “Call” that something is missing and we need to go on an adventure or journey/quest to bring it to realization. You could say it’s in our psyche’s DNA but I don’t think that quite defines it because something may happen along the way of your discovery path that causes you to change direction. A Trickster God can do this because that’s his or her job to keep pushing you into your own dark tunnel or cave to reclaim or assimilate or in some way help you by shaking everything up you thought you knew and you are reborn in some way.
In chapters: 4, 5, & 6 of “Pathways to Bliss” Joseph addresses this aspect and it’s many dimensions in a number of ways; but he also reveals this thing that is in you is unique to you alone. Now we can talk about journals and events that happen in our lives that can give us clues; but in the end that is our task as he keeps reminding us; which is to find out what it is; to know it and live it; (in the larger sense); and this is the lefthand path he is talking about to my way of thinking. In other words it’s not something from out there but in you. And whether it comes by crisis or inspiration or any number of things you have two choices if you are paying attention; you can stay in the village compound of the right hand path; (nothing wrong with that); or you can listen to what your insides are telling you and figure out what to do from there. This seems to be what Joseph is saying from what I can tell. I’m certainly no authority on Joseph’s work; but these are the particular themes that keep informing me over the course of my life. But my path is not anyone else’s; and I think this is very important because everyone’s path is different.
I loved the way you have articulated these things, (and I especially appreciate the link to your pdf); because I think those who check it out will find a wealth of helpful information. And I’m really looking forward to the second part of your response because I think “men” in particular are really struggling right now. Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful reply.
Hello Catherine. It’s a real treat to have you here for the first time, and one I’ve been looking forward to when Stephen first announced it. Your pdf: “Blisters on the Way to Bliss”; (which you shared with the Foundation a few years back), I personally think should be required reading for anyone who wants to get an understandable introduction to the idea of their own story and what that has to do with one’s “personal myth” that Joseph talks about so much throughout much of his lectures. And you utilized the motif of the Frog Prince in this piece as well as several other ones like Percival and the Buffalo Dance to help people get a sense of how to approach and construct their own process in finding out what this thing is within themselves.
So, what is the idea of “one’s story” compared to one’s bio for instance? What do all these things contained in fairy tales and legends like Chivalrous Knights sitting around Round Tables and then going into the forest to slay Dragons so they can find some castle and marry a princess and live happily ever after; or throwing a Frog against a wall so they can restore some kingdom that’s been asleep “mean”? And what is this Grail business anyway? And what’s this stuff about a “golden ball and a well”? (Those are all metaphors you say?) Well, what the heck do metaphors that have to do with my life? A metaphor is something I learned about when I was half asleep in high school English class I always thought had to do with grammar, and I have no idea what this means with an emotional crisis. I see all this crazy stuff going on watching the news with Ukraine, and I’m just now getting through this pandemic stuff wearing a mask and don’t know if I’m going retire from some job I’m not too fond of and I’m frustrated what all this means. (Help me out here.) Story you say? And then you talk about all this other stuff as if it’s suppose to solve my problems. (Well; this aught to be good.)
Your “pdf” is a masterclass in my humble opinion; but I think the link to it no longer works; so I wonder if you would expound on some of these themes a little bit and share a few of your insights on how one might construct or recognize what their personal myth is. The reason I’m requesting this is I think many who come to Joseph Campbell’s work may have heard about the “Hero’s Journey”; and some may have heard the name Carl Jung; but Joseph left a huge body of work, and for many new to these ideas he talked about might have problems understanding what this means to them and how certain motifs or patterns play very heavily into our modern life and how to navigate it; (like living within a system and getting in touch with one’s inner world can help them unravel some of these Gordian Knots that may be tearing them apart inside). For instance when we say: “Labyrinth, Minotaur, and Ariadne Thread” some may be familiar with the Greek Myth; but transferring this idea and turning it into a learning tool to get at traumas and seeing one’s pain as a possible gift is a huge leap in logic. And embracing one’s emotional past to get a better understanding of one’s life and how to live it more fully can seem a daunting task or a hill too steep to climb.
I’ve been spending time lately getting reacquainted with some of my childhood stories that had powerful themes connected to my early background running through them. You know the ones’ that bring a lump to your throat; and I was reminded that when we share our stories we “witness”. Michael Meade talked about this in one of his lectures a while back, and he mentioned catharsis and sharing our humanity in a vulnerable way with others can often lead not only to deep insights but healing of wounds as well. And your pdf has some very valuable tools for getting at that.
There often is a misconception that “following your bliss” is a kind of happy excursion into the self-help book sections in local bookstores where you find some kind of hobby and you are on your way to your personal adventure. Or if you follow a specific set of steps in a given order you are having an experience that everyone else is supposed to have that you keep hearing about. And when you stumble across some trickster god while you are fumbling around trying to figure out what you are doing the thing to do is to rid yourself of the problem he represents “instead” of going deeper to where the gold may be hidden within your own life. This “lefthand path” hero stuff is not for the faint of heart as is often shown in the motifs you use; and lots of confusion, pain , and emotional suffering may accompany you on your “Quest” to find and live your story. So I hope that what I’m asking is not too much to include into one response. Again, I am thrilled you’re here and so looking forward to whatever you feel like sharing.
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Since it’s only been a few hours when I posted the above, I want to add a few things to help clarify some of the themes of what I was attempting to ask. One, my second paragraph was to add a bit of humor to my tone, but humor can be tricky and because of possible misinterpretation can be misunderstood, and my objective was portray how someone not familiar to Campbell might not understand some of the themes and terminology often used through working with him as a guide to one’s inner world.
“Sacred Space” would be another theme where the inner world of the individual can be explored in a multitude of ways and that Joseph felt was extremely import in creating an inner life. This of course leads to other Jungian dimensions people might not understand at first and leads me to the term “temenos” which could be understood as the “sacred field” often created between individuals sharing deep personal secrets not to be disclosed to the outside world for fear of criticism and is also absolutely vital in therapy or analysis where the inner voices from one’s past may be allowed to speak and be recognized; and especially valuable in getting at emotional problems someone may be having and defense mechanisms are preventing this from happening.
Lastly, and I think very relevant to today’s male identity is the “little boy”; that inner child that has been locked up and has become a dragon and shamed if recognized in public. Complexes and their relationship to archetypes as opposed to archetypal images are important in understanding how these inner mechanisms are operating within us; and Joseph was a master storytelling mechanic at getting under the hood and helping people to see what myths were saying and how one’s personal myth, (if understood properly), can become a vehicle for making the unconscious conscious and help us to better live our lives with meaning and purpose. (A little convoluted in my description, but a necessary addition for what I was attempting to explain in the above.)
Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox wrote: “Your Mythic Journey” shortly after Joseph died; and knew Joseph personally. Keen was asked by Joseph to help him with his Esalen workshops for years until he passed; and this book is a great outline that connects beautifully with your pdf. Keen also was one of the people who helped establish the: “Men’s Movement” back in the 1990’s; and along with Robert Bly; another friend of Joseph’s, became one of it’s chief mentors for helping men understand a lot of the long unrecognized themes in man’s inner world. Keen’s: “Fire in the Belly”; and Bly’s: “Iron John” are recognized as significant contributions to this legacy.
Again, it’s so great to have you here and I’m so looking forward to your reply. Namaste
Kristina. I love your thoughtful response and have been thinking about it a lot for the last several days. I’m wondering if you could share some of your thoughts about the role “Conflict” plays as a clarifier to what the psyche is working on under the surface within this interplay between the conscious and unconscious. From everything I’ve been reading from multiple sources this is where much of the “gold” lays hidden that can unite and heal many of our wounds if understood properly.
Much of what I’ve read refers to holding the “tension” that results from the opposites pulling against each other and resides below the surface until a resolution of some sort; (such as a symbolic form of some kind), presents itself and a new way of seeing or looking at things helps one to move forward from whatever the issue or blockage that seems to have been that caused by this arrest.
One form; but certainly not the only one; might be that of “enantiodromia” which is often cited as an example in Jungian theory. But throughout the human experience of existence “conflict” as a state is always present; and indeed, life itself as we know it could not exist without it. One can say this might be seen as “duality”, and that there many ways, such as the symbol of the Tao, that could be applied to this basic realization of “polarity” in which all matter as well as human perception could be applied. (Male-female, black-white, positive-negative, in-out, up-down, good-bad, etc., etc.) Put into a mythological perspective would seem to indicate other possibilities as well. (Joseph mentions “The War” between opposing sides that takes place within the psyche whenever a decision needs to be made as to which side has more influence.)
And of course, in Jungian terms this could be interpreted as the psychic flow of energy with the libido as regulator; and the (transcendent function or “tertium non datur” that transcends opposites), as mediator that resolves the blockage so that the flow of psychic energy can resume because: “life itself cannot tolerate a “standstill”; and as Jung mentions: “We are always in a state of becoming”.
I hope this query makes sense as I have been working on it for several days and it seems to pull or tie a lot of the previous threads together I was addressing and weave them into a single tapestry or concept. I would also be remiss if I did not mention what a joy it has been discussing these difficult topics with you, especially given you are so close to the horror Ukraine is going through. (This discussion has been a rare gift.) Namaste
