The Power of Myth - The Hero's Adventure


The Power of Myth - The Hero's Adventure

  1. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
  2. We don't have ideology, we don't have theology, we dance. - Shinto monk.
  3. Books by Campbell: The Hero With A Thousand Faces, The Masks of God
  4. We dance to it even when we can't name the tune
  5. The Physical Hero performs
    • A war act
    • Makes a sacrifice
  6. The Spiritual Hero: q.v. “The Monomyth of the Hero’s Adventure”
  7. Die as a child, reborn as adult.
  8. Intention of Heros
    • Thrown, pitched into situation (e.g. army draft: sacrifice for ideals)
    • Unwittingly meets adventure (e.g. Celtic hero following dear)
    • Hero sets out purposely (e.g. Odysseus)
  9. The father quests: Telemachus. Birth, the army, peace activists
  10. Prometheus - Fire Myth (Fire Theft Motif)
  11. Slayers of Dragons and Monsters
  12. Hero evolves as his culture evolves
  13. Moses, Christ, Buddha, Mohammed: Sacrifice, Gold to Ashes.
  14. Koran: You must have trials. Consciousness is transformed through trials and revelations
  15. Movies as Myth Creation (e.g. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Luke Skywalker)
  16. No empty spaces left on the planet, but Space is a whole new realm
  17. Standard myth figure - The Japanese Sword Master
    • A Physical Commitment
    • A Psychological Center
  18. The Hero must separate himself from the machine, must be ready for an adventure and will get the adventure he is ready for.
  19. The edge of space is the edge of adventure:
    • The bar in Star Wars
    • The harbor in Treasure Island
  20. Move from the Light to the threshold, cut to pieces and resurrected, kills a dragon - Siegfried
  21. Campbell:
    • "Mind is a secondary organ and must not put itself in control."
    • "Resist the system or loose your humanity"
  22. Live in the system by resisting its impersonal claims. The creative spirit ranges out beyond the boundaries.
  23. Iroquois Myth: Rejection of Suitors
    • Water as the unconscious
    • What can be known?
    • What is the source of life?
    • Puts people in accord with the inevitable in life
  24. Dragons:
    • In the West represent greed: virgins and gold that they can't use, the binding of oneself to one’s ego
    • In the East represent positive vitality
  25. "Follow your Bliss and slay your dragon" - Campbell
  26. "Do you have to go alone? No, but the last trick has to be done by you."
  27. How do you get rid of fear? Teachers only give direction.
  28. Consciousness: Tree/vine symbiosis and heliotropism illustrate this. How do we raise consciousness? Myths do this.
  29. St. Patrick's Cathedral: prayer as mantra or meditation theme.