Hero within ourselves

In 1987, Joseph Campbell was interviewed by journalist, Bill Moyers – who wrote about the experience in his book, The Power of Myth.  Here are some excerpts: Moyers:  “How do I slay that dragon in me? What’s the journey each of us has to make, what you call ‘the soul’s high adventure’?” Campbell: “My general formula for my […]

Freedom To Be and The Hero’s Journey

The promise of the Hero’s Journey is to return safely home – not necessarily unwounded or unscathed – but free. The freedom comes as a result of losing one’s fear of death during the journey. The Hero is able to resist looking into the past with regret or into the future with apprehension. Upon the […]

The Hero’s Journey In Film and Fiction

One of the many intriguing aspects of The Hero’s Journey is its reflection in fiction. Famous examples of films containing elements of the Hero’s Journey are the various iterations of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. As you consider the plot lines, consider the ways in which your life has modeled the seven steps. […]

Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth Describes The Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell called the Hero’s Journey the “monomyth,” a powerful pattern that describes all myths, and, in the process, describes how we humans often navigate our way through life. From Wikipedia: “In laying out the monomyth, Campbell describes a number of stages or steps along this journey. The hero starts in the ordinary world and […]

Basic Seven Steps In The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is an archetypal way of understanding the quests of our lives. Joseph Campbell wrote about the hero’s journey as a way to conceptualize how and why we take on the challenges we choose. Very simplistically, think knight in the castle who learns that there is a damsel in distress. He sets out […]