Recently I bought a copy of the bestseller The Power of Myth. It is an excellent interview with Joseph Campbell, one of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization. Campbell died in 1987 but his work lives on particularly in the Satars Wars episodes where he influenced George Lucas. Campbell is known for the famous saying, 'Follow Your Bliss' which has been misinterpreted by many spiritual seekers as the motto of the so-called New Age. In this famous interview, Campbell shares his thoughts and feelings about myths, modern society, and the need for myths in our world.
Campbell studied myths all his life and taught many students the power of myths in our daily lives. He believed society comes alive through myths as they did in ancient times. A civilization cannot survive without myths Campbell believed for they served the purpose of reminding us of the mysteries of life and the universe. They open us to a 'higher' realm of thought and feeling. Myths are reflected in all aspects of lives and Campbell wrote several books on the Western and Eastern mythologies and their similarities. He connected the dots between the gods of the East and the mythical gods of the West. He was the first to teach the world not just their history but how can live by myths.
Whether we are aware of it or not, modern myths still impact our world. Campbell described human life as the 'hero journey' and each person was embarked an adventure of life. Myths captured the power of the Hero Journey and we can see this today in our superhero movies where the hero discovers his abilities and is faced with challenges in learning about himself and facing a villain(s). That is why comic books and these kinds of movies are so popular as well as action movies. They are loosely based on myth or an attempt to create new myths. However, the damage lies within missing their deeper meaning and messages as so many people do.
Reality shows are a crude attempt at shaping our ideas of romantic love and the path of success. Who is my soul mate? How can I get the money? Do whatever it takes to win the man/woman's heart, win the Prize, even if it means humiliating yourself in front of people. These are all based on the myth of love and life whether viewers are aware of it not. That is why they are popular because they tap into our deeper aspects of human psyche. They remind audiences of The American Dream which is based on The American Myth of destiny, purpose, and success.
Campbell would not be surprised that so much has been lost in our modern world of myths, the youth and absence of myths in their lives, and the profound impact of corporate greed, the economy, and Barack Obama. He would speak about the collective desire for a hero, thus Obama's rise to presidency, and he would probably describe our current economy as a part of the collective hero adventure, its dark side, and slaying the monsters of fear, greed and dishonesty along the way. And, of course, he would point out that each individual is engaged in a living mythical journey filled with hope, joys, sorrows, obstacles, success, and failures. He would say that the power of myth is alive and present, yet hidden in our hearts and minds.
And I would thank him for that.
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