So I’ve decided that I do want to write about Hero with a Thousand Faces that I recently read. Joseph Campbell wrote this book back in 1949 – right smack in the middle of the twentieth century. I found myself trying to see how things might have changed over the last 50+ years in terms of how Campbell saw things.
He writes about the fact that our modern civilization has lost all connection to our mythology and how such symbolism in the past nurtured our society and gave us ways to transcend our individual lives – to grasp our connection to the universe and see into the real meaning of life; there are no mysteries left; we see everything in black and white reality. He says that our biggest mistake was to try to interpret our mythology as fact-based history – such as Christianity has done with the Bible. By so doing, it robs us of the true meaning and usefulness of those stories. It has created a totally different thing: where the goal of mythology is to aid us in becoming emotionally and psychologically mature and enlightened human beings, we are left to muddle around in our immaturity, short-sightedness and fear. Our experience with religion is aberrant, not as it should be, and I absolutely concur.
But it does occur to me that now, in the 21st century, it seems that many people have tried to re-grasp those metaphysical-type connections; it seems we have created some new mysteries as well as revisiting some old ones. There have been an increasing number of books in recent years about such topics as relate to our “soul” and our connection to our world and the universe. I think that many of us have been trying to reinvent our perceptions of “God” and the nature of reality.
It was easier when we were less complicated; when we lived in primitive villages and relied on the local “medicine man” or “shaman” to guide us; when we worshiped what we saw around us in nature. But that part of us is still there and some of us are starting to grasp that mystical, magical connection to the universe at large. Some of us still believe in “magic.” I believe that it is important to spend time out in nature in order to feel that “magic” and connectedness.
And it is still possible for us to reach psychological maturity, although the fact that our lives have gotten so easy makes it harder for us to put forth any effort to “grow up.” That has become very obvious to me. And in fact it is one of my greatest frustrations these days – how there are so many people who have not “grown up” or learned how to be responsible and/or use their brains. And many of these people are, of course, raising children – which means we are creating generations of human beings who are effectively children their whole lives. (Just look at our U.S. Congress!)
Prior to reading anything by Joseph Campbell though, I was already coming to some realizations or beliefs, like the idea that when we die, even if our consciousness survives in some way, we do not retain our individual egos. I believe that we simply become part of the “whole” once again. We come from the earth, we return to the earth. Our particles recombine with everything else. But that our consciousness is reabsorbed into the universal consciousness of all of life – of which we are all a part. And that “God” is simply the collective of all of us and all of life – past, present and future. I believe that we each have the ability to partake of the “power” of that universal consciousness; that it is a part of us and we are part of it; that each of us is always a part of the whole and it is an awesome thing. It transcends our limited, individual lives. Each of us contains eternity within us. And I think this is what Campbell was talking about in terms of the “Hero’s Journey.” We are the “heroes” – and the journey – and also the destination; we are “god.” It is a difficult concept to put into words, and to even really grasp. And that is why, according to Campbell, we need those symbols, those stories, that mythology – to direct us in these matters.
You know, I write these posts by going back and looking through my hand-written journal in which I write first thing in the morning every day. And I don’t always remember what I’ve written until I start to re-read and type what I find. And as I write this, I realize that I had written about these beliefs of mine a couple of months ago [see post at 03-16-14] – prior to my having read much, if anything, of Joseph Campbell! It’s interesting how that works, how I find so many connections. Sometimes I find myself choosing to read something not knowing that it is very relevant to where my thoughts have been. Almost like my thoughts attract the right books, without my even knowing it.
So I read this book at a time when it was most likely to really “speak” to me it seems. Life is strange. And Joseph Campbell was obviously an extremely intelligent man. And another of what I consider a “seeker.” A seeker of truth. And I find such matters simply fascinating.
After reading “Hero,” I then remembered that my sister has a book called The Power of Myth. It contains transcripts of conversations between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, a part of which was turned into a PBS documentary. I never saw the documentary, but I did enjoy reading this book and, in fact, it brought clearer many of the concepts I read about in Hero,” but did not feel that I fully grasped. The Power of Myth was a great overview of all of Campbell’s work and his philosophy concerning mythology, religion and human psychology, and how they are all linked. This book also contained a lot of images and artwork to illustrate the various topics, showing scenes from our history, our mythology from around the world. It is a lovely book.
Campbell says that it is artists who shoulder the responsibility of retaining our links to mythology. I think that would include writers. It is books that give us our connection to the past and teach us what it is to be human and how to relate to the rest of the world. I do wonder what Joseph Campbell might say now about the fact that the Internet and related technology is increasingly taking the place of books, especially for young people. Information is too available and too quick. Nobody takes time to digest things thoroughly and to really think; to synthesize information and make connections, be creative. At least that is how I see it at this point. And actually, it has been discovered that the way our minds work and how we process information differs according to whether we read things on a screen or on paper – both reading and writing. We make deeper connections when we write on paper than when we type on a computer. I know that I digest things I read better when it is printed than when I read it on a screen. And actually, artists these days often do a lot of their work digitally. It is a digital world.
So how might we be evolving if we give up reading printed books and writing on paper? How might these things affect us? I do not know. But Joseph Campbell definitely see artists as being the “shapers of mythology;” he says that the “function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world.” He talks of those “whose ears are open to the song of the universe.” I like that phrase. He talks about the fact that we have become alienated from our environment, our natural world. We no longer have any rituals to give us that sense of “holiness.” And he speaks of how very important it is that we need those rituals.
I found it interesting when he was talking about coming-of-age rituals, which in the past were very important as a threshold for boys to cross in becoming men. We no longer have such a thing. And this explains why so many men seem to be stuck in “boyhood” and why it is that so many boys have so much trouble. Without any “threshold rituals,” they may stay a “child” forever; they do not know who they are supposed to be. And I think this is a bigger problem now than it was during Campbell’s life; these days many, many boys are being raised in homes without fathers to look up to and learn from (including my own son). And personally, it seems to me that there are not very many good male role models even out there. What has happened to men; to fathers?
There is very little difference these days in the roles of men and women – except it seems that women increasingly do more and more due to that very lack of having a good man around. There is talk, even, that men have become meaningless, almost irrelevant. And this is not a good thing.
Men have superior size and strength physically; they are sperm donors. But what else really sets them apart from women? Women seem to be doing everything and it seems men just come up short. I could go on believing that women are superior and men virtually worthless – but I don’t believe that is how it should be, nor is that in any way helpful in raising a son. And maybe I’m not doing such a good job there; I do not know how to raise a man – how could I? And unfortunately this is a large problem. Why are so many women raising their boys alone and are we dooming ourselves to yet another generation of worthless, hapless men? This was not the obvious problem in Joseph Campbell’s lifetime, but it appears he was seeing the trend already.
I do not know what the answer is. But Joseph Campbell firmly believed that we need mythology, we need ritual. And, apparently this is especially true for boys. He says it is different for females: Girls automatically go through an initiation process by virtue of nature itself: We all experience the start of menstruation and we have no choice in the matter. Men, however, are not forced to ever grow up in such a way. Women then go through childbirth (or many years of dealing with trying to get pregnant or trying to prevent it), and then menopause. Nature gives us those thresholds whether we recognize it or not. Men have no such experience. And he says that “the woman is identical to the earth goddess in her powers.” Ancient agricultural civilizations were always predominately goddess-worshiping, and it was the hunters that were more apt to have a patriarchal god figure. And we still talk of “mother nature.” Women, like nature, bring forth life. It is as simple as that. And it does seem to me that women in general are often more spiritual than men. We do seem to have a closer connection to the earth. After all, we are subject to the moon’s cycles for a large part of our lives – connected to the tides. And I am perfectly happy to be a woman. It was kind of cool finding that Joseph Campbell sees holiness in our femininity.
And there are ways to become more enlightened and psychologically mature. It requires reading lots of books; books to broaden our eyes, our perspective; to take the time to see the transcendence of LIFE. Campbell talks of the ecstasy of finding the place within our consciousness that “sees God.” He says that artists can understand this; anyone who creates and finds that source of creativity that feels as if it is outside ourselves and arrives unbidden; it is magical. He says it is artists who keep our human mythology in tact, who steer the way for us to go; they are the shamans of today and that there is a responsibility there and it is not about making money; it is about conveying truth, enlightenment, joy – and pain, and instructions for life.
Obviously this “role” does not strike everyone. As a creative myself, I have always felt that it is in some ways a curse and a plague. The NEED eats at you and takes over your mind and it can bring so much pain and emotion sometimes. Writers and artists are often rather plagued individuals. Being a purveyor of truth I guess can be wrenchingly painful – but very joyful too. And to do it feels right and good and necessary; it enables you to breathe.
I could probably go on and on with all the insights and connections I could make after reading Joseph Campbell. Much of it will stay with me always. But I read so many books, and there are always so many more to experience. One final thing that drew me to make a note of was his description of “mandalas” and about drawing them. I have been interested in this before but then never thought of it again. It might be a cool thing to do though – to draw a mandala. Something to keep in mind – and by putting it now in writing, I am much more apt to not forget!
And one final, final thing to remember: Bill Moyers has done a number of interesting sounding books that I would probably enjoy – and my sister owns at least a couple that are right here in the dining room. It feels like such luxury to have so many wonderful books at my fingertips. God is good.
