Home › Forums › Exploring Your Personal Mythology › Campbell on Personal Mythology
Tagged: activating imagination, dreams, Jung, personal myth, zeal
- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 months, 2 weeks ago by
aaronwkagan.
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September 4, 2021 at 12:17 am #6175
Joseph Campbell’s lecture in August on the Joseph Campbell: Pathways podcast is titled “Living Your Personal Myth” (click on title to listen or learn more – it’s free – or find this series on whatever platform you listen to podcasts).
This talk from 1973, delivered shortly after Campbell retired from teaching, couldn’t be any more on topic for this thread. At the start of August my wife and I were winging our way across the continent for a couple weeks vacation exploring Boston, Connecticut, and New York City, so only just listened to it a couple days ago on my morning walk through the neighborhood – otherwise, I would have thought to post a link much sooner.
Bradley Olson, Ph.D., editor of JCF’s MythBlast essay series (Brad will be joining us in COHO’s MythBlast forum next week to discuss his latest essay), provides an introduction and commentary at the end. He makes a compelling point about the difference between “personal myth” (uncovering and engaging the mythological dynamics moving your life) and “personalized myth” (an all-too-common misunderstanding of the concept); your personal myth isn’t something you choose – rather, it’s the myth that’s living you.
Campbell shares several valuable insights as to how one might do this. Worth a listen to see what resonates for you.
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales -
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September 4, 2021 at 10:22 am #6177
Thank you Stephen for another gem. Still listening and re-listening.
Joe Campbell: “When you are in a situation of total disaster, what would make you go on living? What do you have in your life that will have you keep going?”
Answer: Myths to live by and Joe Campbell’s words.
Addendum: Stephen, I have n0 more regrets, no more sorrow, no more blame. I needed to hear that podcast at this particular time in life (that is when living my full moon) to make sense of why it is my own self I should be blaming.
Joe’s Quote (jcf. org) “Freud tells us to blame our parents for all the shortcomings of our life, Marx tells us to blame the upper class of our society. But the only one to blame is oneself.”
— Joseph Campbell
Featured in: Joseph Campbell QuotesPodcast: segment 42:00 >> Marx tells us to blame the society for our frailty, Freud tells us to blame the parents for our frailty The only place to look for blame is when you didn’t have the guts to bring up your full moon – and live the life that was your ( true) potential.
Shaahayda (in gratitude)
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October 27, 2021 at 2:59 pm #6462
I’ve always been interested in the intersection between narrative therapy and Joseph Campbell’s commentary on how we see ourselves and our struggles in myth. Now I’m wondering if that would fall more under the category of personal myth or personalized myth?
~Aaron K.
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November 1, 2021 at 12:38 am #6478
Good question, Aaron.
I saw this post a couple days ago, but this is the first chance I’ve had to reply (you may have noticed by now that discussions in Conversations of a Higher Order unfold at a much more leisurely pace then over social media, where a Facebook post, no matter the depth and profundity of the comments it generates, tends to scroll off the screen and into the ether within a few hours, or a day or two at most, never to be seen again; here in COHO it’s not unusual for individuals to take a day or two, or even a week or two or more, to digest a post and let thoughts simmer a bit before seeing what bubbles up to the surface and posting a reply – nor do we shy away from longer posts).
There does seem more than a little resonance between narrative therapy and Campbell’s conceptualization of personal mythology, especially in the initial stage of the therapeutic process (can’t change the story until one knows what story has been playing out in our lives – definite overlap between that and discovering one’s personal myth).
My sense is that “personalized myth,” as opposed to “personal myth,” is an ego choice – more of a want or desire than necessarily an act grounded in self-reflection, whereas changing one’s story under the aegis of narrative therapy is, like finding one’s personal myth, ground in the dictum “Know Thyself.”
Just for my own benefit, I find myself conceiving the difference between discovering one’s personal myth and employing narrative therapy as analogous to the difference between traditional dreamwork and lucid dreaming: similar dynamics at work, albeit with a different inflection.
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales
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November 2, 2021 at 12:47 am #6479
Thank-you Stephen for that clarification!
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November 2, 2021 at 4:30 pm #6480
Happy to share, Aaron – but that is just my perspective. I’m curious how you approach these concepts in your teaching and workshops, where what counts might not be the terminology used so much, as what actually works.
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales
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November 8, 2021 at 4:29 pm #6497
Understood, thank-you! In teaching Joseph Campbell (primarily to high school students), I typically focused on the Hero’s Journey, along with excerpts from Power of Myth. The students almost always adhered to a familiar arc, a sort of Hero’s Journey meta-journey!
1. Skepticism about the universality of the stages of the Hero’s Journey.
2. Acceptance of the universality of the Hero’s Journey (often after experimenting with applying it to unlikely material such as a TV show).
3. Disbelief/wonderment about the universality of the Hero’s Journey.
4. An exploration of personal connections to various stages of the journey, inspired by the prevalence of archetype in mythology (aka “Maybe there’s something to all this!”).
5. Sometimes mind-blowing personal connections to individual or cumulative stages of the Hero’s Journey, often achieved through journaling, small group discussion, or guided meditation.
And one of the most useful things about studying Joseph Campbell for me as the teacher was that it then gave the class a collective vocabulary for discussing other texts, with a focus on situational, symbolic, and character archetypes. For the rest of the year, any time we read something new, a student was bound to notice an archetypal aspect of the text, i.e. “Character X is an example of Situational Archetype Y!”
We also had some interesting discussions about the relationship between Campbell describing the Hero’s Journey, the concepts then being exploited for commercial purposes by Hollywood, and the ensuing ouroboros of aspects of the journey continuing to show up media. Students are often struck by the fact that Campbell shared the journey as a way of facilitating an understanding of myth and meaning only for (some) media creators to adapt it as a means of popularizing their content, which was fodder for all sorts of great discussion about artistic creation, intent, myth and commerce.
Hope that gives you some idea!
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November 15, 2021 at 10:04 pm #6507
I love this, Aaron!
I too, spent a couple decades in public education, mostly at the junior high level, and especially focused on myth and the Hero’s Journey in particular in literature classes. No surprise, my students (especially the 7th-graders) were generally a touch less skeptical than full-fledged adolescents in high school; I would often begin with a discussion of The Lion King, as something just about every student is familiar with that hits all the markers.
What I like about your analysis of the trajectory of student reactions is that it pretty much seems to apply to adults as well. I do notice the “sometimes mind-blowing personal connections to individual or cumulative stages of the Hero’s Journey” is often what seals the deal. It’s one thing to see Hollywood moviemakers applying the hero’s journey, but quite another when you recognize that dynamic playing out in your own life.
Stephen Gerringer
tie-dyed teller of tales
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December 7, 2021 at 5:11 pm #6593
Thanks, Stephen!
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- 1. Respect Others You may certainly take issue with ideas, but please — no flaming / ranting, and no personal or ad hominem attacks. Should the opinion of another forum member spark your anger, please take a deep breath, and/or a break, before posting. Posts must be on topic – related to mythic themes.
- 2. Respect Others’ Opinions These are conversations, not conversions. “Conversation” comes from the Latin words con (“with”) and verso (“opposite”). We expect diverse opinions to be expressed in these forums, and welcome them – but just because you disagree with what someone has to say doesn’t mean they don’t get to say it.
- 3. Come Clear of Mind In addition to expanding the mind, certain substances (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, LSD, etc.) have been known to impair good judgment. We recommend you keep a journal while under the influence and then later make more rational determinations regarding what is appropriate to share in this forum.
- 4. Respect This Space The Joseph Campbell Foundation, a US not-for-profit organization, offers this forum as part of our mission of continuing Mr. Campbell’s work of increasing the level of public awareness and public discourse with regards to comparative mythology.
- 5. Avoid Contemporary Politics Given the volatile nature of contemporary political discourse, we ask that members steer clear of candidates or current political controversies. Forum members come from across the political spectrum. There are other fora across the internet for discussing myth and politics.
- 6. Be Polite Forum members come from many different sets of cultural assumptions, and many different parts of the world. Please refrain from language whose only purpose is offense. If it helps, imagine your grandmother reading forum posts – as perhaps she may, since other folks’ grandmothers are.
- 7. Refrain from Sexually Explicit Posts Please do not make sexually explicit posts within these forums, unless they are absolutely germane to the discussion underway – and even in that case, please try to warn readers at the top of your post. Not all members have the same threshold when it comes to taking offense to language and pictures. NOTE: Under no circumstances will we condone the posting of links to sites that include child pornography, even inadvertently. We will request that such links be removed immediately, and will remove them ourselves if compliance is not forthcoming. Any Associate knowingly posting such links will be suspended immediately; we will forward a snapshot of the offending page, the web address and the associate’s contact information to the appropriate criminal authorities
- 8. Refrain from Self-Promotion Announcements linking to your new blog post, book, workshop, video clip, etc., will be deleted, unless they are demonstrably part of the greater conversation. The only exception is the Share-Your-Work Gallery, a subforum within The Conversation with a Thousand Faces. If you have art, poetry, writing, or links to music and other work you would like to share, do so here.
- 9. Search First If you’re thinking of starting a new topic, asking a question, etc., please take advantage of the search functionality of this forum! You can find the search field above the list of forums on the main page of the forums. Also, consider searching on the greater JCF website – this site is full of amazing resources on a wide variety of topics, all just a search away.
- 10. Report Violations If you witness or experience behavior that you feel is contrary to the letter or spirit of these guidelines, please report it rather than attacking other members. Do this by choosing the Report button (next to “Reply”) at the top of the post, and select a reason from the dropdown menu (Spam, Advertising, Harassment, or Inappropriate Content). The moderation team will be notified. Depending on the degree of bad behavior, further posts might require approval, or the user could be blocked from posting and even banned.
- 11. Private Messages Forum guidelines apply to all onsite private communications between members. Moderators do not have access to private exchanges, so if you receive messages from another member with inappropriate or hostile content, send a private message (with screenshots) to Stephen Gerringer and/or Michael Lambert.
Visit the Contact the Foundation page, select Technical Support, and fill out the contact form.
The Conversations of a Higher Order (COHO) consists of ten public forums loosely focused on a central theme. The forums are listed, with a brief description, on the COHO home page (each forum listed on that page also appears in the same order in the menu in the lefthand column – that menu stays with you as you move about the forums). This also shows who created the last post in each forum, and when.
When you visit a specific forum you will see the list of topics people have posted so far in that forum. Click on one to read that post and any replies. Feel free to add a reply if you have something to share, or just enjoy following the conversation. You can return to the COHO home page by clicking the "Home>Forums" breadcrumb at the top of the page – or move directly to a different forum by clicking on one of the listings from the forum menu in the lefthand column of the page.
If there’s anything you want to introduce – a question, an observation, or anything related to Campbell, myth, or one of his many related interests – create a topic in the forum you feel comes closest to including the subject you want to discuss. Most forums include in their description a link to a corresponding part of the website. For example, The Work of Joseph Campbell description has a link to all his published works: you can of course focus on a specific book or lecture, but also any topic related to the ideas arising out of his work is welcome in that forum.
When posting a new topic or a reply to an existing conversation, check the “Notify me of follow-up replies via email” box (conversations unfold at a leisurely pace: someone might need a few days to let what you write simmer in the back of their brain – this is how you find out someone has replied), and then click Submit. You can also click "Favorite" (top of the page on the right when reading forum threads) to be notified of all responses in a discussion.
Click on the Profile link under your user name in the upper left corner above the forum menu. Then select Edit and follow the prompts to upload an image file from your computer.
When you finish your post, before clicking the Submit button check the box at the bottom of your post that reads, “Notify me of follow-up replies via email.” You can also click on “Subscribe” (in the upper right corner of a thread) to follow the complete conversation (often a comment on someone else’s post might inspire a response from you).
We ask that when linking to web pages, please avoid posting the raw URL address in your text. Highlight the relevant text you'd like to link in your post, then select the link icon in your formatting bar above your post (immediately to the left of the picture icon, this looks like a diagonal paperclip). This opens a small field:
Paste the URL of the page you are linking to into the field provided. Then click on the gear icon to the right of that field, and check the box that says “Open link in a new tab” (so readers can see your link without having to navigate back to the forums), before clicking the green “Add Link” button.
To add an image to your post, click on the image icon in the menu at the top of your post (it's the icon on the far right):
In the Source field of the pop-up form, click on the camera icon on the far right. This should give you access to the files on your PC / laptop, or the photo library on your mobile device. Select the image, and add a brief description (e.g., "Minoan Goddess") in the appropriate field.
In the dimensions field, you only need enter the first number (240 is a good size for starters; if too small click the edit icon and increase that number). Then select OK.
Click on the name of the person you want to contact (under their avatar in a any of their posts). This link will take you to that member’s profile page. Then click on “Send a Message,” and compose.
If you witness or experience behavior that you feel is contrary to the letter or spirit of these guidelines, please report it rather than attacking other members. Do this by choosing the Report button (next to “Reply”) at the top of the post, and select a reason from the dropdown menu (Spam, Advertising, Harassment, or Inappropriate Content). The moderation team will be notified. Depending on the degree of bad behavior, further posts might require approval, or the user could be blocked from posting and even banned.
Visit the Contact the Foundation page, select Community and Social Media, and fill out the contact form.