About
Discover the timeless wisdom of Joseph Campbell and the practical applications of his famous ideas, “The Hero’s Journey” and “Follow Your Bliss”.
Today, we’re diving into the life-changing philosophies of Joseph Campbell—a man who believed in the power of mythologies and the importance of following your bliss. So, grab a coffee, get comfy, and let’s explore how you can use his teachings to uncover the hidden hero within yourself and the practical tools that we can use for self-improvement!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome back to Jag Art Diaries, where we turn timeless wisdom into practical tools for everyday life. And… where you get your dose of visual caffeine, as you witness the transformation of a blank space into a living work of art.
Alright, for today’s exploration, I’m using pastel pencils to create the portrait of this man, Joseph Campbell, while we discuss his contributions to mankind.
Joseph Campbell was an American author and professor of literature. And his most famous idea was ‘The Hero’s Journey’. So, what is the Hero’s journey? Joseph Campbell identified a recurring pattern occurring throughout myths and stories from all races and cultures. It’s a blueprint of transformation, where a hero embarks on an adventure, faces challenges, undergoes profound change, and ultimately returns home with newfound wisdom to share. He called this pattern the Hero’s Journey.
And his most famous book is called The Hero with a Thousand Faces describes the pattern of ‘The Hero’s Journey’ in detail And just to tell you how influential this book has been for directors and screenwriters…, George Lucus, the creator of the Star Wars movie empire, openly credited this book and said he based his original Star Wars storyline on this pattern. Lucas was even known for calling Joseph Campbell his personal “Yoda”!
But what if I told you this pattern isn’t just for mythological heroes or blockbuster movies? But it’s a life skill you can all embrace to improve your everyday lives?
The Hero’s Journey
Ok, first, let’s explore the framework that is “The Hero’s Journey”.
- Ordinary World: he has a mundane life. Everything is predictable
- Call to Adventure: The hero is presented with a challenge or quest.
- Refusal of the Call: The hero initially hesitates or refuses the call to adventure.
- Meeting with the Mentor: The hero encounters a mentor who offers guidance and support.
- Crossing the Threshold: The hero leaves their ordinary world and enters the adventure.
- Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero faces challenges, makes allies, and encounters enemies.
- Death & Reward (Seizing the Sword): The hero prepares for a major challenge or ordeal and has to really face his inner demon, which is a death of his former self. And he received a reward as his victory.
- Loses mentor: but pushes forward all alone.
- Faces the final battle with a dragon
- Triumphs and is reborn: The hero faces a final test or challenge, often at great personal risk.
- Return with the Elixir: The hero returns to their ordinary world, transformed by their journey, and often brings back something valuable
So the next time you watch a movie, look out for this pattern. You will see this pattern pretty much everywhere, Lord Of The Rings with Gandalf as mentor to of course, Star Wars with Yoda being Luke Skywalker’s mentor, etc.
Practical Tool for Implementing The Hero’s Journey
How do you apply this in your daily lives? Think of your life as a series of journeys. Whether it’s learning a new skill, changing careers, or just navigating personal challenges, we all go through these stages: starting in our comfort zone, facing obstacles, finding mentors, and when we face the challenge, we come out emerging stronger. Recognizing these stages can help us get a zoomed-out perspective of life and help us embrace the ups and downs with clarity and courage.
And Campbell also spoke about facing the dragons. Yes, quite often we recognise the challenges we face from the outside world. But the real dragons in our lives are always our fears, insecurities, and challenges. Just like the heroes in myths, we all encounter moments of self-doubt. But here’s the cool part—those dragons are ALWAYS guarding something valuable. Every time we face our fears, we ALWAYS discover strengths we didn’t know we had. So, the next time fear tries to stop you, remember—it’s part of YOUR hero’s journey. Because being a hero isn’t just about epic quests. It’s about facing everyday life and balancing our inner peace while dealing with the relentless changes of the world around us. And sticking to our values despite the odds.
Do one thing today that scares you—start small and grow!
Another powerful lesson to learn from Joseph Campbell is the idea of unity. While studying the myths from different cultures which seem different on the surface, he choose to focus on what united them, rather than what segregated them. And he found that they all share the same core themes of courage, transformation, and love.
Campbell firmly believed in finding the one underlying essence behind the many. And this is perhaps what drew him to the ancient Indian philosophy called Vedanta. Because he has contributed to a lot of Vendantic books, including the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
For those who don’t know, Vedanta is a very ancient Indian philosophy which speaks of the one reality behind all these various forms we see around us. And it calls this one reality as Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Vedanta says you can find your way back to this one reality of Truth-consciousness-bliss ONLY when we go deeper into ourselves.
Sat- meaning pure truth
Chit – meaning pure consciousness
Ananda – meaning pure bliss
Follow Your Bliss
Just to tell you how deeply Campbell was influenced by this concept, his most famous advice to everyone he met was ‘Follow your bliss.’ He gave this advice to all his students: “Follow Your Bliss”. But what does that mean?
What is Bliss? Bliss is the state you get into when you perform positive actions that genuinely excite you, and make you lose track of time. And here’s the key identifier of your Bliss action—it’s NEVER dependent on external validation. It’s about finding joy DURING the process itself. Like… if painting makes you happy, the BLISS is the fulfilment which comes from the act of painting itself, and not from how many likes your art gets on Social Media. The same thing goes for gardening, cooking, and scientific research. As long as the actions are in a positive direction, and you get the inner fulfilment during the act itself without the need for awards and praises.
Jo would often say
Hope you enjoyed exploring the philosophy of Joseph Campbell.
Summary
To recap, the life skills you can embrace
- You are the hero of your journey. And its OK to not be OK all the time. The ups and downs of life are normal.
- The dragon ALWAYS hides a treasure. Your fears and insecurities are your inner dragons. And when you take them on, you will discover your own hidden potentials. Challenge: Do one thing today that scares you—start small and grow!
- Follow your bliss – amidst the hustle and bustle of your life, find the simple acts that fulfils you and makes you loose track of time. And just BE! Dedicate at least 1 hour a week for just your bliss. This will be your gateway to a whole new world within yourself, that is only YOURS to discover. TIP:Write down activities that bring you joy, even if they seem small or unconventional!’
Alright, guys, we have come to the end of another visual log into our diary.
So, what will your next journey be? What journey are you currently on? And most importantly, what’s your bliss? There is only one way to find out, and that is to go deeper within yourself and discover it.
Stay inspired, and until we meet again for another transformative video, remember everything you seek is already within you—just waiting to be unleashed!
Amazon Affiliate Link to “The Hero With A Thousand Faces“