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INTRODUCTION TO
THE HEROS JOURNEY
You nourish your soul by fulfilling your destiny.
Harold Kushner
The famed scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) urged us
all to follow our bliss. What does that mean? In its truest form, it means to
find your passion and live it. Campbell once said:
If you follow your bliss, you will always have bliss, money or not. If
you follow money, you may lose it, and you will have nothing.
Finding your passion is one of the main objectives of this course. The capacity for bliss is within each of us. It is buried under layers of self-doubt, peer and
parent pressure, social demands, and many other deterrents that stop us from
finding our bliss. Therefore, it is necessary to peel away those layers and look
underneath (or within) to find your passion. Once you have identified your
passion, you will devise a plan to integrate that passion into your life to
achieve bliss.
Campbell states one way of finding bliss is to study the Heros Journey or
Heros Myth. It is a story that is timeless. In going back to stories (myths)
thousands of years old, you can see the same pattern, the same story, told
repeatedly. From the Odyssey, written around 800 B.C., to Star Wars, which
was written in the late twentieth century, the heros story stays the same.
The heros myth generally incorporates following themes:

The hero leaves home by either choice or force.

The hero experiences various crises along the way and learns more about
himself or herself.
The hero will symbolically experience going down to the underworld
(looking within).
The hero will make a decision to follow a certain path, and in turn, find
his or her bliss.

This course uses the heros myth as its template. For example: (1) students
leave homepsychologically and/or physically to attend college either by
choice or force; (2) they will experience crises along the way and learn about
themselves (assessments and exercises in class); (3) they will look within and
reflect on what they see (more assessments and exercises); and (4) they will
make a decision, and in turn, find their bliss.

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Photo by Scott Kelly.

There are many myths (stories) that could be used to illustrate the heros myth.
Going back 2,500 years, the list is endless: Buddha, Moses, Jesus, David,
Mary, Joan of Arc, Krishna, Hercules, Isis, and King Arthur, to name a few.

(The following is a synopsis from Homers Odyssey:)

LEAVING HOME
Odysseus is forced to leave his home and fight a war in Troy. He spends ten
years fighting and defeating the Trojans, and then heads back home to his wife
and son. Along the way, Poseidon, the god of the sea, rebukes Odysseus for not
acknowledging the help he has received from the gods. Odysseus claims he did
everything himself because he is full of vanity, pride, and arrogance. He promises to make it home to Ithaca despite Poseidons warnings.

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

Odysseus and his men encounter their first crisis when they meet the one-eyed
giant. Successfully vanquishing the giant, Odysseus mocks Poseidon again.
Later he meets the god of wind who gives Odysseus a sack and tells him not
to open it until he and crew reach Ithaca. However, Odysseus crew does not
heed this warning and they open the sack. As a consequence, they are sent farther from their homeland of Ithaca.
Ultimately, they find themselves on another island where the reigning goddess
turns the crew into animals. They stay on that island for five years and succumb to the most basic of human needs: food, drink, and sex.

LOOKING WITHIN
After Odysseus and his crew leave this island, he travels to the underworld to
see the blind seer, Teiresias. Teiresias tells him that the way home has been

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there the whole time; he just needs to see it. Odysseus and his crew face more
crises, and he ends up on another island with another woman. When he finally realizes that he is a prisoner of his own desires, he is able to return home to
Ithaca.

FINDING HIS BLISS

Having made the decision to go home, he builds a ship and designs an escape
plan. Odysseus returns home, and the goddess Athena turns him into an old
beggar, stripped of all worldly possessions and social status, so he can determine if his wife still wants him after 20 years. He wins back his wife and is
transformed into his natural self. He has finally found his bliss.

THE HEROS JOURNEY AND YOU

As you follow your heros journey in this course, you will learn about the trials and tribulations that you will face. Through assessments, you will look
within and learn about your personality, interests, and values. You will make a
decision using your knowledge of critical thinking, decision making, intuition,
and the holistic workings of your mind, body, and spirit. Hopefully at the end
of all this course, you will discover your bliss, and your passion in life.

REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READINGS:

Campbell, J. (1972). Myths to Live By. New York: Bantam Books.
Campbell, J. (1988). The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday.
Leeming, D.A. (1981). Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero. New York: Harper
Collins.
Osbon, D.K. (1991). Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell
Companion. New York: Harper Perennial.

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Move over, Odysseus, here comes Luke Skywalker

By Steve Persall, Times Film Critic
Nobody paid $7 to hear Homer read The Odyssey, or lined up to buy Thomas Malory's
15th-century version of King Arthur's legend. But, when Star Wars Episode 1: The
Phantom Menace opens at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, George Lucas' epic of galactic good
and evil will be seen by more people in one day than Homer or Malory ever dreamed of
reaching in their lifetimes.
Different eras, different heroes, yet Lucas' film series contains the same mythic qualities those ancient storytellers and others used to fuel imaginations throughout the
ages.
Lucas always claimed that his lucrative Star Wars saga blends mythology and technology. Instead of a Scylla, he has Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker and Thor have more in
common than you may think.
Indeed, Lucas' fascination with mythology led to an enduring friendship with the late
Joseph Campbell, perhaps the best-known expert in the field.
Lucas blended archetypes of legends and visionary cinema into three Star Wars chapters between 1977 and 1983. Star Wars (known to Jedi disciples as A New Hope),
The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi have grossed billions of dollars in
worldwide ticket sales and merchandising.
The reason goes beyond state-of-the-art special effects and studio hype. Lucas' film
series isn't merely a hit, it's a myth.
Star Wars is an example of what Joseph Campbell called the Monomyth, which reaches a
broader audience and is more enduring, said Shanti Fader, editor of Parabola magazine, a publication of the Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition.
The stories speak to something inside us that wants to know how our world lives, that
wants to make order of it and find some meaning. Myths fulfill that in a way that science
and facts don't always do, because science and facts don't always give us meaning.
Campbell -- known to mass audiences through The Power of Myth, the PBS TV
series based on his books -- was an expert in the construction and cultural resonance
of mythology. His books, Masks of God and The Hero with a Thousand Faces are
considered the ultimate guides to what has enthralled the world for centuries.
Campbell defined the Hero Cycle, a course of events that occurs as a rite of initiation
in every myth, pinpointing the need for mentors, villains, elixirs and jesters along the
way. Each step can be traced in the adventures of Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker.
Before Campbell died in 1987, the scholar and Lucas became friends. A storyteller
needs a mentor as much as a hero does.

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Yes, I consider him a mentor, Lucas said at a recent New York press conference. He
was an amazing scholar and an amazing person. When I started doing Star Wars, I reread Hero with a Thousand Faces. After Return of the Jedi, somebody gave me a tape of
one of his lectures. I was just blown away by that. He was much more powerful as a speaker than he was as a writer.
A short time later, Lucas loaned his studios to PBS to produce the Campbell series.
Letters and gifts exchanged by the two visionaries are on display in the Joseph
Campbell Archives in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The founding curator of that museum, Dr. Jonathan Young, said Campbell compared
Lucas to the masters.
Campbell was very grateful that Lucas presented the elements of Luke's initiation so clearly, Young said. The idea of a calling, of being drawn away into a place of wisdom, finding allies and mentors, accomplishing the ordeals, and then returning.
In Campbell's teachings, myths inspire both awe and recognition. They communicate
a sense of universal order and show how people should live.
Sound like Star Wars? Campbell thought so.
Campbell was impressed that Lucas had so diligently presented this large mystery in a way
that was so accessible to large numbers of people, Young said.

The hero and the quest

Luke fulfills a number of the characteristics that you see in mythic heroes, Feder said: A
royal lineage that he grows up ignorant about in a simple, obscure way, and he has special
powers and abilities that are brought out by a series of teachers.
In classic mythology, the hero reluctantly leaves the homeland (in Luke's case, the planet
Tatooine) on a quest that takes him over a supernatural threshold into a strange land. A
helper/co-hero such as space jockey Han Solo lends a steady hand through a series of ordeals.
Comic relief is provided by tricksters such as the Greek muse Thalia or C3PO and R2-D2.
Ultimately, the hero must stand on his own, face the darkness and conquer it before returning to reality, stronger and wiser.
For Luke, the darkness was the evil side of the Force, a cosmic spiritualism that Obi-Wan
Kenobi and Yoda taught him to harness for good purposes, another element of the Hero
Cycle. Luke and Han, by association with the Force, both evolve from self-centered people
into crusaders with a grand purpose.
No one becomes much in this life without powerful mentoring experiences, Young said.
These are both universal and precious. It is a rare and beautiful thing that everyone
knows on some level is of great, great value.
A series of obstacles must block the hero's path to an enchanted land where final victory - the elixir of a golden fleece or galactic peace -- awaits. Threshold guardians constantly

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interfere with the hero, whether it's the terror of Medusa, Mordred, or the Empire's
stormtroopers and a conniving Jabba the Hutt.
Even after defeating the guardians, mythological heroes can't breathe easily.
The seeker has to go through a death and rebirth experience, Young said. When Luke
is trapped in the garbage dump in the first movie, or Han Solo is turned to stone in that
carbonite block, these are experiences equal to Jonah being swallowed by the great fish.
"They are being completely overwhelmed by defeat, a near-death experience, and then
they're revived and are able to become new people. That's a challenge that every human
being goes through.
After the hero prevails, the final showdown with the villain, either real or psychological,
can begin. Psychologist Carl Jung, a mentor of sorts to Campbell, called this antagonist the
Shadow archetype. Darth Vader's black cloak and helmet, or his estranged conflict with his son
certainly fit that description.
This pattern of myth appears in plenty of books, TV shows and films. Consider Dorothy's
trek to OZ or Rocky Balboa's heavyweight boxing career.
Every culture has them, and they're essentially the same story, said Liam Neeson, who
plays Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. We immediately recognize
them in some way, and we feel the need to have them told.
We're living in such a complex world, with so much confusion each time we turn around,
that we want to see something that makes the world more palatable. (Myths) just remind
you of those basic pillars of wisdom that everybody should have.

Moving beyond myth

The most obvious is the massive exposure and instantaneous cult of devotion that surrounds
The Phantom Menace. Lucas is the first mass media mythologist, which causes some academics to question placing him among the elite creators of legends. Ancient myths thrived
on the power of their stories alone, not mass communication
There is the test-of-time thing to consider, Feder said. A lot of people would hesitate to
put the label of myth on something relatively new like Star Wars. But, a myth is a myth,
no matter what trappings we put on it. Give them light sabers instead of swords and it
doesn't matter.
Feder also noted Luke's shift toward pacifism, which is different from past mythological
heroes. Yoda and Obi-Wan teach Luke to use the Force for knowledge and defense, and the
young Jedi knight tosses away his weapon during the climactic battle with Darth Vader in
Return of the Jedi.
That's a pretty radical idea, she said. We're used to the hero fighting; slaying the dragon or killing the monster. That's what we find most familiar. This idea of triumphing by

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not fighting, of being passive, of letting this power work through you, is a very Zen type of
idea.
The most intriguing twists on mythological convention are just starting to take shape with
the release of The Phantom Menace. By moving backward in time and focusing on 9-yearold Anakin Skywalker, who will mature into Darth Vader, Lucas may be creating a larger, more shadowy multi-film epic. If so, Luke's story may be one portion of a larger vision.
It may turn out that Anakin is the ultimate hero, and his Darth Vader identity is merely
the low point he endures on the trail of a finer elixir. A rumor dating back to 1977 that
Lucas would create nine Star Wars films has since been denied. However, with The
Phantom Menace beginning with Anakin's childhood and chapter six, Return of the Jedi,
ending with his immortality, Anakin's Hero Cycle could logically be completed in six films.
Concentrating on Anakin Skywalker is a daring position to take, according to Young, who
read The Phantom Menace screenplay while it was being produced.
In each of the four films, Lucas has been willing to take on darker themes, what Jung
would call shadow material,' Young said. We know Anakin Skywalker will someday be
Darth Vader. Here's this very charming 9-year-old boy that we're following, and we know
where he's going.
It casts this troubled quality across the whole story, which I think is fascinating for a largescale movie or any myth.
By revealing Darth Vader's redemption from the dark side of the Force in Return of the
Jedi, Lucas has already informed audiences that there is light after the shadows. It's that
promise of goodness that Feder believes is vital to the Star Wars phenomenon and Lucas'
place among the master mythmakers.
For all that we like our gritty stories and our dark, brooding anti-heroes, how many of
those gritty stories have endured? she asked. People may not realize it on the surface, but
(the Star Wars story) touches something inside us in a way that mere entertainment doesn't.
Last year's action movie is last year's action movie. Most of them are forgotten. Something
mythical like Star Wars endures.
Copyright 1999 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE HEROS JOURNEY

Suggested discussion questions:
From the reading - Move over Odysseus, here comes Luke Skywalker:
Explain why Star Wars was so successful.
Describe some elements of the Heros Myth that are embedded in Star Wars.

Assignment Module:
Directions: All assignments must be typed with the exception of the tear-out worksheets.
Please make sure to use correct form, grammar, and punctuation when composing assignments.
Self-Assessment Component
Perfect Job - Describe your idea of the Perfect Job. What is the job title? What kind of
duties would you have to fulfill in this job? What would the work environment look like?
Where would you like to see yourself walking into in the morning (or evening)? Type - one
to two paragraphs.
Hero - Describe someone you consider a hero. This can be a real or fictitious person.
Describe the obstacles, trials, or tribulations that your hero had to overcome. Type - one to
two paragraphs.
Critical Thinking Component
From Introduction to The Heros Journey. How does the Heros Myth correlate with a
student going to college? Describe all four parts. Type - one to two paragraphs.

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