Joseph Campbell died in 1987 at the age of 83 and was considered one of the world's foremost authorities on mythology, the stories and legends told by human beings through the a…
Joseph Campbell died in 1987 at the age of 83 and was considered one of the world's foremost authorities on mythology, the stories and legends told by human beings through the ages to explain the universe and their place in it. ◦ He wrote or edited 20 books that have influenced artists and performers, as well as scholars and students. ◦ His notoriety exploded after his wide-ranging interviews with Bill Moyers on PBS, recorded in 1987 shortly before his death. ◦ Over the last two summers of his life, conversations with him were taped in California at Skywalker Ranch, the home of his friend George Lucas, whose movie trilogy *Star Wars* had been influenced by Campbell's work. ◦ He spent the five years from age 25 to 30 reading for nine hours a day in a rented shack. ◦
Campbell believed that there is a certain typical hero sequence of actions, which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from many periods of history. ◦ He defined a hero properly as someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself or other than himself. ◦ He held that we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us, and that the labyrinth is thoroughly known, so that we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. ◦ He asserted that life has no meaning, that each of us has meaning and we bring it to life, and that it is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer. ◦ He argued that people are not truly seeking a meaning for life, but rather an experience of being alive, so that life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, allowing us to feel the rapture of being alive. ◦ He advocated following one's bliss, a concept he discovered in the Upanishads, the sacred Sanskrit texts that form the basis of much of Hindu philosophy. ◦ ◦ He maintained that we must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us, and that the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ◦ He stated that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. ◦
He demonstrated a capacity for intense, sustained scholarly focus, having spent the five years from age 25 to 30 reading for nine hours a day in a rented shack. ◦ He counseled letting go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ◦ He advised entering feared territories, stating that the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ◦ He advocated following your bliss and not being afraid, trusting that doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. ◦ ◦
He perceived a universal hero sequence of actions in stories from all over the world and many periods of history. ◦ He regarded life as having no inherent meaning, holding that each of us brings meaning to life. ◦ He conceptualized the human journey as a thoroughly known labyrinth with a hero path to follow because the heroes of all time have gone before us. ◦ He viewed feared inner territories as containing treasure, stating that the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ◦ He framed the ultimate goal as achieving resonances between physical life experiences and one's innermost being to feel the rapture of being alive. ◦
He was considered one of the world's foremost authorities on mythology. ◦ He wrote or edited 20 books on the subject. ◦ He identified a typical hero sequence of actions detectable in stories from all over the world and across many periods of history. ◦ His work influenced George Lucas's *Star Wars* trilogy. ◦ He drew upon the Upanishads, the sacred Sanskrit texts that form the basis of much of Hindu philosophy. ◦
He communicated through wide-ranging interviews with Bill Moyers on PBS and taped conversations at Skywalker Ranch. ◦ ◦ He employed mythological frameworks, referencing the hero sequence, the labyrinth, and the thread of the hero path. ◦ He integrated concepts from the Upanishads into his guidance. ◦
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> "We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god." ◦
> "Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer." ◦
> "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." ◦
> "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." ◦
> "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive." ◦
> "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls." ◦
> "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." ◦
> "Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be." ◦