Joseph Campbell defined a hero or heroine as embracing values that are not confined to their lives but are of greater force and bring forth life in a new way.
I took the trip more than 20 years ago. I think of it every day.
I have never considered myself a hero, and still don’t, and I hope I never will. But the hero journey is about something very different; it’s about saving a life by leaving its common-day existence and familiar life, and setting out to what Campbell calls the “threshold of adventure.”
This definition of “hero” is not the Hollywood one.
It was the most frightening, exciting, and intense Journey of my life, and it upended every part of my life, frightening others as much as it did me.
I left my life behind and set out to live in a cabin in upstate New York. I spent a year here, going back and forth to my family, writing, living off my work as a media critic, and reading books by Campbell and Thomas Merton. I wrote a book about it called Running To The Mountain.
The Journey was amazing. It centered on the mythic quality of setting out into the unknown and searching for the meaning of my life. On the way, my family came apart.
Along the Journey, the hero encounters a shadow presence that watches over and protects the passage, which is filled with uncertainty and danger. The hero enters the kingdom of the dark. In my case, it led to a breakdown that tore me into pieces.
Beyond the threshold was a world of unfamiliar but strangely infinite forces, encountering what Campbell calls “magical helpers”, who could be people or animals (Rose for sure). The hero is unpredictable; some, said Campbell, are damaged and don’t return.
In mythology, the hero journey goes back to ancient times – the hero undergoes a supreme ordeal and, if he endures it, gains a reward. It might be a sexual and emotional union with a goddess or someone he comes to love. It might be finding one’s bliss.
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The final work is that of the return to the world, having left everything familiar behind and worn out by the fear and emotional intensity of the trip. I’ve never done anything like it, yet I believe it was the best thing I ever did. Like Contemplation days, you have to be a little mad to do it.
The real work of the Journey is the return to life. That’s the goal.
If the spirits and powers have blessed the hero, if the Journey was successful in his mind, or if they found themselves in a new and powerful way, then they flee and are pursued by a great transformation which guides their life.
The return is the end of the threshold, and the transcendental powers and spirit remain behind. The hero emerges from the kingdom of dread and returns, resurrected. If the hero makes it back, he often meets blank misunderstanding and disregard from those he presumes will help.
I believe the hero’s Journey almost exactly describes my own life experience, from the dark places to the magical helpers (Maria, my dogs), to the love and strength I sought, to the life I left behind and the life I found along the trip. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and I don’t expect to again.
There are two worlds along the Journey, the divine and the human, as different as day and night. The Hero’s Journey through the threshold is simply a journey beyond the pairs of opposites we live by, beyond the simplistic idea of good and evil.
I see it as the bravest choice of my life, perhaps the only truly brave choice of my life.
But I made it. I found my bliss, came to understand who I was and who I wished to be. The hero’s Journey gave me the strength to break away from a life that felt empty and increasingly meaningless. I can thank the Corporate Revolution for much of that.
I have deeply embraced the myth of the life of bliss of following one’s love and wishes, not succumbing to life, money, or the slavery of the corporation. For me, the real idea of the hero’s Journey was to follow my heart and passions and take the plunge. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t pretty. But I had to know I could do it before I found the happiness and meaning I sought.
The hero’s Journey, then, is a cycle, a dualistic journey of departure, tests, or deals leading to a realization of some kind. It might be great; it might be small or insignificant. But in any case, there’s that wonderful feeling.
To understand the Hero’s Journey, there are all the stories of founders of cities, founders of civilizations, great figures of music, founders of religions, creators of great art – that, says Campbell, is the story.
You can find it in a big way or a small way, as I did. But it’s quite a trip. I’m not a great founder of anything, but I came face-to-face with myself along the way.
The big idea of the Hero adventure is to walk boldly through the door and out into a world where the rules of your life do not apply. That changes everything, no matter how it turns out.
I have a friend whose deep passion is Star Trek; it’s been his great love since childhood. He goes to every Star Trek gathering he can find. He said his connection is deep and lifelong, and his job is tiring and difficult.
This surprised me; I’m not a Star Trek fan and was puzzled by his obsession. But when he asked me what he might do about it, my heart lifted, and I said without hesitation, “Oh, J, follow your bliss. When you find what you love, go live it. Go find your life…”
Campbell often said that few people take on the Hero’s Journey; they see it as too dangerous in a country that worships money and fame and power, not a plunge into the unknown.
My friend was shocked by my advice, as if there was no way he could infuse his life with Star Trek in some way. But he asked for a book about the Hero’s Journey, and I’m bringing him one.
It’s not my business to tell him how to live, but he did ask me, and I surprised myself by hoping he left the job that is exhausting him for the thing he says he loves most in the world. Go for it.
He might find what he was searching for.
In mythology, the hero is also restoring the world. In my case, I settled for restoring myself.
