Coach for The Journey Blog

Who Is the Hero?

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell studied the world’s mythologies and distilled them into their basic elements and structures, “the monomyth,” also known as The Hero’s Journey.  He draws on the themes that are so common across cultures and time periods that we recognize them as uniting us in our humanity even as we may differ culturally.

Who is the hero? Campbell writes,

The cosmogonic cycle [the story of the creation of the cosmos] is presented with astonishing consistency in the sacred writings of all the continents, and it gives to the adventure of the hero a new and interesting turn; for now it appears that the perilous journey was a labor not of attainment but of reattainment, not of discovery but of rediscovery. The godly powers sought and dangerously won are revealed to have been within the heart of the hero all the time... From this point of view the hero is symbolical of that divine creative and redemptive image which is hidden within us all, only waiting to be known and rendered into life. (p. 39)

The divine creative and redemptive image which is hidden within each of us…what a powerful source of energy, inspiration, and wisdom. This is the antidote to the fearful part of us that wants to remain small and not see ourselves as important or capable of having an impact on the world. A uniquely powerful element of The Hero’s Journey is that this is a journey not only of discovery but of re-discovery. The hero learns that the strength she seeks has been within her heart all the time. This is a story of revelation and recognition of what is already present.

I am interested in The Hero’s Journey primarily as a process. In particular, I am identifying the final stages of the journey as having to do with the creation of legacies. This is not to minimize the content of archetypal stories in understanding the psyche. Campbell has researched and written an impressive review of world mythology that is worth reading in detail. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD explores the depths of the feminine archetype of the Wild Woman in her book Women Who Run with the Wolves. This is a review of powerful aspects of the female psyche represented cross-culturally in story. Many others have studied the themes of mythology as they relate to the human experience.

Here, though, we are focusing on the process of the journey, particularly as the internal journey is manifested externally in the world.

What have you re-discovered in yourself that you now understand to have been a part of your essential self all along? How is that part of your calling? How has that aspect of your heart been expressed in different stages of your life?

 

Project Update

Hello everyone!

Yes, it's been a while since I've written here. I'm still getting used to the idea of a blog! I have been gathering your stories and wisdom and am now winding down the survey. Over 100 women participated! Originally, I had hoped for 20 responses so I am thrilled with the generosity of the women who gave it a go.

Since I am ending the survey, I will send email notifications of new blog entries through my email rather than through Survey Monkey where I had housed the survey.

I am integrating the reflections on legacy from the survey with the stages of The Hero's Journey. I am most interested in considering The Hero's Journey as a process for self-discovery and identifying one's legacy.