Where the heck has JC been my whole life?

Who was Joseph Campbell? What is a myth? What does "Follow Your Bliss" mean? If you are new to the work of Joseph Campbell, this forum is a good place to start.

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tshamp
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Where the heck has JC been my whole life?

Post by tshamp »

I am super grateful for the day my daughter knocked an audioCD off a shelf at our local library called "Don't know much about Mythology". I took it as a "sign" and checked it out.

Now I am in love with the study of myth which has led me on a journey to Joseph Campbell. I was on netflix hoping to order some DVD's about ancient Egypt and found The Power of Myth series with Bill Moyers. I watch the series back to back into the wee hours of the night... I had NEVER done that before, especially on a work night, and it seems something in me has "woken up".

I joined this forum today because I am looking for a "starting point" and need suggestions, but really just wanted to express my gratitude for his great works. I also want to connect with others that are interested/knowledgeable about these teachings.

:D
Trish

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Post by Evinnra »

Welcome to the forum Trish, and yes, I know the feeling! Upon first encountering Joseph Campbell's work I was asking the very same question : 'where have you been all my life?' :P
'A fish popped out of the water only to be recaptured again. It is as I, a slave to all yet free of everything.'
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Post by Neoplato »

Ditto for me as well. Of course one theory goes that you only find information when you're ready to understand it. 8)

I was also very happy to know that I wasn't losing my mind. :D
Infinite moment, grants freedom of winter death, allows life to dawn.

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Post by Clemsy »

Hi Trish and welcome to the JCF Conversations of a Higher Order!

Kick your shoes of and make yourself comfortable. Browse the existing conversations for one that resonates. Start one of your own. There are a lot of resources available and fine, friendly people to chat with.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers,
Clemsy
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Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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Post by gentle71 »

I think many of us have found JC by "accident" - I ran into one of the Power of myth videos on VEOH - and after watching it - I immediately googled him and began buying the series and all of his books and lectures.

He has really been a moving force in my life.
The Maestro says it's Mozart
but it sounds like bubble gum

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Post by Neoplato »

He has really been a moving force in my life.
And mine too. I just wish that Joseph Campbell was more of a household name.
Infinite moment, grants freedom of winter death, allows life to dawn.

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Post by gewamser »

I find myself judging all other aspects of my life and life around me, against the backround of Joseph's works. And it HAS "liberated" me from the cultural, religious and personal things that bound me. This is no magic bullet however, and it takes some hard work and deep concentration...and a growing understanding of how JC communicates when he teaches; VERY LITERALLY...with such clarity that it takes some getting used to! Nothing but life enriching...

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Post by rachelteehee »

I'm new here, too!

I had heard of Joseph Campbell, of course, but hadn't really explored anything that he's written. On a whim last night, I popped in a DVD that my husband has had for a long time. The Power of Myth.

I started watching and everything made sense. I was an English major and studied heroes and traditions and ideologies throughout my career as a student, and the idea of a "monomyth" just makes sense to me.

That said, I feel like I'm on my own journey now, but I'm not quite sure where to start. I should probably finish the DVD first!

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Post by Dionysus »

Welcome new friends! THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES changed my life. I had already considered myself a philosophical Taoist in the manner of Lao/Chuang and read it just as part of my personal life-study.

lancimouspitt
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Re: Where the heck has JC been my whole life?

Post by lancimouspitt »

tshamp wrote:I am super grateful for the day my daughter knocked an audioCD off a shelf at our local library called "Don't know much about Mythology". I took it as a "sign" and checked it out.

Now I am in love with the study of myth which has led me on a journey to Joseph Campbell. I was on netflix hoping to order some DVD's about ancient Egypt and found The Power of Myth series with Bill Moyers. I watch the series back to back into the wee hours of the night... I had NEVER done that before, especially on a work night, and it seems something in me has "woken up".

I joined this forum today because I am looking for a "starting point" and need suggestions, but really just wanted to express my gratitude for his great works. I also want to connect with others that are interested/knowledgeable about these teachings.

:D
This is exactly how I felt upon finding Campbells work. It really is something that can consume you. I wondered where he had been my whole life.

Dionysus
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Post by Dionysus »

Campbell was lecturing at the same hall in NYC in which I was attending lectures on anarchism and I didn't know anything about him at the time. Man! I'm kicking myself, now.

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

Dionysus wrote:Campbell was lecturing at the same hall in NYC in which I was attending lectures on anarchism and I didn't know anything about him at the time. Man! I'm kicking myself, now.
:P Don't be too strict with yourself, Dionysus! The lecture hall is a nice metaphor for the boundless possibilities each of us is free to explore! (I'm talking about those who have enough education to have found these forums.)

We're in the same situation like Parzival, who can see the grail castle only sometimes, while at other times he's surrounded by the wasteland (though riding through the same parts of the forest.) We're in a much more comfortable situation though. We just have to study the curriculum, to take the right book from the shelves, or to switch the channel!
Works of art are indeed always products of having been in danger, of having gone to the very end in an experience, to where man can go no further. -- Rainer Maria Rilke

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Post by SunSinger »

I've kicked myself a lot of times, too, for not opening my eyes sooner. If only I had taken such and such a course, gone to hear a lecture, or attended an exhibit.

But, I wonder: Does the fact that I see the value of missed opportunities now mean that they would have benefited me then?

I doubt it. I didn't take advantage of those opportunities because I wasn't ready for them. Who knows, forcing myself to do so might have been more negative than positive.

We take the steps when we're ready to change, expand, and move on to the next phase of our journeys.

Malcolm
When the eagle flies, I'll be home.

Neoplato
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Post by Neoplato »

We take the steps when we're ready to change, expand, and move on to the next phase of our journeys.
I can definitely agree with that. But sometimes the path takes some interesting twists and turns.
Infinite moment, grants freedom of winter death, allows life to dawn.

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Post by jonsjourney »

I believe each person's journey, if they are fortunate enough to notice and heed the call, comes exactly when we need to make it. In my case, I needed to be a bit more mature. I first experienced Joe's work when I was only 20 years old in 1987 with Power of Myth. While it had an impact at the time, I was not ready to really hear the words. Later, when I was in my mid 30's, I began a process of realization that I had been giving my life to things that would never bring me happiness, or more importantly, fulfill what I knew I was capable of. I started reading Jung, which led me back to Campbell, which led me to acknowledging my bliss, which has led me to living a life that has been more fulfilling in the past 6 years than all the previous years combined. I still have problems and challenges that sometimes seem to have no good solutions, but I know that I am walking the right path and that the dark and stormy nights only make me stronger and more determined to follow that bliss.

In my mind, when you find your bliss, you are walking in the glow of enlightenment. After all, enlightenment is not some distant, formless place one aspires to get to. It is right here, right now. You just have to open your eyes.
"He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot." -Douglas Adams

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