The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell

Abreif reflection:

I have recently read this book, suggested to me in my tutorial. It talks about how all the myths are all really quite similar, even though they were created in such different places. It not only talks about Greek Myths (what i thought myths were) but it tooks about religions being myths, which i guess they are as i hadn't really thought about this before.

So, here are a few notes i kept:

culture humanised for sometime
ethos
Today we have a demythologized world.
As a result, studens Campbell meets are interested in mythology as the myths bring them messages. We are not learning wisdom in life in schools. We are not taught this. This is what myths teach. We are learning technologies to get information.
Specialist and generalist. He says if your not a specialist, you are a generalist.
Taught things in myth :- creation, death, resurrection, ascention to heaven. Myths from every culture are similar. Are timeless themes.
Teaches what is behing litrature and art, own life, stages of life. Rituals like marriage are myths.
Judges, Kings, queens stand into mythological roles. They become a symbol. like when you join the army, you are putting on a uniform.

Cant go back into religion? throw self out of sync with history. People loose faith in religions as time moves on. Not individual people but the era of people. thats why people may take drugs, for that mystical experience, mechanically induced.

Consiousness - life energy. How do we transform it? What are you disposed to think about? Mediatation? bring us to a level of consiousness ( the myth does). Myths are worlds dreams. Legends such as John Wayne become a myth. Model in people's lives.
Magical about films - person you are looking at is somewhere else at same time. condition of God. Multiple presesnce.Actor not the real person.

new myths - planes like birds, weapons like Lord Death. They serve old stories.
Machines help us to fulfill idea that we want the world to be made on our own image and we want it to be how we think it ought to be. Campbell believes that computers are miracles.Is it possible to adapt the same feeling towards your computer as it is to God? The same way the christian said that God lives in all things? God is everywhere, including the computer. Religion has its own software for it to work.

When world changes, religion has to be transformed. Religions stuck in time, need to be opened up. ie. Catholic and protistants.

Myths we create today have relivance to past myths.
Mytholgy is in socities.
Definition: Myth: storys abouyt Gods. What is a God?
2 orders of myth:1. nature and matural world of which your part of.
2.strictly socialogical to link to particular society.
through mythology and ritual, it is an attempt to control nature.

myths serve 4 functions.
1. mystical realizing what a wonderful universe is and what a wonder in experiencing awe before this mystery. myth opens world to mystery.
2. Cosmological dimensions, science in concerned, showing shape of universe but in a way creates mystery. Tells you how it works but not what it is.
3. cocialogical one - supporting and validating a certain order. out of date.
4. Pedagogical finction - how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. Myth teaches you this.

Myths/dreams comes from some sort of realization. Dream is personal, myth is society's dream.
Architypal - perfect speciman.
Talks about snakes shredding skins. Life sheds generation after generation.

Gerden of Eden - metaphor for innocence.
In a lot of myths, man were 1, and became 2 so we strive to be 1 again with another.
dualality - harmonizing (right/wrong, sin/atonement)

*The First Storytellers
Times have changed- animals once taught us, now we cage them.
primevil instinct. We are not animals but our animal instict comes out in certain situations. Part of life that we pick up on in wilderness. Sense of adventure.
'Man lives by killing' - caveman with guilt. Trying to eradicate the guilt. They live so they have to kill. Its not as simple as going out and eating. they have to do a ritual. Superstition? Belief?

Artists are the mythmakers of our day.

*Sacrifice and Bliss
Sanctification of lcal landscape - fundamental function of mythology.
The role of myth with the artist - communicates the myth.
Plant - sense of death but death is required for new life (new growths).

need to look at Schopenhauer essay

*The Hero's Adventure

writes about how mothers are heros giving birth.
A hero puts his own life out to save another without thinking about it.
mechanical world.
Easy to watch heroes on Tv and not take part in the changing world. Life changing too quickly, too fast at the moment to even think of something before something else comes along.
Celebrities are what we worshop now. 'i want to be a celebrity' - to be known. public hero is sensitive to needs at time. eg. John Lennon.
You die to bring life.

Departure, fullfillment, return.
architypal mythnic hero. life replicated in many lands. Hero of many faces. Living our own life not imitating. We are on a quest too.
Fairytale - child's myth. as you get older , you need a sturdyer myth.
Story - is it all a story? Basic assumptions and fundamental beliefs about how things worek. We are inbetween stories. old story not functioning and not learnt a new one. some old stories still work - spiritual quest. messages from teachers, moses, christ, buddha, Mohammed differ but visionary jounreys are the same -ish.Teachers may not teach as society will do things. infant an inpulse of life then the mind comes along to figure it all out.

Joyce and Mann - need to look at

system today - we are living in a system. is it going to deny you humanity? or is it good to human purpose? Relate to system without serving it.

*Gift of the Goddess
at-one-ment
Your mother is who your born with so you have mother figures in myth. This questions who your father is? You go on this quest to find your father. This quest to find your father you are also finding youself. We and the earth are the same. Body has a forse and energy.

Male myth dominate the female myth. and then the 2 combine. Symbols in mytholgy refer to you. you are a god and god is you. through life male and female supress and honour each other.
mother - inclusive love for pogeny
father - more disciplned social order and character. how to work in society.
save the earth - save ourselves.

*Tales of Love and Marriage

Eros - God who excites you to sexual desire, bilogical urge.

Suffer with love
compasstion - con - with, passion - suffering.

t s lewis the wasteland

when married you become one - you share male and female. ie, if your male you start to have a fminime side and vice versa.