HERO’S JOURNEY (Evolution in 4 stages)

 

The Hero’s Journey

Author, Joseph Campbell had a passion for comparing prophecies & mythologies from around the world, which have survived for thousands of years, and he discovered that they all share a fundamental structure called “The MonoMyth”.  They all follow a similar path, which he called the “Heroic Journey”.

Campbell summarizes the MonoMyth, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are encountered there and a decisive victory is won.  The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow beneficial wisdom upon his fellow man.”

The “Hero’s Journey” is the pattern of human experience, of our experience.  Some journeys are longer and more difficult than others, but they are all journeys we must face throughout life.

It is important to remember that the journey is a process of separation, transformation and return.  It is a process where each stage must be completed successfully if the individual is to become a hero.  To turn back would mean that the individual is rejecting his own need to grow.  Unless he sets out again, he may be locking himself into unending adolescence and giving up the benefits, freedom and fulfillment of adulthood.  The journey has four stages: Pre-Separation, Separation, Initiation, and Return.

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