Joseph Campbell Follow Your Bliss

Joseph Campbell was born in White Plains, New York, in 1904. He also grew up there. As a child he became intrigued with the Native American culture while on a visit to a museum with his father. At the musem Joseph encountered collections of Native Amercian artifacts, this fueled his curiousity and led him to a lifelong passion for Native Amercian mythology and his love of myth throughout different cultures.

It was on a trip to Europe with his family that he would meet, Jiddu Krishnamurti (pictured). They discussed Asian philosophy, which started his interest of Hindu and Indian thought. After this trip and meet with Jiddu, Campbell ceased practicing his Catholic religion, which he had been raised with.

In 1927 Joseph studied in Europe, provided by Columbia University. Some of Campbells studies included Old French, Provencal and Sanskrit. He studied these courses at the University of Paris in France and the University of Munich in Germany. He would learn French, German, Latin and go on to add japanese as well. While in Europe he was influenced by modern art, that of Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. He was also known to be influenced by James Joyce.

find out more by clicking the photo to the link....:)rwjr

Joseph Campbell's term, monomyth, points towards a basic pattern found in many of the stories, or narratives from all over the world.

Cambell first brougth this theory to light in his novel, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, from 1949. In this book Campbell expresses the idea that the whole human race is telling the same story, only with different characters. These stories all have the same basic structure but they have a different faces or masks.

Campbell basically shows how the same story is changed from place to place based on socitey and the necessities of the culture. This hero's story is one which plays over and over again, only with a different mask for each place.
to learn more about this please click on the photo of Joseph Campbell to go to the article...

Campbell taught that he believed there to be four functions that myth played a role in socitey.

*The Metaphysical Function - This stage is an awaking phase or a sense of awe before the mystery of being.

* The Cosmological Function - This is to explain the shape of the universe

* The Sociological Function - This is to validate and support the existing social order

* The Psychological Function - This is to help guide the individual through the stages of their life

Campbell believed that if myths were to fulfill their functions they would have to evolve with society to keep up with the changes of each era. pleae click on the photo to go to the rest of the article....

art by RWJR

Campbell believed that mythologies changed over time, reflecting the social and cultural trends of the time. These stages or evolution, are:

*The Way of the Animal Powers - Hunting and gathering societies

*The Way of the Seeded Earth - Early agrarian societies

*The Way of the Celestial Lights - The first high civilizations

*The Way of Man - Medieval mythology, romantic love and the birth of the modern spirit

please click on the picture to read more about these phases in the article....art by RWJR

I first encountered Joseph Campbell while watching PBS, it was his interviews with Bill Moyer from the 80's. I later bought the book, The Power of Myth, the transcripts of their conversations from those interviews. It was hours and hours of some of the most interesting information that opened my mind to the power of myth.

The Power of Myth changed my life because it made me reallize exactly what made me happy and how I was going to follow that bliss. Bliss can come from dancing, fishing, reading, walking, painting, ect...Art has always been a way for me to express myself and it drives my spirit. I had went through high school without any art training and had planned on becoming an Accountant.

My bliss wasn't in numbers, although I was very good and the top of my class, it wasn't what filled that void. I changed my major right before picking my classes and completely went the other way into the liberal arts field of graphic design. I was starting a journey that I hadn't prepared for but knew it was meant to be. I had decided to follow my bliss and it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me. I've continued with my art and went on to major in studio art. I made a decision though that went against all that I was taught up to that point, because I knew where to find my bliss. Art is my bliss, so is family, fishing, music and all the things in life that make me smile.

I believe that if you follow your bliss, anyone will continue down a positive path that will lift you to the place where you are meant to be. Like Joseph Campbell, I believe there are invisible hands that help guide us once we embrace that which makes us happy. They put us on the track of life so to speak...
art by RWJR

I'm not saying that you have to quit your job and try to become a famous guitarist or painter to follow your bliss. You simply have to do the things that make you happy. It could be fishing, dancing, playing piano, drums or bird watching. You just have to set a little part of your day and enjoy your bliss.

In life it's proven if you do what makes you happy then you will have a happy life, it's that simple. Even if you have to set just thirty minutes a day to do what you love it will make your life better. If you are into hobbies like r/c cars and planes then you should check this out: Hobbymoon.com is an online e-commerce company offering tens of thousands of categories products including R/C Toys, R/C Electric Model, R/C Gas and Nitro Model ,and Model Parts products in stock with unbeatable prices and ready to ship at lightning speed.

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Maybe Drumming is your thing, I know some drummers and they can really get down. if that's your bliss then go with it, I'd be Animal on the drums if I liked it. Start your animal drumminng bliss journey right here....Get serious about learning the drums!

Don't wait for your bliss to pass you by, live it...:)

by Joseph Campbell:

"Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is."

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

"If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path."

art by RWJR

"If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be."

"Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer." ...
Joseph Campbell

*click on the photo "Riding the Pendulum" to read the rest of the quotes....rwjr