Is NGE in Accord with the Classic "Hero's Journey"
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Is NGE in Accord with the Classic "Hero's Journey"
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"]By Lynne Milum
Copyright © 2003 by Lynne Milum. All rights reserved.
What is mythology?
Have you ever contemplated what makes a great story? How is it that humankind has generated so many great stories throughout history? Why does the reader feel aligned with the heroes of these stories in such a way that the stories go beyond the printed word and impact our own lives back here in "the real world"?
While many people believe that myths are stories that are "untrue" or even "lies," in fact, resonant mythologies are metaphors that provide us with symbols of a life we long to experience. To read a myth literally is to miss its higher truth.
Mythological narratives may or may not be based in fact. Myths that are temporal will cease to inspire over time and will die out. The perennial myths, however, are those which persevere and project a timeless truth which point the way to our ultimate destiny. To pursue this destiny is The Hero’s Journey.
A Campbellian Analysis of the Hero’s Journey
There are three major phases to great stories in mythology, based on Joseph Campbell’s work and documented in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.[1] These phases are Separation, Initiation and Return. Key story elements as presented by Campbell follow.
Separation:
Separation is the culmination of a person awakening from a world of drudgery and despair to pursue a higher calling.
The initial step is a ‘Call to Adventure’ where the heroic figure is made aware of a place beyond the world he has known his whole life.
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"]A herald is encountered that gives the hero a reason to rethink what he (or she) "knows." This herald usually provides some direction to enter into the adventure and may remain with the hero as a guide.
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"]The hero may refuse the adventure or deny the ability to move beyond the status quo. The heralded event may even be ignored – All of these constitute the ‘Refusal of the Call.’
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"]The use of magical intervention is then needed to plunge the hero into the unknown. The reluctant hero requires supernatural forces to urge him on, while the willing adventurer gathers amulets (magical items) and advice from the protector as aid for the journey.
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"]A portal or threshold represents the transition into the world of adventure, the step of ‘Crossing the First Threshold.’ A sense of danger as well as opportunity is conveyed. The threshold guardian or "gatekeeper" must test the hero’s mettle for competency before he may enter the realm. Gatekeepers are terrifying creatures such as Cerberus (the three-headed dog of the Underworld), Pan, ogres, and shape-shifters of classical mythology.
[quote="The Hero’s Journey:
A Campbellian Look at the Metaphorical Path to Personal Transformation"] The hero having crossed the threshold is swallowed into the unknown abyss, reborn in the new world, and may appear to those left behind as dead or lost. This may manifest as the hero is swallowed into the darkness and lands in the ‘Belly of the Whale.’ There he awaits rebirth or release from this purgatorial state. His release here symbolizes a relinquishing of attachment to the world left behind.