Myths guide a person through different stages of life: birth, maturity, old age and death. They teach you to know your nature and overcome the obstacles that arise in everyday life. Using the ancient stories of various peoples, Mr. Campbell shows what myths say about inner growth and the search for happiness. This book is like a signpost that will help you navigate your personal life journey.
We invite you to read an excerpt from the book.
For many years I’ve talked about mythology in a rather abstract way – that it’s this here, that’s there – and I think it’s time to take on the challenge of saying something about what it is to you and to me. This theme of living according to one’s personal myth – how to find it, find out who it is, and allow myself to be carried by it – first came to my mind while reading Jung’s autobiographical work, Memories, Visions, Reflections. In one place, he talks about a crisis in his own life. 1911-1912 Jung wrote perhaps his most important work “Symbols of Transformation.
At that time he was terribly upset because it began to appear to him that all his previous work was based on a superficial conception of the psychology of his severely psychotic patients. He began his career at the Zurich Burghiolcl Psychiatric Hospital under Eugen Bleuler. Bleuler was the man who coined the term “schizophrenia” and a very large number of patients in his clinic were indeed schizophrenic.
After working there for a long time and having already defended his doctorate under Bleuler, Jung met Freud. Freud’s main interest was neurotics. A neurotic is a person who still functions in the world, has a functioning conscious orientation to life, but suffers from an inadequate relationship with the unconscious system. A psychotic, on the other hand, is a person whose roof has finally caved in. And in his work with psychotics, Jung became quite familiar with what might be called the archetypes of the unconscious imagination.
He started reading books on comparative mythology: Frobenius, Bastian, Frazer. He realized that the images flowing from the psyches of his patients were precisely those with which the research world of comparative mythology and the history of religions was already familiar. The fantasy images of his patients showed exact parallels with mythological themes. Jung then noticed that the parallels were true not only for psychotics, but also for neurotics and relatively stable people.
Such a discovery greatly impressed him and encouraged him to immerse himself in the study of mythology. Symbols of Transformation, which explores the relationship between dream consciousness and mythological vision consciousness, was the book that made it impossible for Freud to work with Jung. It became clear that Jung no longer believed that sex was the beginning, middle and end of the unconscious symbolic system and that regression psychoanalysis was the only therapy. For Freud and his followers it was a cross.
When Jung wrote the book, his insights on the subject did not end. “Having just finished the manuscript,” he says in Memoirs, Visions, Reflections, “I suddenly understood what it means to live with a myth or to live without a myth.” He got the idea to ask himself what myth he was living by, and realized he didn’t know. “Therefore, it is natural that I decided to learn to know “my” myth and considered it a task par excellence.“
I believe that there is no longer a one-size-fits-all mythology in any one country, let alone in the whole of Western civilization. I believe that today’s social order is essentially secular in nature. It does not claim that its laws are divinely given. We do not interpret our laws mythologically. In ancient times God gave the laws to Moses, they were written in the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy and Leviticus. We don’t have that. Even the laws of the physical universe, as I said, are not immutable. We don’t know. We keep discovering new things about the universe, but we don’t have a well-thought-out picture of it that can last very long.
With respect to the psychological development of each individual, we have such different sources of origin and such different life possibilities that no single mythology can satisfy us. I believe that in the field of secular society, which is a kind of neutral frame that allows individuals to create their own lives, as long as they don’t disturb their neighbors too much, we each have an individual myth that drives us, which we may or may not be aware of. This was the meaning of Jung’s question: What is the myth by which I live?
I don’t think there will be any unified mythology of humanity any time soon, if ever. I think that our social life – to which the third function of myth applies – is now managed differently, better. However, I believe that the individual remains without a sense of how his conscious and subconscious communicate with each other.
Mythological images are such images through which consciousness communicates with the subconscious. Therefore they are. When you don’t have your mythological images or when your consciousness rejects them for one reason or another, you lose touch with the deepest part of yourself. I guess that’s the purpose of the mythology we can live by. We need to find one that we truly live by and know it in order to competently steer our ship.
Most of us live by myths that guide us, myths that may prove sufficient for our entire lives. For those who live by such myths, there is no problem here. They know what their myth is: one or another of the inherited great religious traditions. It is very likely that such a myth will be enough to lead them on the path for a lifetime.
But for others in this world, those road signs lead nowhere. These are especially common among university students, professors, townspeople – people whom Russians call intelligentsia. For them, the old schemes and old instructions simply do not work, so when a life crisis occurs, they do not help.
Still others may feel they are living according to a certain system, but they really aren’t. They go to church every Sunday and read the Bible, but the symbols do not speak to them. The driving force comes from somewhere else.
You might ask yourself this question: If I were in a situation of total disaster, if everything I loved and thought I lived for was destroyed, what would I live for then? If I came home to find my family slaughtered, my house burned, or my career destroyed by some catastrophe, who would support me? We read about such things every day and think: well, this only happens to other people. But what if it happened to me? What would let me know that I can go on with life instead of just going crazy and giving up?
I have known religious people who have experienced such things. They would say, “It is God’s will.” Faith would help them.
And what do you have in your life that would fill such a role for you? What is the great thing that you would sacrifice your life for? What makes you do what you do; what is your calling in life – do you know it? The old traditions gave people such mythical support; they kept whole cultures in a pile. Every great civilization has grown from a foundation of myth.
But in our time there is great confusion. We have to rely on ourselves and find what really works for us as individuals.
…
What was Jung doing when he decided to figure out his myth? His discovery process is interesting because it was so childlike. At the age of about thirty-seven, Jung asked himself: What did I like to do most when I was little, when I was left alone and could play? It turns out that what he liked most was stacking pebbles and building towns out of them.
So he said: Well, now I’m a grown man, so I’m going to go play with big stones. He bought a piece of land in a beautiful location by the lake on the other side of the city of Zurich. In his beautiful place, Ascona, he began to plan and build a house, and working with his hands activated his imagination.
This is very important – to somehow stimulate the imagination. You can’t do that by listening to someone else’s suggestions. You have to find what your own subconscious wants to meditate on. When he activated his imagination, Jung was flooded with all kinds of new fantasies, all kinds of dreams. He began to write down what he dreamed, and then to strengthen it with all sorts of associations.
In doing so, he slowly began to discover his own myth. Dreams became very important and very meaningful to him; started writing a dream diary. He wrote down every little impulse, every theme that came up in a dream. He wrote down his dreams to bring them to consciousness, and as he continued the diary, the underlying images began to emerge. Then he would draw some of the things in those dreams—always very seriously. That book is the kind of thing you wouldn’t want to publicize; she is too private. It was his ceremonial, ritualistic exploration of the place from which the mystery of his life had come.
If you keep a dream journal, you will notice that the dreams begin to accumulate. You want to go back to sleep and dream something else. And you will notice that there is a history being taught there. Of course, this will require some free time.
My wife Jean and I visited Jung and Mrs. Jung at their home in Ascona in 1954. And it was certainly quite a structure. It wasn’t just a building; it was an organic home. As if grown out of the ground. That man was Swiss through and through. He was born in that beautiful mountainous country. There he was close to the ground. His ancestors, especially on his mother’s side, were from rural Switzerland. My grandfather came from Germany as a doctor, but even then Germany was an agricultural culture. And he had a lot of that peasant world in him. Of course, for most of us, this would not be our world of origin. We have to find our own.
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Intimate journey into the depths of his psyche, a process of self-exploration that transcended the purely academic or clinical approach he had previously adhered to.
Jung’s method of engaging with his dreams and the symbols within them was akin to a modern-day alchemical work, where raw materials of the unconscious were brought into the light of consciousness. Through this process, he started to understand how personal myths were not merely archaic relics, but vibrant pathways to self-discovery and personal transformation. His early fascination with stacking pebbles and creating miniature towns resonated with the idea of building a symbolic world, a miniature cosmos that could convey deeper truths about the self.
In essence, Jung discovered that to cultivate a meaningful life, one must actively engage with the contents of the unconscious and embrace the symbolic images that arise. These images serve as guides, illuminating paths that are uniquely personal and relevant. They can reveal hidden desires, aspirations, and ultimately, the personal myth that sustains us. This journey into the self requires a willingness to confront the complex layers of our psyche and to embrace the often-chaotic nature of our inner lives.
For many individuals today, the modern secular landscape can feel barren, leaving them without the guidance that traditional myths and narratives once offered. The fragmentation of culture means that many are left searching for meaning in a world filled with uncertainty and rapid change. This search often leads to a sense of disconnection—for individuals to critically assess what values and ideals resonate with them deeply and authentically.
Thus, the challenge posited by Jung remains pertinent: discovering what myth one is living by becomes essential for leading a fulfilling life. Jung’s exploration begs the question of whether we are truly living according to our values, dreams, and personal narratives, or if we are merely following societal scripts that fail to nourish our authentic selves.
In approaching this quest, the examples set forth by Jung serve as a guiding light, showing us that it may be necessary to take a step back from the pressures of contemporary life—to engage in introspective practices that bring to light our inner landscapes. Our personal myths may be waiting to be unearthed through creative expression, reflection, and patience.
Exploring your own personal myth can act as a form of self-empowerment, enabling you to forge connections with your deeper self and align your life with your true passions and purpose. This involves a process of willingness and courage to explore where your unique story intertwines with the broader human narrative. In the face of life’s inevitable challenges, it is these personal myths that can provide the strength and resilience needed to navigate adversity, guiding you back to your essence when the external world seems chaotic.
Ultimately, as we attempt to navigate the complexity of modern existence, such a personal quest for meaning should not be underestimated. To know your myth is to wield a compass by which to chart your course amidst the tumult of the world—a guiding star to help illuminate your path and validate your existence in a much larger story. Embrace this journey, and in doing so, nurture the myth that is uniquely yours, forever contributing to the tapestry of humanity’s collective experience.