“Thought of the Week”
Monomyth is metaphor for transformation
… [hero] myths are not fictitious stories of imaginary characters in nonexistent countries. Rather, the monomyth of the Hero’s Journey is an accurate description of the experiential territories visited by people in visionary states during transformative crisis. And as the psychospiritual crisis of transformation is a human experience that is universal, so is myth.
Stanislav Groff, M.D., (forward) The Call to Adventure: Brining the Hero’s Journey to Daily Life, by Paul Rebillot, with Melissa Kay.
Comment:
The “transformative crisis”
of growth and understanding
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2007 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission to use, please contact me.
Understanding that the Hero’s Journey myth is the universal archetype for virtually all human experience is essential to being able to use and apply the Hero’s Journey pattern. The Journey describes in metaphoric terms the “transformative crisis” which is the foundation for growth and understanding.
It is this “transformative crisis” which is the subject of great literature and film, so when students understand the Journey archetype, they are better able to interpret, analyze and benefit from the literature they read. They have a basis for understanding and comparison. They have a standard by which to measure the truly good literature and to discern between what is of value and what is not.
Furthermore, if students can understand the calls to adventure in their own lives as calls to transformation, opportunities to surrender to the flow and dynamics of the movement of human growth, they can better understand their need to accept the calls, to embrace change, transformation and growth.
This is where our job as teachers becomes important. We can show them the map, guide them in their understanding and interpretation of their experiences. We can also explain why we can’t take the Journey for them, that accepting the adventure on one’s own is the only way to true growth, change and self-discovery.
The Hero’s Journey: A Transformative Crisis
“Thought of the Week”
Monomyth is metaphor for transformation
… [hero] myths are not fictitious stories of imaginary characters in nonexistent countries. Rather, the monomyth of the Hero’s Journey is an accurate description of the experiential territories visited by people in visionary states during transformative crisis. And as the psychospiritual crisis of transformation is a human experience that is universal, so is myth.
Stanislav Groff, M.D., (forward) The Call to Adventure: Brining the Hero’s Journey to Daily Life, by Paul Rebillot, with Melissa Kay.
Comment:
The “transformative crisis”
of growth and understanding
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2007 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission to use, please contact me.
Understanding that the Hero’s Journey myth is the universal archetype for virtually all human experience is essential to being able to use and apply the Hero’s Journey pattern. The Journey describes in metaphoric terms the “transformative crisis” which is the foundation for growth and understanding.
It is this “transformative crisis” which is the subject of great literature and film, so when students understand the Journey archetype, they are better able to interpret, analyze and benefit from the literature they read. They have a basis for understanding and comparison. They have a standard by which to measure the truly good literature and to discern between what is of value and what is not.
Furthermore, if students can understand the calls to adventure in their own lives as calls to transformation, opportunities to surrender to the flow and dynamics of the movement of human growth, they can better understand their need to accept the calls, to embrace change, transformation and growth.
This is where our job as teachers becomes important. We can show them the map, guide them in their understanding and interpretation of their experiences. We can also explain why we can’t take the Journey for them, that accepting the adventure on one’s own is the only way to true growth, change and self-discovery.