The characteristics that make Campbell’s work brilliant also make it challenging. Over the three-plus decades that I have studied and used the hero’s journey, people have often told me that they love Campbell’s work, but they have difficulty teaching it or applying its lessons to “real” life. Their difficulties are understandable. Campbell was a brilliant […]

A challenge either knocks us down or lifts us up, depending on our attitude. In his wonderful book, Will I Be the Hero of My Own Live?, Swami Chetanananda refers to a Buddhist scripture from the Hevajra Tantra:  “A person rises by that by which they fall.” This saying seems contradictory until Chetanananda explains its […]

Zen Buddhists have a saying: “The finger that points at the moon is not the moon.” The same is true for the hero’s journey. To focus only on the journey is lose sight of the lessons it teaches. Recently I received an e-mail from a reader who asked how to use the hero’s journey with […]

The chambered nautilus, both in its structure and its behavior, illustrates how we should navigate the journeys in our lives. I’ve studied and taught the Hero’s Journey for more than 40 years. During that time, I’ve used a number of analogies to illustrate the journey’s psychological process. One of the best of these is the […]

NOTE: You are welcome to link to this article, but do not copy or repost it. If you would like a PDF copy to use in your class or work, please contact me. I began teaching the hero’s journey back in 1975. At that time, I taught it only as a heuristic for hero myths, […]

Although this chart was designed for use with our Hero’s Journey materials, it can be a valuable supplement to any curriculum. The chart, which is FREE, will help your students experience literature on two levels. At an academic level, it helps them explore a story’s narrative elements: characterization, motivation, conflict and plot. At a deeper […]

NOTE: You are welcome to link to this article, but do not copy or repost it. If you would like a PDF copy to use in your class or work, please contact me. by Reg Harris It is not enough to have the experience of the Quest—of initiation, Death, Eros, and Birth. We must make […]

ON COPYING: You are welcome to quote or link to my articles, but please do not copy or repost them (a copyright violation). If you would like a PDF copy to use for your classroom or work, please contact me. In 1970, when I began studying Eastern philosophy, I became intrigued with Philosophical Taoism, a […]

NOTE: You are welcome to link to this article, but do not copy or repost it. If you would like a PDF copy to use in your class or work, please contact me. (NOTE: I wrote this article in 2001, but subsequent research in neuroscience confirms the article’s argument and general concepts.) I have been […]

We in the industry must help this amazing generation develop their confidence, patience and social skills and help them find a balance between life and technology. Four Challenges to Fulfillment We never take our journeys in isolation. They are always taken within a context: a culture, a family, a social environment and from within a […]

Often our Hero’s Journey is a quest to redefine ourselves, to make our self narrative coherent… Read More We don’t “take” journeys. We “unfold” them, organically, as a dialogue with our world. Read More A symbol is like a mirror swinging out from the mind, allowing the mind to look… Read More Zen Buddhists have […]

Mythic thought touches the meaning and significance of our lives. Our lives are filled with polar systems: good and bad, right and wrong, rich and poor, light and dark, conservative and liberal, being and nonbeing. Maintaining our mental health often rests on how well we can reconcile these poles and find a middle ground from […]

Harris Communications: Home of the Hero’s Journey Since 1997 This fun project has everything you need to create a meaningful personal mandala. Although designed for use with our Hero’s Journey materials, this FREE activity can help students explore a character’s growth and challenges in any piece of fiction or film. The most comprehensive guide available […]

This article is adapted from Campbell’s Monomyth: The Quest for the Mythic Hero, our 72-page guide to understanding the monomyth. To preview the guide, visit our Hero’s Journey shop.   The familiar horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for passing the threshold is at hand. […]