The Power of Myth

Campbell discusses the theme of the loss of mythology in the West for a final time through an examination of the ways Bible-based ideologies can hinder the individual’s connection to the divine. Campbell believes that the image of God in the West as “an old man in a long white robe with a beard” (260) has taken over, which is the “final obstruction” to connecting with the transcendent (262). The Church also impedes recognition of the Christ in oneself, saying it is blasphemy to identify the self with God. Campbell argues that seeing the Christ in oneself is not a declaration of godliness but rather an identification of something “past one’s conception of oneself, to[wards] that of which one is but an imperfect manifestation” (264). Campbell argues that, by focusing too strongly on the concepts and rules that religious institutions create, the West has lost its ability to look inwards for wisdom.

Moyers and Campbell each quote a teaching from Jesus that exemplifies for them the key purpose of their discussion. Campbell’s example reads in part: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you […] for [God] makes the sun rise on the evil and the good” (265). This excerpt illustrates Campbell’s thesis that compassion for others, especially those we disagree with, opens the individual to the transcendent connection between all beings. Moyers’s example illustrates his willingness to question his beliefs and his recognition that some mysteries will always remain mysteries: “I believe. Help thou my unbelief” (265). Campbell thinks that, through his conversation, they are acting out this message of recognition, which can only occur in the presence of another.

Campbell continues his discussion of circle imagery from prior chapters. He and Moyers give several examples of circles that have a symbolic purpose for the self or community. Moyers notes that many American Indian tribes set up their camps in sacred circles, which reflects the totality and unity of all things beneath the dome of the sky. As a circle has no beginning or end, it symbolizes eternal cycles of life and time. Campbell describes the mandala, which is an important meditative tool in many cultures. In a religious mandala, there is a central figure of divinity from which “the peripheral images would be manifestations or aspects of the deity’s radiance” (271). In drawing a personal mandala, the individual works from the outside of the circle inward to “find out where [their] center is” and “coordinate [their] circle with the universal circle” (271). Campbell considers circles of all kinds useful tools for contemplating the self’s place in the universe.

Moyers adds that rings often have a similar purpose to circles. Campbell says that rings usually have the more specific purpose of symbolizing principles that one is bound to rather than symbolizing the entire transcendent realm. As examples, he notes that the wedding ring is a reminder of the transcendent totality of the relationship. The Pope’s fisherman’s ring symbolizes his role in raising man from “the crudest animal nature of our character” through religious teaching (271). The frequency of rings and circles in rituals and mythology points toward “certain powers in the psyche that are common to all mankind” throughout time and around the world (273).

Campbell connects his prior discussion of the wheel to an idea from German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about being and becoming. As explained in Chapter 4, the wheel has points both of extreme movement on the outer edges and stillness at the center. The center point is the “still point of the turning world […] where the movement of time and the stillness of eternity are together” (273). In Campbell’s words, Goethe argues that knowledge of the self comes from finding “that becoming thing in yourself, which is innocent of the goods and evils of the world” (274). Campbell emphasizes the importance of the becoming center to all mythology because it is the connective point to transcendent energy.

Campbell describes peak experiences and epiphanies as moments that bring the individual into contact with harmony on earth. The theory of peak experiences comes from psychologist Abraham Maslow, who defines this feeling as “your relationship to the harmony of being” (276). As an example, Campbell tells an anecdote about a footrace when he felt an indescribable understanding of his body’s full form and abilities. Campbell uses author James Joyce’s definition of epiphanies. Epiphanies occur when beholding a beautiful thing. There is an awareness of “the relationship of part to part, each part to the whole, and the whole to each of its parts” (277). An aesthetic epiphany can also occur when beholding monstrous figures because these evoke the sublime, which is a feeling of something “too vast for the normal forms to contain” (278). In each of these instances, the object evokes in the viewer a feeling beyond oppositions and human morality.

Campbell connects philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s essay “On an Apparent Intention in the Face of the Individual” to the Net of Indra from Hinduism. Schopenhauer’s essay describes how an individual may look back at their life and become aware of the necessary connections between all events, actions, and interactions with other lives. Schopenhauer hypothesizes that an individual life “links to everything else, moved by the one will to life which is the universal will in nature” (284). In the image of Indra’s net, there is a gem at each intersection point which reflects all other gems on the net. In the same way as Schopenhauer’s theory, each gem necessarily connects to all others in an intricate structure. Campbell makes this connection between mythology and psychology to support his thesis that myths help one understand the complex questions of life, but through images rather than theory.

The final mythological image Campbell discusses is the sound/word “AUM.” Some monks speak this word during meditation to invoke the sound of the universe within the speaker. Campbell explores how the various sounds of the word mimic the cycles of all things in the universe: “You start in the back of the mouth ‘ahh,’ and then ‘oo,’ you fill the mouth, and ‘mm’ closes the mouth” (286). These sounds aurally suggest the stages of becoming, being, and dissolution. Campbell notes that the sound also has a final, unspoken syllable before the speaker repeats the word. This moment of silence reflects the immortal transcendent energy that underlies all life. Campbell’s central argument throughout the book is that all myths aim to connect humans to the invisible, transcendent life energy, so ending the book with this topic leaves the reader with a vivid image of Campbell’s main idea.