Pathways to Bliss
January 31, 2008
Last fall, I read a book by Joseph Campbell called Pathways to Bliss. Campbell studied comparative mythology, writing many books and giving many talks throughout his lifetime. He is best known for the television series The Power of Myth, for his book A Hero With A Thousand Faces that examines myths from various cultures, and for inspiring George Lucas’ Star Wars.
This book is about bliss, which Campbell defines as “that deep sense of doing what you absolutely must do to be yourself.” Bliss is the satisfaction you feel when you know you are living your life to its full potential. Campbell compares the process of finding your bliss to the journey of the hero — complete with a call to adventure, a road of trials, the accomplishment of a task, and a return to the ordinary world.
This book caused me to think long and hard about my own bliss, which I believe I find in two types of activities:
- Myth: Mythology has fascinated me since childhood. I have long enjoyed science fiction and fantasy, in both novels and movies. I have realized recently that these all fall under C.S. Lewis’ definition of myth, “a story where the pattern of events is all that matters” (source).
- Web: In college, I saw first-hand how the internet could change education. I have since worked on personal web projects, educational tools, and web sites for smaller organizations. I still get excited about the internet as a tool for making information more widely available.
After some intense introspection over the past few months, I have a decided to focus my spare time on these two items:
- I am cutting some activities from my busy life so I can focus on a more serious study of myth, reading books about mythology as well as fantasy and science-fiction novels.
- I will start writing about mythology and maybe even my own fiction. (I will publish this writing on the internet, though I’m not yet sure in what form.)
- I quit my consulting job and started a new one this month, working as a web developer for a movie-related company.
- I will continue to volunteer as the webmaster for the Mythopoeic Society.
In terms of the hero’s journey, I have responded to the call to adventure. I am excited to see where the road leads.
I realize not everyone is interested in mythology, but the lessons from this book apply to everyone. I encourage you to spend some time thinking about who you are and what activities bring you joy … and then find a way to pour yourself into them.
If you are interested in learning more, this is honestly not the best book to start a serious study of mythology: for that, I would recommend the lighter A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong or the more dense A Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. I would recommend Pathways to Bliss if you are a casual reader and want to read just one book on the subject of mythology and personal transformation.