I think about George Lucas’ inspiration to do the Star Wars films after reading Joseph Campbell. Marion: I was drawn to this Campbell quote: “Myth is the public dream and that dream is the private myth.” Do you think the Hero’s Journey symbolizes the “public myth?” Do you see our society developing a greater mythological awareness? These are great tools to understand each stage of the adventure, to give people a different frame of reference for viewing their lives. But our workshops set the stage for a greater learning by combining mythology with concrete activities, such as movement, artistic expression, active games, guided imagery, and dramatic skits. Peter: We explore the myths, which alone are very helpful, as the Campbell-Moyer Interviews demonstrate. Marion: Maybe you could describe what you do in these workshops, how you help people bring mythology into their lives in useful ways. I now offer workshops for adults as well. For my purposes, I developed eight main stages for working with children” Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Crossing the Threshold of Ogres, Meeting the Allies, Road of Trials, The Great Meeting, The Magic Flight, and The Triumphant Return. In his original book, Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell analyzed the world’s mythologies and discovered 17 stages or recurring patterns. I decided to develop my own version of those original camps and in 1983 began doing summer camps for nine to twelve year-olds. I was excited by the description of children’s camps called “The Hero’s Journey” based on Joseph Campbell’s terminology and the exploration of “stages of adventure,” refining the senses, dramatic expression and archetypal characters. Peter: In 1982, I discovered an article called “The Hero’s Journey,” written by Maureen Merdock after a 1980 Jean Houston workshop held in New York.

The power of myth the hero's adventure