Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation (2004)

by Joseph Campbell

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Joseph Campbell famously defined myth as "other people's religion." But he also said that one of the basic functions of myth is to help each individual through the journey of life, providing a sort of travel guide or map to reach fulfillment -- or, as he called it, bliss. For Campbell, many of the world's most powerful myths support the individual's heroic path toward bliss. InPathways to Bliss, Campbell examines this personal, psychological side of myth. Like his classic best-selling booksMyths to Live By andThe Power of Myth,Pathways to Bliss draws from Campbell's popular lectures and dialogues, which highlight his remarkable storytelling and ability to apply the larger themes of world mythology to personal growth and the quest for transformation. Here he anchors mythology's symbolic wisdom to the individual, applying the most poetic mythical metaphors to the challenges of our daily lives. Campbell dwells on life's important questions. Combining cross-cultural stories with the teachings of modern psychology, he examines the ways in which our myths shape and enrich our lives and shows how myth can help each of us truly identify and follow our bliss.… (more)

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More of a self-help and psychology book than an anthropology book on myth, however it really clarifies the relationship of the individual psyche and the society to myth and folklore. I think far too many people study myth through a historical/anthropological/fiction lens rather than as a present psychological power. This book brings myth into the personal realm instead of the historical fairly well. I don't agree with some of his understandings of Jung however and I think he misrepresents a few of Jung's theories but it's not really important for the purpose of this book. (

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Chickenman | Sep 13, 2018 |

This book is classic Campbell, and more approachable than his officially authored books. “Pathways” is part of The Joseph Campbell Collection, a series of books edited together from various lectures, manuscripts, and articles over the course of two decades. It carries the engaging tones and rhythms of his lectures and is a fun and easy read.

I first picked up this book in hopes of finding a guide to practical guide to applying Campbell’s ideas. While the book offers very little of this, there are one or two short sections which offer a taste of just that. That, in addition to the insight that Campbell offers to understanding psychology, society, and the symbols of the soul, makes this and incredibly satisfying read. (

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dace | Dec 3, 2006 |

Hate the title; love the book. (

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BibliophilistineKate | Apr 27, 2006 |

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The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell

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2004

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Epigraph

To know others is wisdom;
To know yourself is enlightenment
To master others requires force;
To master yourself requires true strength.
-Lao-tzu, Tao-te-Ching, chapter 33

Dedication

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Traditionally, the first function of a living mythology is to reconcile consciousness to the preconditions of its own existence; that is to say, to the nature of life.

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David Kudler

The Skin of Our Teeth

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Joseph Campbell famously defined myth as "other people's religion." But he also said that one of the basic functions of myth is to help each individual through the journey of life, providing a sort of travel guide or map to reach fulfillment -- or, as he called it, bliss. For Campbell, many of the world's most powerful myths support the individual's heroic path toward bliss. InPathways to Bliss, Campbell examines this personal, psychological side of myth. Like his classic best-selling booksMyths to Live By andThe Power of Myth,Pathways to Bliss draws from Campbell's popular lectures and dialogues, which highlight his remarkable storytelling and ability to apply the larger themes of world mythology to personal growth and the quest for transformation. Here he anchors mythology's symbolic wisdom to the individual, applying the most poetic mythical metaphors to the challenges of our daily lives. Campbell dwells on life's important questions. Combining cross-cultural stories with the teachings of modern psychology, he examines the ways in which our myths shape and enrich our lives and shows how myth can help each of us truly identify and follow our bliss.

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