The Journey Inward Summary

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Out of the many stories and ideas covered in the second chapter of The Power of Myth titled, “The Journey Inward”, there were three specifically that I felt intrigued by the most. All in which can be related to our lives and sense of self in relation to God and the world we live in. The first message that resonated with me was Campbell’s idea that our dreams are ultimately the result of the conflicts we internalize. He says that a dream, “talks about permanent conditions within your own psyche as they relate to the temporal conditions of your life right now”. He also mentions that the dreamtime has two levels, which consist of a personal and general problem, which we can associate with popular myths and troubles that many others experience. Our dreams “manifest in symbolic and metaphorical images”, says Campbell. Since I am an avid dreamer and sometimes wonder why I dream what I dream, this section of the chapter made me want to follow Campbell’s advice and try and keep track of storylines, symbolisms, and …show more content…

One question Campbell then asks that stood out to me was when he says, “who are we to judge?”. When speaking of affirmations, beliefs, inner self, and our countless decisions between everyday dualities, predominantly good and evil, who are we to judge? Moyers then speaks of Christian teachings that can glorify an eternity in heaven, and deem human life on earth as a place in which we constantly need absolution from our sins. However, Campbell makes an important comment on this subject and tells us that eternity is not only present in the afterlife and in the heaven we hope to all wish to reach someday, but eternity is the “functions of life” that we experience each day living on this earth. I found this to be a powerful message and a great way to end a chapter that spoke to many penetrating

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