We were in the back room of an old art shop in a small city in southern India. The room was crowded, with wood, metal, and stone sculptures and stacks of glass-fronted paintings leaning against the walls. We walked carefully through the makeshift aisle, pausing occasionally to admire. This visit was a momentary respite grabbed in the middle of a turbulent life situation- we had come here to be with art, to look at it, and to allow its gentle hands to apply balm to our souls.
It was captivating, I was so enthralled in the story. I wanted you to find the painting upon your return, I wanted the painting to arrive safely, and by the end I was like “I want to see this painting for myself”
Wonderful words and as always wonderfully linked to an aspect of the hero’s journey. Really good stuff, Priya.
I loved this post, and I continue to think your entire framework for Ten Thousand Journeys is so clever! i enjoy reading about your hero's journey as you guide us through Campbell's steps.
For some reason Priya, this post brought me to tears. In a good way. Touched me deeply as I wait for my goddess to fully arrive. Whether by motorcycle, van or divine intervention. Lovely piece of writing. Thank-you.
I love the way you are framing and personalizing this journey. This captivated me. Your descriptions are so vivid and evocative, I’m attached to that painting. I’m curious - how aware were you at the time that this was indeed a visitation from the goddess. The quotes are well curated tho I did squirm a bit in one place. I’ll copy it to another comment. Thank you for bringing us on your journey! So generous.
Hi Priya, I echo what Michael said in that your anecdote is beautifully written. I'm imagining your fiction writing is beautiful in this way too. I enjoyed how you repeatedly wrote, "We..." yet never revealed the other person. My imagination created a partner for you, but by not revealing who the other person in the "we" is, you successfully created a tension in the writing that pulls the reader forward. Beautiful craft.
I'm also interested in your study of The Hero's Journey from the female perspective, as Joseph Campbell writes it from the male perspective, and as you may guess 😁 I would offer that both perspectives are needed. I appreciated this, in particular: "The goddess energy is best described as an archetypal energy: benevolent and nourishing as well as all-powerful and destructive. In the context of the hero’s journey, it is the complementary archetypal energy that the hero (male or female) is missing/doesn’t have, but needs to progress. It can be represented by a person, situation, or object."
Thanks for sharing your journey with us Priya✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
p.s. you may appreciate this from the book, The Power of Myth, which is a transcription of conversations between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers: "The idea of the Goddess is related to the fact that you’re born from your mother, and your father may be unknown to you, or the father may have died. Frequently, in the epics, when the hero is born, his father has died, or his father is in some other place, and then the hero has to go in quest of his father."
The Power of Myth (p. 208). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
I loved your story of finding the painting of the goddess, and how you related it to the hero's journey. And now I am curious to see the painting too! I do hope you will share it in a future post, or on Notes?
🦋 Meeting With The Goddess
Priya, your anecdote was so well-written!
It was captivating, I was so enthralled in the story. I wanted you to find the painting upon your return, I wanted the painting to arrive safely, and by the end I was like “I want to see this painting for myself”
Wonderful words and as always wonderfully linked to an aspect of the hero’s journey. Really good stuff, Priya.
I loved this post, and I continue to think your entire framework for Ten Thousand Journeys is so clever! i enjoy reading about your hero's journey as you guide us through Campbell's steps.
For some reason Priya, this post brought me to tears. In a good way. Touched me deeply as I wait for my goddess to fully arrive. Whether by motorcycle, van or divine intervention. Lovely piece of writing. Thank-you.
I love the way you are framing and personalizing this journey. This captivated me. Your descriptions are so vivid and evocative, I’m attached to that painting. I’m curious - how aware were you at the time that this was indeed a visitation from the goddess. The quotes are well curated tho I did squirm a bit in one place. I’ll copy it to another comment. Thank you for bringing us on your journey! So generous.
Hi Priya, I echo what Michael said in that your anecdote is beautifully written. I'm imagining your fiction writing is beautiful in this way too. I enjoyed how you repeatedly wrote, "We..." yet never revealed the other person. My imagination created a partner for you, but by not revealing who the other person in the "we" is, you successfully created a tension in the writing that pulls the reader forward. Beautiful craft.
I'm also interested in your study of The Hero's Journey from the female perspective, as Joseph Campbell writes it from the male perspective, and as you may guess 😁 I would offer that both perspectives are needed. I appreciated this, in particular: "The goddess energy is best described as an archetypal energy: benevolent and nourishing as well as all-powerful and destructive. In the context of the hero’s journey, it is the complementary archetypal energy that the hero (male or female) is missing/doesn’t have, but needs to progress. It can be represented by a person, situation, or object."
Thanks for sharing your journey with us Priya✨🌟💖🙏🕊️
p.s. you may appreciate this from the book, The Power of Myth, which is a transcription of conversations between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers: "The idea of the Goddess is related to the fact that you’re born from your mother, and your father may be unknown to you, or the father may have died. Frequently, in the epics, when the hero is born, his father has died, or his father is in some other place, and then the hero has to go in quest of his father."
The Power of Myth (p. 208). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
I loved your story of finding the painting of the goddess, and how you related it to the hero's journey. And now I am curious to see the painting too! I do hope you will share it in a future post, or on Notes?