Synchronicity of Joseph Campbell & Paulo Coelho
‘Follow Your Bliss’ and ‘Personal Legend’
Oct 30, 2009 Jane Alexandra Cormack
Both are famous not only for their achievements in literature, but for coining the phrases ‘Follow Your Bliss’ (Campbell) and ‘Personal Legend’ (Coelho) which express the same sentiment.
Follow Your Bliss
Joseph Campbell, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion famously stated, “My general formula for my students is ‘follow your bliss’ find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it.”* This term became renowned after the publication of a series of interviews between Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers which resulted in a book and six part television documentary. ‘The Power of Myth’* was published in 1988 posthumously after Campbells death from cancer in 1987.
In reference to his statement ‘Follow your Bliss,’ Campbell said, “You put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.”*
Paulo Coelho
‘The Alchemist,’ written by Paulo Coehlo was published the same year ‘The Power of Myth’ emerged in 1988. ‘The Alchemist’ went on to become a worldwide bestseller. Coelho writes about the importance of following one’s own ‘Personal Legend.’ Personal Legend is “That which you have always wanted to accomplish” and “Your mission on earth.”
In one of Coelho’s recent blog posts (June 2009) he gives a further and more succinct explanation to Personal Legend, “A personal legend is the path we decide to take that fills our heart with enthusiasm, it is the path of our dreams.”
Synchronistic Timing
There are many terms used to describe this understanding yet Campbell and Coelho seemed to have condensed and concisely captured the essence of the meaning and brought it to the mainstream publics attention, coincidentally (or not) in the same year. Following one’s instinct, heart, feeling, bliss, legend, truth, inner knowing, intuition, dreams or the illuminated path (as suggested by James Redfield in The Celestine Vision), has been the chosen way of many for millennia.
So what does it really mean to follow bliss or Personal Legend? There have been literally thousands of books written on the subjects of positive thinking, the power of the mind and the idea of thoughts creating one’s own reality. But are people beginning to create consciously?
American author Lynn Grabhorn suggests in her book ‘Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting’ that is it not positive thinking, sweat and strain, good or bad luck that creates the reality of people’s lives, but their feelings. Grabhorn emphasises the importance of paying attention to feelings and that by doing so, people become deliberate creators of their own lives, rather than creating unconsciously. It’s the rush of joy, the cosy, happy feeling that shows the way to the path of Personal Legend.
Conscious Creation
In essence, it doesn’t seem to matter what religion, if any, people are because the nature of creating personal reality returns to this one simple truth: ‘follow your bliss and you will create the life you truly desire.’ And if by following that feeling of joy, people begin to witness the manifestation of their heart-felt dreams, then surely the following realisation would be the ownership of a power so great that it can create any reality of a persons choosing?
Quotes:
* Joseph Campbell Foundation Website.
* Although the word ‘myth’ is colloquially referred to as a falsity, the academic use of the term is often used in the study of folklore and refers to any traditional story. It is also related to sacred narrative that informs how the world and humankind came to be in it’s present form.
Sources:
- Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn.
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell & Bill Moyers.
The Alchemist Author Paulo Coelho
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The Power of Myth Author Joseph Campbell
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