Path #7 Travel as a Mythic Journey
Embarking Upon a Personal Quest
We usually think of travel as exploring the outer world, but actually it can be a valuable opportunity for inner exploration as well. I like to imagine travel as taking part in a mythic journey, a personal quest to deepen my insights about my inward life and my greater purpose in the outer world. You may want to imagine this as well! Going beyond our comfort zone to explore what is possible past its boundaries is a goal of the mythic journey. It can be a long and arduous process of questioning, discovery, disappointment, and joy. This journey may lead us to make peace with the world, appreciate the balance of all things, and bring back something to share with others at its completion.
Image Wikipedia
“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”
- David Mitchell
Ladder to a pomegranate tree, Iran,
photo Denise Ames
“There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed.” – Kate Douglas Wiggin
Transformation is a process of expanding one’s consciousness to become more aware of our being and purpose in the world. It is opening up to curiosity, awareness, and expanding our state of mind. Those of us who are seeking a transformative experience may wish to think of it as a mythic journey. Others may not even know that they are going through a mythic journey, but upon reflection they discover that they have gone through this process.
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987)—an American writer, mythologist, cultural anthropologist, and teacher—aptly described three phases of a mythic journey. The Departure, where the hero leaves the comfortable and familiar world and ventures into the darkness of the unknown; The Initiation, where the hero is subjected to a series of true character tests; and The Return, in which the hero brings the boon of their quest back for the benefit of not only their own life but to help save the community and often times the world. The goal of the mythic journey is personal transformation.
The Hero’s Journey is about personal growth and passage to a higher level of being. The journey requires a departure from the comfortable, familiar world of our everyday life, an initiation into a deeper level of awareness, ability, and responsibility; and then a return home to bring back one’s new-found wisdom to share with others. Each stage of the journey must be successfully passed through if the initiate is to become a Hero. To turn back at any stage is to reject the need to grow and mature to a greater level of knowing. I have found that equating our travel experience to a mythic journey can make it more meaningful and inspiring.