What’s it all about?
The Hero’s Journey is a classic story-telling structure reflecting adventure, conflict and ultimately triumph over adversity. The symbolism of the journey is compelling as the themes contained in The Hero’s Journey show up in myths, folklore and stories across many different cultures and eras.
This class will explore the structure of the Hero’s Journey and why it remains as prevalent today in modern blockbusters (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings) as it was in the earliest stories of humankind.
The Hero’s Journey provides the blueprint for a cracking good story. But further to that, it provides us mere mortals with a map of how we can make sense of the challenges we face within our own lives.
What will we cover?
In this class we explore the structure of The Hero’s Journey (as pioneered by mythologist Joseph Campbell) in its many incarnations throughout different genres. We will use fun examples from popular culture to familiarise ourselves with the steps of the journey before turning our attention to the relevance of The Hero’s Journey within our own life narratives.
We will explore The Hero’s Journey as personal road map for navigating change, both chosen and un-chosen. Reflective practices will be used to encourage your internal reflection as you begin to identify as the protagonist within your own unfolding story. We will draw on relevant psychological principles that underpin myth as a tool for meaning-making, wisdom and personal growth.
Who will be teaching?
Lisa is a psychologist with a passion for myth and story. In her practice, she has observed the power of stories to assist humans to make sense of themselves, other people and the world. She is looking forward to chatting about the motifs within The Hero’s Journey as her friends and family are now sick of this topic. She can usually be found with her head in a book or lost on a hiking track somewhere on the outskirts of Melbourne.