Sacrifice and Bliss: Power of Myth 4(1990)

Joseph Campbell

Campbell discusses the role of sacrifice in myth, which symbolizes the necessity for rebirth. He also talks about the significance of sacrifice--in particular, a mother's sacrifice for her child, and the sacrifice to the relationship in marriage--and stresses the need for every one of us to find our sacred place in the midst of today's fast-paced, technological world.
Campbell: " "Going to your sacrifice as the winning stroke of your life was the essence of the early sacrificial idea... when you go to your death that way, as a god, you are going to eternal life, what's sad about that?... The realization of your bliss, your true being, comes when you have put aside what might be called passing moment with its terror and with its temptations and its statement of requirements of life that you should live this way.... I always tell my students to follow their bliss--where the deep sense of being is from, and where your body and soul want to go. When you have that feeling, then stay with it, and don't let anyone throw you off. I say don't be afraid to follow your bliss and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.""