Gnosis / Gnostic teacher Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller On "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Myth as Metaphor and as Religion" book, shortly before death of Joseph Campbell.

Topics: Carl Jung, Eranos conferences, Joseph Campbell's education background, Great Seal of the United States of America, Sarah Lawrence College

The only American of the four, he was born in New York City in 1904. And he was educated at Columbia University, the University of Paris, and the University of Munich in Bavaria. In 1934, after having lived for a while in California, he joined the Literary Faculty of Sarah Lawrence College where he taught until his retirement.

Quite early in his life, he became acquainted with C G Jung and he became a devoted follower, although not a psychologist himself. Since the late 1930's or early 1940's, he was a participant in the famous Eranos conferences. And in 1954, began the publication of the first of six volumes of papers from the Eranos Yearbooks, in English, under the title Of Spirit and Nature. This, of course, needs a little bit of elucidation. Eranos is a Greek word meaning a particular kind of banquet.

6:05 But, as Campbell pointed out, the interest soon shifted from the meeting of East and West, to the West of meeting itself – and its own destiny. And so the Eranos Conferences went on year after year. During the war years...

16:00 My statements about Joseph Campbell's works will be, although laced with quotations now, very largely of a subjective nature. For, as some of my close friends know, of all people, and I don't know if I've seen that many or not, of all people I've had contact of in this field and who I have heard lecture and whose writings I've read, there is only one who I felt I could never disagree on anything. There was only one whose statements I could always utterly endorse. And that is something that frightens me. If I didn't know that I had taken leave of my critical faculties, or they had taken leave of me, this would indeed distress me. And so, Joseph Campbell to me really appears as the Jungian spirit closest to my heart, bear none. If I was asked why, I would say the reasons are too numerous to mention. But I shall attempt to enumerate a few and to elaborate on them.

23:02 Secondly, I think we need to call to mind that the narrow specialists mentality almost inevitably eventually also gets to the point – where it misses the most important elements in its own field. The reason for this being, the core principle of many a matter, can only be properly understood and evaluated when one has an insight into other disciplines that may illuminate the matter under consideration. So, specialization has it great and grave dangers.

1:11:04 thirdly, there is the individual who rises above these and becomes the conscious choice maker. Less you think this kind of person has a wonderful time all the time.

1:11:27 and to be conscious hurts. it hurts like heck. it hurts like hell. Because, to make those decisions, that's worse than anything. Yet, that is the hallmark of consciousness. It's that kind of thing that Joseph Campbell advocates 1:11:50 He is a moral libertarian. 1:12:06 Either we are free or we are not free. An issue one must face, a difficult one

1:12:20 I value Campbell because of his great understand of what I call Hermetic America 1:12:30 Namely the philosophical hermetic foundations of The American Republic His utterances are numerous. I do not have the time to read to you. Fabulously accurate interpretation of the symbolism of Both sides of the Great Seal of the United States. 1:13:09 Better than anything I have seen anywhere. This man has reached the objective. 1:13:50 Esoteric spirit that moved not only the people who drew that [Great] Seal, but the entire philosophy the early republic was based upon. And how utterly deplorable and regrettable and terrible it is that all of this has been virtually totally forgotten by our days. And that we have held, 1:14:15 The American People have held in their very hands, handed to them by people like Franklin and Jefferson and all kinds of others 1:14:24 One of the most splendid treasures of spiritual philosophy - applicable to all manner of human purposes. And we have discarded it. And we are running around like beggars, the world over, picking up crumbs from every kind of anarchists, Marxists, this thing, fascists, this thing that thing, all over the world. 1:14:50 All of which, put together, could never come close to the psychological spiritual wisdom that was given to us to begin with... and that we have simply forgotten about and thrown away. And how incredibly unfortunate and terrible this is. And, I know for a fact, that Joseph Campbell feels this very very keenly.