We were talking last time about how all the Star Wars episodes contain a primary motif referred to in mythology as supernatural aid, or in the films as the Force. This is sometimes subtle yet always present to ensure that things happen the way they are meant to happen.
Myth, though, is very misunderstood; it is not a falsehood as popularly believed, but rather, in the classic sense, a true story passed on from generation to generation about an important aspect of reality. Indigenous and ancient peoples used myth to tell of the way things really are in the world, just as scripture does in the world’s religions.
Joseph Campbell, a mentor to George Lucas, wrote about how the most common archetype in mythology, “the hero’s journey,” boils down to the universal formula of birth, death, and rebirth, or in his words: departure, initiation, and return. Departure starts off with its “call to adventure” and its own built in assistance, a form of grace which appears at other times throughout the pattern, as well.
In the unfamiliar settings of Star Wars, this story plays out through a process of opposing forces clashing, merging, and being recreated into a new whole, just as in the process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, which results in a new combination transcending them both. This is all to bring about the necessary pattern of transformation, needed at times to help move life along to its fullest potential.
The story of this pattern is the most common archetypal story of all, a timeless, universal story at that. It is the one story we all share as human beings continually undergoing change and transformation in our lives. It is the one story that connects us to everyone else who has ever lived on this planet, or any other.
In living this universal story, we get to the sacred level of our life story. Sharing our deeper story with others, we recognize that we are all connected. We know our lived experiences are similar through the archetypes we mutually share.
We are all a hero or heroine in waiting, ready to live out this pattern of departure, initiation, and return in our lives; it is built into our spiritual DNA. Thinking of this story as beginning, muddle, and resolution might make it more real to us. We all experience this pattern many times over in our lives. In the midst of any muddle, transformation is about to happen, and needed to bring about the resolution.
It’s interesting that this pattern is found in mysticism, as well. Evelyn Underhill, drawing from the lives of the great mystics, identifies five stages of “the mystic way:” awakening, giving us a consciousness beyond the temporal world; purification, purging us of temporal desires; illumination, lifting our consciousness from a self-centered to a Creator-centered world; “the dark night of the soul,” a symbolic death leading to surrender and rebirth; and, union, where the two worlds, the eternal and the temporal, become one. This is a universal roadmap for the journey of the soul.
Every religion has its mystical element, that universal aspect illuminating our quest to know divine unity. One of the most eloquent expressions of this quest comes from the Baha’i Faith. Baha’u’llah’s The Seven Valleys clarifies that our deepest spiritual transformation comes about not through escape from the world, but through work in the world, or service to humanity.
First, the Valley of Search parallels the motif of the call to adventure and requires great patience in leaving behind selfish desires while trusting in “aid from the Invisible Realm.” Second, the Valley of Love brings an awakening and a yearning for more. Then, in the Valley of Knowledge we recognize providence in all things and the inner significance of all things. Fourth, the Valley of Unity is a bridge between the temporal and eternal realms, conferring an understanding of that illusive divine unity of all created things, which is equivalent to the final stage of the mystic way.
But there is more beyond union. The final three valleys of Contentment, Wonderment, and True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness, enable the further development of the soul, contribute to a deep inner peace, inspire heightened spiritual empowerment, and confer attributes for assisting others in their journey.
What the mythological hero’s journey and the mystic journey of the soul have in common with the Star Wars films is the centrality not only of the motif of supernatural aid – we are never left alone in reaching our potential – but also of instilling the virtue of service. Living our lives according to the principle of union, or the oneness of all life, is not merely a solitary quest, or even an act of social justice, but rather a universal spiritual principle meant for everyone. Union brings about a consciousness of oneness, which in turn brings about the desire to serve others.
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