In the 21st century where people have virtual reality, autonomous vehicle, and smartphones, myths seem antique and useless, right?

Perhaps not.

Campbell writes that “Myths are stories of our search through the ages for truth, for meaning, for significance. We all need to understand death and to cope with death, and we all need help in our passages from birth to life and then to death. We need for life to signify, to touch the eternal, to understand the mysterious, to find out who we are” (pg 4).

Myths serve an important role in our lives by teaching us two main lessons: how young people should act in the world and how old people should handle death.

Campbell writes that reading myths teach people to turn inward to understand the message of the symbols. He also advises readers to read other people’s myths, and not just their own religion because people tend to interpret their religion in terms of facts–but if they read other myths, they will begin to understand the message in the story.

Campbell also says that myths are bits of information from ancient times, that have helped support human life, build civilizations, and informed religions over the millennia, and if you don’t know what the guide-signs are along the way, you have to work it out yourself.

It’s important to note that myths are not lies, but rather metaphorical truths. Myths come from realizations of some kind that then find expression in symbolic form.

The sea often represents the unconscious mind. The whale represents the energy of the unconscious which must be controlled. The serpent eating its own tail represents an image of life, one generation must eat the other to survive. The dragon represents one's greatest fear or enemy. The list goes on.

2) The Hero’s Journey AKA The MonoMyth