--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How does the ordinary person come to the…" description: "\"How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For a start, I would say, study poetry. Learn how to read a poem. You need not have the experien..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg" --- # How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For… ![“How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For a start, I would say, study poetry. Learn how to read a poem. You need not have the experience to get the message, or at least some indication of the message. It may come gradually. (92)” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg) > “How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For a start, I would say, study poetry. Learn how to read a poem. You need not have the experience to get the message, or at least some indication of the message. It may come gradually. (92)” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry opens a path to higher awareness, allowing ordinary people to glimpse the transcendent through language and imagination. **In simple terms:** Poetry helps ordinary people reach higher awareness. Key Takeaway Read poetry to expand perception. Themes spirituality art growth Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - education - creative writing - mindfulness practice Key Concepts mythology transcendence literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does poetry change your view of reality? - What poem first made you feel something beyond everyday life? A Different Perspective Poetry alone may not guarantee transcendence without personal effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Come Transcendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-transcendent-3573619/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-person/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Read Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-poem-387588/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Study Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-poetry-2214398/) [Transcendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent/) [Transcendent Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent-start-3573620/) ## Related quotes > [“I will go to campus alone dressed in antique silk slips and beat-up cowboy boots and gypsy beads, and I will study poetry. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-will-go-to-campus-alone-dressed-in-antique-silk-slips-and-beat-up/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [ “Good, he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician. \[Upon hearing that one of his students had dropped out to study poetry\] ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/good-he-did-not-have-enough-imagination-to-become-a-mathematician/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [Heinrich Zimmerhe had a little saying : The best things cant be told - because they are transcendent, inexpressible truths. The second best are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/heinrich-zimmerhe-had-a-little-saying-the-best-things-cant-be-told/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Make your god transparent to the transcendent, and it doesn't matter what his name is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/make-your-god-transparent-to-the-transcendent-and-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Every now and then I read a poem that does touch something in me, but I never turn to poetry for solace or pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/every-now-and-then-i-read-a-poem-that-does-touch-something-in-me-but/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“To write or read a poem is . . . to enter into a different kind of thought world from our normal patterns. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/to-write-or-read-a-poem-is-to-enter-into-a-different-kind-of-thought/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“He read me another poem, and another one - and he explained the true history of poetry, which is a kind of secret, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/he-read-me-another-poem-and-another-one-and-he-explained-the-true/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/to-read-a-poem-in-january-is-as-lovely-as-to-go-for-a-walk-in-june/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“I woke up wanting to read a poem by that name, and I found one with a lifeguard’s chair, a broken shell, gulls watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-broder/i-woke-up-wanting-to-read-a-poem-by-that-name-and-i-found-one-with-a/) [Michael Broder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-broder/) > [One does not read a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks with hopes that it will grant him a career in engineering; he does so because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/one-does-not-read-a-poem-by-gwendolyn-brooks-with-hopes-that-it-will/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [The idea of how to read a poem is based on the idea that poetry needs you as a reader. That the experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/the-idea-of-how-to-read-a-poem-is-based-on-the-idea-that-poetry-needs/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [People are so used to reading novels now, they just read a poem straight through to get the meaning. And that's something totally different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/people-are-so-used-to-reading-novels-now-they-just-read-a-poem/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/i-read-a-poem-every-night-as-others-read-a-prayer/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [“Will read a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh at his grandmother's funeral. "Pondering the joys we had, listen & keep very still. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-branard/will-read-a-poem-by-sir-walter-raleigh-at-his-grandmother-s-funeral/) [Lynne Branard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-branard/) > [When you read the poem, you wonder, what might Grendel have been? Could it have been a person that was turned away? Someone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-bew/when-you-read-the-poem-you-wonder-what-might-grendel-have-been-could/) [Kieran Bew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-bew/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) [Browse all 25,574 Doe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For a start, I would say, study poetry. Learn how to read a poem. You need not have the experience to get the message, or at least some indication of the message. It may come gradually. (92)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the-transcendent-for-a-start-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the-transcendent-for-a-start-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d3/joseph-campbell-300_doe_how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the_397736.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How does the ordinary person come to the transcendent? For a start, I would say, study poetry. Learn how to…” — Joseph Campbell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How does the ordinary person come...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the-transcendent-for-a-start-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-does-the-ordinary-person-come-to-the-transcendent-for-a-start-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```