--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How, in the contemporary period, can we…" description: "\"“How, in the contemporary period, can we evoke the imagery that communicates the most profound and most richly developed sense of experiencing life? Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/joseph-campbell-300_life_how-in-the-contemporary-period-can-we-ev_2488539.jpg" --- # How, in the contemporary period, can we evoke the imagery… ![“How, in the contemporary period, can we evoke the imagery that communicates the most profound and most richly developed sense of experiencing life? These images must point past themselves to that ultimate truth which must be told: that life does not have one absolutely fixed meaning. These images…” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/joseph-campbell-300_life_how-in-the-contemporary-period-can-we-ev_2488539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/joseph-campbell-300_life_how-in-the-contemporary-period-can-we-ev_2488539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/joseph-campbell-300_life_how-in-the-contemporary-period-can-we-ev_2488539.jpg) > ““How, in the contemporary period, can we evoke the imagery that communicates the most profound and most richly developed sense of experiencing life? These images must point past themselves to that ultimate truth which must be told: that life does not have one absolutely fixed meaning. These images must point past all meanings given, beyond all definitions and relationships, to that really ineffable mystery that is just the existence, the being of ourselves and of our world. If we give that mystery an exact meaning we diminish the experience of its real depth. But when a poet carries the mind into a context of meanings and then pitches it past those, one knows that marvelous rapture that comes from going past all categories of definition. Here we sense the function of metaphor that allows us to make a journey we could not otherwise make ...”” [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. Metaphor lets us transcend fixed meanings, revealing deeper, ineffable aspects of existence. **In simple terms:** Metaphors reveal deeper truths beyond fixed meanings. Key Takeaway Use metaphor to explore deeper truths. Themes philosophy art meaning existence metaphor Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - poetry - visual arts - spiritual practice - educational lectures Key Concepts transcendence ineffability creative insight Questions to Reflect On - In what ways can metaphor deepen your understanding of life? - How do you experience the ineffable mystery? A Different Perspective None provided ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiencing Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiencing-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Ultimate truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-truth/) ## Related quotes > [Reading with an eye towards metaphor allows us to become the person we’re reading about, while reading about them. That’s why there is symbols…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/reading-with-an-eye-towards-metaphor-allows-us-to-become-the-person/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“anyone continually knitting his life into contexts of intention, import, and clarifications of meaning will in the end find that he has lost the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/anyone-continually-knitting-his-life-into-contexts-of-intention/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ It \[music\] has an awakening function. Life is a rhythm. Art is an organization of rhythms. Music is a fundamental art that touches our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/it-music-has-an-awakening-function-life-is-a-rhythm-art-is-an/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The ultimate Mystery of being, the ultimate Truth, is Love. This is the essential structure of reality. When Dante spoke of the 'love which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venerable-bede/the-ultimate-mystery-of-being-the-ultimate-truth-is-love-this-is-the/) [Venerable Bede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venerable-bede/) > [The person who thinks he has found the ultimate truth is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-person-who-thinks-he-has-found-the-ultimate-truth-is-wrong/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/half-the-people-in-the-world-think-that-the-metaphors-of-their/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I am more interested in experiencing life than in analyzing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bradley/i-am-more-interested-in-experiencing-life-than-in-analyzing-it/) [Bill Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bradley/) > [All my friends were doing just dumb stuff that kids do, like making out with people at parties and starting to date... I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troye-sivan/all-my-friends-were-doing-just-dumb-stuff-that-kids-do-like-making/) [Troye Sivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troye-sivan/) > [I want to retreat back to living off the land and just being in nature, experiencing life in the most pure, natural way possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-smith/i-want-to-retreat-back-to-living-off-the-land-and-just-being-in/) [Willow Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-smith/) > [Zen is about breaking out of your ideas and experiencing life and not ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/zen-is-about-breaking-out-of-your-ideas-and-experiencing-life-and-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Something wonderful about experiencing life with friendly strangers and stranger-friends who all fit in your pocket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/something-wonderful-about-experiencing-life-with-friendly-strangers/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [“Experiencing Death is like experiencing Life for both are complete within themselves and they both have same effect on the human mind, yet the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maitreya-rudrabhayananda/experiencing-death-is-like-experiencing-life-for-both-are-complete/) [Maitreya Rudrabhayananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maitreya-rudrabhayananda/) > [No matter what you are experiencing in life right now, trust that all is unfolding in your best interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/no-matter-what-you-are-experiencing-in-life-right-now-trust-that-all/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [Trust in the process you are now experiencing. Life is on your side. It is showing that to you now, though you may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/trust-in-the-process-you-are-now-experiencing-life-is-on-your-side-it/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Releasing the chains to the material means experiencing life within each cell, moment to moment, each moment renewed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brennan/releasing-the-chains-to-the-material-means-experiencing-life-within/) [Barbara Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brennan/) ## 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. 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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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How, in the contemporary period, can we evoke the imagery that communicates the most profound and most richly developed sense of experiencing life? 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