Many of you admitted in our chat rooms recently while watching The Damage Report, to either never having watched Star Wars, or not liking it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if we are serious about making the world a better place, we are going to have to all become Star Wars nerds.

This isn’t going to be as painful as you may think. It will be worse, but in a very different way than you might assume. Like all good things in life - no pain, no gain. Allow me to explain.

When I started teaching high school around three lifetimes ago, one of my mentors, Bridget, quoted comparative mythologist, Joseph Campbell. The look on my face conveyed to her that she had, once again, quoted someone I was oblivious to. She was rightfully disgusted, but also shocked. She explained that based on the way I taught my English class, with a thick lens of social-psychology, it sounded like I was well-versed in Campbell’s work.

Thus began my deepest journey of self-discovery to that point in my life. Little did I know that this would move me from “Star Wars is old and boring” to “Star Wars is one of the most profound movies of all time.”

I read the book Bridget loaned me, and then quickly became engrossed in Campbell’s research of Freud, Jung, and others that led him to writing dozens of books about “The Hero’s Journey,” detailing the universal human experience.

In Joseph Campbell’s interview, “The Hero’s Adventure” with Bill Moyers, Campbell explains that everyone is a hero and, therefore, embarks on a journey. While the stages of our journeys vary, the purpose is the same – tap into our subconscious so that we can learn to see the positive values in the negative aspects of transcendent realities, such as love/hate and forgiveness/blame. This is what brings us wisdom.

Campbell is known for referring to this process as “slaying your dragon.” When the dragon is slaying us, however, we can see its presence in our lives: anger, fear, abuse, addiction, illness, and even physical death. The Hero’s Journey teaches us how to self-identify these occurrences in our lives, heal ourselves, and then use our wisdom to help others. To be truly happy and help the next generation, as Campbell argues is our purpose, we must learn to live authentic, enlightened lives by delving deep within and slaying our dragon before it slays us.

I learned that George Lucas, writer and director of the original Star Wars (among others), wrote the movies based on Campbell’s theory of “The Hero’s Journey.” I decided to try watching the movie again. My then-boyfriend was at first ecstatic that I was finally coming around to Star Wars, but I quickly grew on his nerves with my never-ending analysis. May our relationship rest in peace.

I taught The Hero’s Journey to my students. They learned to apply the theory to Shakespeare, “Beowulf,” “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” “Demeter and Persephone,” among others.

They then used it to analyze Star Wars and, finally, to examine their own lives. They journaled, wrote essays, and created mandalas. We talked about traditions, rituals, and belief systems that are passed onto us from previous generations - where they come from, why they’re important, or whether we truly believe them. We wrestled with questions like:

What system are you fighting against, or refusing to conform to?

What is something that you have struggled with? Describe the duality in the situation and whether you have achieved balance.

They had eye-opening epiphanies that were at once beautiful and painful. I was met with resistance from some, as goes the process of self-transformation and growth. It provided a space for us to learn about and accept our differences. It taught us compassion for others, and for ourselves.

Certainly, you can get away with not liking Star Wars, yet learning about The Hero’s Journey. In fact, I’ve never met a Star Wars nerd who actually knew about the link to Joseph Campbell, and vice versa (though, the internet tells me that they do exist).

Rest assured, I’m not actually saying you have to love Star Wars. I’m just saying that you should consider being obsessed with it.

Go forth and slay your dragon, Dragon.

Let me know in the comments below -- What are you slaying?