What does it all mean?

The book that gave me language for what I was experiencing. Campbell showed me that my failures and struggles weren't random—they were the hero's journey. Every myth across cultures tells the same story: separation, initiation, return. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Wright connects Buddhism to evolutionary psychology. Emotions aren't truth—they're survival mechanisms that often misfire in modern life. Mindfulness is the tool for seeing them clearly instead of being controlled by them.

Read this during my lowest point after failing out of VT. Becker argues that everything humans do is an attempt to deny our mortality—our 'immortality projects.' Understanding this helped me see my ego for what it was: a defense mechanism. Heavy but necessary.

Jung taught me about the shadow—the parts of yourself you disown. Individuation is the work of integrating them back. After VT, I had a lot of shadow to face.