The Overarching Power of Belief
I believe that every story ever told is true because of the creative power of belief of Humankind. I believe that there are not millions of fictional places where heroes live, but one place that houses the collective dreams of all whoâve ever existed. In many of the works of fiction that Iâve read, they speak of the creatures and Godsâ being able to exist because there are still humans who believe in them. And this belief is what gives them their power. There is not one story or belief that reigns supreme over the others because they all share the same origin story: they were created by humans. Whether in one sitting by one author, or if itâs over years by a collection of people, they are all creations of our minds.
In this dream world, the people reflect what we see in ourselves. They are stubborn and have flaws, but are overall good. These people will see what they will expect or believe that they will see, such like ourselves. And this is how this collective dream world functions. Both on the creative power of the imaginations of the humans who fuel it existence, and the ignorance of the reflective humans there.
In series like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, they talk a lot about how the regular people view their secret world. For example, In his first book Riordan notes the differences in how people believe. âBut if heâs a preacher,â I said, âand he believes in a different hellâŠâ Grover shrugged, who says heâs seeing this place the way that weâre seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. Youâre very stubborn-er, persistent, that way.â[1] This fits with how so many dreams could live together, as well as with the nature of the reflected humans. In the first Harry Potter book, Harry notices the Mugglesâ obliviousness.âThe people hurrying by didnât glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big bookshop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldnât see the leaky cauldron at all. In fact, Harry has the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.â [2] The mundane people couldnât see it because they didnât believe that it was there. I believe that in this dream world, the ordinary people are excessively ignorant for the sake of peace between the dreams.
In most, if not all stories, there is an ordinary character who leads a mundane life until they discover a Secret world. Everyone dreams of being swept away as a crucial member of something. We all want to be important and we all want to be remembered. This is why we love to create and read these stories, they reflect the dreams of our childhood selves. All of this imagination and collective hope cannot amount to nothing. This is why the dream world came into existence, somewhere for the dreams to live and for us to visit when we miss them. Â
The creation of this one world relies on the same desire for acknowledgement that lives in all our hearts. This is where the Heroâs Journey comes in. Joseph Campbell theorized that every story is, in fact, the same story except it is told differently and that every protagonist is actually the same character wearing a different face. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he discusses the idea of a monomyth that spans genres, authors, and time periods. Joseph proposes that every good story follows a basic plot map that he calls The Heroâs Journey. Since itâs publication in 1949, it has been referenced by creators,(Perhaps the most popular of which is George Lucas, Director of Star Wars) authors, and artists in the telling of their stories. I believe that the subjects of this one story that has been told a million different ways live in the dream world.
The Heroâs Journey, although it has many different versions, is largely made up of 12 stages that the Hero goes through. These can be identified in most popular stories. The 12 are: 1. Ordinary World, 2. Call to Adventure, 3. Refusal or Acceptance, 4. Meeting with the Mentor, 5. Crossing the Threshold, 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies, 7. Approach to the Innermost Cave, 8. Ordeal, 9. Seizing the Sword, 10. The Road Back, 11. The Master of Two Worlds, 12. Return with the Elixir. You can read about them in more detail elsewhere.[here] I will just be focusing on the Ordinary World v.s. Â the Secret World.
In the Ordinary World, the people cannot see, or do not know about the Secret World, because they do not believe that itâs there. Â And the same is true for why the Secret World exists, because the Hero and his companions continue to believe in it and its creatures. The belief in the Secret World and it inhabitants in turn give them belief in themselves, increasing their power and existence. There are hints of the belief to power transfer in many popular works of fiction.
In Harry Potter, the most curious aspect of magic is its distribution. There are children of generations of wizards that possess no magic, or very little. (Ariana [3], Neville [4])There are also children of muggles who have great magical powers. (Lily [5], Hermione [6]) In all of these cases the power of the witch or wizard was dictated by their belief in themselves. Ariana was a fine little witch until some boys traumatized her, then she lost the power to control it. Neville had always struggled with magic, partially because his grandmother was always telling him that he wasnât good enough. As he grew older, he learned that he was worth it and his magic greatly improved. If any muggleborn had the wits and guts to excel at magic, it was Lily and Hermione. From the start they were both know-it-alls who had no qualms about their intelligence.
Despite what you may think, Harry really wasnât all that great of a wizard. At least when it comes to book learning and memorizing complicated spells. Courage and loyalty, on the other hand, were Harryâs best traits. When it came time that he knew that he had to save his friends, he always came through magically, even though he wasnât all that gifted. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry saves himself and Sirius by performing the advanced charm Expecto Patronum. He produces an extremely powerful patronus and keeps numerous dementors at bay. A task, that would be difficult, if not impossible for a fully grown wizard, and yet Harry was just 13 at the time. ââI knew I could do it this time,â said Harry, âbecause Iâd already done it⊠does that make sense?ââ[7] Harryâs personal belief in himself skyrocketed because heâd already done it, thus giving himself enough power to do it.
If their power of belief in themselves was enough to boost their power and self-worth, then whoâs to say that our belief in them isnât powerful enough to make them real? Who says that dreams turn to naught but dust? Humans can do amazing things while weâre awake, why not when weâre sleeping? Isnât billions of people dreaming each night powerful enough to cultivate something more than dust? I believe that it is enough, and I believe that our dreams become real in the dream world. That there is a place where the characters that we love and dream of exist together.
In all of Rick Riordanâs work, the mythologies that he uses are interconnected. The different Gods and cultures coexist because of the different peoples who continue to believe in them. ââBut Gods canât die,â Grover said. âThey can fade,â Pan said, âwhen everything that they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear.â [8] In some instances, such as Pan, the Greek God of nature, when people ceased to believe in him, he faded. But there will always be the Gods that are believed in and worshipped by these secret worlds that might be more connected than we think.
These are taken from two of Riordanâs books, âLacey had warned me about Drew the first day of school. Apparently the two of them had gone to some summer camp together-blah, blah, I didnât really listen to the details- and Drew had been just as much of a tyrant there.â [9] âLacey looked like she might fall apart from nervousness. âOh, well-â âDrew might find out,â Mitchell explained. âI might have to wear the shoes of shame!â Lacey gulped.â [10] Amongst other evidence, this proves that they exist in the same universe. Also, in his other series, the protagonist, Magnus Chase, is cousins with the partner of Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase. â...I havenât thought about them in years. I have an uncle and cousin in Boston.â [11] ââI just donât want to put you in danger,â I said. âI kind of hoped that you could be my one connection to the regular world.â Annabeth stared at me. She snorted and began to laugh. âWow. You have no idea how funny that is.ââ [12]
Riordan loves the idea that all of the Gods and the different mythologies could coexist. He has even written several crossover stories between the Greek Demigods and the Egyptian Magicians. [13] He has never said anything outright about his belief about why they might exist in the same universe, but I think itâs safe to gather from his books, that he thinks that there is something very powerful about belief. He also makes references to other cultures and their beliefs. In his second series, The Heroes of Olympus, his characters have more diverse background. Frank is Chinese and his grandmother believes in the Roman Gods and Buddhism. [14] Piper is Cherokee and the old Native stories that her father tells her play a part in her success as a demigod. [15] Leo is Mexican and he speaks of Dia de Los Muertos and his experiences with spirits. [16]
He hints that there may be much more than one truth or one belief. Of course, in order for this to be true there would have to be rules and/or magic separating these religions, if you will, from each other. Simply because there would be too much confusion and contention over which one was true, when in fact they would all actually be true. Itâs a daunting concept, but simultaneously a very interesting one. They would all be very delicate barriers, easily cracked or broken because of the masses that they are hiding. But it poses an interesting situation for the deities or beings of power in these different âreligionsâ. Of course, being a God, they would know things. And someone has to know the rules in order to make sure that they are kept. ââThe tradition is still strong among ⊠our people.â âOur people?â I asked, but Sadie muscled in with another question. âSo you canât live in Manhattan?â She asked. Amosâs brow furrowed as he looked across at the Empire State Building. âManhattan has other problems. Other Gods. Itâs best we stay separate.â [17] It makes sense that the future Chief Lector of the Egyptians would know the new location of Mount Olympus and Vice versa. It can be very confusing, but the cumulative power of human belief is very strong and I believe that it is strong enough for this. The suggestion that because we can believe in something, it can or must exist? Even if it contradicts other beliefs or laws? But this is very prevalent in works of fiction like Riordan and Rowling. (There are so many others that I didnât highlight because it would have been way too long, but you get my point.)
It is very interesting when you combine it with the Heroâs Journey. That every story is the same story of the same character but wearing a different face, alongside that they all must be true because someone believes in them. Itâs a little mind blowing, but it actually makes a lot of sense. We all would like to think that we have our own story, but in reality, we just arenât that creative. Everything thatâs ever done is something that has been done before. So we must make it our own by creating magical worlds around the old stories to make it seem new. Or at the very least, have us fall in love with the new characters. I believe that all of this exists in the dream world.
Youâve seen the raving fans of books, movies and TV shows, people love these predictable fictional characters with all their heart. How can all of that love and belief accumulate to nothing? I donât think that it can. I wonder if by desiring these stories to be real because we love them so much might just actually make them exist. Thuss, the existence of all of these beings and stories in the Dream World. The human psyche is a mysterious and powerful place that scientists can only guess at and pretend to understand. Whoâs to say that we arenât more powerful than we think? What defines creation or a creator? What excludes us from creating art, music and emotion? Nothing. What excludes us from creating beings or worlds? Perhaps, nothing. If only the understanding of such a process.
When an author writes a book, they put so much into creating that world, and so do their fans. Thats a lot of collective belief to come to nothing. What if our power of belief is enough to create? Whether in this world or another, what if our beloved stories do exist? How could so much emotion go into art and music, such that it can evoke emotions in us, and not create something more?
[1] Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. New York: Miramax /Hyperion for Children, 2005. Print, 293.
[2] Rowling, J.K. The Sorcerer's Stone. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 1997. Print, 68.
[3] Rowling, J.K. The Deathly Hallows. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 2007. Print, 564.
[4] Rowling, J.K. The Sorcerer's Stone. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 1997. Print, 125.
[5] Rowling, J.K. The Sorcerer's Stone. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 1997. Print, 53.
[6] Rowling, J.K. The Sorcerer's Stone. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 1997. Print, 105.
[7] Rowling, J.K. The Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury Childrenâs, 1999. Print, 412.
[8] Riordan, Rick. The Battle of the Labyrinth. New York: Miramax /Hyperion for Children, 2008. Print, 314.
[9] Riordan, Rick. The Serpentâs Shadow. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2012. Print, 83.
[10] Riordan, Rick. The Lost Hero. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2010. Print, 178.
[11] Riordan, Rick. The Blood of Olympus. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2014. Print, 393.
[12] Riordan, Rick. The Sword of Summer. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2015. Print, 487.
[13] Riordan, Rick. Demigods and Magicians. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2015. Print.
[14] Riordan, Rick. The Mark of Athena. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2012. Print, 492.
[15] Riordan, Rick. The Blood of Olympus. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2014. Print, 384.
[16] Riordan, Rick. The Blood of Olympus. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2014. Print, 68.
[17] Riordan, Rick. The Red Pyramid. New York: Disney Publishing Worldwide, 2010. Print, 52.
