My family visited me these last few weeks from Chicago and San Diego. Included in this entourage were four nieces and nephews who kept busy making friends with the neighbor kids, discovering hidden patches of stinging nettle and adjusting to Aunt Nancy's laid-back Idaho lifestyle.

While taking breaks from the outdoors, they played inside with a variety of games they brought along. One such game woke me up at 2 a.m. with the sound of lasers and ""Star Wars"" theme music. What I sternly removed from the guest bedroom was a strange device - a flat, plastic Darth Vader head that opens up from the neck to resemble a laptop computer.

Once opened, the educational toy offers spelling, math, music and other lessons while bombarding the senses with "Star Wars" imagery.

Although my sister and I readily deemed the system to be too complex for kids under 4 and adults over 30, I was excited to see the next generation of children being exposed to the powerful metaphor that is "Star Wars." For there are many things to learn from the head of Darth Vader besides spelling and subtraction.

"Star Wars," created by George Lucas, is deeply embedded in our cultural consciousness. But what many people don't know about "Star Wars" is the mythological and symbolic foundation upon which the story is based, or George Lucas' close friendship with a man named Joseph Campbell.

Campbell, who died in 1987, consulted with Lucas during the creation of "Star Wars", and the result is a sci-fi tapestry of adventure interwoven with deep symbolism and metaphor, based both on Lucas' creative vision and Campbell's lifetime scholarship of mythology and comparative religion.

Joseph Campbell's best known book, "The Hero With a Thousand Faces," outlines the common denominators he discovered in world mythology - focusing in particular on the experience of the hero, or the main character or characters we cheer for in literature, mythology, video games or on the big screen. These experiences include the call to adventure and/or the refusal of the call, the road of trials, the aides and allies who assist the hero and the return home after the final heroic act. You can find evidence of the hero cycle in almost every film you see - including some of my favorites, such as "Legally Blonde," "Enchanted" and the zombie comedy "Shaun of the Dead."

Campbell believed it is our lifelong task to embrace the adventure that exists in our own lives - whether our adventure is to find love, try something new and uncomfortable, experience pain and loss, or merely survive 12 days with four not-laid-back nieces and nephews underfoot. The adventure of the hero is laid at the feet of each and every one of us - waiting for us to either take the first step on our own or to embrace being thrust upon it by external forces.

Consider what is going on in your life that represents your call to adventure or call to the unknown. Did you get a new job or lose a job? Did you get married or get a divorce? Do you just feel bored with your life? What is your dark side - your insecurities, fears, negativity, unresolved issues that prevent you from meeting your goals? Who might be waiting in the wings to help and support you? And, although signposts will not literally pull us over and talk to us as they did to Harris K. Telemacher in "L.A. Story," what meaningful accidents, mysterious coincidences and other signals might be appearing to let you know you are on the right path?

Ultimately, Campbell proposed a shift in perception - a change in how we think about, and therefore take action on, the things that happen in our lives.

The heroes of mythology, legend and religion were afraid, naïve, intimidated, insecure, lacked skills, grieved deeply and often felt weak and very much alone. But it was how they proceeded in spite of those feelings that made them the stuff of legend. Han Solo going back to flying solo instead of helping the rebellion doesn't make for much of a story, at least not for him.

Campbell once said: "The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty 'yes' to your adventure." So how do you want to answer that big question for yourself? Onward!

Nancy Goodman is a mental health and career counselor living in Pocatello. You can visit her blog at vocatusidaho.blogspot.com or contact her at (208) 478-1414.