Living the archetype life
writing about archetypes is one thing, but it’s also helpful to reflect on how one is living them, too.
Take this blog, for example. I came to it as a perfect Innocent, trusting the instructions and when things went wrong I assumed it was all my fault. It wasn’t. It turns out the Server was having a bad week. I then became an Orphan, slipping at times into the helpless Orphan (”Just tell me what to do! Tell me!!”). Not much future in that. So it became necessary to find my own way, one pace at a time - I had to become a Pilgrim, in fact.
I’m not a Warrior-Lover yet. I certainly believe in the usefulness of the ideas I’m attempting to communicate - but I haven’t taken on this blog as a full-time cause. Partly that has to do with having a job, writing books, and so on. With luck, though, I’ll probably be able to get these words out in a way that may help and guide others. As a description of what a Monarch does that’s not bad. But the real goal is that others should be able to make more of their lives as a result of all this. That’s when the Magic will occur.
It’s a lot to ask. Especially since right now I’m still struggling to get pictures and words to appear together….
on September 7th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
I guess I am still a Pilgrim. I am on a journey , trying to make meaning of my life stories - trying to integrate each story into a cohesive, coherent memoir. Struggling with the web of facts and fantasies from my childhood that cling to me still, after all these years.
Story by story, step by step, I remind myself to trust the road as it unfolds before me, in the hope that some day someone will be comforted or changed or challenged, by reading my story.
on September 10th, 2007 at 11:43 am
“allan hunter”
Dear Allan,
Yes this is all very interesting - control over the physical body, mastery of the immediate environment which leads to attempts at mastery of the wider environment, which leads to a kind of psychological growth spurt.
It makes me think of those swirling diagrams in developmental psychology - equilibrium to disequilibrium back to equilibrium again. As you said we go back and forth from Pilgrim to Warrior to Innocent to gather wisdom for approaching each new stage.
What fun!!
My grand daughter has not yet arrived, but all is well. Tim and I head out to LA tomorrow morning.
See you in October. Say Hi to Sandy and all my NMM friends for me.
Peace and Blessings,
Jean
allan hunter wrote:Dear Jean,
Your comment is absolutely right - I can feel it! The Warrior is usually a peaceful warrior, of course, and has to be in training for the work that needs to be done. And that’s what you’ve described in your words about gathering your strength for the writing to come. Taking up the Warrior pose in yoga is a lovely, poetic, way of increasing that strength because you’ll need courage and courage is always based in the physical. As children we learn physical assurance and that grows in us until we are psychically brave as well, and we need to keep up that practise throughout our lives. So few of us do, though. When we no longer use physical courage we erode our psychic courage too…. Even the emotions can get lazy.
I admire the connection you made here. It’s a good one.
Any news of that baby girl yet?
As ever, Allan
Jean Mudge wrote:
Dear Allan,
Glad my comment to the blog went through - I was not so sure about how to do that.
I have been thinking about the Warrior-Lover archetype all day. I realized that I have been gathering my strength and passion all summer long - readying myself for continuing my memoir.
Since mid July I have been doing a yoga flow sequence that includes the two Warrior postures every morning. The purpose of the Warrior postures is to gather and manifest the strength required to meet the challenges of the days ahead. My yoga practice is fueling my writing practice. It’s really interesting having a physical component to complement the psychological/ emotional aspects. I gain strength from both.
I really like thinking in terms of archetypes. I never really appreciated the concept before.
Thank you!
Peace and Blessings,
Jean
PS Have you ever thought about doing a workshop to promote your book at someplace like Kripalu?
allan hunter wrote: Dear Jean,
Many thanks for your thoughtful message, which is now up on the site - and with luck perhaps this reply will get there too. Technology…..
You certainly have been a Pilgrim, and I might suggest that in choosing to wrestle with the memoir you have made exactly the type of decision to act that characterizes the Warrior stage. One of the things about the Warrior is that when we get to that point we have to be able to dip into the earlier archetypes and use the strength that is there in a new way. So the full Warrior-Lover archetype is chracaterized as being the balance of ‘male’ and ‘female’ attributes, amongst other things. In order to get that balance right one has to bring quite a lot else into equilibrium: the past and the present, certainty and questioning, decisveness and open-ness. And that’s writing, isn’t it? We couldn’t put down a single word if we didn’t feel the certainty of the sense of being able to start, and we’d never revise a single word if we didn’t bring in the questioning part of ourselves….
I tend to see you as being at Warrior-Lover stage. You’re determined to write your memoir because it brings you to deeper understanding and because it will bring others to wisdom as well.
What do you think?
Allan