Comments on: Presentations http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/ Archetypes and Personal Development - the only website make sense of them both Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:16:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Administrator http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-1189 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:49:12 +0000 http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-1189 Dear Diane, Thank you for your comment - I'd have replied directly to your email but for some reason it won't accept my reply, so I'm reduced to this method. You are right in drawing the Campbell parallel. I'm delighted also that you saw the article in "Balanced Life" where I try in a very small space to spell out the ways that archetypes can be seen working. It's is of course true that anyone exploring in this area is indebted to some extent to Campbell. That said, it's a bit like saying that all modern science depends upon the findings of Newton! It's a true statement, but not particularly illuminating. You see, what we can observe by looking at archetypes is rather different from many of the things Campbell said in his pioneering work. The points that 'Stories We Need To Know" makes about archetypes sort out the almost complete confusion created on this topic by Jung, Freud, Campbell and others. These people knew the mind; they knew some mythology. What they didn't know was literature - which is one of the largest and most reliable sources of archetypes we have. So when we go back to literature we can discover a far more reliable and coherent structure than has been available until now. When I present these archetypes in seminars to clinicians (like therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals) they all seem to give a sigh of relief (which is validating, I have to say) and then they get quite excited about how coherent this system is compared to the sorts of things they've had to wrestle with for years. It's not me that's made it coherent. The literature of the Western World has always had this coherence. We just stopped being able to see it. If you want to know more about the six archetypes I'd suggest you browse my website some more, read the first chapter of "Stories" which you'll find there, or go to Amazon and buy the book. It's not easy to compress the whole of the book into an email, after all.... All good wishes, Allan Dear Diane,

Thank you for your comment - I’d have replied directly to your email but for some reason it won’t accept my reply, so I’m reduced to this method.

You are right in drawing the Campbell parallel. I’m delighted also that you saw the article in “Balanced Life” where I try in a very small space to spell out the ways that archetypes can be seen working. It’s is of course true that anyone exploring in this area is indebted to some extent to Campbell. That said, it’s a bit like saying that all modern science depends upon the findings of Newton! It’s a true statement, but not particularly illuminating.

You see, what we can observe by looking at archetypes is rather
different from many of the things Campbell said in his pioneering work.

The points that ‘Stories We Need To Know” makes about archetypes sort
out the almost complete confusion created on this topic by Jung,
Freud, Campbell and others. These people knew the mind; they knew some
mythology. What they didn’t know was literature - which is one of the
largest and most reliable sources of archetypes we have.

So when we go back to literature we can discover a far more reliable
and coherent structure than has been available until now. When I
present these archetypes in seminars to clinicians (like therapists,
psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals) they all seem to
give a sigh of relief (which is validating, I have to say) and then
they get quite excited about how coherent this system is compared to the
sorts of things they’ve had to wrestle with for years. It’s not me
that’s made it coherent. The literature of the Western World has always
had this coherence. We just stopped being able to see it.

If you want to know more about the six archetypes I’d suggest you
browse my website some more, read the first chapter of “Stories” which
you’ll find there, or go to Amazon and buy the book. It’s not easy to
compress the whole of the book into an email, after all….

All good wishes,

Allan

]]> by: Diane Halvorson http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-1177 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:57:03 +0000 http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-1177 I have not read "Stories We Need to Know." However, I read an article in "Balanced Life" and became interested enough to check out your website. After reading a little more on "Stories We Need to Know," it sounded very much like the late Joseph Campbell. Is this book based upon the his theory? I have not read “Stories We Need to Know.” However, I read an article in “Balanced Life” and became interested enough to check out your website. After reading a little more on “Stories We Need to Know,” it sounded very much like the late Joseph Campbell. Is this book based upon the his theory?

]]> by: Administrator http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-933 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:35:05 +0000 http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-933 Dear Jean, What a lovely thing to hear! Whenever the archetypes have resonance for people I'm overjoyed, perhaps a bit like a kid who's discovered a new play ground and is happy to share it. Once we know what we have to go through in one area of life (like the challenge of Toastmasters) we can see how we can mobilize the same energy for all areas of life. And you, as a yoga practitioner, will already be familiar with the way we have to watch our thoughts and reactions to challenges... With all good wishes, Allan Dear Jean,

What a lovely thing to hear! Whenever the archetypes have resonance for people I’m overjoyed, perhaps a bit like a kid who’s discovered a new play ground and is happy to share it.

Once we know what we have to go through in one area of life (like the challenge of Toastmasters) we can see how we can mobilize the same energy for all areas of life. And you, as a yoga practitioner, will already be familiar with the way we have to watch our thoughts and reactions to challenges…

With all good wishes, Allan

]]> by: Jean Mudge http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-927 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:04:32 +0000 http://allanhunter.net/blog/2008/03/27/presentations/#comment-927 Dear Allan, You are right about the archetypes making sense to people. I was talking to some friends at Toastmasters the other night and mentioned the archetypes while discussing my life path at Toastmasters. They understood the concept perfectly, and the archetypes lent themselves well to discussing the stages I've gone through at Toastmasters - from the Innocent who thought " Oh won't it be fun to learn to speak in public.", to the Warrior who was ready to quit but forged on through the assigned speeches, to the Magician who hopes to some day give encouragement to others who would like to learn how to give speeches. . Several of my friends were interested in buying the book. so I wrote down the title and your name for them and told them to look for it at amazon.com. And of course using the archetypes in that way was very helpful for me because I realized that in the Warrior stage I did have that moment of truth when I decided to fight on! That was very enlightening for me! Thank you. Peace and Blessings, Jean Dear Allan,
You are right about the archetypes making sense to people. I was talking to some friends at Toastmasters the other night and mentioned the archetypes while discussing my life path at Toastmasters.
They understood the concept perfectly, and the archetypes lent themselves well to discussing the stages I’ve gone through at Toastmasters - from the Innocent who thought ” Oh won’t it be fun to learn to speak in public.”, to the Warrior who was ready to quit but forged on through the assigned speeches, to the Magician who hopes to some day give encouragement to others who would like to learn how to give speeches.
. Several of my friends were interested in buying the book. so I wrote down the title and your name for them and told them to look for it at amazon.com.
And of course using the archetypes in that way was very helpful for me because I realized that in the Warrior stage I did have that moment of truth when I decided to fight on! That was very enlightening for me!
Thank you.
Peace and Blessings,
Jean

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