Embodying Archetypes for Personal Growth

Personal growth is essential for success in life.

• In your career (whether employed or self-employed), to better yourself so that you can do more of what you love, get better at it, explore new avenues and discover how your career could develop and evolve in new directions or incorporate different perspectives that get better results.
• As a parent, to grow and find different ways to relate to your children, lead and educate them as they transform, enter new stages of development and present new challenges and opportunities.
• In your intimate relationships, to grow together, as well as individuals. Continue to challenge and nurture each other as the relationship evolves and highlights areas of potential growth that you can face up to for the benefit of the relationship.
• And most importantly, your own evolution, growth and development as you continue to author your life, and so direct the path of growth required to make those dreams, goals and desires happen.

Leadership and Personal Growth

Personal growth is one of the ultimate leadership tools.  Without purpose and direction, personal growth is all well and good.  I have spent years on personal growth and not necessarily felt like my life was moving forward.  Leadership gives personal growth a purpose and direction as you live to serve a greater good, be that in an organisation, with clients, your business, family, community, society, the planet or a spiritual practice.

Personal growth comes from stepping out of your comfort zone.  Magician does that through creativity and imagination to find solutions and innovate.  Warrior, with commitment and fierceness, so that you face your fears.  Sovereign so that you may step into your responsibility and fulfil your deepest purpose.  And Lover, that you may be open, vulnerable and trusting and therefore be fully connected and a positive contributor and collaborator for society, humanity and the world.

The archetypes are a map and model of personal growth.  They point to your qualities and greatness and the pitfalls you might encounter that hold you small, in limitation and fear.  And they offer a way out of that fear and into choice, freedom and expansion.

Personal Growth and Sovereign

The route to your freedom is through Sovereign and self-responsibility.  Knowing that you are responsible for your world.  You are always at choice.  And so at liberty to be responsible for how you show up, what you bring to every life interaction and the impact you make.

A King or Queen walk through life with dignity.  The weight of crown, mantle and sceptre mean you are purposeful about every step you make.  It demands a care, integrity and equanimity to walk through life aligned to values that keep you focused and whole.  To shoulder your responsibility and know where your responsibility ends and others’ begins.  Neither to allow yourself to play small.  Nor to over-reach yourself and therefore shelter others from their responsibility and greatness.

You’ll know when you’re stepping back from your responsibility because you’ll feel disengaged from life.  And notice other people rushing to pick up the pieces around you.  Alternatively, if you step in to save others, you’ll make yourself overwhelmed and exhausted. Which serves no one.

Instead, find that solid core in your body.  Spine, head and pelvis are aligned.  Elongate the spine up to the ceiling and down through the floor.  Walk slowly, carefully and purposefully in that posture.  Find that embodied composure and solidity of Sovereign.  Discover the balance that allows others to know and feel their own sovereignty.

Personal Growth and Warrior

Warrior defends your freedom.  When you are clear about your values and purpose, the commitment, focus and determination of Warrior empowers you to make a fierce stand for them.   Without that fierce presence, you are a push-over and feel weak in your body.

Protection of values and purpose comes in many forms:

• Strong boundaries with yourself and others
• A drive to get things done and do the right thing
• Willingness to sacrifice for a longer end game or the greater good
• Standing up for what you believe in, when facing challenge, conflict and adversity

Warrior allows you to grow aligned to what is most important to you.  When you get that right, you feel the power, clarity and certainty of alignment.  When it is missing, you feel the lack of solidity and surety, as well as confusion.

How do you regain that clarity?  Walking the Warrior’s Walk.  Reconnect with your passion and purpose.  Rediscover the clarity that moves you forward with confidence, through focus, action and determination.

Personal Growth and Lover

How do you grow in relation to others?  So much of our pain comes in relationship through abuse neglect and cruelty.  And so, our healing comes in relationship too.  A partner, child, friend, parent or strange is an opportunity to practice listening, empathy and unconditional love for myself and them.

Where in these relationships do I withdraw, become numb, absent myself or put up barriers?  What is unresolved in me that leads me to need or want to do that?  Can I open to it?  Will I allow myself to experience my own vulnerability?  And grow as a result.

How can I move from hiding away into presence with this other person?  What do I need to grow in myself?  Hiding comes in two forms of façade:

• A withdrawn shell or
• A projected mask

Both hide the greatness and treasures within.  Lover allows the opening.  Through self-care and compassion, Lover finds ways that lead to self-acceptance in your imperfection.  Finding ways to authentically relate to others.

Soften.  Relax the armour of pain and suffering.  Let go the tension when you feel safe to do so.  And through your self-love, you will grow to be able to love others without condition.

Personal Growth and Magician

Magician’s gift of intuition is a wonderful personal growth tool.  That sixth sense of knowing without knowing.  The secret communication between you and…………. another person, place, animal or the space around you.

When you listen to that inner guidance and take action from that place, you grow.  You take the next step and over time, expand to fill the space available. It is an effortless growth that comes with trust in what is felt, rather than what is seen.  So often, we do not trust that inner wisdom.  Preferring rational thinking, because it makes logical sense.

But intuition is beyond rationality.  Magician teaches you to dance with the unknown.  Be less in your head and more in your body (gut or heart).  Take time to bring your attention to these centres of wisdom and knowledge (see this blog).  Allow them to inform the rational mind and see how your perspectives change and become larger, more networked and nuanced.

Or take your attention out there, to The Field.  To inspiration, where new things are hatching, evolving and developing.  This wisdom comes like radio waves from the ether.  They are the language of Magician.  All you have to do is tune in and invisible soundless words, images, thoughts and feelings come to inspire innovation.

Over to You

How do you already use the archetypes and their qualities for your personal growth?  What areas of life could you use them more?  Are there particular qualities you would like to cultivate for your personal growth? What archetypes could you use to help with that growth?  As a teacher, how could you use the archetypes to support your teaching?  Is there a particular archetype you resonate with?  Or one you feel dissonance with?  I’d love to hear how archetypes are enhancing and challenging your personal growth.  Please share.

If this topic has resonated with you and you’d like to know more, I will be speaking at The Embodiment Conference and introducing an embodied approach to archetypes that brings more awareness and fulfilment in all aspects of your life, including your personal growth.  You can register free for the conference here.  My talk is Embodying Archetypes for Personal Growth.  It would be great to see you there.

Pass it on

Please share the love.  If there was something here that resonated with you or an idea you loved, please think of a friend or colleague that would appreciate it too and pass it on.