Real Life Archetypes

Examples of archetypes in action.

Emotional Intelligence: A Conversation with Ke’oni Hanalei

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Ke’oni Hanalei is an alchemist, Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner and founder of Pohala Botanicals https://www.pohala.net/ in Kula, Maui, Hawaii. Ke’oni comes from a long line of medicine holders (called Kahuna here in Hawaii), his lineage extends far, far, far back in time. He inherited sacred fern medicine wisdom his Grandmother, Kau’ikeonalani. We hope your enjoy this conversation with Ke’oni as we discuss masculine & feminine energies, emotional intelligence and what we are all called to be and do to fulfill our destinies and the destiny of the planet. Definitely follow Ke’oni...

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Embracing the Grace of Change

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“Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver I am so very excited to present this new Archetypes & a Movie course to you! The third edition of Archetypes & a Movie examines what happens when our old story has reached the end of it’s shelf life and how we can embrace the grace that change brings us. Using the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as contemplation on the choices and opportunities that lead us to an unexpected next chapter of our lives. This self guided workshop is comprised of lecture and commentary on the film plus...

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The Nature and Nurture of Passion (podcast)

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Subscribe in iTunes My co-host Cyndera and I are very excited to announce a new format for the Archetypal Tarot Podcast. We will be revisiting the Major Arcana but this time with special guests giving their insights on the themes and ideas presented by these ancient yet totally relevant archetypal stories. We start the new year off on the topic of Passion, it’s nature and how we can actually nurture a sense of vitality and adventure in our lives. Our guest for this edition is an author who has literally written the book on the nature and nurture of passion, Gregg Levoy.  Gregg is the...

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The Way: A Journey of Healing & Self Acceptance

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I am super happy to announce that another edition of the Archetypes & A Movie course is now available.  As the Producer of this series it’s an especially joyous occasion, not just a ‘job done’ elation but gratitude for how much I have learned throughout the process of producing the course.  My dear friend, teacher and client, Jim Curtan is doing something unique – he’s helping us See (and I mean that with a capital S) our lives in a new way by using the popular art of movies. This new course centers around the idea of a modern pilgrimage, of our journey...

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Books That Saved My Life

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Into each life comes information that changes the course of your life, in tiny ways and gargantuan ones.  For me, books have always been a source of life-changing information.  Fiction and non-fiction alike have turned the rudder of my life for as far back as I can remember.  There are some that I sought out, heard about from a friend or teacher and others that literally have leaped off the shelf and fallen at my feet. If you have a curiosity about meaning, creativity, relationships, connection, philosophy and just what the heck our purpose for being here is, you will get a great deal from...

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Harvesting from this year’s season

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I’ve been contemplating the fact that we are now almost half way through 2014.  How did that happen and where did the last 5 months go?   More importantly, what season is it? I mean this metaphorically.   It’s almost Summer here in my part of the western United States – but what season is it for me, in my life and business?   What needs further tending and what is ready for harvest?  So when I read the following from Poet and Author David Whtye’s recent article entitled 10 Questions that Have No Right To Go Away it was thought provoking for me on many levels...

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Three Archetypes of Awesome

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Little things can mean a lot. Let’s say you’re having a crappy day and you’re at the store when the cashier pulls out a coupon that saves you a dollar. This gives you a boost and you walk out the door in a better mood.  Maybe you don’t honk at the numbskull ahead of you for doing whatever it is that annoys you.  That person doesn’t get irked with you for being a numbskull honking at them and who knows what other little improvements occur because someone did you a solid just for the heck of it.  Little bits of beauty & generosity have a tendency to carry on...

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The Networker Archetype and the Tipping Point

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Are you the hub that connects a diverse group of people?  If someone mentions they are looking for a new job or a place to have great Korean Barbecue do you have a list of suggestions for them? Do you make it a habit of never throwing out business cards or deleting numbers out of your phone, just in case you want to contact them or share their info with someone else (not counting ex-boyfriends/girlfriends).  These are all traits of the Networker archetype. We are in an age of connectivity and it doesn’t appear that we can ever really go back to a time of slow paced communications. ...

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Seizing the power of Lover Archetype

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“So much is happening in the world, earthquakes, revolutions and wars and you’re writing about the archetype of the Lover?”   My reply: “Heck yeah, with all this chaos how do we approach what needs to be done without the passion of a Lover!?”   She gave me a look of kind incredulity.  “But the Lover? what could be more dreamy and ungrounded?”.  I love my friend (pun intended), and her point is well made,  the archetype of the Lover can be fluffy.  The Casablanca version of this archetype is ubiquitous and needs little explanation, but to limit...

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Hedonist Revolutionary

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I haven’t found a more potent and exciting combination of the Hedonist and the Revolutionary archetypes than in Jamie Oliver (formerly know as the Naked Chef).   One of the the UK’s brightest culinary exports is  taking America by storm and I for one love him all the more for it.  He won the TED prize in 2010 and began by using his 100k grant to start a Food Revolution!. One year later his progress is stunning and includes a partnership with the American Heart Association and numerous thriving community projects. You can read more about it here at TED.com Jamie is an...

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DMC and the Angel

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“Everything happens for a reason.” Says Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, who is one third of the pioneering rap group Run DMC and one of the most influential rap artists of all time.  At the age of 35, DMC made a startling discovery and suddenly, everything he thought he knew about himself had changed.  He told his story on stage at a Moth Storytelling event which was aired on the radio and subsequently published as a podcast.  Info on subscribing to the free podcast here. DMC’s story caught my attention because it’s about purpose, destiny and the seemingly small...

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What keeps you in the cave? Archetype of the Zombie

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We find ourselves in the middle of the first month of the New Year. The air is still fresh, dreams are new, and heartbeats run fast. Maybe, like me, you are starting to slump under the abundance of material on keeping resolutions for the next twelve months. Instead of yet another piece on holding your intentions for the next month, let’s look at an archetype that can be your ally for the rest of your life. The Zombie, which is only increasing its popularity in films, comic books, and classic novel mash-ups, is an image that hardly needs an introduction.  They are dead people returned...

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An Artist Walks into a Monastery

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How do archetypal motivations become passions that bring something new into the world? Sometimes one enriches another so much as to create a whole new experience. Inspiration is the deity of the Artist and contemplation the mark of the Monk/Nun. These two archetypes might not ordinarily be considered a natural synergistic match but in 2006, Bay Area artists Betsy McCall and Christopher Fülling began such an adventure in creativity and contemplation called The Art Monastery Project. The Art Monastery Project is a contemporary experiment in social sculpture inspired by the tradition of the...

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Myth and Motivation of the Martyr Archetype

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Know a Martyr? Most people have had the experience of working with or knowing someone with a  Martyr archetype,  or maybe you even see it in yourself.  I’d like to provide some information in order to help understand and work with this pattern. Bad Reputation The Martyr archetype seems to get a bad rap and I think I know why.   It  has to do with the Martyr’s very visible shadow form and a motivation behind the behavior that is not always clear.  You might be familiar with the ‘hand-on-forehead-oh-I’ll-do-it-because-no-one-else-will’ type of Martyr...

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The Poet

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I try to make a point to write about what could be called the ‘unsung’ archetypes.  One’s that don’t seem to have a popular or even a very present place in our culture.   Last month I wrote about the archetype of the Scribe to illuminate it’s presence and potential for positive change. I’ve recently come across some wonderful pieces of poetry and it brought to mind the power of the Poet archetype.   For many people poetry can seem lofty , arcane or just downright fluffy in terms of day to day life and yet a good piece of poetry can stop us in our...

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Here’s to the bean counters: the power of the Scribe

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This comes on the heels of a similarly themed article that I published in June  called “Does productivity = happiness?” which deals with the same topic.   Statistician (a Scribe in Archetypal terms) Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation’s success by its productivity — instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn’t have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised.  Here’s his...

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Mothers and Bears Oh my!

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I recently came upon a blog post by Arianna Huffingtoncalled  Sarah Palin, “Mama Grizzlies,” Carl Jung, and the Power of Archetypes . Huffington points out the use of the shadow aspects of the Mother and Bear archetypal symbols being used by Palin and her cadre, the self-proclaimed “Mama Grizzlies” as having a powerful and popular appeal among women. The “Mama Grizzlies” are  not the only movement of these two archetypes at large today however. The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers represent a global alliance of prayer, education and...

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Summertime and the Child Archetype

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It’s summertime here in the northern hemisphere and it seems our Child archetypes are clamoring to go out and play.  I remember as a child, summer was about being outside and hanging out doing whatever we fancied at the time.   For most of us, childhood was the only time we’ve felt totally free.  Once the archetype of the responsible Adult comes along, any frivolous playtime tends to get reserved for weekends and vacations.  We box up the fun and put it on the shelf until the appropriate time. Summer can bring the Child out in all of us.  I’ve noticed it in my clients...

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Storyfied: The Storyteller Archetype

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This is a true story about one woman, the Storyteller archetype and it’s power for both good and tragic.   I came across it on a podcast recording from The Moth which is a not-for-profit storytelling organization. When Nancy Finton was in her early 20’s she had a job as a bartender in New York City.  She tells of riding the subway home late at night and walking along  dark  streets making up stories about how she would defeat any attacker who came her way. Sometimes she would walk with such belief in her own goodness that she imagined that no one would dare hurt her.  She...

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