Commitment to the Light
What if you made commitment to spend a few days, a week, or a month, contemplating one archetype, and let it show you how change is possible?
Think of something you’d like to change about the way you think, feel or behave. Maybe you’d like to feel less fear and anxiety, or maybe you’d like to stop feeling angry. Maybe you’d like to stop eating in an unhealthy way, or being impatient with the people you love. Or maybe you’d like to cultivate more love in your relationships?
What if the Survival Archetypes, if you really worked them, could show you possibilities for different ways of feeling, thinking and behaving? What if you made commitment to spend a few days, a week, or a month, contemplating one archetype, and let it show you how change is possible?
As a reminder, Caroline Myss, in her book Sacred Contracts, defines the four Survival Archetypes as the Victim, the Prostitute, the Saboteur and the Child. Short descriptions of each of these can be found in my blog.
Let’s take the example of someone wanting to live with less anxiety. The survival archetype most closely associated with anxiety is the Prostitute. The Prostitute, when expressed through its shadow side, does not believe enough in her own value or worth enough to trust that things will work out if she doesn’t compromise herself in some way. There is a deep lack of trust in herself and the world, which often causes her to compromise her integrity to stay safe. Even allowing stress hormones to flow through your body unchecked is a form of compromising your integrity, since doing this compromises your health, your well-being, and the way you relate to the people around you.
What if you knew that by drawing on the light side of the Prostitute archetype, you could change the way you feel, thereby giving yourself access to more creative ways of solving the problem that caused the anxiety in the first place?
What if, when anxiety is present, you can say hello to the Prostitute archetype and thank her for trying to keep you safe. Then, let her know you are no longer interested in feeling anxious, and would like to access her light side, which is called the Guardian of Faith.
This exercise starts with having faith, because you might first have to do some yoga, exercise, dancing, etc., to clear the physical feelings of anxiety in your body, trusting that what you are doing serves a greater purpose. After your physical body has calmed, sit down with your journal and contemplate how the Guardian of Faith invites you to feel.
· You have a right to feel calm and peaceful.
· You actually can transform anxiety and fear.
· You have faith that there is no need compromise your integrity or values for safety.
· Your greatest safety lies the feelings of peace and trust you consciously cultivate.
· Living with peace and trust leads to greater happiness and love in all areas of your life.
Even if it takes time for your outside circumstances to change, how much different would it feel to approach your life from the perspective of the Guardian of Faith vs. the Prostitute in the shadow?
The thing is, you have to practice the above steps every day, even multiple times a day, for real change to take place. You have to be committed to feeling the feelings of the light side of any archetype regularly in order to transform deep-seated shadow patterns.
With commitment, the power to do this is yours.
If you would like help looking at, and creating a plan for transforming, any life issue from an archetypal perspective, you can book at session with me here.
