Not just a good question for Halloween, but an interesting one regarding the armor you unconsciously use to protect your authentic self.
What are these masks you speak of? They are the filter, influence, and theme running inside and out of your soul expression. Masks are often archetypes, (I use these interchangeably in this article) and they are the ways in which we act out soul lessons like an actor or actress. As "the tough cookie," for example, we play the role of bold, and unbreakable, hanging our hat and identity on how strong we are. However, is it not important to allow fragility? And what's this tough girl hiding behind all that muscle anyway? In many cases, our archetypes represent our soul wounds, sensitivities, and areas of needed growth. They can be literal, or opposites of what they're protecting. They can also be helpful, useful, and represent the lemonade from negative experience like the "the advocate,"-who once lived voiceless and now lends a voice to others. I find that people's archetypal influences are working harmoniously with their true self when they are in touch with their vulnerabilities and have done some darn good work on making peace with whatever needs healing. These masks are neither all good, or all bad by the way. They have both light and shadow aspects. Regardless, like a strong current, our masks our powerful forces in our lives. These archetypes are imprinted on our souls as a result of lifetimes of patterned responses and they are in many cases, a defense mechanism. So even though those closest to us may label us as the mask we wear, "it" is not "who" we are. Archetypes are the protection, and projection of who we think we need to be. Underneath that is the awesome realization that we are totally here on earth to celebrate the real self, in all its glory and imperfection.
Caroline Myss is the famous mother of Archetypal imprints and says that we are born with them and that they are embedded in our soul DNA. Many of us have 2 to 5 to 10 main themes showing up to the forefront at different times, and stages, in our lives. Below are 5 very common ones that I notice in my practice that you may want to pay attention to. Many of these are also aligned with Caroline Myss if you have studied her work.
The Victim or Wounded Child
Oh man, this is the the big one. The victim shows up in all kinds of ways but the heart of it is about feeling wronged by the world, perpetually. It's an "always things go bad, and/or people treat me bad," kind of language. Victim archetypes teach empathy but their 'woe is me' energy can't seem to be in a place of power because power means action, and action denotes ownership, and those things are scary. Unlike other archetypal influences, I find victim imprints are more avoidant in doing deep self-work. Perhaps because there seems to be more focus on other people fixing their problems for them.
The Fighter/ Warrior
Not to be confused with the "the tough cookie" the fighter looks to fight battles and because of it, only finds him/herself in trying, arduous situations like tough relationships, financial crisis, or even constant health issues. Fighters can have amazing vigor and conviction but they unfortunately need to fight, and be in opposition, to feel meaning, purpose and value. They are internally unsettled, exhausted, and seek to overcome as a paradoxical way to be at peace.
The Sexy Mama or Papa
This one reminds me of the image-body-appearance-obsessed person. All things sexy- like money, fame, and good looks are involved with this imprint. The sexy mama has 100 million selfies,shoes, outfits or bags but is also likely to work harder than most at keeping up health, status, lifestyle and material things. Sexy mamas or papas thrive in attention-seeking situations because his/her worth is dependent upon it. Many with this imprint have relational wounds stemming from intimate partners or parents that drive their attachment to approval from others.
The Intellectual
Also known as "too cool for school" because their brain, wit, intellect and world view is higher than the rest of us peons. Intellectual imprint types can be magnificent movers and shakers in innovation and creativity if they can prevent their logical and rationalizing state from usurping matters of the heart. Intellectualizing, becomes a habit, and these folks are notorious for elevating their mind to avoid emotion and then redefining this as the dignified, mature way to be. As you may have noticed, ego shows up a lot here too.
The Saboteur
This is the imprint that results in cutting yourself off at the knees. When we sabotage, we just never really allow full success in life. This imprint is based in either fear of success, or underlying unworthiness themes around deservability. Those that sabotage can be fantastic realists and help others see pitfalls if they used their powers for good. Unfortunately, all too often, this strong imprint keeps the person who carries it prisoner.
Some other really common archetypes are: the hard worker, the adventurer, the judge, the athlete, the performer, the artist, the tough cookie, the advocate, the protector, the student/teacher, the hero, the mother/father, the servant, the rebel, the martyr, the addict, the clown, and the king/queen, just to name a few. If you're interested in learning more about your own archetypal influences, engage in some self-reflection about patterns. Review this list and others out there and prioritize the themes that speak to you most. You can also reach out to me here to set up an appointment for an Akashic session where you can learn more about the influences present in your soul history and how best to make lemonade out of them.
Lastly, these masks are normal. Even the most insightful and self-aware people have archetypes, and as I shared earlier, some folks just do a better job of stepping to the side of their mask by not letting its force carry them away. These people also find ways to use the light aspects of their archetype more often and without letting the dark aspects take over. It is important to remember that your identity is not your mask, even though it feels natural to wear it. And despite Halloween, try to give yourself permission to take off your mask now and again to explore that juicy question of.... "who are you really?"
Until next time, Jai!
What are these masks you speak of? They are the filter, influence, and theme running inside and out of your soul expression. Masks are often archetypes, (I use these interchangeably in this article) and they are the ways in which we act out soul lessons like an actor or actress. As "the tough cookie," for example, we play the role of bold, and unbreakable, hanging our hat and identity on how strong we are. However, is it not important to allow fragility? And what's this tough girl hiding behind all that muscle anyway? In many cases, our archetypes represent our soul wounds, sensitivities, and areas of needed growth. They can be literal, or opposites of what they're protecting. They can also be helpful, useful, and represent the lemonade from negative experience like the "the advocate,"-who once lived voiceless and now lends a voice to others. I find that people's archetypal influences are working harmoniously with their true self when they are in touch with their vulnerabilities and have done some darn good work on making peace with whatever needs healing. These masks are neither all good, or all bad by the way. They have both light and shadow aspects. Regardless, like a strong current, our masks our powerful forces in our lives. These archetypes are imprinted on our souls as a result of lifetimes of patterned responses and they are in many cases, a defense mechanism. So even though those closest to us may label us as the mask we wear, "it" is not "who" we are. Archetypes are the protection, and projection of who we think we need to be. Underneath that is the awesome realization that we are totally here on earth to celebrate the real self, in all its glory and imperfection.
Caroline Myss is the famous mother of Archetypal imprints and says that we are born with them and that they are embedded in our soul DNA. Many of us have 2 to 5 to 10 main themes showing up to the forefront at different times, and stages, in our lives. Below are 5 very common ones that I notice in my practice that you may want to pay attention to. Many of these are also aligned with Caroline Myss if you have studied her work.
The Victim or Wounded Child
Oh man, this is the the big one. The victim shows up in all kinds of ways but the heart of it is about feeling wronged by the world, perpetually. It's an "always things go bad, and/or people treat me bad," kind of language. Victim archetypes teach empathy but their 'woe is me' energy can't seem to be in a place of power because power means action, and action denotes ownership, and those things are scary. Unlike other archetypal influences, I find victim imprints are more avoidant in doing deep self-work. Perhaps because there seems to be more focus on other people fixing their problems for them.
The Fighter/ Warrior
Not to be confused with the "the tough cookie" the fighter looks to fight battles and because of it, only finds him/herself in trying, arduous situations like tough relationships, financial crisis, or even constant health issues. Fighters can have amazing vigor and conviction but they unfortunately need to fight, and be in opposition, to feel meaning, purpose and value. They are internally unsettled, exhausted, and seek to overcome as a paradoxical way to be at peace.
The Sexy Mama or Papa
This one reminds me of the image-body-appearance-obsessed person. All things sexy- like money, fame, and good looks are involved with this imprint. The sexy mama has 100 million selfies,shoes, outfits or bags but is also likely to work harder than most at keeping up health, status, lifestyle and material things. Sexy mamas or papas thrive in attention-seeking situations because his/her worth is dependent upon it. Many with this imprint have relational wounds stemming from intimate partners or parents that drive their attachment to approval from others.
The Intellectual
Also known as "too cool for school" because their brain, wit, intellect and world view is higher than the rest of us peons. Intellectual imprint types can be magnificent movers and shakers in innovation and creativity if they can prevent their logical and rationalizing state from usurping matters of the heart. Intellectualizing, becomes a habit, and these folks are notorious for elevating their mind to avoid emotion and then redefining this as the dignified, mature way to be. As you may have noticed, ego shows up a lot here too.
The Saboteur
This is the imprint that results in cutting yourself off at the knees. When we sabotage, we just never really allow full success in life. This imprint is based in either fear of success, or underlying unworthiness themes around deservability. Those that sabotage can be fantastic realists and help others see pitfalls if they used their powers for good. Unfortunately, all too often, this strong imprint keeps the person who carries it prisoner.
Some other really common archetypes are: the hard worker, the adventurer, the judge, the athlete, the performer, the artist, the tough cookie, the advocate, the protector, the student/teacher, the hero, the mother/father, the servant, the rebel, the martyr, the addict, the clown, and the king/queen, just to name a few. If you're interested in learning more about your own archetypal influences, engage in some self-reflection about patterns. Review this list and others out there and prioritize the themes that speak to you most. You can also reach out to me here to set up an appointment for an Akashic session where you can learn more about the influences present in your soul history and how best to make lemonade out of them.
Lastly, these masks are normal. Even the most insightful and self-aware people have archetypes, and as I shared earlier, some folks just do a better job of stepping to the side of their mask by not letting its force carry them away. These people also find ways to use the light aspects of their archetype more often and without letting the dark aspects take over. It is important to remember that your identity is not your mask, even though it feels natural to wear it. And despite Halloween, try to give yourself permission to take off your mask now and again to explore that juicy question of.... "who are you really?"
Until next time, Jai!
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