In this second part about archetypes, we explore our complicated relationship with these fascinating elements deeply rooted within the human psyche. Despite originating from the distant past, they possess charismatic qualities. They can still evoke feelings of inadequacy or superiority in us today, as well as the belief that they exist independently and hold authority over us. We will examine how they influence and challenge us as we search for the Path of the Soul.
Our personal development is rooted in our evolution from early humans, exhibiting parallels with the stages of development from infancy to adulthood. We start as closely connected and entirely reliant on our mother, and over a few decades, we gradually transform into independent individuals.
If we start recognizing the influence of archetypes on our personality, it feels like undergoing a spiritual coming-of-age. We have grand ideals, aspire to make a difference in the world, and are receptive to conspiracy theories. We believe we possess all the answers and aim to unravel things independently. We perceive no threat in anything and pay little heed to authority, yet the viewpoints of other spiritual group members significantly impact us. We continually seek affirmation from one another.
In general, personal development focuses externally on functioning in society, but we are hardly aware of what is happening in our subconscious mind. In the spiritual sense, we are still insecure, needy, and dependent individuals yearning for connection, spiritual intimacy, and guidance. However, we prefer to safely follow the masses rather than delve into our being and seek connection internally. This demands courage.
We ground ourselves as we explore what exists in our subconscious mind, what drives us, our needs, and what we truly and deeply long for. Meditative activities are more inward-focused (Yin-loaded) and are forms of spiritual self-care. We may be spiritually focused or slowly but indeed growing towards this. We will undoubtedly come into contact with Archetypal energy on our way in.
The inner confrontation
We can be deeply touched or confronted by someone else’s spiritual radiance without probably being aware. Our inner archetype is touched and resonates with that input. We become aware of ‘something’ in ourselves, a quality or ability that we quietly or excessively compliment in someone else; ambition arises; we also want what they have.
We have lived in different times and other spiritual cultures where we may have had highly profiled spiritual or religious functions that brought us power over circumstances and people. This secret wisdom was not widespread but instead assigned to a small, selected group of people who could resonate with it. The exclusivity may have led to receiving a supernatural status or a spiritual teacher or leader position. We can easily imagine that this could also have caused all sorts of complex spiritual mystifying thoughts and feelings of jealousy or desire in people excluded from the ancient teachings. Remains of the once heavily charged mystifying thoughts and ideas can still be found in the most profound primal areas of the human psychological system and play a distinctive role here in subconscious feelings of inadequacy or, on the contrary, overcompensation, feelings of superiority! These complex and deep feelings are primarily unconscious, yet they significantly impact our attitudes and actions.
Depending on our character and personal views on spirituality and belief, we may link an archetype as a symbol of spiritual superiority and power to our personality. This could involve a sense of obligation to perform ‘good works,’ known as the ‘helper’ syndrome, or the misuse of any attained spiritual or religious position to fulfill our needs, a more common occurrence than one might realize. We may also portray ourselves as spiritual initiates (Esoterists) highly developed in religious, spiritual, and intuitive aspects when, in reality, these traits are primarily manifested in our thinking.
Or we will project from ignorance and feelings of dependence and modesty, an inner archetype explicit on an external source; this can be a form of false modesty and a means of empowering and ratifying ourselves through that ‘source.’ We may be under the assumption that we are in contact with God, Jesus, (arch)angels, or other immaterial beings, guides, and possibly with other galaxies. An archetype brings excellent feelings of solidarity and can entail unique ESP qualities, such as mediumship, communication with the ‘beyond,’ and channeling. This form of automatic writing would be telepathically ‘passed on’ or ‘received from’ an immaterial spiritual master or saint ‘from the spirit,’ but that seems rather far-fetched. Is there an explanation for these phenomena that is much more obvious?
We may assume that a respected spiritual pastor knows what lies between heaven and earth and can provide an answer. But is this assumption correct? We may safely assume that pastors of any religious denomination have an excellent knowledge of sacred traditions. However, their insights about our immaterial reality will be based on ancient texts and traditions rather than their direct intuitive experience.
Spirituality is their field of activity, but traditional spiritual and religious institutions need more insight into our energetic immaterial reality and the phenomena that this immaterial field evokes. In New Age spirituality, they are given their own and new meanings that also arise from written traditions, ‘secret teachings,’ from the (far) East. The immaterial is an unknown territory for most people, making it mysteriously attractive or, on the contrary, demonically scary, and thus becomes a valuable means of manipulation.
Mediumship and channeling
Mediumship and channeling are very sophisticated forms of mental manipulation and deception. They mislead by suggesting the existence of a spiritual hierarchy by ‘borrowing’ the status of a saint to validate and reinforce their message. They manipulate by creating signals of mental dependence, and these forms of intuitive communication are certainly not harmless. These New Age forms of spiritual manipulation are simply a continuation of the same tactics that religions have been using for centuries. It is just the same message with a new look.
Astonishingly, people want to receive information from a non-verifiable, immaterial guide of a Medium or Channeler rather than someone of flesh and blood who says they perceive the information intuitively. Due to spiritual-religious ignorance and feelings of dependence and inadequacy, we seem to prefer fairy tales over sober perceptions and mediumship, and channeling reinforces these self-undermining emotions.
Every individual harbors archetypes, which form the basis of our spiritual identity and status, providing us with the necessary meaning. These archetypes are deeply rooted in our primal survival instincts. However, we can only truly grasp the ‘presence’ of archetypes within ourselves through the ‘resonance and confrontation’ with the reflection in someone else’s archetype. This realization often occurs when we immerse ourselves in religious and spiritual circles, prompting us to introspect.
We know almost nothing about the ‘beyond’ or that there is ‘life’ after death. We know almost nothing about our immaterial reality and are unaware of our aura! What we ‘think’ to learn are nothing more than assumptions we have distilled from all sorts of stories about experiences that touch the immaterial or go beyond the boundaries of ‘life and death,’ and these assumptions are given a name and meaning corresponding to the spiritual conviction of the one who has experienced. (An almost-dead experience is precisely what it is: an almost-dead experience.) Awareness of our aura can be an impressive and unforgettable experience of immaterial contact and meaning for someone. Without being aware of this, Mediums and Channelers are in inner telepathic contact with their own inner Archetype or with an Archetype of their clients; they ‘read’ the immaterial information contained in their client’s aura.
The simple truth is that we may need a lot of courage to acknowledge that we want to worship a ‘higher power’ or that our status of spiritual leadership needs to be worshipped. For most people, it can be a genuinely frightening or even blasphemous thought that there is no spiritual hierarchy, an idea that makes us feel abandoned and orphaned. There are no ‘chosen ones’; this would be against our free will. Out of free will, we dive deep into the unconscious to expose our inner idols and seek inner Surrender to the Soul.
K