A Shadow of the Golden Child: Trump?

I don’t like being too political with this venue, but it is striking to me as an observer of the current political platforming in the US presidential campaign that the candidate of D. Trump exhibits all of the distinctive traits of a Golden Child archetype presenting in “Shadow” mode. That means in a modality that inverts the most positive (what I call “Strength”) mode of this primary persona archetypal character form.

A ‘Shadow Golden Child’ archetype strives to draw a lot of attention to himself or herself, posturing as all-knowing, all-giving or all-wise. This Persona wants power and control over others, a following. H/she is hyper-critical of any who would oppose their own platform or is outside their realm of control. Often this Persona wants to dictate to others what to do and how to do it, but tends to be fairly lazy in terms of actions of their own. They can be jealous, harping, and autocratic as leaders, with many complaints when things do not go their way or when they are not at the center stage of attention.

Like any Shadow archetypal form, it exists as somewhat of a mirror to the positive, Strength bearing traits the same individual could be expressing if not feeling suppressed or defensive.  I have seen some persons generally exhibiting in this mode for many years gradually become less ‘shadowed,’ usually through developing strong familial ties where they come to take on a more positive, respectable, nurturing role. So let’/s not be typing individuals (Whole Self) images here. As with any shadowy traits it is helpful for the individual to gain more self-awareness and to nurture their own shadowy aspects, perhaps with therapeutic help and/or through good relations. And of course, the same person may present in Shadow mode in one  situation (e.g. publicly) and differently in another (e.g in private).

Still, I can’t help myself but to cringe at the notion of having a relatively non-self-aware, dominantly Shadow-Golden Self figure as president of a (my) nation! (Of course, there have been many, generally in autocratic societies or under dictatorships).  I suppose we should consider the sorts of constellations of archetypal networks that cluster to form political party segments or social platform groups that give rise to social movements of any one form or another. For myself I want to support a strong Elder Leader who demonstrates strong service and leadership capabilities.

images are from pixabay.com

I welcome your Comments and Stories!

Go for the GOLD!

 

Of course it is August when the Summer Olympics are held; this is the month of the Golden Child archetype!  The stellar athletes who have each honed their art and physical prowess dominate center stage with their outstanding performance, inspiring all who attend or who watch to ‘dig deep’ to release our own Golden Child capabilities.

How do you feel when you watch Michael Phelps and Lilly King and Simone Manuel and Simone Biles and Yusain Bolt achieve their Gold Medal standards, breaking previously held world records and expanding the hitherto known limits of human capacity? It is exhilarating and lifts us all to greater heights of ambition and foresight.

I say our foresight is enhanced because these Olympian accomplishments require so much practice and planning and exertion far in advance of their achievement. These Olympians must truly GO FOR THE GOLD in their training for many years, honing their skills, being coached endlessly, refining their skills and their sense of purpose, daily. So, their accomplishment lights up something inside of each of us; our own Golden Child adventuresome spirit; our Hope for the future and our willingness to step forward, step UP, and stake a claim.

images are from pixabay.com

What GOAL are you Going For in your life now? Then, GO FOR THE GOLD! Do not settle for anything less IN YOURSELF than the dedicated persistence to Aim High, Do Your Best, and GO FOR IT!

The results hardly matter in the end, so long as you are striving to achieve your own Personal Best!

I welcome your insights, Comments and Stories!

Create A Golden Child Vision Board

Now that August is waning it is a good time to harness the Leonine energies of your Golden Child part of Self. I invite you to create a Vision Board of your future aspirations from the perspective of your Golden Child viewpoint.

An easy way to compose a Vision Board with your computer is simply by going to a graphics site you like (I recommend pixabay.com, as all its images are free to use online; or you could use clip art or simply Google Images).  Create a blank Word or Publisher page, set up in landscape mode.  Next, Imagine! Assume the perspective of your Golden Child persona, that part of You that is bold and adventuresome and often even gregarious. What does THIS You wish to project into your future with regard to any situation or with regard to your Life Dream as a whole?

Your Vision Board will be an image collage representing various aspects of your future (or, situational) Vision. All you need to do is to copy and paste from images you find online onto your ‘blank page’.  For example, if you see your future self living in Hawaii, find an image that evokes Hawaii for you and copy and paste it onto your page. Assemble your Vision Board collage by simply adjusting the size and shapes of the images you gather and arranging them in a meaningful way on your collage Board.

I always pilot every self-help Tool I develop first for myself before inviting others to utilize that Tool. So below is the Vision Board collage I created a few days ago to channel, as it were, my Golden Child vision for the future of our imaginings. Needless to say I won’t explain my images here; your vision is private. You can share it with others but be careful not to dilute its energetic force for you by explaining it overmuch to others. I can share that without even intending it as such, the little writer-girl image I placed on the bottom right of my collage does portray my Golden Child persona very directly.

I invite you now to create and compose your own Golden Child Vision Board. Be sure to use images of what CAN BE and include images that portray your means of manifesting your Dream!

all images used above are from pixabay.com

After you complete your Vision Board, I encourage you to save it on your computer Desktop but also to print it out in color and place it somewhere important to you where you can see it often. Let your Golden Child Vision Board remind you of your Dream, of your Vision and of your CAN-DO attitude.

I welcome your Comments, Insights, and Stories!

See Your Golden Child in the Mirror

Here’s a fun technique for bolstering your self-image: See Your Golden Child archetype (part of Self) in the Mirror!  Your Golden Child is that part of you that is bright and outgoing, full of charm and generosity in (her/his) most positive expression.

Look your Golden Child in the eyes in your mirror (outwardly or inwardly).  Notice her or his shining expression and gleaming smile, maybe with a bit of mischief in the eyes. Let her or him speak to you, too. What is your Golden Child telling you? What is s/he asking you to do TODAY in order to allow this important facet of your Self to express itself through your thoughts, words and actions?

Feel free to print this post out and write out a dialogue with your Golden Child in the Mirror space below. Just as an example, here is a brief version of my own Mirror Conversation with my Golden Child today:

GC:   I SEE YOU!

LW:  Ahah, I remember that from Finding Dory and from Avatar too.

GC:  But, do you get it?

LW:  Sure, “I SEE You!” And since you are ME, too—

GC: Well, a “part” of You as you soooo like to say—

LW: OK, as you are an important part of US, thank you for Seeing Me, and for Being Here!

GC:  Go get’em Tiger!

pictures are from pixabay.com

LW:  Excuse me?

GC: You know what I am saying, now FEEL IT. BE IT. The Bengal Tiger you were when we were on the Buff State Fencing Team, right?

LW:  You were with me a lot back then…

GC: You bet I was/am! Time is an Illusion, remember? So, ET LA! EXHALE! LUNGE!!!

   I invite you to write YOUR OWN Golden Child dialogue or affirmation in the MIRROR:

Time Out for Summer Reflections

Still on my Golden Child theme of Summertime, today I walked a Labyrinth because of the relative freedom of schedule that my summertime allows. And I got to thinking about life reflections generally and how Summer travel and ‘time out’ is a good context for reflecting on where you are at in life, how you have arrived here, where you are and/or wish to be going, and how to get from wherever you are Now to the destination of your Life Dream or personal life goals.

The relative flexibility of a summer escapade or outing can shake up the normalcy of your work routines just enough so that, in a way, your vacation time becomes a condition of “time out of time.” In anthropology we call that a time that is ripe for undergoing a meaningful Rite of Passage. It is a “liminal zone” pregnant with possibility and new potentials. So it may be one of the best times all year to contemplate CHANGE, from minor to major; to look again at staid traditions or even your creative products to see what you might do to tweak or flexibly improve their conditions.

On a larger scale, to me such interstice phases are fantastic opportunities for “mid-course corrections.” Maybe you might wish to rethink a recent or a longstanding decision. Or maybe it is time to start planning the next, new Chapter of your life.

With my own approach of Life Mapping that I have been teaching and writing about, I think of such Time Outs for life reflection as a way to reflect on your life NOW (rather than after death, e.g. if you believe in reincarnation or simply getting the most out of THIS lifetime), so you can envision what sorts of changes of direction or action might best help you reach your highest goals according to your deepest core values.

I love/ highly recommend the film Defending Your Life, a fun Albert Brooks/ Meryl Streep comedy  that posits two recently deceased souls, one of whom has achieved great strides with her bold and heroic life (Streep), while the other (Brooks) has shied away from some of his greater opportunities. They meet at a level of afterlife called Judgement City where they must go to a court of sorts to “defend” their lives. They fall in love though from such different life trajectories, and that’s where the drama begins!

images are from pixabay.com

Wherever you are at, time out for life reflection or even a mid-course correction, from small to large, can be invigorating! So I encourage you to take a hike, do yoga or deep active contemplation/ meditation (whatever floats your Boat, as they say!), or go for a swim, take a camping trip while you can this summer, or by all means go walk a Labyrinth!

I welcome your comments and stories!

Sum-sum-sum-sum-SUMMERTIME!

Summertime is great for the August Golden Child. We should take advantage of the relative freedom we enjoy during the summer months (at least here in the States it is June-August).  Children have time out from their normal school routines to explore their hobbies and develop their interests; to play!  And adults tend also to feel their freedom more in Summer, taking “time out” for needed vacations during the interstice before another yearly cycle of work proceeds.

Of course, I speak as one who has grown up in an academic world, from school as a youth to college and then teaching at a university for the past 23 years! So, to me, the years are marked in semesters, and Summertime is a welcome time of relative freedom from a ‘normal’ week to week and month to month scheduling. Still, even if your work world or home life are not so liberated during the summer months, isn’t Summertime still a blessing for most of us?  At least in the U.S., the season of summer in most of the country brings warmth and the harvest from Spring planting of corn and many other staple foods and fruits.

So, whatever your circumstances might be right now, remember to draw upon your Golden Child nature to GET OUT and PLAY!  Celebrate your total Self, share with your Family and  dear friends, COME OUT TO PLAY!

We all need to exercise our Inner Child sometimes. Let the golden rays of the Sun brighten your days and warm your Heart this Leo month of the Golden Child. Then later you can tell others about, “What I did on my summer vacation.”  I hope that you spread your wings through what is yet left of this Summer; that you expand your thinking and broaden your point of view by exploring new vistas of the Soul!

images are from pixabay.com

Step Up to the Plate

Baseball has a great tradition of “stepping up to the plate.” Metaphorically, so do we all get our sweet opportunities, our times that we are “up to bat.” This is appropriate language for the August GOLDEN CHILD archetype.  This is that ‘part of you’ that wants to Step Up for you, boldly, to take a swing and hit the ball out of the Park!

I am thinking of the one World Series baseball game I remember from many years ago while I was a graduate student in Arizona. It was the A’s vs. another team (Dodgers?) and I remember Kirk Gibson was on the A’s team. (Feel free to correct me re. teams, if you’d like.) Anyway I do know that Kirk Gibson had a leg injury so he was in the locker room. The game score was tied; the A’s could win the pennant if they won this game.  The score on the field was I think two points over the A’s from the other team at the ninth inning, A’s up, already with two outs. Then Kirk Gibson surprises the crowd, limping out from the locker room onto the batter’s plate. He swings twice: two strikes (or he may have had some balls in but it came to two strikes.)  Then, yes of course, Kirk Gibson finds the sweet spot and swings: HOME RUN, 3 runs to home plate; the A’s WIN!

Kirk Gibson was truly the Golden Child for the team that day.

So, what is that situation right now or coming up in your life for which you’d like to call your Golden Child from out of the locker room to take (His/Her) turn at bat? What is it that you would like for your Golden Child to say or do that would help you as a Total Self to achieve your worthy Goal? Better yet, let this Golden Child part of you speak for him/herself.  Imagine a scene in which he/she says just what needs to be said. Write it out as a statement from your Golden Child to that other or whomever you need to say that to. Write it out. Pin it up. Or better yet, SEND IT or SAY IT yourself. Even if you say it inwardly to that person or whomever you need to be assertive with, do that. You should notice how you stand up taller and feel more positive, hopeful and empowered.

images are from pixabay.com

Try it! Here is a blank space below to write out your Golden Child proclamation or statement:

 

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