Communication Matters!

As the month of the archetypal Communicator winds down, I realize how absolutely central good, reciprocal communication is in life. What else is there, really? All of our lives we are in communication with others and internally. How well we communicate matters. How well we express and affirm who we are to one another, how well we listen, how much grace we give to one another… Matters.

Matters of communication have consequences. From the largest to the most minute situation or transaction, how well we communicate depends upon and reveals qualities of our deepest nature. If we do not know ourselves deeply enough, as the spiritual beings that we are at our very core, we cannot communicate who we are to another except incompletely. If we are self-absorbed, do we really know who we are?  Withholding of honest, humble communication is a mode of violence and accompanies violence toward ourselves and others.

I have a friend who has been like a sister to me for many years. Yet, she has become locked up in  anger and frustration toward life, so filled with what she regards as righteous opinions that she has forgotten what matters; she chooses not to communicate positively with those who do not hold her same political views. She isolates herself, which deepens her turmoil.

Life itself I have come to realize requires healthy communication. Consciousness communicates with other aspects of itself through form, voice, action, and via silences. The cosmos itself is a macro-communication matrix that organizes micro-cosmic codes; a grand message constantly unfolding in myriad dimensions; what else?

images are from pixabay.com

I welcome your Comments and Stories!

Soul Equals Soul

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images from pixabay.com

Open Mike

So are you clear about what I mean when referring to your own Archetype Allies? These are your at least partly submerged or unconscious “parts of Self” that compose aspects or facets (like alternative “faces”) of your personality. As a cultural anthropologist I would say that you develop some archetypal potentials rather than others as you acquire ROLE IDENTITIES.  For example, in romantic relationships you may develop your LOVER archetypal potentials; as a doctor you may draw upon the HEALER archetype; or as a writer you are likely to express the universal archetypal potentials of a COMMUNICATOR.

Still in all, while everyone has the potential for expression of all twelve of the universal or primordial classes of Archetypal Persona forms (see the wheel below, based on Dr. Charles and Nin Bebeau of the Avalon Archetype Institute), most of us will express some of these as dominant modes versus others, and the form of expression will vary based on your situational experience and other personality factors.

An approach I work with a lot myself and encourage through coaching via the Life Maps Process that I will be presenting in the upcoming book, Life Paths, is a technique I call Archetype Dialogue practice. One stage of this process I call “Open Mike.” To get to know some of your archetypal dispositions or members of your “ensemble cast of Archetypal characters,” you can simply contemplate upon a topic that is meaningful to you, perhaps a question involving an upcoming decision or a possible transition in your life, or a goal.  “Sink into a reverie” sort of state; that is, allow yourself to “descend” to a subconscious awareness level, and invite your archetypal subselves to speak out in their distinctive voices or from various of your own dynamically complex points of view or attitudes.

You can also invite any one of your archetypal allies to step up to the “open mike” about a topic of relevance to its specific outlook. Since we are closing this month’s focus on the COMMUNICATOR archetype in association with the metaphor of Life is Heeding the Call to Realize Your Dream, I invite you to call upon your unconscious COMMUNICATOR persona one more time. Invite the COMMUNICATOR aspect of your Self to speak up about a topic relating to your own Life Dream or a significant GOAL. You can engage your COMMUNICATOR inwardly via active imagination and then record your experience in your journal or as a story, or you can directly transcribe a dialogue with your COMMUNICATOR in a dialogic writing mode.

Allow me to briefly exemplify from the perspective of calling forth my own COMMUNICATOR persona:

LW:  So are you there, Communicator? What shall I call you?

C: Call me what you wish, I do suppose. I am quite adaptible, after all. How do you wish for me to express myself Now?

LW: In your Writer mode, I guess, for Open Mike.

C: About what topic, then?

LW: The upcoming meeting with our Agent.

C: But of course.  I would emphasize how important it is for us to be clear with her and to LISTEN VERY WELL. Communication is a two-way street, and this is a rare, golden opportunity for you and for all of us, to Listen and to Learn.

LW: I hope this meeting can result in the project going forward, the proposal being sent out soon.

C: Yes, but please do let the Moment reveal its own potentials. Trust in Spirit; have faith in your inner as well as your outer guidance to reveal what is needed of us next as stewards of the book’s most effective emergence into publication.

LW: The faith of the mustard seed, do you mean?

C: Or of the Acorn, as we have talked about previously with our MYSTIC Ally.

LW: So, why the Acorn?

C: Acorn has within its seed nature the capacity to grow into a mighty Oak, its roots descending deeply into the nurturant Mother Earth while its branches reach far upwards toward the Heavens.

LW: You took that metaphor from Stranger by the River by Paul Twitchell.

C: Indeed, yes I did! But I added the Seed metaphor, as you have been thinking about how the life mapping Tools are also seeds.

LW: Beautiful! Okay then, together here we go…

C: We are Multiple, yet together we are One!

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I welcome YOUR insights and stories!

(As I am traveling, my next post for this site will be on Tuesday to begin our new monthly cycle.

P.S.: The meeting went well !!!)

Spelunking Your Cave

Consider how you are looking for a sign–aren’t you, anyway?–about a significant change or a transition you are approaching in your life. [Name it! You can use or start your “manifestation journal”.]

Now then, imagine you can simply “sink down” within your well of unconscious awareness, into a safe, cozy, half-lit CAVE. Perhaps you have a campfire in your cave or you are holding a torch that illuminates the chamber.

On the walls of the cave there are pictures and/or words put there by your own Communicator archetype Ally.  S/he has left a message on the wall of the cave for you. This is an important message which will help you to make a key decision about your future.

What message do you see on the cave wall? EXPLORE!!! Later, you can contemplate and journal about what you find.

I invite your Comments and your stories!

The Blog

Blogging has become–for now, for me–a primary mode of communicating. Whereas I used to journal profusely, apart from dream journaling, book editing and working on scholarly article projects, I find that when I sit down to “just write,” almost invariably since I started this blog, it is a “post” that emerges.

Blogging is a vital genre for sharing and for self-exploration. Any writer desires to connect with readers, and blogging is a ready form for reaching a general public. I find that when I sit down to write a post, my inner Communicator archetype persona is an Ally, a part of Self that knows what to write about next as an unconscious wellspring. I love to observe this process, to allow the blog-author within myself to gradually unfold and unwind the archetypal and self-discovery/ personal development topical themes around which this blog site is focussed.

 

After 370 posts since November 2014, I am somewhat bemused to see how the blog ‘voice’ has taken on somewhat a life of its own. Hopefully some of you have tried out some of the life mapping tools being presented. I want to thank every and any reader for helping to facilitate this particular Muse!

 

A Message for You

There has never been and there will never be again, ever in the entire course of human history and spiritual existence, another YOU! Your Beauty and the sum of your individual experiences have created a unique blend of perspectives and qualities that define you as the expression of a gifted Soul.

There is a reason, a purpose for your unique Self being in this world at this time. Your Mission is to realize your special gifts for the highest betterment of All.

Your Communicator Ally

Consider there is a part of yourself we can call your COMMUNICATOR, an archetypal aspect of your total Self identity. That means you have developed an “archetypal” mode of expression that you can draw upon unconsciously when you aim to communicate well. Of course, if your COMMUNICATOR part of self has been inhibited or is conflicted then this may actually interfere with your communicative style until or unless you recognize these issues and work through them to a condition of greater awareness or balance.

Are there some situations in your life in which you rely on your inner COMMUNICATOR and in which you feel more—or, less—confident communicating? When does your COMMUNICATOR feel most competent? Least? What issues may be coming up for you with the latter?

To model addressing such questions, let me share here just a bit. I feel most comfortable “as” a communicator in a classroom or lecture type setting (pairing Communicator skills there with my dominant Teacher persona), or in the process of writing, or else in conversation with a close and trusted friend.  One of my best friends, Jan, really taught me HOW to communicate as a friend; she encourages me to be open about feelings and from her I have become a better listener, so this pairs COMMUNICATOR with my NOURISHER persona. When writing, I tap into  my spiritual or MYSTIC outlook.

In all then, I find COMMUNICATOR is a versatile archetypal aspect that pairs well with several other facets of Self.

I feel least comfortable communicating when I feel I may be judged or scrutinized. Then my Communicator turns inward, pairing with my reserved, Descender character. I have always felt Silence to be a valuable form of communication especially when used to be introspective or to refrain from talking inappropriately. Silence, in the right form, can be a generous, thoughtful act. Of course, it could also be used to withhold trust or honesty.

It can be helpful to listen to your COMMUNICATOR if you are feeling restraint or fearful about self-expression. You can contemplate or journal to tune into your unconscious archetypal “Assembly” to see what your COMMUNICATOR may need. Sometimes It just needs to be heard!

I welcome your insights and stories!