Crystal Andrus Morissette: The Emotional Edge
Crystal Andrus Morissette: Archetypes are not new; they have been around for centuries. Whether ancient Greek or Roman gods or goddesses representing power or weakness, mischief or love, or the saints and angels who represent divinity and strength, archetypes are timeless personas that help create shortcuts for our minds. Archetypes make it possible to examine beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and behaviors in ways that go far beyond conventional, qualitative ways. With a simple image we conjure up a multitude of qualities or characteristics. Maybe that is the reason why we don’t dream about words and sentences but rather about plots with characters that may appear somewhat surreal or even mythical. Stories, symbols, and metaphors make it easier for our brains to make sense of things. They help us achieve order and consistency. For example, take a moment and allow your mind to think about Aphrodite or Hercules. Don’t you instantly picture a beautiful, fit woman wearing a white toga and exuding love, pleasure, and fertility; and a gorgeous, muscular, sort of dopey man wearing a white tunic and doing good deeds with a godlike strength? Now how about imagining a few real-life archetypes such as the Bad Boy or the Seductress? We’re probably all picturing the same kind of person, and we might even have somebody specific in mind! The spiritual teacher Caroline Myss, writes in her book Archetypes:
“I have long believed that it is impossible for us to know who we truly are unless we understand archetypes and, more specifically, our own personal archetypes, because archetypes are the psychic lenses through which we view ourselves and the world around us. As a society we have been on a quest to understand how we function psychologically, what makes us the way we are, and what makes us heal. These questions have awakened a need in us to not only be aware that archetypes influence us but how they express themselves in our individual lives. Archetypes are the new language of power.”
OMTIMES: You teach extensively about Empowered Communication. What does that really mean?
