Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World

by Carol S. Pearson

Overview

"The heroic quest is about saying 'yes' to yourself and in so doing, becoming more fully alive and more effective in the world. . . . The quest is replete with dangers and pitfalls, but it offers great rewards: the capacity to be successful in the world, knowledge of the mysteries of the human soul, and the opportunity to find and express your unique gifts in the world."

In this bold and original work, Carol S. Pearson shows that the heroic quest isn't just for certain people under special circumstances. Exploring the many heroic paths available to each of us, at every point in our lives, her innovative program enables us to live heroically by activating and applying twelve archetypes in our lives.

This companion to the bestselling The Hero Within outlines twelve archetypal patterns that can aid inner development and the quest for wholeness.

These archetypes are inner guides that can help us

• prepare for the journey, by learning how to become successful members of society;
• embark upon the quest, by becoming initiated into the mysteries of the human soul; and
• return to transform our lives as a result of claiming our uniqueness and personal power.

Writing for individuals seeking to realize their full potential and professionals engaged in empowering others, Pearson shows how journeys differ by the age, gender, and cultural background of the seeker, and how archetypes help awaken the capacities of our psyches. A unique diagnostic test, the Heroic Myth Index, and exercise are included to help us understand and awaken our inner guides.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062238009
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/16/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	354
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Carol S. Pearson, Ph.D., D.Min., is an internationally known authority on archetypes and their application to everyday life and work. Her early work in this field, upon which she has expanded over time, produced books and monographs that have helped people all over the world find their purpose and live more fulfilling and successful lives through increasing their archetypal narrative intelligence. Such books include The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By and Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World. Together with Hugh Marr, she also developed the Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator™ (PMAI™), a tested instrument that helps individuals discover the archetypes that motivate them at a deep level, along with a supporting workbook, What Stories Are You Living? Discover Your Archetypes&mash;Transform Your Life, that allows them to discover which of their active archetypes is a core archetype, which might be related to an area of unlived vitality, and which might cause them problems if they fail to connect with it. This system is also implicit in her mythology-based book Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within, written for both men and women.

Dr. Pearson's more recent work helps individuals and leaders not only achieve personal success in their careers but also to develop workplaces that are healthier for employees and that enhance the ability of organizations to achieve their goals. Publications on this subject include The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes (co-authored by Margaret Mark); Mapping the Organizational Psyche: A Jungian Theory of Organizational Dynamics and Change (co-authored by John Corlett); Magic at Work: Camelot, Creative Leadership, and Everyday Miracles (with Sharon Seivert), and The Transforming Leader: New Approaches to Leadership for the Twenty-First Century (ed.), which grew out of a three-year project with the Fetzer Institute that she co-led. As part of that project, she also wrote a pamphlet that uses an archetypal analysis to help readers understand contemporary American culture: Maturing the American Dream: Archetypal American Narratives Meet the Twenty-First Century. In addition, she developed the Organizational and Team Culture Indicator™ (OTCI™), a tested instrument that identifies archetypes in organizational cultures. The OTCI was acquired by Kenexa, a global human resources firm, in 2008 and was renamed the Kenexa Cultural Insight Survey™ (KCI™). It is used for internal branding and to enhance employee satisfaction, effectiveness, and retention. Many of Dr. Pearson's publications are available in a growing number of foreign languages and in e-book as well as print form.

A respected scholar and higher education administrator, Dr. Pearson served most recently as Executive Vice President/Provost and then President of Pacifica Graduate Institute. Previously, she was Professor of Leadership Studies in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland and the Director of the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership. During her tenure, the Academy was the incubator of the International Leadership Association (ILA), and Dr. Pearson was a member of ILA's Board of Directors. Currently, she is an author and educator in private practice.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

The Stages of the Journey

The messages our culture gives us about the relative roles of Ego, Self, and Soul can be confusing and contradictory. Most management literature focuses on a healthy Ego, to the exclusion of both Self and Soul. Political theory tends to focus on such Ego concerns as equal access to jobs, pay, education, and status. Psychology generally emphasizes healthy Ego development, and many psychologies do nothing else.

Transpersonal psychology, as well as the better part of contemporary religion (whether Eastern or Western), develops the Soul and Spirit, but many times to the detriment of the Ego. Often this takes the form of a conscious and explicit desire to get rid of the Ego so that the individual can bow completely to God's will. Only archetypal psychology honors all three, and sometimes even in it practical Ego concerns don't get their proper emphasis.

There is a crying need in the contemporary world to honor Ego, Self, and Soul and to recognize the ways that the Ego should be reeducated (not eliminated) when higher order transcendent functions are developed. Indeed, it is the union of Ego and Soul that makes possible the birth of the Self. As I have studied contemporary psychology, theology, politics, management, and self-help literature, I have become more convinced that it is possible for each of us to be happy, successful, "self-actualized," and spiritual. It is also possible to "follow our bliss" and still be a responsible citizen, parent, and friend and to live in responsible and loving community with others. The secret is to take the journey and find yourself.

The twelve heroic archetypesdescribed in Awakening the Heroes Within help our psyches develop. The three stages of the herds journey-preparation, journey, return—parallel exactly the stages of human psychological development: we first develop the Ego, then encounter the Soul, and finally give birth to a unique sense of Self. The journey of the Ego teaches us how to be safe and successful in the world; the journey of the Soul helps us to become real and authentic as we encounter the deepest mysteries of life; and the journey of the Self shows us the way to find and express our authenticity, power, and freedom.

The Ego is the "container" for our life. The Ego creates a boundary between us and everything else and mediates our relationship with the world. It also helps us learn to fit into the world as we know it and to act to change that world to better meet our needs.

The Soul, which Jungians equate with the unconscious or the psyche itself, connects us with the transpersonal. The Soul is also the repository of all the potential of the human species, potential that lies within each one of us, like seeds germinating and ready to sprout if external conditions are propitious (analogous to enough sun, water, and fertile soil). For people who believe in an afterlife, the Soul is the part of us that lives on after the body dies. But it is not necessary to believe in an afterlife to connect with Soul or to use the concepts in this book.

Mandalas of Ego, Soul, and Self

The illustrations that follow place each set of four archetypes in a mandala. According to Jung, the number 4 and the shape of the mandala are associated both with wholeness and with the discovery of the Self.

1. Place your score for each archetype in the box provided below it.

2. Add together your Innocent, Orphan, Warrior, and Caregiver scores to reach your aggregate Ego score. Place that number in the box provided for the heading "Ego."

3. Add together your Seeker, Destroyer, Lover, and Creator scores to reach your aggregate Soul score. Place that number in the box provided for the heading "Soul."

4. Add together your Ruler, Magician, Sage, and Fool scores to reach your aggregate Self score. Place that number in the box provided for the heading "Self."

The three stages of the hero's journey preparation, journey, return-parallel exactly the stages of human psychological development.