Discovering Additional Inner Heroes/Archetypes

Reading the article on the 12 Common Archetypes, I've added to my list The Lover.

Susan the Lover is wife, partner, helper, the other half.

And in reading some of Quinn McDonald's book (which arrived last Tuesday), Inner Hero Creative Art Journal, I am also adding The Alchemist.

Susan the Alchemist enjoys making something from nothing. Making paper for over a decade, she loves being able to take old cotton or linen fabric or brown leaves from plants and turn them into something beautiful.

She saves bits and scraps of this and that knowing that one day they can be incorporated into an art piece.

A literary character that comes immediately to mind is Rumpelstiltskin who turned straw into gold. Incidentally, Rumpelstiltskin was one of my favorite storybooks as a child. I loved the illustrations in it and spent much time looking at it.

I bought a book a number of years ago called Spinning Straw Into Gold : What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life by Joan Gould. (Have I mentioned how much I love books?) I read the first two chapters then put it aside for something more appropriate at the time. I think it is time to dig into this one too. As I stated in my first post about why I am creating this Identity Art Journal, I believe my life is in a state of transition. Transformation may be a better way to view it!

Oh, I love how all of this is coming together the way that it is!
(I haven't created any pages for these archetypes yet, but when I do I will post them.)

Inner Heroes and Archetypes Part 2

Using the list of the 12 Common Archetypes, I've placed my inner heroes under the archetype I see them most in line with. Here is what I've come up with:

Archetype: The Innocent
Child
Hopeless Romantic
Monk (fits two categories)

Archetype: The Caregiver
Mother
Gardener (fits two categories)

Archetype: The Creator
Gardener
Artist

Archetype: The Sage
Historian
Naturalist
Monk

Many of the other archetypes I clearly am not. In this list of archetypes, Hero is listed as one. It is the traditional view of hero - the warrior, superhero, soldier, dragon slayer. Quinn McDonald's view shows us that these more gentle qualities are heroic too.

If you did this exercise, your heroes and archetypes would most likely be different than mine. These traits are what form our personality, what make us unique, special and needed in the world (that's where the hero part comes in.) We can't be all things to all people. We can't be made to fit into a mold/role that isn't meant for us. For too long in my Christian walk I was told/taught that I must do/act/perform/think a certain way. (did you say cult?) It has taken many, many years to heal that damaged thinking and more still to come. I believe that God, through his Holy Spirit, is directing this path of exploration right now. The feeling is so powerful it is difficult to describe. And the things that are being revealed and opportunities that are being placed in my path are awe inspiring. Too much to try to relay here, but there will be future posts explaining it in more detail.

My Inner Hero: The Historian

My inner historian loves learning about the past. She enjoyed listening to her mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles tell the stories of their childhoods, homes, neighborhoods, friends, pastimes, teen years, crushes, cars, how they met their spouses, etc. All good family stuff. Many aspects of her family members' lives remain a mystery since they passed away before the questions could be asked and the stories told.

Studying the History of Western Civilization, American Literature and Art History in college was fascinating. So much of who we are today can be traced to all the events that occurred before. My inner historian loves knowing the details. What time of day was it? What expression did he have on his face? Where did that person live and what was life like when they wrote that hymn? A stickler for accuracy, it is important to the inner historian that everything is organized and put in chronological order.

Susan the Historian appreciates articles of the past. She has rescued many family heirlooms and ephemera that others viewed as trash. She enjoys estate sales, thrift shops and American Pickers on the History channel.

Also known as The Scholar, this inner hero treasures books and libraries. Conducting research on many topics is important to her. Much forethought, information gathering and planning goes into decisions that are made.

A valuable lesson she learned from her History of Western Civilization professor is not to read history through our modern lens. In order to understand why events took place, we need to understand the people of that time period. What did they value? What were their belief systems? What was the prevailing culture like at that time?

All very interesting food for thought for this inner hero!

Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9

My Inner Hero: The Gardener

The gardener has been the main character/persona/role that I have played in my life. Longer than the roles of mother and wife. I have never regarded gardening as heroic, but in retrospect, I see that it is. Firstly you need strength and stamina to create and tend a garden. I developed upper body muscles from all the digging and cultivating I've done in the past twenty years on this property.  It takes imagination, creativity and faith. And perseverance. Gardening has taught me so many life lessons. There are so many parallels between spirituality and gardening. There as so many references, parables and metaphors in the Bible related to gardens. So much to write on this topic. Glad I have that full blank page! It will be completely filled in before too long.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1Cor 3:6

My Inner Hero: The Naturalist

This is my favorite page spread in the journal so far.

The Naturalist is one of my dominant heroes. She loves the outdoors - walking, feeling the warmth of the sun, inhaling the fragrances of earth, woods, sea and meadow. Listening to the sounds of birds, bees, cicadas. Naming the birds, identifying the butterflies and their caterpillars. Providing shelter, water and food for all of these creatures.

Consider the lilies of the field - how they grow... Matthew 6:28

My Inner Hero: The Monk

My inner monk enjoys quiet and solitude. She enjoys deep spiritual contemplation. Long, early morning quiet time for study. Praying continually throughout the day. Seeing the divine in the every day. My inner monk values hard, physical labor and sees it as a spiritual discipline.

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands..." 1 Thes 4:11

"When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you and pray to your Father in private." Matt 6:6

My Inner Hero: The Hopeless Romantic

Susan the Hopeless Romantic loves fairy tales and happy endings. She trusts people and believes they have pure motives for the things they do.

"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
Yet, even now, be free from your captivity! Leave..."  Isaiah 17-18, 20

My Inner Hero: The Mother

Not my mother, but the mother that I am, who I've learned and grown to be. Susan the Mother isn't called upon much anymore because her children are grown.  I know they will always need and appreciate my love and encouragement, but the relationships are different now, as they should be. I know this is something I've mourned the loss of this past year. In the midst of being overjoyed that my son was marrying someone so perfect for him and my daughter getting an apartment and once again living on her own, which I rejoiced in as well, I understood that this was indeed the end of that part of my life. The mother in me still has strong yearnings to nurture and comfort.  Maybe it is time to nurture the child in me with the mother love I needed and mostly didn't get.

How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, ... Matthew 23:37

I will comfort you...as a mother comforts her child. Isaiah 66:13

I really love this magazine image and the one from yesterday. I had already created these journal pages. They were waiting for the words that would come. It really is amazing to me how beautifully the layouts I had already created are perfect to describe my inner heroes. Julia Cameron refers to this as synchronicity. I believe it is the Holy Spirit at work. I am finding it encouraging, uplifting, insightful and just the beginning of new lessons to learn and new paths to discover. 

My Inner Hero: The Child

We all have an inner child we are told. I'm not in contact much with mine. She is quite often neglected. She grew up too soon. Her dad died when she was eight years old. She was often told that she was "too serious." She is/was insecure, afraid of being rejected.

I see a lot of myself in the young Sally Draper character (Mad Men Seasons 1-3, especially).

He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, "Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me - God who sent me." (Mark 9:37, The Message)

Identity - Discovering My Inner Heroes

In the previous post I wrote about how God has revealed something new and exciting to me. Here is what it is:

I already can't remember how, but earlier this week I learned about the book Inner Hero Creative Art Journal by Quinn McDonald. The book description explains that in this book you will meet your inner heroes (ones which she has named) who will help you combat the voice of the inner critic. I am familiar with the "inner critic" as it is much discussed in many art journal techniques book. I believe it was Julia Cameron who first wrote about the inner critic in her book, The Artist's Way, originally published in 1992. Though the concept wasn't new at that time either. Anyway, I have not read about our "inner hero or heroes" before this. (I'm guessing it isn't a new concept either, but it is new to me.) I have ordered the book, but have not yet received it. I did search online for more information on inner heroes. I found another book called, No Cape Required: A Devotional: 52 Ways to Unleash Your Inner Hero by Kristen Parrish. I have ordered this book as well. In addition, I discovered the website of Ben Fanning. He discusses inner heroes as they are found in the corporate world. His description of their characteristics is right on in regard to my own inner hero. 

Loving this idea of having inner heroes, I set about discovering mine. Using a page from Quinn McDonald's book, which is available as a free download, I came up with a list of my inner heroes.

I am also re-reading The Artist's Rule by Christine Valters Paintner. I read this for the first time in the Spring of 2012. This book uses Benedictine Rules for Living and applies them to being an artist. In the first chapter she discusses the "inner monk" and "inner artist". Psychologists often refer to our "inner child". I am naming these three as inner heroes as well as five more.

My Inner Heroes

The Monk
The Artist
The Child
The Mother
The Hopeless Romantic
The Gardener
The Naturalist
The Historian

I will introduce you to them in upcoming posts and show you how I am incorporating them into my Identity Art Journal.