(with an obsessive case study in American Politics)

If you are at a crossroads and wondering where you should do next in your professional life, I suggest valuing your earliest experiences of “income” and experiment with approaching your livelihood by embodying the energies present in those experiences. That’s what I’m doing, and it’s Working.²

Recently I’ve been taking a clear-eyed look at my earliest recollections of receiving and earning, and noticing how these associative environments— and the Archetypal Energies embodied therein— have given me natural and comfortable inroads to receiving today. No magic, no extraordinary effort, no teachers, or programs needed. No marketing either (ha!). Just openness and recognition, with a deep, respectful look at primary energies present in oneself since childhood, for better or for worse. Examples to follow in hopes you can get the hang of it yourself.

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Childhood: Associations ‘R Us

In many ways, humans are simply skin-covered, watery bags of associations, experiences, stories, and choices. Some facets of our identity can be conveyed as logical constructions, but most are not. Most stories we tell ourselves about ourselves seem straight-forward, but are actually comprised of convoluted, random, and non-nonsensical phenomena we’ve tried to weave together into a singular fabric we each call “me.” We may do this so we can relate to others and extract from exchanges what we perceive we need in a civilized ways like communication and commerce.³

We can likely all agree that sometimes we react to situations based upon earlier experiences, not the current situation. If we attacked when bullied as a kid, we may do the same today, just in a ‘grownup’ way. If we made art to cope with feelings (I did), we may do the same as adults. Nearly all of our earliest associations⁴ could be described as the hardware that runs us when we aren’t making 100% mindful, fresh decisions. And who is mindful of 100% of their reality 100% of the time? “Too muchie!” as a dear friend would say. Autopilot has a solid role in driving us forward. It’s also helpful when we are overwhelmed by feelings and change. But Autopilot is a railroad to oblivion when it’s time for us to learn about ourselves and grow.

Autopilot Probabilities

For example, a child of nobility may feel destined to have or to own, because of early reinforced associations of Just Having and Pedigree. An early Scrapper may be destined to salvage difficult situations and create great wealth from minimal or trashed materials. An orphan may become skilled at Forging Community or collecting networks. An Artist may build talismans, systems, or incite Golden Ages⁵. A Comedian have learned how to bind smiles to troubles and raise light-heartedness. A child born of conflict may become a Peaceful Warrior, or gain skills harboring by being a Burning Bridge, and so on.

Nobility and Empathy: Working Classes

If everything was provided to your practically and emotionally just because you were you, you may feel naturally entitled (and therefore receive easily). If, instead, you experienced that you must work hard, and please others to survive a dangerous world or achieve, you’re likely to continue in that way. This means you may have a hard time receiving unless you acknowledge your own hard work and only feel comfortable when everyone is smiling at you.

Checking your early earning karma⁷, means identifying where you first earned or received material resources, because in our culture, material wealth is synonymous with energy exchange and feelings of survival and safety. Our first experiences imprint us profoundly, and get settled into as deep, authentic pathways for us to receive as we grow. Empathy allows us to access still more paths than that, and try on understanding of others’ ways.

Examples with Related Archetypes⁸

My first paying job was as a Grandchild⁹. My grandparents would occasionally give us a few quarters, later a few dollars when we visited on Sundays. From this, I often embodied being an Apprentice to my elders, watching, learning from, and seeking favor of those older and wiser than me. My second job was in a restaurant. There I learned to clean up after others, to serve people, to react fast, to be proactive, predictive customer service, attention to detail, organization, how to read people, dynamic prioritization, and sales.¹⁰

The archetypal energy most closely related to restaurant work is Hospitality¹¹. Hospitality can be quickly defined as: receiving and hosting of others in an environment that feels good to them and caters to their needs. An important part of Hospitality is providing safety and refuge without question, and also, receiving it in your travels as well.

Hospitality is a balanced Archetype. There is giving, and receiving. Tipping is customary in these professions, and it’s no wonder. It’s a primal way we can acknowledge an Archetype and keep things in balance. If one side of the equation takes over, it’s like a woman endlessly hosting and pleasing visitors: AKA The Whore Archetype¹². We judge this, but it’s the sign of an endless host.¹³

Mama Mia

When I think about my mom, who in her heyday became a spiritual guide and therapist to other therapists: her first jobs included bagging in the grocery store, then switchboard operator. She didn’t like either of these fast-paced jobs that could also be simply described as “packing up baggage” and “directing communication” respectively. It’s no wonder she settled deeply into a profession that helped others Compartmentalize to carry emotional loads, and Communicate effectively with self and others. Her Archetypes maybe could be described in archetypal shorthand by Hermes, or the astrological sign Gemini. In some ways, she was like a Sherpa. Nice work Mom! She was a Healer too.

Taking It to the Tipsy Top

In a public example, one can see Trump is a man who received huge sums of money from family, with directive to invest it to make more. He repeatedly did not do so. He failed with multiple bankruptcies, repeatedly asked his dad for more cash, etc.. And over time he kept pivoting by attempting to belong to other worlds as he grew up in New York and East Coast. Such as in:

• Real estate (his father’s family business)
• via Mafia tactics (another NYC ‘family’ businesses)
• building clubs to emulate the environment of Pedigree of Old Money (another family-model of power retention)
• ruining Casinos (where the house losing/individual winning model is the opposite of that world, yet he still personally benefited while the fail-safe business collapsed).
• and also Media & Marketing (TV shows like The Apprentice and a lifetime of doing his own PR and excessive branding helped him earn piles of money despite being humiliated/disrespected in other worlds).
• finally Campaigning (easy money from a community who identifies with him, without receiving the material benefits of his policies or family wealth)

Doubling Down | Going Down

I think Trump may be caught in a double-archetype: the desire to Belong and Win. He seems to want so badly to be a member of the ruling class —AKA the country club set—that he built country clubs and literally made them his homes. Here he seeks to control the back-slapping environment of a known power structure, and win every golf game by any means necessary, including cheating. Now he has played in politics, doing similar behaviors. He’s quite literally re-invented the places where powerful people do business: the GOP being the latest golden makeover. Perhaps Trumps populous power lies in his ability to utilize Media to embolden others who want to belong and win (just like him), and also control the criteria of who gets to belong in our country and “win” the resources.

Unfortunately, his goal is not win-win unless you count his hapless VP’s who may later be sent to the slaughter. This embodiment he’s got going of Belong and Win is so complete, he can bob around on stage for 35 minutes and people will still praise him, because he’s “their” guy and the glow of winning lasts at least a little while. This makes me wonder if Belonging is such a strong need, that maybe it’s at the same level as the Archetypes themselves? That’s a worthy exploration, but not today.

One random worldly process that many powerful folks learned to do, and Trump certainly did, is Failing Up. This is seizing and holding what someone accumulate assets in apparent failures to enhance additional resource accumulation in the next world. It’s not about “good work,” it’s about “grabbing resources.” In conclusion of this part, the overarching Archetypes powering Trump may be connected to Zeus, head Olympian, with a dangerous attempt by him to also control a superseding power like Titan Chronos (his MAGA motto, after all is a nostalgic promise to turn back time). Because he has literally built and oversees Hospitality, but seizes money from the populous like a tax man with minor campaign contributions, I wonder how long this will last?

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What does this have to do with my livelihood?

I just wove a pile of words to think about and to help observe others and yourself, but really, what may matter most is seeing how you first got your material needs met when you were a child. Almost certainly, you were fed, clothed and sheltered, so that’s not what I’m talking about. You can plainly find where you first interfaced with our consumerist/capitalist culture via money, and identify the archetype that was. Often the first two in combination will tell the tale.

Once you know the Archetypes you are dealing with, you can investigate or emulate the character of the Archetypes or connect with them in your private internal space. The outer results are quite stunning, but don’t take my word for it. It’s a do-able experiment I invite you to try on your own.

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Where is a Lexicon of Archetypes?

This website page¹⁴ gives a clue as to ways you can go about identifying Archetypes, but is neither seminal or perfect. Ultimately the writings of Carl Jung can give you a powerful insight as to inner journeys and the ‘classic’ stories so many human beings are living through. I believe each culture has it’s own Archetypes too, which supplements the casts of characters like Greek Gods, Literary Conventions, Heroes, Mama Bears, and Ancient Explorers. In the USA, Archetypes like Founding Father, Cowboy, Feminist, and Venture Capitalists have immediate and quickly understood allegorical meanings, so could also be considered Archetypes.

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1. I’m going to bold the Archetype-connected material herein. ↩︎
2. Working as an archetype means efforts and results are connected in a linear way. Think cause & effect. In other words, my efforts at this “inner” work has resulted in outer (measurable) wealth, with clear linkages between. ↩︎
3. I call commerce and communication “civilized methods of extracting what one needs” vs earlier methods of violence and seizure. See this publication for a fun trip through crime rates and context for image above. Spoiler: things are much, much less violent than they were before. ↩︎
4. By associations, I mean, the meaning and context of what got assigned inside us to our earliest experiences. For instance, my grandmother was a very quiet, loving force in my life, which makes me receptive to women elders for love/wisdom. The first time I agreed to eat a tomato as a child, I was congratulated as “grown up,” and “belonging” to my heritage. So to this day, I feel empowered when I eat Italian food. Just simple, nonsensical associations. ↩︎
5. This Quote is just soooo good: “I believe that we, that this planet, hasn’t seen its Golden Age. Everybody says its finished … art’s finished, rock and roll is dead, God is dead. Fuck that! This is my chance in the world. I didn’t live back there in Mesopotamia, I wasn’t there in the Garden of Eden, I wasn’t there with Emperor Han, I’m right here right now and I want now to be the Golden Age …if only each generation would realise that the time for greatness is right now when they’re alive … the time to flower is now.” ― Patti Smith ↩︎
6. I honestly think perfect performances is an epidemic in Western culture. Women (especially) so driven to be “perfect” in their lives, that should a simple error be questioned, they can suffer debilitating shame and with a fury will shut down voices that remind them of shortcomings. It’s”being right” on steroids, and the positive (so self-reinforcing) consequence of this challlenge is individuals will often develop high-level skills and expertise. ↩︎
7. The Buddhist Tradition embodied in Jungto Society defines Karma as that set of experiences, circumstances and reactions that informed us in this life when we were young. ↩︎
8. I’m going to use this term loosely to include Greek Mythology characters and primary or Cardinal Energies that can be recognized by singular qualities. For instance, Farmer can be an archetype if refers to the energy of cultivating of land to produce, not an individual farmer. ↩︎
9. Please know, I would have gone and visited regardless of their generosity. But their regular generosity and love that was felt by “just being their grandkids,” was palpable and real. Regardless of why I received from them, the fact is, I did. It was an early life imprint that carries on to this day. ↩︎
10. There are literally no finer soft-skill staff you can find— for ANY level of leadership, in any profession— than restaurant people. ↩︎
11. Hospitality was one of the most valued virtues/acts one could offer in Ancient Greece. See this quick synopsis of The Odyssey which highlights Hospitality’s main attributes as both a way of culture, and how disturbing it can cause issues. ↩︎
12. There is no negatives here. The Whore Archetype is one of the more powerful in the pantheon, and even referenced often in esoteric Christianity, but also, this is another essay. ↩︎
13. I have to say, I don’t think it’s healthy for humans to function like endless hosts for anything. Receiving back is really critical in self care and in bodily health– the vehicle we have to work with. ↩︎
14. Interesting overview on archetypes. I have not downloaded his info-gathering PDF. It may be valuable, but scrolling through the page may be more useful in getting a sense of ways to identify archetypes as primary/internal energies . ↩︎