Manipura—The Warrior Archetype

I offer this website as one that will give you information about the warrior archetype from its light and dark side.  http://www.myss.com/library/contracts/three_archs.asp We will be focusing on the warrior as a functional archetype for Manipura. As we embark on exploring the warrior, let’s leave behind the attitudes of the servant.

The warrior lets us be the hero of our own lives. We take control, harness our power, and live from a solidly empowered position in our work, relationships and the world around us. The more we give ourselves permission to feel good in the power of our own energy, the more personal power we accumulate in our lives.

It is a strong archetype, and operates primarily on an instinctual level and positively reflects our levels of self-confidence, self-worth, and personal power. When we assert our right to be the best person we know how to be, this archetype gives us the focus and strength to do so. This means we do the things we love and enjoy, and fully express our talents and gifts. It also gives us the ability to say “no” when necessary. Our ability to defend our rights, and stand up for ourselves comes from this archetype. It is from here that we make our stand in life.

The way the world forces the development of the warrior is by giving it challenges to face. This usually takes the form of rejection, or opposition. The warrior must rely on its own sense of self, and worth to see them through, and harness its strength and power. It sharpens its proverbial sword and develops its esteem, confidence and wisdom for growth and personal development.

The warrior thrives on strife and conflict, and uses these situations to further its power. The warrior is always on the side of good as it perceives it, and often forgets that this is based in its own projections. The polarity of good and bad gives the warrior the impetus it needs to fight for itself.

There are some spiritual limitations, as the warrior believes in the material world and its divisions of power and strength.  At this level of awareness the warrior has not yet extended their awareness to the reality that we are all one. They experience power played out in relationships, working situation and in life, and understands the way people act out their aggression, anger and jealousy as a substitute for any sense of personal power. It is important for them to have a strong and resilient ego, and to strive for success in all they do. They make money, seek pleasure, and find intimacy and survive without jeopardizing their worth or integrity in any way. Indeed everything they do heightens their sense of worth. The limitation is that many warriors believe that their success is the result of their own doing.  They do not necessarily link their ego with their spiritual awareness, because they believe they are solely responsible for their success. A spiritual warrior on the other hand, is constantly thankful for the challenges and obstacles it encounters and overcomes, as this is what develops grace and grit. If the warrior does not develop some type of spirituality, it may become arrogant and rigid. It can become focused only on its ambition and success.

This archetype offers us the opportunity to experience our control of the world and to understand and come to terms with the nature of power. It gives us an awareness of how we mange power and how others can harness it or misuse it in their lives and relationships. It is a necessary archetype to transcend on the path to love.

Manipura—The Servant Archetype

 

I offer this website as one that will give you information about the servant archetype from its light and dark side. http://www.myss.com/library/contracts/three_archs.asp  All archetypes have a light and dark side, but what we are talking about for the purposes of this lesson will be the more dysfunctional manifestation of the archetype.

The servant is one who serves others to the exclusion of the self. The servant archetype gets lots of support from society and religion, as there is a belief that service to others builds character. This is absolutely true, but the difference between service to others, and servitude are great. Service is giving time to help others in need, and the reward is the knowledge that you are doing a good thing. Servitude is doing for others in hopes that they will praise and acknowledge you.

The servant often attends to others needs, and neglects their own needs. This archetype is not as dysfunctional as the victim or Martyr, but represents, someone who does a job well but who is neglected and receives little acknowledgement for what they do. A servant does not believe that they deserve praise or thanks for what they do. They are happy for any bone thrown their way; however, healthy relationships acknowledge the contributions each other and all parties concerned.

If you look at the life of a servant, they usually do their job without much recognition that they even exist. There are numerous times that they are ignored as if not present. They are in the background waiting their opportunity so serve others needs.

In the dysfunctional archetype the person is always waiting on others, and performing others wishes without acknowledgement or gratitude. They lack the self-esteem to move on to higher levels of achievement and empowerment. Since they don’t believe that they deserve anything better, they are not capable of empowering themselves, and therefore, always waiting on others to give them what they cannot give themselves. This is a recipe for failure and an unhappy life of servitude to ungrateful recipients. This archetype gives up its personal power and emotional needs in order to win approval and acknowledgement from others. This archetype “projects its power on to others and makes them more powerful than they are, investing them with qualities it would like to express but wouldn’t dare.

To change this archetype we need to learn to empower ourselves, and give acknowledgment to ourselves for jobs well done. If you wait on others to give praise or acknowledgement, you are giving them your personal power. Often servants long for praise for others who are incapable of giving this praise. When this happens the servant needs to give themselves room to evaluate their abilities and performance and give themselves the praise they deserve. They need to distance themselves from the situation or person with whom they are entangled, release its projections of power into the other person and own its worth. It is time to analyze the reason that the praise and acknowledgement is so important to you, and why you have placed yourself in this situation where you aren’t getting what you want.

When the servant lives for acknowledgement and recognition from others they are dependent on them for their well-being and it makes them responsible for their happiness. Thus they stay submissive and dependent on others. The servant needs to know the simple truth that it doesn’t need to do or be anything in order to be loved.  They deserve love and consideration simply because they are worthy of it. Their value is not tied to what they do but to who it is.

Some rolls that engender the servant are a housewife who’s only acknowledged roll is to serve their husband and children. Nurses, secretaries, and other auxiliary helpers often fall into this category of service without acknowledgement from those they serve. This does not mean that those in these rolls always manifest this archetype, so long as they receive the acknowledgement they deserve. And of course, this archetype is not gender specific.

One always needs to analyze their situation as regards any situation that is not palatable, and take steps to correct the situation. Abusive situations require removing oneself from the immediate danger, and working to understand what brought you to that situation. This should be done with the aid of professionals.

 

Remember to perform the Golden Warrior Meditation if you find that you relate overmuch with the archetype.  This will help you reclaim your own power, and praise yourself for jobs well done.