The Four Archetypes of the Mature Masculine

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Fann en väldigt intressant artikelserie på artofmanliness.com som baserar sig på boken King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine av Robert Moore. Har hört talas om boken litet då och då men aldrig orkat gå igenom den. Och eftersom jag både är lat och tidseffektiv så passade denna summering mycket bättre.

Konceptet är att dela upp manlighet i fyra olika archetypes som beskriver olika drag hos mannen. Dessa archetypes kan i sin tur delas in i tre delar, två "bi-polar" och dysfunktionella avarter (en passiv och en aktiv) samt ett komplett uttryckande av det specifika draget.

Tycker det var väldigt givande läsning och man kan enkelt identifiera sina egna svagheter och styrkor i de olika archetypes:en. Väldigt psykologiskt och relaterat till Freud och Jung.


Introduktion till konceptet:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/07/31...roduction/

Varje archetype har även en motsvarande Boyhood archetype, dvs om man fastnar i en dysfunktionell avart under uppväxten så fortsätter den in i det vuxna livet, när man blivit "man". Enkelt att relatera till sin egen uppväxt. Del 1:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/08/23...es-part-i/

Del 2:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/09/13...s-part-ii/

Lover (Expression):
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/10/04...the-lover/
Utdrag: While the Addicted Lover does not give himself enough structure, the Impotent Lover can arise in a man who disciplines himself too much. This is often the case with devoutly religious men, who, going far beyond the admonishments of their faith, laden themselves with overly prudish rules, and feel shame when “indulging” in life’s pleasures. The energy of the Lover archetype builds up behind this dam of limits, and without a healthy channel to pursue, sooner or later it bursts forth in destructive ways, like addiction to porn. The Impotent Lover becomes the Addicted Lover.

Warrior (Action):
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/10/23...e-warrior/
Utdrag: Today the Warrior archetype lives on in our reverence for those who serve in the armed forces and in modern books and movies. William Wallace from Braveheart and General Maximus from Gladiator embody the Warrior archetype.

But in general, modern culture is not comfortable with Warrior energy. The advent of mechanized warfare during the first half of the 20th century dampened the romantic ideal of martial courage. Since the social and cultural revolutions of the 60s and 70s, we’ve generally taught boys and men to avoid confrontation and conflict and to instead nurture their “feminine side.” The result is the Nice Guy; the man who will avoid confrontation and aggression even when confrontation and aggression are justified.

Society pushes men to be sweet and sensitive, because they fear them becoming coldly stoic, abusive, and destructively angry. But society’s perception of the Warrior archetype is not based on the Warrior energy in its full, healthy manifestation, but on the archetype’s shadows. The problem is not Warrior energy itself, but Warrior energy that is not used in harmony with the other masculine archetypes and directed by empathy, contemplation, and order. Fighting itself is not bad, the question is simply: What is a man fighting for? The Warrior’s energy is needed not only in times of war, but on all the battlefields of life.

Magician (Creativity):
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/11/28...-magician/
Utdrag: That many men have an unfulfilled hunger for initiation into some kind of secret knowledge can be evidenced by the soaring popularity of pick-up and seduction artists who promise, for a few hundred or thousand dollars, to teach initiates the secrets to scoring lots of ladies. And a lot of guys who can’t find mentors otherwise are willing to pony up big time dough to hire them. On the surface, the popularity of the PUA movement is due simply to the desire to want to be great at picking up chicks, but I think it’s really a manifestation of this deeper hunger to be initiated into a secret realm, to have knowledge that others don’t. And actually you see this kind of language used in a lot of PUA forums—people talk about the different levels of knowledge you gain, and how only 10% of people who study the subject ever really understand it, etc.

I know a few guys that have gotten something out of some of these classes and books. Mainly, they’re learning basic social skills they just didn’t pick up as kids. However, I don’t think young men can fully satiate their hunger for initiation into manhood in the pick-up artist scene for a few reasons.

First, most PUA gurus are nothing more than internet marketing hucksters that prey on a young man’s sexual insecurity in order to make a buck. Instead of being in touch with positive Magician energy, many PUA coaches are possessed with the Magician’s shadow, the Manipulator. The initiation into manhood that these gurus offer lacks the gravitas and depth of an initiation from men who have fully developed the mature masculine within themselves.

Second, the manliness of PUA devotees is constantly defined in the context of women–they are consumed with thinking about women– how they think, how they can be manipulated, how to talk to them, where to meet them, and so on. But manhood is not about women. Look at any great man of the past–none of them made women their main focus. Instead, they concentrated on mastering a more significant subject of hidden knowledge, one which created a real and lasting legacy for them. Their success then naturally attracted women to them, without the need for any special gimmicks.

King (Leadership):
The Weakling is the passive shadow of the King archetype. Instead of taking control of his life and resolutely making decisions, a man possessed by the Weakling often abdicates his throne to others, handing over power, responsibility, and control of his life to them. This is the man who, though grown up, still lets his mother or father make his decisions for him. This is the man who kowtows to his boss’ or his wife’s every whim.

This is also the man who was abused in some way as a child, and when he becomes an adult and ascends into a position of power, relishes the opportunity to turn the tables and become the bully himself. “Now that I’m in charge, things are going to change around here!” But even in a position of power, the Weakling’s insecurity gets the best of him; he becomes paranoid that people are out to get him–and they often are because he’s such a jerk. This paranoia leads him to become even more controlling and cruel.

Moore believes that the Weakling and Tyrant shadows work in tandem with each other. It’s very rare that a man is ruled by one and not the other. Underneath every blustering Tyrant is a scared Weakling. And underneath every cowering Weakling is a Tyrant waiting to explode.

Kungens dysfunktionella avarter kan också relateras till narcissism och codependency. Personer med i vanliga fall övervägande narcissistiska drag uppträder codependent i en social kontext där de är långt ner i hierarkin medans personer med i vanliga fall övervägande codependent drag uppträder narcissistiskt i en social kontext där de är högt upp i hierarkin.

Lång text men intressant läsning. Enjoy!


Robert Moores bok för den som vill gå in på djupet (finns för övrigt en bok för varje typ utöver den nedan, dvs ännu mer ingående beskrivningar):
http://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magic...0062506064

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Fan vad skoj att du lägger upp denna, har precis börjat läsa boken =) Verkar jävligt legit

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Yepp, deep psychological stuff, går till roten av problemen. Väldigt bra strukturerat också.