All Things Alchemical... we're learning about the Warrior this month

ISSUE FIFTEEN
August 2013

Greetings <<First Name>>!

Happy dog days of summer!

I want to add a different spin to the Warrior archetype in addition to the description that Myss has written. The Warrior archetype is a defender and will engage in fierce battle. When I work with clients, I guide them to see the value of themselves, not in a narcissistic fashion, but to discover their own worth. I have found this to be one of the top characteristics of my clients: They will do anything for anyone else. They will go to battle for anyone else, not for their own gain, but purely on behalf of the other person.

What I love about the following poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer is that we are invited to see our own worth in the same way I challenge my clients and all those I love. YOU are worthy of the battle for yourself. You don’t need anyone to do battle for you, or on your behalf.

You have everything within you to guide you through to victory. Learning to be loyal to oneself is of utmost importance. It is the only way to freedom: freedom to be true to yourself, freedom to be authentic and live a life of fulfilled relationships and experiences. To me it is law.

I hope you enjoy this beautifully written poem as much as I do.

Peace,

Kendra

PS. Please email me directly to give feedback if there is something else you would like to see in each issue. kendra@kendragoheen.com

The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Eider, May 1994

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living,
I want to know what you ache for
     and if you dare to meet your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
     for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
     if you have been opened by life's betrayals
     or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
     without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own:
     if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips
     of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
     or to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want lo know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
     if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own souL
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day,
     and if you can source your life from Its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and
     still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the moon,
     "YES*.
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
     weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the
     children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand at the center of the fire with me and not
     shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
     and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

THE WARRIOR ARCHETYPE

Symbolic Living Through the Lens of an Archetype

Warrior
(Soldier, Crime Fighter, Amazon, Mercenary, Soldier of Fortune, Gun-slinger, Samurai)

The Warrior archetype represents physical strength and the ability to protect, defend, and fight for one's rights. Whereas the Knight is associated with protecting Damsels, the Warrior is linked to invincibility and loyalty. Warrior energy is erotic for the male, representing the height of virility and physical power as well as toughness of will and spirit. To be unbreakable and to fight to the death is a large part of the Warrior archetype, which is also associated with the passage from boyhood to manhood.

The Mercenary and Soldier of Fortune are variations on the hired killer who sells his power on the open market, often with complete disregard for the buyer's cause. These archetypes are much like the Prostitute in that, although they appear negative, they warn us in their favorable aspect when we are in danger of aligning our might with an unjust or purely self-interested cause.

The Gunslinger and Samurai represent a double-edged sword (pun intended). They appeal to our fantasies of independence and the power to defend ourselves and right wrongs, yet they also carry the historic weight of savage, predatory evil. On one side are all the heroic characters portrayed by John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and others—standing up to injustice and holding off the forces of evil single-handedly. The Lone Ranger and the wandering samurai warriors in the films of Akira Kurosawa also epitomize this fiercely independent warrior that the American and Japanese pasts seem to share. And on the other side are all the evil, self-interested killers and thieves who embody our worst nightmares of lawlessness and unchecked male dominance. Somewhere in between are the ambiguous Crime Fighters and lone-wolf gunfighters epitomized by Clint Eastwood, whose heroism is often tinged with anger, vengefulness, and more than a little sadism.

The shadow Warrior distorts or abandons ethical principles and decency in the name of victory at any cost. What can be a virtue—heroic indifference to risk and pain—becomes contemptible when the indifference is directed not at oneself but at others.

The Warrior archetype is just as connected to the female psyche as to the male. Women have long been defenders of their families, and the Amazon tribe of Warrior Women has become legendary because of their ability to engage in fierce battle—even sacrificing part of their female physique to facilitate warfare. Loyalty to the family and tribe is among the Amazons' notable characteristics, along with nurturing their young and transmitting lessons of power and self-defense. In today's society, the Warrior Woman has emerged in her glory once again through women who liberate and protect others, especially women and children who need vocal and financial representation.

The concept of the spiritual Warrior has been pioneered by Dan Millman (The Peaceful Warrior), the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa (Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior), Professor Robert Thurman, and others. They direct us to use the classic Warrior virtues of heroism, stoicism, and self-sacrifice to conquer the ego and gain control of our inner lives.

Films: Gary Cooper in High Noon; John Wayne in The Searchers; Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider and Unforgiven; Mel Gibson in Road Warrior and Mad Max; Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were (political activist); Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (fighting for better care of her terminally ill daughter); Denzel Washington in Glory (Civil War soldier); The Seven Samurai.
Television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Xena the Warrior Princess.
Drama: A Soldiers Story by Charles Fuller.
Fiction: In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck (migrant workers).
Religion/Myth: Bhima ("the Terrible One"), warrior hero of the Maha-bharata, known for his great strength; the son of the wind god Vayu and a brother of Arjuna, he became a Hindu warrior god); Oya (woman warrior of Yoruba myth, goddess of fire, wind, thunder, and the river Niger); Andarta (Celtic-Gallic warrior and fertility goddess, patron of the Vocontii); Popocateped (Aztec warrior who, with his consort, was transformed by the gods into a mountain after they both died of grief for each other); Brunhilde (female warrior, one of the Valkyries, in the German epic Niebelungenlied); Alyosha Popovitch (epic hero and mighty warrior of Russian folklore); Durga (warrior manifestation of the Hindu Mother goddess).

Work Cited

Myss, Caroline. Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential. New York: Three Rivers Press,

2002, 2003. 421. Print.

A WARRIOR TESTIMONIAL

by John T. McMahon

“To be a warrior is to learn to be genuine in every moment of your life.” (Chogyam Trugpa)

Rising at dawn I welcome the day with a prayer of gratitude for all the experiences to be mine this day. I pray for grace so I can let go of control and fear. I pray to have courage and strength to fully experience, trust, and embrace my divine nature and consciously create my life this day.

I “enlisted” a long time ago as a “spiritual warrior” when I surrendered to the folly of resisting life and grasping for what I thought would make me happy. Committing to the spiritual path and to living in accordance with Divine will and in alignment with my inner self is how it must be. There is no room for negotiation with this mission.

My warrior diet includes daily servings of yoga, exercise, healthy foods, water, prayer, and meditation. These things nourish and sustain me and are necessary for me to show up, to be real, and to heal my pain, to remain loyal to my principles and ideals.

I spoke from the heart today … I shared my feelings, and I didn’t compromise them so others would not be uncomfortable. I fully listened to an employee talk about his fears of his cancer returning. And I breathed when I wanted to defend myself in an argument.

As I go to sleep I think of Lao Tzu—“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.” I feel clear and have a definite purpose in life. If I have a tomorrow, I will continue to march forward to my beloved Source.

- John T. McMahon

WISDOM FROM THE CARDS

What's Your Card?
by Anne Barton

I won’t go into a whole long autobiography, but for the purpose of explaining my love of a unique card system I’ve been studying and using for more than 25 years, I will share a few little tidbits. I was raised in a household, and within an extended family, that valued left-brain thinking. My Dad was an aerospace engineer and my Mom was a mathematician. They were not people who particularl

y valued emotional or spiritual support, but they understood intellectual and physical pursuits and supported and encouraged those consistently in my brother, sister and me. It was after college that I began my own spiritual and personal growth journey, and very early on I was introduced to a system of reading cards that was instantly intriguing and fit perfectly with my pretty well developed left-brain. Years later someone said to me "Astrology and numerology are very left-brain ways to approach spirituality." And it struck me then how appropriate it was that I chose this system to guide me on my journey - ultimately becoming a key tool for tapping into my right-brain more completely; trusting my own intuition and sharing my understanding of metaphysical and spiritual realms with others.

I had my first reading with a man name Arne Lein, who would become my teacher for a short time. He wrote a book called What's Your Card and I took a class with him, using his book as our textbook. He taught us about this unique system that combines astrology and numerology, and also incorporates the natural elements of fire, air, water and earth as well as the four seasons. The information that forms the basis of this system comes from a variety of sources, both modern and ancient. Here is a little background ...

Thousands of years ago, people lived in harmony with the cycles of nature and the Universe. Mystical orders that began in ancient Egypt preserved the secrets of an esoteric science based on the observations of natural phenomena - the flow of the seasons, the movement of the visible planets - in a "little book" used for prophecy, what we know today as a deck of playing cards. In 1893, the following information was revealed by The Order of the Magi (an organization that has been preserving the secrets of the cards for centuries), connecting the "little book" to the natural cycles of our universe:

52 cards in the deck - 52 weeks in a year
5+2 reduced = 7 - 7 days in a week, 7 visible planets
12 crown cards - 12 months in a year
4 suits - 4 seasons, 4 elements

A reading using this information is compiled from a combination of astrology and numerology, sciences that uncover the mysteries of nature and man's interaction with it, creating a system of reading the cards that is accurate and useful. Each day of the year is associated with a card in the deck. A reading can illuminate a path that is filled with learning, satisfaction and purpose.

Relationships, career, family and friends, health, financial security . . . These are all issues that demand our daily attention, oftentimes in an overwhelming fashion. Finding a place of balance and contentment, where each area of life feels nurtured, can be tricky. We are all born with natural talents and abilities and the potential for creating a unique and valuable existence. Who we are meant to be and who others want us to be are easily confused, however, and can prevent us from ever realizing our true purpose.

I have been studying and using this system of card reading for more than 25 years and it has provided me with invaluable insight and guidance.

Over the coming months, I will be sharing more information about ‘the cards’. I want you to be able to follow along knowing what your Birth Card is, so you may download a chart here to figure that out. Just look up your birthday and you’ll find your Birth Card (and do it for your friends and family too!). Tune in next month to find out a little more about what your card means ...

http://tiny.cc/FindYourCard

WISDOM FROM ANIMALS

by Anne Barton

What a gift it is to contribute to this newsletter each month. I learn something every single time I confront a blank page to write about animal wisdom. I often share how the animal I write about ‘came to me.’ It is different each month. This month, the choice simply came out of my mouth the minute I looked up the archetype we’re featuring. I read ‘Warrior’ and the animal ‘Wild Boar’ came out of my mouth. I honestly have not had much experience with Wild Boar – either in person or in sharing this animal’s wisdom. I’m not sure anyone I’ve done a reading for has chosen this animal. So imagine my surprise (should I really keep being surprised by this?!) when I started to read about the wisdom of Wild Boar and found the word Warrior in the first sentence. As I continued to read, another revelation came. All week I’ve been feeling drawn to watch the movie “We Bought a Zoo.” Now I know why … Wild Boar has been calling me for a week, it would seem.

I’ve seen this movie several times, and when I just read about the energy of Wild Boar, one of my favorite parts of the movie instantly came to mind. Wild Boar energy is about confronting our fears and paying attention to anything we are avoiding due to fear. In the movie, the father (played by Matt Damon) tells his teenage son that you only have to feel fear about anything for 20 seconds. He may have actually said you only have to be brave for 20 seconds. But what is bravery or courage? I think it’s feeling the fear and doing it anyway. After those first 20 seconds of facing the fear head on, you’ll be so caught up in the moment that the fear will be forgotten. I remember feeling so blown away by this simple wisdom. It was a formula! Can’t we all face 20 seconds of fear? Doesn’t much of the worry and anxiety we put ourselves through come from the fear of the unknown anyway – our projections of all of the things that can go wrong. But if it’s only going to be 20 seconds of that awful, paralyzing anxiety, that seems much less daunting to me. And here’s something I’ve tried that really helps with the hours, days, or weeks of that worry and anxiety leading up to those 20 seconds… consider not worrying. This is actually a choice within our control. If we postpone filling our mind with the fear and anxiety until the absolute moment when we have to, then it is just those 20 seconds when we need to experience that fear. Try it. Having been an extremely shy child who was afraid of most life situations, discovering that I had control over that fear and anxiety was transformational.

Read on for more of Wild Boar’s wisdom …

WILD BOAR/Confrontation

Key Concepts when Wild Boar is Present:
• Confront human weaknesses and convert into strengths.
• Embrace your warrior spirit and battle the enemy within first.
• Face uncomfortable times and fear.
• Acknowledging truth is half the battle.

For me, here’s the key essence of this powerful medicine of the Warrior clans: unless you actively embrace your issues, you cannot reclaim your spirit’s energy. So what does that actually involve, embracing your issues? Wild Boar medicine teaches you to confront fears, the challenges at hand, and uncomfortable circumstances. In fact, Wild Boar will empower you to confront human weaknesses and change them into strengths. Wild Boar reminds you to quit avoiding the inevitable. Courageously standing tall, without running from the situations that life presents, is powerful medicine indeed. Be fully present and mindful of what is happening and why.

Having Wild Boar medicine means you have the courage inside of you to tackle anything. Have you broken a trust? Make amends. Are you being asked to confront a personal weakness or a career challenge? Are you being confronted with disharmony? Break down those avoidance mechanisms you have built up. Denials will vanish when you face them with brutal honesty.

When you confront yourself with truth and courage and embrace your warrior spirit - that honorable self within - then there is no outside enemy to conquer. Peace within attracts peace in your world. And individuals living in a peaceful world build a peaceful world for all.

Works Cited & Resources

Green, Susie. Animal Wisdom: Harness the Power of Animals to Liberate Your Spirit.
London: Cico Books Ltd., 2005. Print.

Sams, Jamie, and David Carson. Medicine Cards. New York: St. Martin’s
     Press, 1988, 1999. Print.

To learn more about my Animal Guide readings, as well as other readings I provide, visit http://tiny.cc/AnneBartonReadings.

CONSCIOUS EATING

This month's recipe from Alexandra Topp

Summer Beans

Ingredients:

12-16 ounces of green beans (ends removed)
Red pepper flakes
Olive Oil
Salt
Garlic powder
Pepper
Water

Instructions:

Place a large sheet of tin foil out on the counter and fold edges upwards to make a small rim.
Place green beans on foil.
Drizzle olive oil over green beans.
Then sprinkle red pepper flakes (the more you add, the spicier the dish), salt, garlic powder and pepper.
Lastly, pour a small amount of water over the beans.
Fold foil so all ends meet and there are no openings.
Place in oven or on grill and cook for 30 minutes or until tender.
Enjoy!

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kendra Goheen is an Intuitive Guide, Spiritual Director and Certified Life Coach in the Twin Cities. To learn more visit http://kendragoheen.com.
Yola Dunne, Yola Dunne is a Poet, Intuitive Healer and Archetype Consultant with a private wellness practice in Chelsea, Québec, Canada. For more information visit www.yolaunlimited.com and poetry.yolaunlimited.com
Anne Barton, a California native currently living outside of San Francisco, has dedicated more than 30 years to her journey of personal growth and spiritual development. Visit http://tiny.cc/AEBProducts for more info.
Alexandra Topp, a Registered Nurse who lives in the Twin Cities, has a special interest in nutrition and healthy eating.