The King — Part One
"The Jungian psychologist, Robert Moore, and mythologist, Douglas Gillette, developed these four archetypes off the back of Jung's work. They argue that masculinity comprises four archetypal male energies that serve different purposes: the King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover. A man must integrate all four archetypes to develop his mature masculinity."
"Is that what you were talking about earlier? When you were explaining the patriarchy?"
"Yes," I said. "When I said I would stand beside a King and a Warrior, I was referring to these archetypes. You can think of them as energies, in the same way that we have masculine and feminine archetypal energies in the world — but I'll get to that later.
So, let's talk about the King. The King archetype represents leadership, purpose, and mission. It is the healthy integration of all the other archetypes: the warrior — who fights for what he believes in; the magician — who finds answers, knowledge, and wisdom through intellectual reasoning; and the lover — who helps connect with others and feel the sensuous experience of life."
"So, if these are masculine archetypes, they would exist within the 'man' blueprint at the lower dimension?" Zac asked. "That means every man would inherit these archetypal ideas from the collective unconscious, right?"
"It seems so," I replied. "Let’s examine the King archetype in more detail, so you can get a sense of how this symbol communicates deep fundamental truths. I’ll read an article from ArtOfManliness.com, which summarizes the traits of the King archetype quite well."
He is centered.
Throughout history, cultures have often placed the king at the center of the universe. From him radiated all of existence. If you look at how ancient civilizations laid out their cities, we often see that the dwelling place of the king or leader sat at the center.
In addition to serving as the geographic center of his realm, the ancient king also represented its spiritual center as well. He was the intermediary between heaven and earth. Through his divine powers, the king brought order to the universe by reconciling opposite forces. Myths abound of kings battling evil demonic creatures and establishing order in chaos.
When a man is living the King archetype in its fullness, he feels that same centering power within himself. Not that he believes the world revolves around him, but rather that his confidence, purpose, and well-being give him a supreme sense of balance. Even when the world around him becomes chaotic, he remains cool, calm, and collected. He acts, rather than reacts. He’s the rock in crisis. A man fully engaged with positive King energy is completely present as a man. Because of his position at the center of things, he can survey everything that is going on, soak it all in, and then take a broad view of things. This overarching perspective allows him to remain immovable in the face of the passing and superficial.
Art Of Manliness
"The first thing to note," I said, "is this idea: 'Throughout history, cultures have often placed the king at the center of the universe. From him radiated all of existence.' This idea is literally true. Each one of us is the center of our own universe. God articulates this Truth here…"
This is the divine dichotomy. This is the closed circle. So it is not such a radical teaching to say, “Blessed are the Self-centered, for they shall know God.” It might not be a bad goal in your life to know the highest part of your Self, and to stay centered in that.
Your first relationship, therefore, must be with your Self. You must first learn to honor and cherish and love your Self.
You must first see your Self as worthy before you can see another as worthy. You must first see your Self as blessed before you can see another as blessed. You must first know your Self to be holy before you can acknowledge holiness in another.
Neale Donald Walsch
"The next point," I continued, "is this: 'Through his divine powers, the king brought order to the universe by reconciling opposite forces. Myths abound of kings battling evil demonic creatures and establishing order in chaos.' You, as the center of your universe, are responsible for venturing into the chaotic unknown (fear), battling your demons (obstacles), and transforming that chaos into order (love). This process of transforming fear (chaos) into love (order) is how you expand your Kingdom (yourself).
Which brings me to my next point: 'This overarching perspective allows him to remain immovable in the face of the passing and superficial.' This idea is another deep fundamental Truth that God talks about…"
I tell you this: There is no coincidence, and nothing happens “by accident.” Each event and adventure is called to your Self by your Self in order that you might create and experience Who You Really Are. All true Masters know this. That is why mystic Masters remain unperturbed in the face of the worst experiences of life (as you would define them).
Neale Donald Walsch
"Can you see how the traits of the archetypal King are the same traits of people who've mastered the game of physical reality?"
"Yeah," Zac replied. "I get it now."
"Let's move onto the next trait."
He is decisive.
The King is the executive of the other archetypes, and as such, is charged with making decisions. His ability to be decisive is rooted in two things. First, who he is and what he stands for; the King’s core values are centered on firm and unchanging principles. So when a crisis comes, he does not waver because he has already determined the course he will take. Secondly, the King seasons his decisions with experience. His experiences provide him with practical wisdom: the knowledge of how to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.
Art Of Manliness
"Again, mystic Masters share this sovereign trait," I said. "Listen to what God says about this…"
You can create Who You Are over and over again. Indeed, you do — every day. As things now stand, you do not always come up with the same answer, however. Given an identical outer experience, on day one you may choose to be patient, loving, and kind in relationship to it. On day two you may choose to be angry, ugly, and sad.
The Master is one who always comes up with the same answer — and that answer is always the highest choice.
In this the Master is imminently predictable. Conversely, the student is completely unpredictable. One can tell how one is doing on the road to mastery by simply noticing how predictably one makes the highest choice in responding or reacting to any situation.
Neale Donald Walsch
"Here is the next trait of a King," I continued.
He lives with integrity.
The word integrity is related to the roots of words like “integrate” and “entire.” In Spanish it is rendered “integro,” meaning whole. Integrity thus implies the state of being complete, undivided, intact, and unbroken. Integrity is really the bond that holds a man’s other virtues together; it is the mark of a man who has successfully integrated all good principles. His life is a unified whole.
The King has not only integrated all the other archetypes, but seeks this wholeness in other areas of his life as well. He mends broken relationships, keeps his word, acts with honesty, and takes responsibility for his actions. He is who he says he is; he doesn’t have one set of principles for Sundays and one for the rest of the week.
Art Of Manliness
"Integrity involves taking responsibility, which God talks about here…"
In the largest sense, all the “bad” things that happen are of your choosing. The mistake is not in choosing them, but in calling them bad. For in calling them bad, you call your Self bad, since you created them.
This label you cannot accept, so rather than label your Self bad, you disown your own creations. It is this intellectual and spiritual dishonesty which lets you accept a world in which conditions are as they are. If you had to accept — or even felt a deep inner sense of — personal responsibility for the world, it would be a far different place. This would certainly be true if everyone felt responsible. That this is so patently obvious is what makes it so utterly painful, and so poignantly ironic.
Neale Donald Walsch
"Integrity also involves integrating and accepting all your different aspects — 'good' and 'bad' — then choosing to consistently express the highest version of yourself. We already talked about this process when we discussed the shadow, but this truth is worth repeating here..."
And so the soul realizes that grandeur only exists in the space of that which is not grand. The soul, therefore, never condemns that which is not grand, but blesses — seeing in it a part of itself which must exist for another part of itself to manifest.
The job of the soul, of course, is to cause us to choose the grandeur — to select the best of Who You Are — without condemning that which you do not select.
This is a big task, taking many lifetimes, for you are want to rush to judgment, to call a thing “wrong” or “bad” or “not enough,” rather than to bless what you do not choose.
Neale Donald Walsch
"The next trait," I continued, "is about drawing and enforcing strict boundaries."
He protects his realm.
Historically, one of the king’s primary functions was to protect his dominion. When enemy forces encroached on his territory, a king would act with wrathful aggressiveness. Even today, we look to our leaders as protectors. The President of the United States is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, charged with the responsibility of protecting our nation’s security.
While a man might not be a leader of a country, he certainly has his own realms he’s responsible for protecting – whether that protection be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. If you’re married with children, your home is a realm, a place you want to make a refuge from negative influences. The department you’re responsible for at work is another sphere where you work to protect your employees from in-fighting, mediocrity, and layoffs. And your own psyche and personal boundaries are sovereignties that you must protect and defend with zeal.
Whatever your realms may be, when you’re accessing the King archetype in its fullness, you do what you have to in order to protect them, and this often requires accessing the aggressiveness of the Warrior archetype.
Art Of Manliness