Archetypal Constellations
By
James Harvey Stout (deceased). This material is now in the public
domain. The complete collection of Mr. Stout's writing is now at
http://stout.mybravenet.com/public_html/h/
Jump to the following topics:
- What are
archetypal constellations?
- Constellations
are similar to other psychological phenomena.
- A
constellation can extend among two or more archetypal fields.
- The benefits of
constellations.
- We
select a constellation on the basis of its mass and charge.
- Constellations
can be mistakenly identified as archetypes.
What are
archetypal constellations? In an archetypal field, the elements are
not autonomous, random bits; instead, they associate themselves into
what I call "constellations." For example, in the a-field of our
Parent archetype, we might have distinct characters, e.g., the
caring parent, the angry parent, etc. -- each with its
own set of thoughts, images, energy tones, and physical habits.
Constellations
are similar to other psychological phenomena.
- Complexes. A complex is virtually identical to a
constellation; for example, an "inferiority complex" is a
"constellation" of particular thoughts, images, energy tones, and
physical habits within an archetypal field. However, the word
"complex" generally refers to a psychological disorder,
whereas "constellation" is a neutral term which does not judge the
quality of the elements.
- Subpersonalities. A "subpersonality" is a
personification of a constellation; for example, the "inner
child" is a subpersonality (or a constellation) which contains the
thoughts, images, energy tones, and physical habits which we
possessed during our childhood.
- Multiple personalities. This condition occurs when there is
more than one highly charged constellation.
A
constellation can extend among two or more archetypal fields. For
example, an "impatient employer" has a constellation of "impatient"
thoughts, images, energy tones and physical habits which are
expressed at work; those elements are within what we might call the
Employer archetype. However, if the person tends to be an "impatient
person," expressing impatience in a variety of archetypal situations
(both inside of and outside of the work environment), then this
"impatience" constellation extends into those other archetypal
fields, via the related elements which are in each a-field. The
psyche contains multi-field constellations:
- The conscious mind. In one definition of the conscious mind,
this is the constellation which includes all elements of which we
are aware throughout all of our archetypal fields. (A related
constellation is the unconscious mind, and the
collective unconscious.)
- The ego. This is the constellation which includes all elements
with which we identify ourselves throughout all of our archetypal
fields. For example, we might identify ourselves as a husband and
a computer programmer; thus, the ego includes elements from what
we might call our Spouse archetype and our Servant archetype
(which includes our occupation). (Similar constellations include
self-esteem, self-confidence -- and, of course, the shadow, which
includes all elements with which we do not identify
ourselves.)
- The persona. This is the constellation which includes all
elements which we present as our "public front." Because the
persona includes our social roles (e.g., "parent" or
"businessperson"), it includes elements from the fields of various
archetypes (e.g., the Parent archetype or the Businessperson
archetype).
The benefits of
constellations. Constellations are necessary because an a-field
contains contrary elements (e.g., elements from the occasions when we
were generous, and elements from the occasions when we were
not generous); thus, when the mind refers to the field to
determine a course of action, it selects a constellation, so
that its thoughts, energies, images, and actions are consistent and
unified; e.g., we fully act out the role of either the generous
person or the ungenerous person, without the confusion and dissonance
which would occur if the mind randomly played out elements from both
roles.
We
select a constellation on the basis of its mass and charge.
Generally, we automatically select the constellation which has the
greatest mass and charge; however, sometimes we might use a different
constellation (perhaps because of habit or because of unresolved
energy in that other constellation), and thus we experience
"regression" or "back-sliding" into previous behaviors. Whenever the
mind calls up a constellation, and we play out its programming, we
feed new elements back into that constellation, and so there is an
increase in its critical mass (and, therefore, a greater likelihood
that that constellation will be used again); for example, when we
call up the "generous person" constellation, that "person" generates
new thoughts and images and energies and habits of generosity which
will remain in the field for reference in future occurrences of this
archetypal situation. In archetypal field-work, our goal is to create
new constellations which have more critical mass than the existing
dysfunctional constellations, so that these new constellations will
be the ones which we will automatically select when the archetypal
situation recurs. To develop critical mass, we can use the following
means:
- "Brute force." For example, we would use thousands of
repetitions of a self-talk statement (i.e., an "affirmation"). If
we need a large number of repetitions in order to achieve critical
mass, our statement is apparently not efficient in establishing a
productive and loving relationship with this archetype; we need to
design a different statement.
- Intuitive accuracy. Sometimes one intuitive insight can
be so powerful that it immediately establishes itself with
critical mass, even though the insight expressed itself as a
single thought, image, energy tone, or action. From that moment
onward, we default to that new insight, and it becomes the core of
a new constellation from which we generate supplementary elements
which support the original insight, and which further increase the
critical mass of the constellation.
Constellations
can be mistakenly identified as archetypes. To determine whether
something is an archetype or merely a constellation, we look for the
simplest expression of the object or action; if we can further
simplify the definition or action, we know that we are dealing with a
constellation and not an archetype. For example:
- We might consider Employee to be an archetype; however, I
consider Employee to be a constellation within the Servant
archetype which is the archetype of "performing a service for a
person or thing" (and thus it encompasses employees, volunteers,
slaves, etc.); "employee" might be defined as "performing a
service for a person, in a job which one has voluntarily agreed to
do, in exchange for a salary." In the specific situations of our
life, we are dealing with constellations (not archetypes); i.e.,
we are either an employee, a volunteer, a slave, etc.
However, in this book, I use the phrase, "archetypal situations,"
because the situations (and the constellations which they express)
are ultimately based upon archetypes.
- The Vehicle archetype can be defined as "that which transports
something from one point to another." We can examine the process
by which this archetypal field is partitioned into constellations:
- Within the Vehicle archetypal field, we have various
constellations regarding types of vehicles; for example,
"automobile" is a collection of thoughts, images, energy tones,
and actions regarding a particular type of vehicle.
- Within the "automobile" constellation, there are
"sub-constellations" (i.e., constellations within
constellations); for example, the "sports car" is a collection
of thoughts, images, energy tones, and actions regarding a
particular type of automobile.
- A model of sports car (e.g., Corvette) is a
constellation (or, more precisely, a sub-constellation),
because it based upon the manufacturer's specific group of
thoughts, images, energy tones, and actions regarding that
model.
- These distinctions end when we consider an
individual Corvette; i.e., your mass-produced
Corvette and your neighbor's mass-produced Corvette are
based upon the same constellation.