Do you ever wonder who you are or what you need to unearth about yourself? Do you find yourself doing things, repeating the same pattern, but you don’t know the reason why? Do you ever question why you believe the things you do or why your life is the way it is?
The answers to these questions require understanding your archetypal patterns. Once you recognize the behavior pattern, you can understand yourself, and others, better. An archetype is a universal, mythical pattern of power, that you, and everyone in the world, are born knowing.
Struck by Lightning: My Journey from the Shadow to the Light is a spiritual autobiography that illustrates my endeavor, from the time of my birth until the present, to uncover the answer to these inspiring questions. My archetypes and their respective patterns of behavior emerge on many occasions and are sprinkled throughout the book, giving rise to opportunities to identify them. Only when you take the steps as I have, are you able to start your journey, learning the specifics of what makes you tick.
It’s often at a turning point where you are challenged to make a decision that either helps you grow or prevents you from having authority over your life. At times, one or more of the four Survival archetypes present you with opportunities to develop or increase your self-esteem. These archetypes reside in the Survival family: the Child, the Victim, the Prostitute, and the Saboteur; they are universal to every human being and are accompanied by eight additional archetypes that surface at some point. The Addict, the Athlete, the Student, and the Femme Fatale are a few of the eight presented in this book.
All archetypes have aspects of shadow and light. The shadow is not dark or evil but the part of yourself that lies beneath the one you know, your consciousness. These patterns of behavior are often ignored or denied when residing in the shadow and can cause you unnecessary pain and suffering. Remaining in the shadow blocks the path to your empowerment. Once you recognize and face these patterns in the shadow, they become your friends, allowing you to step into the light and integrate them into your spirit or inner self. When you begin to know yourself, you start the journey of moving from the shadow to the light.
Struck by Lightning was written at a time when a cloud of darkness is shrouding the world. This shadow is gripping humanity – from the countless confrontations polarizing social and cultural groups to the addiction to power, money, and sex – and is causing the decline of tolerance, compassion, and most of all, love.
Mahatma Gandhi
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
For the world to shift direction, first there must be a shift in you. I desperately wanted to change but didn’t know how. This book is written in chronological order and portrays the trials and tribulations I overcame to be the change. It examines the emotional conflicts and patterns of behavior I experienced throughout life and the consequences that were the result of my choices.
I was born under a veil of darkness that held me in its clutches for years. One by one, the looming shadows of my archetypes surfaced, taking charge of me, leading me down a dark path. At times, they went to war with each other, fighting for control, while on different occasions, the battle waged between the shadow and the light. Unaware of how to escape from these restraints and be the change, I frequently fell into despair, ensuring my worthlessness.
Every single decision I made in my history, from the onset of the wounded child, was instrumental and necessary for me on the journey of my life. It was long and arduous, and when I found myself alone, which was more often than not, I questioned God searching for the way to be the change.
The answer, hidden by my shadows, remained elusive, as I fell into a murky abyss until my final descent into the dark night of the soul. During the dark night, I reached a crisis of faith in myself. When everything I believed in collapsed around me, I stood at a turning point, alone and with nowhere to go. I had to make the most crucial decision in my life: surrender and ask God for help, or die. With this spiritual awakening, the rebirth of my authentic soul, I realized I was walking the healing path of the Wounded Healer.
I was facing the journey of life, which took me from the outside world to the journey behind my eye, not only bringing light to the shadow, but being the change.
My purpose has been revealed: to be the change and be of service to others. In Struck by Lightning, I share that no matter where you come from, how severe your circumstances may be, or what you think, it is possible to change, I hope that after reading this book, if there is a familiarity with any thoughts or emotions presented here, a spark is ignited that starts your search to unearth the truth that lies within you.
When you do the work, you gain a greater awareness of the person you are today, as well as an appreciation of where you came from. You need this. Your friends and family need this. The world needs this.
What I know for sure is that it’s possible for you to become the divine person you were born to be. However, it not only takes strength and courage to delve beneath your surface, unmasking the profound truth that lies within you; it also requires a willingness to heal. You should not take it lightly or casually, and it is best to have someone you trust hold space for you throughout your healing process. We all have wounds, but we don’t have to live in them. May the Grace of God be with you and in you.
One final note: To further understand your archetypes and how they affect you, read Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss; the book describes an Archetypal Wheel, where all twelve of your archetypes reside, similar to the twelve houses of the zodiac. In creating your Chart of Origin, each of your archetypes is placed into the house of service it most influences. The Archetypal wheel is an intuitive tool where you receive symbolic information. To learn more about this medium, there is additional information provided in the Author’s Note. Please know it is not necessary to understand this information to follow the story of the book.
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