Gypsy In My Soul

Makes me pack up my bags and go,

Looking out at that deep blue sea,

I guess it's just the gypsy in me.

I read a really interesting book recently. It's called The Hero Within by Dr. Carol S. Pearson. She talks about the main six archetypes of our psyches. Basically, by looking at the heroes of major legends, events, stories and literature of human history, we see that the psyche of the human mind is composed of these different prototypes, depending on where we are in life, what kind of family we were raised in, what kind of culture and family we live in now. 

There was one archetype that my mind identified with big time: that of the Wanderer. At least, right now that is where I am. I got to go. I don't know where, but I think it's everywhere. 

Cherry trees at the Tidal Basin last weekend. Washington Monument piercing the blue sky.

So if you are going through a Wanderer phase, you might be doing either some wandering or wondering. Both of are activities of the Wanderer part of your psyche.

President Obama, you in there? We got a lot to talk about, buddy. 

What I mean by that is that the Wanderer takes on many forms: that hippy stage you went through in college, your desire to get away on vacation, your desire to travel the world, the road trip you took last summer, the constant daydreaming at work, the need to learn about a different culture, to read different types of books, learn new stuff, or even the need to live somewhere else (you'll notice a lot of people go off to live somewhere else for a portion of their lives and then come home to stay in the place where they were raised eventually).

Stuart (my gracious hostess and psychology student) and I posing in front of the House.

This has Carl Jung written all over it--this archetype talk. Dreams, psychoanalysis, the whole deal. 

I love all this psychological, psycho-spiritual stuff. So fun to me.

A few cherry trees peaking right before my very eyes. 

The Wanderer in my psyche wanted to see the cherry trees in DC, and last weekend I made it happen for her. It was gorgeous. I felt blessed. I was with friends that love and know me. It was a glorious spring day last Saturday. 

It was cool to see both the blooming and the peaking. 

It is safe to say that the Wandering part of my psyche is greedy. She wants to go everywhere. I mean, everywhere. Except for Alaska, Antarctica, Greenland, and northern parts of Canada. She even wants to go to the moon!

Mary Brette and Stuart

I realize that talking about my own personality like this is somewhat schizophrenic. 

They are from Nashville too. Nothing like being with close friends who have been with you through a lot. Longevity is important. These girls knew me through some dark days. 

But it is the manifesting archetype in my mind, at this point. Maybe always. Who knows? A lot of people's whole lives are dominated by one archetype. The important thing is: don't repress it. Repressed  parts of the mind end up acting out in bad ways. People who repress the Wanderer part of the mind end up doing crazy stuff. Leaving, losing it, getting all out of balance, depression, a constantly daydreaming mind. 

Nothing wrong with daydreams but at some point, you've got to get on with it.  

At the Reflecting Pool, the Lincoln Memorial behind us. 

A lot of the times, your dominant and weaker archetypes are determined by your culture and family. If the Wanderer is not strong in your genes or encouraged in your family/culture, there is a good chance you don't really like to travel or don't want to live anywhere else. That's you, and that's okay. But my Wanderer was definitely encouraged, bolstered even. 

The old Post Office--beautiful building. 

The other archetypes are the Orphan, Warrior, Altruist, Innocent, and Magician.

Packed National Mall. So. Many. People. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 

You got to respect where a person is on their journey. If you can't understand why someone you love wants to live in a different country, or wants to quit his job to write a book, or is constantly daydreaming, you have to respect they are at that stage. Their psyche wants to express that part. It will manifest, positively or negatively. 

Ole Abe made me homesick for Jackson. I don't know, they both seem so wise.  They both have beards. Is it so wrong to compare my dog to a revered president? 

Anyway, you might be going through a Warrior phase, and your gut is telling you start some kind of challenge or endeavor that you fear starting. So your Warrior might be coming out by arguing or fighting with someone you care about, or any stranger you meet. A repressed archetype is dangerous. Let it out. Let that part of you fly. 

Speaking of Warrior phases--Thomas Jefferson. America's first author. 

Jefferson was aware of the need to respect the changing tides of people, the different phases of people and, in consequence, the nations of those people. Check out the quote below:

If you can't read this that well, my bad. Basically, TJ says that governments need to change with the times, with the people. That old laws sometimes won't work for new times. No unnecessary changes, but changes that speak explicitly to the equal rights of all humans. Something we need to pay attention to right now, especially. 

We're talking about integrity, which means to be an integrated being. Ignoring parts of the psyche does not equal integrated. We've got to integrate every part of our minds, even the parts that want to do crazy things. What are those parts trying to say? Are we repressing something? 

Pull it together over there.

We're talking about balance too. We're talking about facing parts of personality that might have been screaming for years for attention. In what ways have they been repressed, ignored, and emerged like an angry teenager later in life? 

At the MLK Memorial, there were powerful quotes from his speeches. I loved this one, and the one that follows.

Respect and compassion for others, attention and alert awareness for ourselves. 

No repression, no depression, no oppression.

I believe in the soul, mind and body. I think the soul informs the mind which then informs the body. 

I've got to let that gypsy girl out! She talks way too much.

Wanderingly,

Liza Jane