Myss - Archetypes : who are you?

Archetypes have fascinated me since I first read Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Ests 20 years ago. I was further educated in archetypes by Bill Moyers, who covered them in some of his PBS specials. But it was Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss that creatively blew open the idea of archetypes and how they affect every aspect of our life. In the decade since the book came out, I have discussed archetypes with anyone who would listen, including Caroline, who has become a dear friend and soul sister. We met at an event at which she was speaking. At the time, I was the CEO of philosophy, a skin-care company I had founded, and when the organizers of the event asked me to sponsor it, I immediately agreedprovided I could meet with Caroline privately, to talk about my very sick friend Dana Reeve. (Among her many talents, Caroline is a gifted medical intuitive.) I am so blessed that the meeting worked out, as Caroline and I have had a loving bond ever since.

Fast-forward to 2009, when I received a phone call from the company that had taken over philosophy, informing me that my creative services were no longer needed but I could stay on with the honorary title of executive chairman as long as I stayed out of the new CEOs way. Heartbroken and humiliated, I resigned and spent the next month facedown on my bed crying. Despite all my professional success, I felt like a failure. That one phone call had stolen my identity. But as it turned out, that phone call was the best thing that could have happened.

About a month later, I did what any normal woman does when she has time on her hands: I started cleaning out my closet.

I sat on the floor and began sorting through the costume party of clothes I had accumulated over the years. The piles I loved were items that were Artisticfeminine, floaty, creative, and ethereal. Then there was the pile of Visionary uniformsmultiples of the same shoes, pants, and T-shirts that I bought 10 or 20 of at a time. On the other side of the coin was the pile of high-priced, tailor-made, often bejeweled suits of armor for the boardroom fit for a Queen; I owned many of these, but hated them all and remembered vividly the discomfort I felt every time I had worn them. Same for the pile of Caregiver mommy stretch elastic. Those outfits never were me, and yet they dominated that closet floor.

There I sat, looking at the story of my life as seen through the lens of my closet, when light broke through the darkness of my despair and my third company, Archetypes, Inc., was born.

It was as if the Visionary who conceived philosophy was awakened from a deep sleep. What I saw were piles of different archetypes. Some of the piles fit my true archetypes, and most didnt. I began to think about how I had been derailed in the previous decade by trying to adapt to an archetype (a Caregiver) that wasnt authentic to me. I thought about how I had been role-playing as a Queen/Executive without ever being fully comfortable in that role, and especially in the clothes that came with it.

The truth that became apparent from that exercise that day on the floor of my closet was that the empty feeling I haddespite having achieved great personal and professional successwas born out of not living my archetypes.

Looking back, I see that I was not suffering from a case of stolen identity but rather going through an archetype crisis. The Queen/Executive was dead but the Creative Visionary who had founded philosophy was not. Whats more, my next venture had been under my nose all the time. I wanted to create a social platform where people could learn all about the fascinating subject of archetypes and how they can transform our lives and our relationships. ArchetypeMewould help people make empowered choices through the prism of their individual archetypes.

The new company gave me a chance to join forces with Caroline Myss. For over 25 years, Caroline has been teaching students about the power of archetypes. Now, with this book, she is going to teach you. You are going to discover how archetypes begin shaping our lives from the moment we are born. You will learn why some people, clothes, and relationships fit like a glove and others bring you deep discomfort. You will, for the first time, be able to look at your closet, your home, your career, and your significant relationships and ask yourself one simple question: Am I living my archetype? In other words, am I living the life I was destined to live, the life of my true self?

The most beautiful discovery about archetypes is that they awaken you to synchronicity, to the signs, symbols, and meaningful coincidences that come into our lives and get our immediate attention. They say stop, go, or stay still, but whatever the directive you know intuitively that you need to listen. Heeding the blessings and warnings called out by these signs is deeply empowering. And with that, miracles are born in your life one by one by one.

Discovering archetypes was one of those miracles for me. Meeting Caroline was another. I hope they will be for you, too.

With grace and gratitude,

Cristina Carlino

New York, 2012