I. Storywell: Ancient and Powerful Stories
We all want to reach what's possible for us, what may not exist now but dances at the edge of our imaginations. We want to be true to ourselves and feel connected to others and life itself. These desires are not new.
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We all want to reach what's possible for us, what may not exist now but dances at the edge of our imaginations. We want to be true to ourselves and feel connected to others and life itself. These desires are not new.
Social neuroscience has established that the successful survival of human beings was driven by the ability to learn from, care for, and trust other people. Imagine our ancestors, huddled around a fire, engaged tooth and nail in the struggle to survive. How did they impart learning, love, trust, and connection? They told stories. The human psyche—then and now—craves meaning, and its natural pathway for discovering and communicating meaning is through recognizing story narratives that we can relate to and understand.
Our brains evolved socially, through the ability to trust, emotionally engage, and understand other people, often accomplished through the metaphors and visions created by a good tale well told. Over time, this process has enhanced the human capacity to live as unique individuals within community. The neural connections in our very brains are impacted by imaginatively identifying with characters—both fictional and real. Emotionally engaging with stories not only enhances our empathy and understanding of others, but also furthers the self-awareness needed to live authentic and purposeful lives.
Researchers report the urge to tell and live stories is in our brains, but we feel it in our bones: who am I, how can I matter, and who can I be? Each one of us addresses these same questions uniquely. The creative psyche dresses our potential in the characters, stories, and images that call us to enact the story lines that propelled our ancestors, and ourselves, forward.
II. The PMAI®: Archetypal Stories and Characters
In the twentieth century, Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung explored the manifestation of universal psychological symbols he called archetypes. He recognized that becoming conscious of the archetypal stories shaping behavior contributed to self-awareness and healing. Working with the archetypal characters and stories one is living fosters Jung's process of individuation—the journey towards wholeness.
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In the twentieth century, Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung explored the manifestation of universal psychological symbols he called archetypes. He recognized that becoming conscious of the archetypal stories shaping behavior contributed to self-awareness and healing. Working with the archetypal characters and stories one is living fosters Jung's process of individuation—the journey towards wholeness.
Archetypes are universal psychological patterns reflected in symbols, images, and themes common to all cultures and times, such as the concepts and experiences of Father, Mother, Child, and Home; or Quest or Betrayal. Archetypal symbols appear in many forms: art, literature, myths, and dreams. From these universal human experiences, archetypal patterns, stories, and characters develop that shape and drive novels, plays, drama, and films and also appear in the everyday stories we tell about ourselves and the people in our lives.
The PMAI system's 12 heroic archetypal characters were selected to support the journeys of people today to live successful, fullfilling lives. As character archetypes, each represents a protagonist who assumes certain roles in a universal story with infinite potential expressions that can be embodied in a person's unique attitudes and enacted in his or her behaviors.
Archetypal stories become personal, embodied narratives as we live out their plotlines and gain their perspectives, gifts, and traits. Typically, when we enact our archetypal stories, we are unconsciously thinking, talking, or acting like the central character of that story. The power of the PMAI® system is to become conscious of the archetypal stories shaping our lives as we master the narrative intelligence they possess.
Although the potential archetypal characters and stories within us are universal, we each express them, endowing them with somewhat different styles, traits, and mannerisms. The expression of an archetype is influenced by a person's culture, setting, and time in history, as well as reflecting his or her unique individuality.
For example, while the Warrior is an archetypal story, different kinds of Warriors engage in different battles. The Warrior archetype informs the actions of a Japanese Samurai and the American G.I., but might also include an HIV researcher, an advocate for social justice, a member of a street gang, or someone who has just been insulted, forcefully setting a boundary not to be crossed. Each of these Warriors follows its own code of honor, goals, style of dress, and more; nonetheless, all of them express the archetypal Warrior character.
We wish you every success in finding and living the inner stories most meaningful to you through exploration of the PMAI system. The purpose of this system is to indicate where you are in your growth through an archetypal journey of progressive maturity and manifestation of your natural potential. Therefore, you may want to take the PMAI assessment again when you are in transition or have experienced an important personal change.
III. Your Archetype Profile
On the following page is an Archetype Profile table reflecting your scores on the 12 archetypes ranked from highest scoring at the top to lowest scoring at the bottom. The Archetype Profile table is tailored to your specific results on the PMAI assessment—the order of archetypes in the table represents your scores from highest to lowest and is unique to you.
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On the following page is an Archetype Profile table reflecting your scores on the 12 archetypes ranked from highest scoring at the top to lowest scoring at the bottom. The Archetype Profile table is tailored to your specific results on the PMAI assessment—the order of archetypes in the table represents your scores from highest to lowest and is unique to you.
Archetype scores are presented visually by a bar extending from each archetype icon. It's not unusual to have archetypes with scores very close to one another, visually appearing as bars close in length in your Profile. In this report, the High Scoring section discusses the top three archetypes and the Lowest Archetype section discusses the last archetype in your Profile. If you have an archetype score very close in position to these and personally experience it as High or Low, then you should include it in those categories.
The Archetype Profile table includes brief descriptions of each archetype for you to review now, as well as later, as you interact with the different categories of archetypes through this report.
As you read the descriptions, note your various responses—do some surprise you? Are there archetypes in the middle that call to you? These types of questions, and more, will be further discussed in the report. Enjoy!
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Your Archetype Profile — Highest to Lowest |
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RULER |
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SEEKER |
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JESTER |
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REALIST |
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IDEALIST |
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SAGE |
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WARRIOR |
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CREATOR |
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LOVER |
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CAREGIVER |
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REVOLUTIONARY |
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MAGICIAN |
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IV. Your Inner Allies: High Scoring Archetypes
Active archetypes are like Inner Allies,
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Active archetypes are like Inner Allies,
For example, Ruler is a character interested in power and responsibility,
Your active archetypes fuel motivation;
Your Inner Allies are good candidates
It is important to affirm
Working with Your Inner Allies
When your Inner Allies
Archetypal stories highlight what is most meaningful
Determine the best settings to express these energized archetypes:
Your three highest scoring archetypes
(Realist - Warrior - Lover)
Regular Guy/Gal, Everyperson, Orphan
The part of you that is the Realist
The Realist in you tends to notice
The plot that predominates when you live the Realist story
Activities and tasks fulfilling to a Realist
The part of you that is a Realist finds happiness
As a leader, Realists can be
Others often appreciate
Realists may want to guard against
Underneath the story of the Realist
Realists benefit from
The Realist with Idealist balance:
Your three highest scoring archetypes
(Realist - Warrior - Lover)
Soldier, Advocate, Competitor
The part of you that is a Warrior
The Warrior in you tends to notice
The plot that predominates when you live the Warrior story,
Activities and tasks fulfilling to a Warrior
The part of you that is a Warrior, finds happiness
As a leader, Warriors can be
Others often appreciate
Warriors may want to guard against
Underneath the story of the Warrior,
Warriors benefit from
The Warrior and the Caregiver balance:
Your three highest scoring archetypes
(Realist - Warrior - Lover)
Peacemaker, Companion, Romantic
The part of you that is a Lover
The Lover in you tends to notice
The plot that predominates when you live the Lover's story
Activities and tasks fulfilling to a Lover
The part of you that is the Lover finds happiness
As a leader, the Lover's passion can
Others often appreciate
Lovers may want to guard against
Underneath the story of the Lover
Lovers benefit from
The Lover with Seeker balance: .
V. An Overlooked Ally: Your Lowest Scoring Archetype
Everyone has a lowest rated archetype. We don't (and shouldn't) prefer, value, live, express, or rate all the archetypes equally. Low scoring archetypes are of interest because they indicate qualities and plotlines that may not be available to you now. It's not uncommon for situations to arise where you can benefit from accessing the qualities of this archetype, and yet, people tend to avoid dealing with people and/or situations that represent their lowest archetype. A low scoring archetype indicates that this archetypal character and story may not be familiar to you, and thus, you cannot easily access its specific wisdom and gifts.
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Everyone has a lowest rated archetype. We don't (and shouldn't) prefer, value, live, express, or rate all the archetypes equally. Low scoring archetypes are of interest because they indicate qualities and plotlines that may not be available to you now. It's not uncommon for situations to arise where you can benefit from accessing the qualities of this archetype, and yet, people tend to avoid dealing with people and/or situations that represent their lowest archetype. A low scoring archetype indicates that this archetypal character and story may not be familiar to you, and thus, you cannot easily access its specific wisdom and gifts.
People generally find that their lowest archetype has one or more of these meanings:
Working with Your Low Scoring Archetype as an Overlooked Ally
Your lowest scoring archetype can be a rich resource for you.
If you see that you actively avoid the qualities of your Lowest archetype, reflect on whether at some point,
If at some point you feel stuck, facing a situation where nothing you do is working,
Your lowest scoring archetype:
Explorer, Wanderer, Pioneer
The part of you that is the Seeker
The Seeker in you tends to notice
The plot that predominates when you live the Seeker story
Activities and tasks fulfilling to a Seeker
The part of you that is a Seeker finds happiness
As a leader, Seekers can be
Others often appreciate
Seekers may want to guard against
Underneath the story of the Seeker
Seekers benefit from
The Seeker with Lover balance:
VI. Your Inner Treasure Chest: Your Midrange Archetypes
If we were defined by only our top three archetypes, we would function more like robots than humans. This is the core value of your Inner Treasure Chest: the opportunity to discover archetypes that provide support, flexibility, and options to your Inner Allies. Your Inner Treasure Chest is represented by all the archetypes in-between the lowest and highest scoring ones in your Archetype Profile table. Everyone has 8 midrange archetypes.
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If we were defined by only our top three archetypes, we would function more like robots than humans. This is the core value of your Inner Treasure Chest: the opportunity to discover archetypes that provide support, flexibility, and options to your Inner Allies. Your Inner Treasure Chest is represented by all the archetypes in-between the lowest and highest scoring ones in your Archetype Profile table. Everyone has 8 midrange archetypes.
When we over-rely on a few favored archetypes, we can struggle in situations that call for different qualities and attitudes. You can think of archetypes as analogous to software that help us accomplish certain tasks. One program can be used to write a letter, report, or book, while another helps with accounting and financial planning. Yet it is of no use if you confuse their functions.
Your midrange archetypes can assist in building archetypal flexibility—which is the ability to access and use the different archetypal qualities and traits as resources for various situations. Human evolution and individual growth are fostered when archetypes awaken in response to interaction with the world and other people. Your midrange archetypes may include ones incubating within you until you need them; ones that used to be allies for you, but have receded in importance leaving you with a legacy or attitudes and capacities; or ones that are active in your aspirations or in whom you envy, admire, and wish to emulate.
Cultivating Archetypal Flexibility
Which of your 8 midrange archetypes already support your ability to handle any of the following situations? If any of these archetypes also energize and fulfill you, you might treat them as additional inner allies. However, if they help you in situations you must face, but also drain your energies or leave you unfulfilled, you may want to make decisions that decrease how much and often you rely on them.
From the Inner Treasure Chest, each archetype provides the flexibility to
Which midrange archetypes might be awakened or strengthened that could help you meet current challenges or just be happier? Read the descriptions of your midrange archetypes in your Archetype Profile table and access full descriptions here.
Note responses of curiosity, energy, or fascination—might these be archetypal characters a part of you desires to develop? Then identify situations in your life—again referencing the list above—where you could use additional motivation or a different perspective. Choose one or more that would aid you if it were more active in your life, and then review the following process of archetypal awakeningc
Becoming conscious of an archetype can help you benefit from it. Archetypes emerge in consciousness as a subtle desire or yearning, through images and patterns in dreams, and in response to situations and people that require them. Archetypal emergence can have a typical progression, which begins with:
Even though acting intentionally in the emergence process can feel, at first, like pretending or playing a part, doing this can create room for this archetype to have more of a role in your attitudes and behaviors. However, do not expect the expression of an emerging archetype to feel as natural to you as your Inner Allies. For this reason, support from someone who expresses a midrange archetype in a mature and energized way can make a big difference.
