Archetype of the Monk

In some ways this is similar to the ascetic archetype, but it more directly deals with the impulse in human beings to either seek meaning, to find what is at their core, the ground of being, or what is culturally called God, or perhaps to avoid or live away from everyday human activities.

The monk can depict the focussing of ones energies toward self searching, toward a wider awareness, what is generally called the spiritual path. But it sometimes reveals a drive in oneself toward flight from the pain in dealing with the normal sexual drives, relationship and survival in the economic and social whirlpool of life. (See: ascetic); great mother.

One of the great problems if our life is directed or governed in any degree by this archetype is that if the natural drives toward sex and partnership are not followed, their frustration can easily lead to neurosis.

History shows us examples of both the energy of the inward life turned toward enormous industry and awareness such as we see in the building of monasteries, the teaching, healing and caring worldwide; and of it turned to neurosis. In the latter situation we have the extremes of mutilation, self harming, sexual perversions and depression.

The positive direction of the fundamental libido leads to a gradual letting go of the instincts that drive one to be connected to procreation and desires for material wealth and goods. This arises not through a denial of self but through a realisation of the core self. The result is a liberation from the bonds of the basic instincts, territorialism and racial identification.

To sum up in simple words, the monk archetype can either be a tendency toward see such things as fame, money and ambition as things that can pass as quickly as they come, and the seeking of something more permanent and fundamental; or it can be an avoidance due to anxiety or lack of ability to meet the drives and urges that are natural in us.

Useful questions are:

How do I relate to this archetypal influence?

Do I seek refuge from everyday life and relationships, or am I asking the grand question – Who am I?

Have I grown beyond sexual and worldly needs in some degree, or am I avoiding them because I am afraid or hurt by them?

What happens if I ask important questions of my mentor – can I get answers?