I think the archetype of the Saboteur is one of the more challenging ones, because it’s incredibly difficult for people to accept that they betray themselves. When I speak of Archetypes, I am referring to a template of a persona, like ‘The Wicked Queen, The Brave Hero, or the Beautiful Princess”. These are nothing more than templates.
According to Caroline Myss, who is an expert in this field, we all share four basic archetypes. They are: The child, The Victim, The Saboteur and The Prostitute. Now when I speak of the prostitute, what I’m referring to, is someone who is willing to compromise their morals and ethical values in exchange for monetary gain. This may mean staying in a marriage that has been over for years, or in a job in which you are unhappy or unfulfilled.
When I show clients areas in which they are sabotaging themselves, their first instinct is to deny it. This is perfectly normal. No one wants to think that they are consciously sabotaging their own life. This is predominately a subconscious behavior, and all that needs to be done is to reprogram the beliefs to those that are supportive. One of the many ways that this can be accomplished is with Applied Kinesiology. AK involves muscle testing an individual (or they can test themselves) to discover the conflict between the beliefs of the conscious and subconscious mind. If there is a discrepancy, it will show up as a weakened muscle response. Once a client learns this technique, it is much easier for them to begin to recognize their behaviors, and make the necessary changes.
The subconscious mind is a very powerful processor, over a million times more powerful that the conscious mind. Dr. Bruce Lipton stated that the subconscious mind interprets and respond to over 40 million nerve impulses a second; whereas the conscious mind only processes about 40 nerve impulses a second. This allows us to retrieve information stored in our subconscious mind in instant. Information that we have downloaded from past history. Think of your subconscious like a filing cabinet, just waiting for the right situation to occur, so you can immediately retrieve a similar or duplicate emotional response from the past.
However, if those experiences we pull are negative, FEAR immediately begins to set in. It’s as if our conscious mind has been hijacked and we are being held hostage by our beliefs. They were downloaded into us at an early age, and since our neo-cortex had no ability to filter this input as a child, our perception was to believe it to be true. We are playing someone else’s story so to speak.
There are ways to recognize if you are sabotaging yourself, by answering the following questions:
1. What fears have the most authority over me?
2. What happens when a fear overtakes me?
3. Do I allow other people to speak for me?
4. Do I agree to some things out of fear that I would not otherwise agree to?
5. Have I let creative opportunities pass me by?
6. Am I aware that I am sabotaging myself? ~ Awareness is the key here.
7. Am I able to recognize the saboteur in others, but not in myself?
Once you face the saboteur archetype which we all possess, you can then make it your ally. Let it work for you instead of against you. It will get your attention when you are about to sabotage yourself, or when someone else is about to sabotage you. This is a great tool to have in your toolbox, because once you recognize the signals, you will be able to stop the behavior before it starts.
