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I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I’ve identified a badass archetype:
The Anti-Spiritual Spiritual Anti-Hero
Before we get into this archetype, let’s first define all these words to our satisfaction.
Anti-spiritual: Here anti-spiritual means anti-beliefs and anti-dogma. You don’t care for any impractical metaphysical or esoteric “wisdom.” You don’t follow anyone. You’re willing to find whatever key you need to open the next door anywhere, not just in spiritual ideas.
Spiritual: Here I define spiritual as the search for the truth of your being. Any wonderful experience or teaching that can be defined as spiritual but is not about the immediate and direct finding of truth, goes in the category of anti-spiritual. So for our purposes, spirituality is radically pragmatic — it needs to result in transformation.
Anti-hero: This one’s pretty self-explanatory. The anti-hero is a central character in a story, film, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.
What Is the Point of This Archetype?
This archetype is all about freedom and non-conformity. It’s about being your own authority and not lowering yourself to the masses. This archetype is an anarchist.
We all have this archetype in us.
It’s the voice that says, “Bullshit!” straight into the face of the world. It’s that part inside you that rebels when you’re discarding your truth for someone else’s truth. This part doesn’t care about serving others. It cares about finding the truth and living for itself.
This part inside you wants to risk it all; it wants to see everything burn just to find out what doesn’t burn.
It’s the best guru you could ever have — a Zen master and crazy fool all in one.
We both know you have this archetype in you. Listen to its voice. On the quest to truth and freedom, it’s at the same time your most powerful ally and your most powerful adversary.
It says the things you need to hear but don’t want to hear. It’s radically honest and doesn’t offer any wiggle room.
Here are some of its attributes: obsessed, heretic, non-conformist, unapologetic, lucid, logical and rational (beyond everyday logic and reason), uncompromising, rebellious, unconventional, anti-establishment and authority
Now if you feel like you don’t have this archetype going for you, I recommend you see this archetype in action and feel the resonance.
Examples of the Anti-Spiritual Spiritual Anti-Hero
Movies are awesome tools for the inner journey. Over are the days when you feel guilty for engaging in entertainment.
Every movie can be a window into your inner workings if you let it. Some movies have the power to really move things inside you.
Sometimes you see a character on screen that seems to be a forgotten or untapped part of yourself. These are the changemakers and egobreakers. I suggest you pay attention to them.
The following are some movie characters that exemplify our archetype pretty well (if you know more, comment below):
– Tyler Durden from “Fight Club” – My personal favorite. A charismatic and anti-establishment figure who encourages a rejection of consumerism and conformity.
– Neo from “The Matrix” – Neo rejects the illusion of the world and seeks the truth about his existence, exhibiting a rebellious and non-conformist spirit.
– Randle P. McMurphy from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – A non-conformist who rebels against authority in a mental institution.
– Rorschach from “Watchmen” – Rorschach is a vigilante with a strong anti-establishment and uncompromising moral code.
– Raoul Duke from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” – A counter-culture journalist who indulges in drug-fueled adventures and rejects societal norms.
– Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean” – Captain Jack Sparrow is unconventional, unapologetic, and anti-establishment in his approach to piracy.
– Lucy from “Lucy” – A character who gains superhuman cognitive abilities and embraces radical non-conformity, logical and unapologetic actions, and a pursuit of personal truth as she defies societal norms and challenges established authorities.
– John Wick from the “John Wick” series – An assassin who seeks justice and revenge in an uncompromising and relentless manner.
Of course we don’t have to be like them. But whenever we see a character like that, something is stirred inside us.
Their hereticism and cynicism are almost divine.
Besides these characters portray qualities we wish we had. The good news is we do. The bad news is fear and conditioning often keep us from embracing our self-sovereignty (which is just another way of saying being your own authority).
There is one trap to avoid, however. All this can become a way to pamper your self-image. If you think, Look at me, I’m like Neo from the Matrix. I’m so badass. Then you have fallen into the trap.
This trap will be hard to avoid as long as you live your life for an imaginary audience (e.g. God, Universe, Brahman, Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc.)
You might ask why anyone should become like this. The first answer is no one should become like this. The second answer is freedom.
The Archetype of Freedom
Ultimately, the Anti-Spiritual Spiritual Anti-Hero is the archetype of freedom. It’s the part inside us that wants to unshackle itself from all the ideas and beliefs that have been forced upon us.
It wants the ultimate freedom and to get there it knows it needs to rebel against its imprisonment. Of course anger is part of it. You should be angry when you realize you’re imprisoned and you don’t know why or how or by whom.
This is the one thing that drives this archetype: discontent.
A turning point is reached when you realize that acting as if you’re okay is no longer okay.
You don’t want to convince yourself that you should be content. Faking it until you make it is not sufficient.
You need to remove this invisible splinter that’s been bugging you for as long as you can remember. Now you’re finally ready to take things into your own hands.
You’ll no longer accept second- or third- or 34th-hand solutions.
This is your problem and the only one who can solve it is you. Any ol’ prescriptive solution won’t do. You need to get to the root of the issue and you’re going to do it or die trying.
This is where the Anti-Spiritual Spiritual Anti-Hero archetype comes to your aid.
Luka
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