You may have noticed that I’ve been sharing both blog posts and videos about the Alternative Archetypes, often a few weeks apart. To keep things clearer and more enjoyable for you, I’m pausing new blog posts for a few weeks while the videos catch up.
Once we’re aligned, I’ll move to a simpler rhythm: one post a week on a Wednesday that includes both the written reflections and the video together in one place. This way, each archetype gets the full space it deserves – and your reading and viewing experience becomes more seamless.
Thank you for being here and walking this path with me. The pause is just a breath in… and we’ll continue exploring the archetypes- together – in a clearer, deeper way very soon.
The first of the Alternative Archetypes on the Healing & Service path, the Wounded Healer archetype channels personal pain into compassionate service. Their lived experience becomes a powerful source of connection, validation, and quiet transformation.
Revealing the final Alternative Archetype on the Creative & Expressive path, The Humourist uses laughter as a healing art, revealing truth and easing pain through joy. Learn how this archetype builds community, fosters resilience, and transforms tension into connection.
A Memoir of Walking, Wilderness, and the Slow Journey Home to Self
Finding Hildasay is Christian Lewis’s deeply moving memoir of walking Britain’s coastline to heal from depression and rediscover meaning. Through storms and stillness, solitude and kindness, his story reveals how nature becomes both mirror and guide. A beautiful testament to resilience, inner renewal, and the quiet wisdom of The Wanderer archetype.
The Storyteller archetype connects us through transformative narratives. Drawing on myth, empathy, and deep listening, they help shape meaning from experience and offer soulful guidance in a fragmented world.
A meaningful life begins with understanding what truly matters. In the journey toward discovering and fulfilling your life purpose, certain areas of life hold particular significance. These are the Six Key Life Domains – universal aspects of human experience that form the foundation of a balanced and fulfilling life.
When we take time to reflect on these domains, we create a map of what nourishes us, where we may feel depleted, and what truly supports our sense of purpose.
Prefer to watch rather than read – check out the video below
Relationships and Connection
As social beings, meaningful relationships provide emotional support, a sense of belonging, and opportunities for personal growth. These connections are essential to our mental and emotional well-being. Without them, we risk isolation, which can detract from our sense of purpose.
Who do you feel most connected to? Where do you feel most seen?
Personal Growth and Development
As we deepen our relationships, we’re also invited to grow within ourselves. Continuous growth ensures that we are evolving, learning, and meeting life’s challenges with greater insight. This domain is the key to self-actualization and resilience, helping us become the best version of ourselves.
It’s through growth that we come into deeper alignment with our purpose.
Contribution and Service
A sense of purpose often emerges when we give of ourselves to something larger. Whether it’s helping others, volunteering, or supporting causes we care about, acts of service connect us to a bigger picture.
They don’t just benefit others—they nourish our own sense of meaning.
Meaningful Work
Work occupies a significant portion of our lives. When aligned with our values, interests, and strengths, it can be deeply fulfilling. Whether it’s paid or unpaid, meaningful work gives us a sense of accomplishment and a way to contribute to the world.
Is your work an expression of your values—or just a way to get by? The difference can be life-changing.
Health and Well-being
Good health is the foundation of a vibrant life. When we attend to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, we have the energy to engage fully with the other domains.
This includes leisure and recreation—often overlooked yet vital. Modern life tends to glorify productivity, but leisure offers a sanctuary for joy, creativity, and self-renewal. Engaging in hobbies or creative outlets reminds us that we are more than our responsibilities. It helps us reconnect with ourselves and nurture a sense of self-worth.
Spirituality and Transcendence
Spirituality connects us to something larger than ourselves—whether through a religious path, personal practice, or existential exploration. Reflecting on life’s bigger questions can offer grounding, clarity, and a sense of peace that transcends the everyday.
What helps you feel connected to the mystery and meaning of life?
Why These Domains Matter
Together, these six domains shape the human experience. By nurturing each one, we begin to live more in alignment with our deepest values, creating a life that feels both balanced and purposeful.
Each domain represents a gateway to fulfilment. Reflecting on where you stand in each area can help you identify your strengths and opportunities for growth—empowering you to make intentional changes that support your soul’s unfolding.
A Note on Money
You may have noticed that money isn’t listed as one of the six domains. Why leave out something so integral to modern life?
The short answer: Money is a tool, not a purpose. It supports the six domains, but it doesn’t define them.
Overemphasizing money can lead to burnout, emptiness, or a distorted sense of self-worth. When we honour money as a valuable enabler—rather than a driver—we keep the focus on what truly matters: creating a life aligned with meaning, not just metrics.
Your Invitation
Take a moment to consider: Which domains feel strong and life-giving right now? Which ones might need more care and attention?
Reflecting on these questions creates a strong foundation for the journey ahead. In the Soulful Path to Life Purpose programme, we explore how deeper self-knowledge can help bring each of these domains into greater harmony—so your life reflects not just who you are, but who you’re becoming.
In her book Beyond Anxiety, Martha Beck offers a refreshingly compassionate path through worry and fear. Blending personal insight, neuroscience, and deep humanity, she invites readers to meet anxiety with curiosity and compassion rather than control. Wise, witty, and grounded, this book isn’t just about managing anxiety—it’s about creating a saner, more spacious life. A beautifully accessible guide for seekers, worriers, and anyone longing for deeper peace.
I’m a little late posting this today — we had a power cut! — but I’m excited to share it with you now.
I’ve already introduced The Seekerarchetype, but this new video goes deeper into what it really means to embody the Seeker’s path. If you’ve ever felt a restless curiosity, a hunger for something more real and meaningful, or a call to follow your own questions — this archetype might speak to you.
The Seeker reminds us that it’s not just about finding answers — it’s about the courage to keep asking the questions that matter.
I’d love to hear if it resonates with you.
For more information on the Alternative Archetypes, of which the Seeker is the first, click here.
We often approach the question of life purpose by looking outward—asking what the world needs, what jobs are available, or what paths others have taken. But true purpose doesn’t begin out there. It begins within.
At the heart of a meaningful life is self-knowledge.
Without a grounded sense of who we are, we can end up chasing goals that don’t truly belong to us. We follow the well-trodden paths, take on roles or identities we think we should have, and strive toward markers of success that leave us feeling strangely empty. If you’ve ever ticked all the boxes and still felt unfulfilled, you’ll know what I mean.
That’s where self-knowledge becomes essential—not as a nice-to-have, but as a compass.
Prefer to watch instead? Here’s a video version of this post
Why Self-Knowledge Matters
Knowing yourself means being aware of your values, your strengths, your quirks and patterns, and your deepest desires. It’s about understanding what energizes you, what drains you, and what calls to you at a soul-deep level.
This kind of insight allows you to live with greater intention. It gives you a filter for decision-making, a clearer sense of what’s worth saying yes to—and what needs to be gently but firmly declined. It helps you navigate change, setbacks, and the many crossroads that life inevitably brings.
Most importantly, self-knowledge lays the foundation for a purpose that’s authentic, sustainable, and fulfilling.
Purpose That Grows From the Inside Out
In my own journey and in my work with clients, I’ve seen how purpose becomes clearer when we take the time to understand ourselves. That’s why the Soulful Path to Life Purpose begins not with lofty goals or action plans, but with a deep dive into who you are.
We explore your personality, values, strengths, passions, and life story—not in isolation, but in connection with one another. We look at the patterns that run through your life, the threads that keep showing up, and the parts of you that are ready to come into fuller expression.
This is not a quick fix or a one-size-fits-all formula. It’s a reflective, often transformative process. And it’s one that honours your unique journey.
Beyond the Surface
Self-knowledge isn’t about boxing yourself in or putting a label on who you are. It’s about opening up to deeper layers of meaning and possibility. It asks for honesty. It invites curiosity. And sometimes, it asks for courage—the courage to accept what you find, and to grow into the person you’re becoming.
The beautiful paradox is that the more we come to know ourselves, the more connected we become to others. Purpose isn’t just about personal fulfilment. It’s about how we show up in the world—how we contribute, connect, and live in alignment with something larger than ourselves.
A Soulful Approach
As I prepare to launch the Soulful Path to Life Purpose programme this spring, I’m reminded again and again that purpose isn’t something we find once and for all. It unfolds. It evolves. And it deepens as we grow.
Self-knowledge is the ground we build on. It’s the quiet strength that helps us stay true to ourselves while navigating life’s many turns.
If you’re feeling the call to explore your purpose—or to reconnect with who you truly are—I’d love to walk alongside you on that journey.
The next post in this series will share more about the Spiral Path approach that underpins the programme. In the meantime, take a moment to ask yourself:
