We recently connected with Arrowyn Ambrose and have shared our conversation below.
Arrowyn, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I did not find my purpose; my purpose found me. If I had followed my “bliss,” as Joseph Campbell once said, I would have followed what seemed like a very promising acting career into my grave. However, after being asked to volunteer for a fledgling non-profit called Young Storytellers in 2004 and simultaneously having my palms read (bear with me here), everything changed exponentially for the better. Because of an ineffable and extraordinary experience volunteering as an actor to perform a 5th graders script in something called The Big Show, I stopped chasing after bliss and started following my curiosity. Encouraged to write my story and share it with others per my fingerprints, I enrolled in a writing workshop as I began to mentor youth writing their own stories, and the rest, they say, is history. My vocation came calling, and the intelligent, intuitive thing I did there was I followed it without question. And that has made a world of difference.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
“Mom, what do you DO?” My thirteen-year-old daughter asked me the other day. She honestly did not know. And to be fair, sometimes I don’t either. It also morphs and changes daily, depending on which vocational hat I am wearing. Since I am currently working with an editor on my memoir, a tale of transformation that is ever evolving using depth psychology, alchemy, and mythology as a framework, you can call me a writer. I am a teacher and facilitator when I lead workshops, teaching men recently out of prison about the neurobiology of connection, safety, and play. I am an artist and poet when I am creating performance art, visual art, and poetry performances for myself and others.
I am currently completing my Masters in Depth Psychology and Creativity at Pacifica Graduate Institute and working with folks in recovery while editing my memoir and creating an art project for my thesis.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Most importantly, I have remained teachable. I try to retain childlike wonder, curiosity, and awe when approaching experiences, cultures, and new information. I love novelty and adventure and I love learning with a passion. Insatiably curious, I have been called. Finding early on, after quitting acting, the joy of helping others share their stories, especially the stories of the most marginalized and forgotten, like the men in maximum security prisons or youth in probation camps, was pivotal in my growth as a human and where I ultimately found faith in something bigger than myself. Lastly, innately knowing how foundational play and movement are to health, wellness, and connection rooted me in a deep appreciation of neurobiology and why our ancestors daned, sang, and told stories.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Having been diagnosed with complex-PTSD because of significant relational trauma that did not begin with me but did begin inutero and spans generations, having been considerably neglected, it has only recently become something I can say made me who I am today and gave me the profound gifts of empathy, compassion, and earnest desire to witness and uplift others as what drives me the most. I spent most of my life suffering from the abandonment but lately, I finally have found the gifts in the wound.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arrowynambrose/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arrowynambrose/
Image Credits
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