What if your next chapter is already speaking to you through simple shapes and colors? We sit down with Michele Takei (Shelley), a transpersonal psychologist and owner-trainer of the Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI), to unpack how a Jungian, intuition-led tool can reveal where you are now and where your energy wants to move next—without collapsing your story into a diagnosis. Instead of long questionnaires and labels, the MARI pairs six “liked” symbols, one “dislike,” and two private “guidance” choices with a rich palette of colors, then places them on the Great Round: a 13-stage developmental map that tracks beginnings, identity, struggle, completion, and transformation.
Shelley walks us through the quiet power of the initial mandala drawing, why boundaries show up in heavy outlines, and how a sparkly gold overlay can signal a transpersonal sense of being in the world but not of it. We talk about the speed to clarity this method offers—how an hour of intuitive choices can surface themes it might take weeks to uncover in talk therapy—and why that matters for midlife listeners facing divorce, empty nests, career pivots, or the restless pull toward something more. You’ll hear how MARI complements therapy and coaching, exposes spiritual bypass when our colors don’t match our claims, and consistently delivers direction over diagnosis.
We also connect the map to Joseph Campbell’s arc—home, call, ordeal, return—naming that vulnerable moment when you stop fitting your old circle but haven’t yet landed in the new one. If you’ve felt invisible while life changes shape, this conversation offers a kinder lens and concrete footing. Come for the Jungian roots; stay for the practical, soul-honoring guidance that helps you trust your intuition, choose your next true step, and see your whole picture at once.
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Michele Takei, PhD, holds a doctorate in transpersonal psychology and women’s studies from Union Institute. She has been professor at numerous universities where she has taught courses in both traditional and transpersonal psychology. Takei has worked with thousands of women as the director of a single parent and homemaker program, as well as in her private psychological practice. She is the owner and trainer of MARI (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument), a Jungian-based psychological assessment based on symbols and colors.
Halfway To Dead Podcast
email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com
