Jungian Seminars - 2007
Scars
Saturday, January 20 , 2007
Scars are the permanent records of wounds we have sustained - often absent in the very young who have not yet been touched by life. We sometimes feel that a scar defaces our skin, and psychological scars, too, may be worn with shame, as if it were the ideal - even the norm - to remain aloof from adversity. Yet in some cultures, scarification is a source of pride - whether part of a ritual initiation, a voluntary sacrificial act, or simply a token of the survivor’s courage. Join us to reflect on the meanings that scars can embody.
1001 Arabian Nights
Saturday, February 17 , 2007
When King Shahryar is betrayed by his wife he decides never to feel such pain again, by marrying a new woman every morning only to execute her at night’s end. That is, until he meets Scheherazade,. Every night she tells him a story that ends with a suspenseful situation, forcing the king to keep her alive for another day. The result is the medieval Middle Eastern literary epic we know as “1001 Arabian Nights.” We will examine a few of the stories in search of their moral, a moral designed to release King Shahryar from his madness. Hopefully, we also will find release from feelings of betrayal, fear and rage, allowing love to flow again.
The Path
Saturday, March 17 , 2007
One of the most evocative metaphors for spiritual development is that of the Path. Various religious traditions have described the Path in collective ways, offering maps that are intended to be valid for all. Yet there is often a sense that one’s journey along the Path is a very personal experience, one which no one else can accomplish in our place: Each of us must carry our own unique thread of meaning through to the end. In Jungian psychology, the individual quality of this experience stands squarely in the foreground. We speak of “the path of individuation,” knowing that neither our conscious intentions nor some outer guide can determine for us exactly how the journey will unfold. To explore an archetypal metaphor like that of the Path offers us a rich language for aspects of the life process which otherwise elude expression. This seminar seeks to do just that.
Religion Outside the Bounds
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Many persons today find themselves outside the bounds of organized religion. For some, the tradition in which they were raised seems sterile and irrelevant. Others have been wounded by religion, experiencing profound disillusionment. Still others are the children of a purely secular culture which dismisses spirituality as childish superstition. Jung witnessed the suffering and spiritual longings of all these and saw that his psychology spoke to them in a special way. But a longing for authentic spiritual experience “outside the bounds” may also come to those who treasure their religious affiliations. However you characterize yourself, you have a place in this discussion
The Symbol of Water in Dreams
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Just as our bodies remember an evolutionary past in which the seas give birth to life, the human imagination has a strong affinity to water. The realm of dreams and fantasy is by nature fluid, one image flowing into another. Therefore, when images of water appear in our dreams, we may find them particularly evocative, without being able to assign to them a simple dictionary definition. Ocean waves, meandering rivers, still ponds, deep wells, rain and mist … all these invite exploration. Participants are encouraged to share their own dream experiences with this most soulful of the Four Elements.
The Symbol of the Serpent
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The The serpent stands, or rather slithers, as one of history’s most complex and pervasive symbols. Healing, deception, wisdom, death and transformation — these have all been associated with the serpent at one time or another. The serpent has held a place of both honor and disrepute in the world’s greatest myths and religious texts. For many of us, the sight of a coiled snake produces an immediate recoil in response, often accompanied by feelings of fear or mistrust. Others feel an unexplainable attraction and fascination. Regardless of our reaction, it is difficult to remain neutral, whether we encounter a serpent in our outer life or in our dreams. In this seminar we will examine the symbol of the serpent in myths, fairy tales, religious belief, and dreams, leaving room for stories of our personal encounters with this most provocative of creatures.
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“A Matter of Heart”
Saturday, July 21, 2007
For a midsummer treat, we’ve planned a morning at the movies — free of charge —with “Matter of Heart,” the 1985 film in which a parade of surviving first-generation Jungian analysts reminisce, in very human ways, about what it was like to analyze and to study with C. G. Jung himself. While the camera leafs through a “family album” of portraits and scenes from Jung’s Switzerland, listen to authors such as Marie-Louise von Franz and Laurens van der Post share their appreciation of Jung’s towering personality, his sense of humour, his depth of insight, and his feet of clay. American voices too are heard (Joseph Henderson, Jane & Joe Wheelwright) - while Jung renders his “personal equation” in his own words, in quotes and in excerpts from the remarkable interviews of his later years. For two lively hours the film takes us from laughter to greater understanding of fundamental Jungian concepts - with an hour left over for discussion of whatever piques your interest.
“Let’s Go Fishing”
Saturday, August 18, 2007
This past spring we played in the Water, in all its various manifestations. Although this seminar is a continuation, one need not have attended the seminar on water to “go fishing.” Whereas the previous seminar examined water as a symbol associated with the unconscious, this seminar will examine how we might be able to fish, lure, catch, land and ingest what lies in the unconscious, waiting beneath the surface. The metaphor of fishing is itself rich in meaning. We find it surfacing in stories of the New Testament, where disciples of Jesus, fishermen by trade, have such difficulty catching fish; or in the Legend of the Holy Grail, where the Fisher King bides his time fishing while waiting for healing of his wound; or fairy tale fishermen who practice “catch and release” and receive three wishes for their mercy. And occasionally, there are reports of fishing trips occurring in dreams, often with unexpected results. Bring your imaginal pole, hook, line and sinker as we go fishing for what lies below the surface.
“Secrets”
Saturday, September 29, 2007
We live in a tell-all society. Many have been freed from the toxic effects of a secret by the simple realization that they need not carry it alone. Victims of sexual abuse are no longer stigmatized as they once were and, while some kinds of personal suffering may still provoke shame in us, we have learned to find support in solidarity with others who share our experience. Yet there is another side to this coin: We may lose something important by telling our secrets at the wrong time, in the wrong place. Sometimes we have a right to our secrets and, as Jung pointed out, there are secrets that solidify one’s sense of self as an individual. Secrets will always be part of psychic life. Sharing secrets plays a special role in cementing bonds of friendship or, as in the ancient world, creating a safe container for Mysteries to which the language of the marketplace can’t do justice. The price of admission for this seminar does not include telling a secret. Rather, we will explore different kinds of secrets, and different ways of handling them, through story and dream.
“Stripped of persona: King Lear”
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The concept of the persona is one not often discussed, though Jung saw it as an indispensable aspect of our personalities. In Jungian circles, one can get the impression that persona is little more than a hindrance to individuation, something to be stripped away if we’re to be authentic human beings. The word persona comes from the Latin for “mask” and evokes a theatrical setting, for it originally referred to a character played by an actor. We shouldn’t be surprised, then, to find dramatists like Shakespeare exploring the nature of persona in depth, in its positive as well as its negative aspects. Like Jung, Shakespeare sometimes saw his world as top-heavy with persona – at least, that is a driving idea behind his great tragedy, King Lear. But, where Jung moved quickly past persona to interior dynamics of the psyche, Shakespeare’s play is a full immersion in what it means to be somebody in the world, and then to suffer a complete loss of all that that entails. Participants need not read King Lear ahead of time (though that is heartily recommended); we will bring selected scenes that speak to our topic - erosions of persona that anyone may experience, especially in the second half of life.
"Loneliness and Solitude”
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The poet May Sarton once wrote, “Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.” But perhaps it’s not so simple as that. The individuation process leads us into deep silences where it becomes possible to differentiate ourselves from collective dynamics. But at the same time, an instinctive longing to connect with others and to belong to the group remains active in most of us. Jung acknowledged this tension in ourselves as social animals. He suggested that individuation is not complete without a return to the social world, in which our individuality is expressed in the form of positive contributions to collective life. Yet it can be difficult to bridge the distance that develops with awareness of one’s “difference”. And it is rare to find much public recognition or acceptance for one’s contributions. Loneliness - a constant theme in contemporary life - is not necessarily removed by rich experiences of solitude. Together we will explore what depth psychology has to teach about our personal rhythms of seeking and withdrawing from collective life.