Jungian Seminars - 1999
Riding the Nightmare
Saturday, January 30, 1999
Although many people say they do not remember their dreams, most would have no difficulty recalling a nightmare. These are the dreams which wake us with a racing heart, night sweats, and a heightened sense of fear and anxiety. We are not sure whether we have been riding the nightmare or it has been riding us. Both explanations hold a certain element of truth. Although very unpleasant to experience, the nightmare comes in the service of the psyche and the personality’s development. This seminar will examine the psychological and physiological significance of nightmares, while seeking to uncover the valuable messages hidden within the frightening images. Anonymous nightmares submitted by the group will be addressed as time permits.
Enacting the Dream
Saturday, February 27, 1999
Dreams will often yield up their treasure by our simply reflecting upon the images they present. But many times there are deeper layers of symbolic meaning which can only be mined using the tools of enactment. Through this approach, the dream and its images are actively given form, body, movement, and imaginative expression. This seminar will explore various techniques of enactment, such as sand tray, active imagination, sculpting, drawing, and psychodrama. Participants will be given the opportunity, if they desire, to enact personal dream and fantasy material within a safe and structured environment.
Welcoming the Abandoned Child
Saturday, March 20, 1999
The abandoned child seems to be a particularly prevalent image in today’s world, but it is also an archetypal motif that can be traced throughout history. It gives rise to feelings of loneliness, sadness, grief, pain and anger which do not abandon us. Although we may not have actually been abandoned in a literal sense, we can still relate to the experience. The forms and situations of abandonment are varied and come to both children and adult alike. This seminar will welcome the abandoned children found in dream, fairy tale, and personal story. In accepting what has been lost, we make room for what is yet to be.
The Never-Ending Story: Dreaming in Series
Saturday, April 24, 1999
How often do we find ourselves repeatedly dreaming a certain image, we know not why? We work with the dream and assume we have plumbed the depths of its meaning, only to have the image reappear, in perhaps a little different form or context. Our feeling response ranges from confusion to frustration to awe. What is the unconscious trying to tell us that we are not getting? This seminar will address those “dream series” which present images, persons, places, or things that will not go away. Perhaps it is not that we are misunderstanding the image, but rather that the image is undergoing a transformation in keeping with our never-ending individuation process.
The Infamous Animus
Woman’s “Masculine Side”
Saturday, June 12, 1999
As late as 1950, Jung wrote that Eros is an expression of women’s true nature, “while their Logos is often only a regrettable accident.... This is because it consists of opinions instead of reflections, and by opinions I mean a priori assumptions that lay claim to absolute truth." (CW9ii:29)
For decades, thoughtful women have been tripping over Jung’s concept of the animus. All too often, it has been used to prop up the old idea that consciousness is a masculine affair - one in which women can participate only as second-class citizens. What remains when animus is stripped of all sexist connotations? What can a woman learn about herself by interpreting male figures in her dreams “subjectively” - as expressions of her own psyche, her unlived “masculinity”? Might we understand Animus as an archetype in its own right, a principle to which men too may develop a more conscious relationship. Jungian psychology is not static but continues to grow and change. Of all the open questions, none is more complex, or more likely to stir up emotion, than that of gender. Join us as we reflect together on some typical animus dreams, and get a glimpse of how Jungian psychology is deepening as it responds to the realities of women today.
Midlife
Crisis, Transition, Transformation
Saturday, July 10, 1999
Midlife crisis has become a popular diagnosis for every man between 35 and 50 who acts strangely, wildly or out of character. But what is a “midlife crisis”? Myth or reality? Does it afflict only men, or can women also suffer its effects? Is there a way to avoid it, or perhaps a cure? This seminar will explore the distinctive paths traveled in midlife and their underlying meaning. Attention will be given to loss of persona, revenge of the repressed, the allurement of the soul-mate, fear of death, and “life in hell.” Dreams, life experiences, and the myth of Hermes, the guide of souls, will be asked to help us understand the archetypal passage through this liminal space. How can it lead to a confrontation with the unconscious? What hope does it hold for a transformation of the personality? “Midlife is a crisis of the spirit. In this crisis, old selves are lost and new ones come into being. Midlife befalls us; we don’t ask for it.” Murray Stein
Thunder in the East
An Archetypal Perspective on Withstanding Life’s Shocks
Saturday, August 7, 1999
Serious accidents, twists of fate, falling victim to a brutal crime, unforeseen betrayals: these may be some of the most memorable experiences in anyone’s life, as well as the most difficult to assimilate. On the lighter side, there are also shocks of recognition, astonishing windfalls, and irreverent humor which turns things upside down, making us laugh. Paradoxically, while life’s shocks may be terrifying and difficult to understand, our culture trades more and more in “shock value” as the quickest and easiest way to capture an audience. In the I Ching, it is the hexagram Chen, “The Arousing,” which captures that psychic moment in which we are hit with a shock. This ancient Chinese system of divination offers no simple prescription for how to remain in the Tao through such moments. But somewhere in its rich and multi-layered images, resonance with our individual situations may be found. Explore with us these images and their echoes in contemporary dream life, to gain perspective on the psychic moment sometimes described as Thunder in the East.
Herding the Ox
Saturday, September 11, 1999
The 15th century Zen master Kaku-an produced a series of paintings known as the Ten Oxherder Pictures, accompanied by some remarkable poems and commentaries. These pictures, portraying the relationship between a boy and an ox, express in art the experience of satori, or Zen enlightenment, “seeing one’s own nature.” Jungian analysts, both East and West, have come to appreciate these ten pictures as one way of portraying what C.G. Jung called “the individuation process.” The group’s discussion will focus on these ten simple and yet profound pictures, in an attempt better to understand our own unique experiences of individuation.
Eros and Psyche
Saturday, October 16, 1999
Ever since she was immortalized by Apuleius in the second century, Psyche has stimulated men and women alike to imagine heroism in a different key: “feminine,” receptive, oriented to relatedness rather than conquest. So beautiful that she is touted as goddess of the neighborhood, Psyche is given in marriage to the divine Eros himself. Jealous? Think again. This is only the beginning of a tale of loss, seemingly endless seeking, resourcefulness, despair, and finally redemption - all of which reveals Psyche as much like ourselves in our least self-assured moments. Join us to reflect on six crucial tasks required of Psyche that distill the meaning of the tale. Participants’ questions, insights, and stories will be welcomed as amplifications of these images of individuation.
To Say Goodbye
Saturday, November 13, 1999
Although we use the word “goodbye” many times during the course of a day, there are occasions when its usage induces strong feelings of pain and sadness. Whether we say it to someone else or hear it said to us, the implication is that something, usually a relationship, is coming to an end. The psyche has a natural response to dealing with such loss. But oftentimes bringing a certain amount of consciousness to the experience - through memories, stories, and reflections - can also ease the hurt. This seminar will explore circumstances in life which may necessitate saying goodbye to another person. In addition, we will consider ways to understand and survive the experience of being told goodbye, with an ear open to that silent voice which beckons us forward.
Religious Images in Dreams
Saturday, December 11, 1999
From time to time, a dream hosts the unexpected appearance of a decidedly religious image, person, feeling, or theme. We may be overwhelmed by an accompanying sense of holy awe which shakes our foundations. Furthermore, we may be surprised to find that the imagery presented does not seem to reflect our consciously chosen faith perspective, if we even have one. History is replete with stories of individuals who had a profound “numinous dream” which then either led to a conversion or in some other way dramatically changed the course of their lives. But what are we to make of such visitations today? Are we being called to follow strange gods? Is the message given to be taken literally? How are we to respond, if at all? This seminar will examine religious images in dreams, both ancient and modern, with an eye toward the effect, the message, and the response they evoke.