Jungian Seminars - 2000
Field Guide to Demons
Saturday, January 29, 2000
Demons are everywhere. They lurk at crossroads, crouch at the door, hide in trees, slip into bed, wait in caves, slide down chimneys, hover at weddings and childbirth, pretend to be friends, mates, or grandmothers. They slip into your mind and become your self.” So begins a popular book about demons. Demons have been reported in every part of the world and in every moment of recorded history. But do we believe in demons today or are they just a superstitious remnant of earlier times? This seminar will examine several stories of mischievous demons in hopes of learning where they reside, what they correspond to in the human psyche, and how we might deal with them in everyday life.
Sexual Images in Dreams
Saturday, February 26
Nothing can be as embarrassing or as titillating as waking from an arousing dream full of sexual images, situations or activities. Such dreams may provoke feelings of guilt, surprise, hope, or disgust. Freud saw such dreams as wish fulfillment. And although there may an element of this, depending on the circumstances, dreams with subtle or overt sexual imagery can also be pointing to something much deeper in the human psyche which has nothing to do with sexuality at all. This seminar will approach sexual dreams from a Jungian perspective. It will examine the symbolism of sexual images, situations and activities in dreams with an eye toward understanding their underlying message. We will also remain open to the possibility that the dream may be saying exactly what it means.
Dreams of Initiation
Saturday, June 24, 2000
In the past, collective life almost always provided rituals of initiation to mark important life transitions. Such transitions might be anything from first attaining adulthood to the acquisition of esoteric knowledge or entry into an altogether new mode of being. Today, we are more often on our own in acknowledging these passages and clarifying their meaning for our lives – except for our dreams. Join us to explore initiation motifs and stories in the dreams of contemporary men and women, including our own.
A Jungian Dialogue on Homosexuality
Saturday, July 22, 2000
Our society seems almost obsessed with finding the right way to think about homosexuality. Not so Jung’s; he rarely addressed this topic directly. Yet the bisexual potential of the human psyche was one of his basic premises. And Jung provided us with many tools for giving homosexuality its place in “the big picture” - not least, a basic respect for the uniqueness of every individual. In this seminar we will build on these resources to explore diverse forms of same-sex love – some specifically erotic, some not - in myths, stories, and dreams.
Follow the Bouncing Ball
Saturday, August 12, 2000
The ball has been a central symbol from the beginning of human consciousness, when we first looked up into the sky and saw the sun and moon. Since that time the ball or sphere has continued to bounce into art, myths, fairy tales, dreams and games. Jung himself initiated a ball game among members of the Psychology Club in Zurich, inspired by various medieval practices which included playing with a ball during the celebration of the Mass. This seminar will examine the symbol of the ball as it appears in all the above arenas. We will try to ponder its nature, follow its movement, catch its meaning. Participants are encouraged to bring their favorite ball to the seminar for inspiration.