Jungian Seminars - 2003
It Was Only a Dream!
Jungian dream interpretation revisited
Saturday, January 25, 2003
Dreamwork can be a means of deepening one's connection with inner sources of creativity, as well as a resource for dealing with therapeutic issues. In this introduction, we will examine some of Jung's basic insights into the nature of dreams and explore techniques useful in dream interpretation, using clinical illustrations. Appropriate attitudes toward the dream, its structure, content, and images, and its potential function for the dreamer will all be addressed. Participants may bring their own questions and concerns, to be addressed as time allows.
The Robber Bridegroom:
A Grimms’ fairy tale
Saturday, February 15, 2003
When the young and vulnerable fall into the hands of pure evil, the outcome is usually grim. Tales of this kind have always exerted a dark fascination – today more than ever. The slaughter of innocents is a staple of evening television. But Grimms’ classic, “The Robber Bridegroom,” puts a happier twist to the tale. How does its heroine beats the odds? And what might we learn from this about the inner struggle against a vicious animus or self-saboteur.
Don’t Fence Me In:
For C. G. Jung, life’s fulfillment might best be expressed in one word: individuation. In his consulting room, analysands encountered many rich and stimulating ideas, but no Procrustean bed to lie in. Rather, the uniqueness of each person became the focus, acknowledged for what it was and valued for its urge to be lived. How ironic that one of the most widely accepted offshoots from Jung’s psychology are tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), taken by thousands every year. Reducing our unimaginable diversity to 16 possible types, the MBTI is supplemented by keys describing the characteristic likes & dislikes, strengths & weaknesses, of each type. Its very simplicity endears it to sectors of the business world where such a thing as the living human psyche is only rumored to exist. How can we recover the power of typology as a true symbol? Can the quadrated circle of the type diagram become a compass for us, as it was for Jung during his “creative crisis”? Join us to explore the relevance of type to inner life and its unfolding. Participants who do not know their typology may go to the Internet for a brief type test that can be self-administered. Or contact us for a copy.
ESTJ INFP ENFJ ISTP ENTJ INTP ESFJ ISFP
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ESTP INTJ ENFP ISFJ ENTP ISTJ ENTP INFJ
Dying and Rising in Everyday Life
Saturday, April 12, 2003
Death and rebirth is an archetypal theme which permeates all aspects of life. Myths and stories found in sacred religious texts from around the world include accounts of dying and rising figures. The universal motif of death and rebirth is repeatedly addressed in poetry, literature, and film. Nature itself provides numerous examples of this process in which something old dies, making room for something new to be born. How can we expect our own lives to escape this archetypal process? This seminar will explore the psyche’s involvement in encouraging, facilitating, and sometimes forcing death and rebirth upon the attitudes, assumptions and relationships of our everyday lives.
Apples From a Fir Tree:
Re-examining the family legacy
Saturday, May 17, 2003
An understanding of genetics might suggest that everything we are comes from our two parents. But Jung had quite a different idea. He once wrote that children “don’t belong to their parents,” are only apparently produced by them, and are often “about as characteristic of their parents as an apple on a fir-tree.” Yet he acknowledged the power of unconscious identification with one’s family. What can our dreams and life experiences teach us about this complex topic?
“Sincerely yours, C.G. Jung”
Saturday, June 14, 2003
While many people find Jung’s Collected Works to be difficult reading, his Letters often come across with a warmth and simplicity that take us by surprise. His theoretical papers were certainly written “from the head”; his letters, however, were written “from the heart.” In this seminar we will read a number of letters, most of which conclude with the familiar “Sincerely yours, C.G. Jung.” They will offer us a glimpse into his humanity and religious passion. We will hear what Jung has to say to individuals who consulted him about such topics as the will of God, the meaning of life, prayer, suicide, euthanasia, death, and life after death, among others. Participants will be invited synchronistically to choose the letters we will read and discuss.
The Symbol of the House
Saturday, July 19, 2003
One of the most common settings in which the dream ego finds itself acting out its nocturnal drama is a house. It may be one’s current domicile, a childhood home, or a mysterious abode never before encountered. Jung often referred to the symbol of the house as “the picture of our psychic structure.” And so we wander through our “dream house”—from bedroom to bathroom, attic to cellar, living room to kitchen—strangely effected by the atmosphere and character each room possesses. This seminar will consider dreams where the setting takes place within or around a house. Special attention will be given to what actually goes on in each room and what that might correspond to within the human psyche.
The Archetype of Dismemberment
Saturday, August 16, 2003
The image of dismemberment is a familiar one for those well-acquainted with the world of myth and fairy tale. The Egyptian god Osiris and the Greek gods Dionysus and Orpheus all undergo the grisly experience of being cut into pieces before then being “resurrected.” Young maidens in Grimms fairy tales sometimes wander into the wrong company before being dismembered by cruel suitors. As repugnant as the image of being torn limb from limb may be, we never seem to feel its full impact until it arrives with all of its gruesomeness in one of our own dreams. It is then that we suddenly find ourselves anxious to understand its meaning. This seminar will examine some of those familiar myths and fairy tales where dismemberment takes place before delving into the world of our own dreams. Time will be taken to see where the archetype of dismemberment fits in to the overall process of individuation. Personal dreams from participants are invited and will be gently considered as time allows.
“Under One Roof”
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Last summer, we began to explore Jung’s idea that the symbolic houses of dream and fantasy often represent the very structure of our psyches in visual form. But if the House can be a symbol of psychic structure, it can also represent psyche’s capacity for bringing together diverse interests and values “under one roof”: in short, wholeness. All of us have had the experience, at one time or another in our lives, of sharing a home with family, partners, or roommates. It is not always easy to live in close quarters with others—whether spouses with different tastes in furniture or the secret sharers of our inner worlds. This second seminar on the symbol of the House will focus on real-life anecdotes and dreams of these “house-mate” relationships and what they have to teach us about creating harmony out of difference.
When Religion Gets Sick
Saturday, October 11, 2003
IIn 1970, pastoral counselor Wayne Oates published a book with the provocative title “When Religion Gets Sick.” He understood a sick religion as one that obstructs the basic function of life. Carl Jung, decades earlier, also encountered religious attitudes and practices which seemed designed to hinder individuals from exploring and realizing their deepest spiritual yearnings. Today there appears a resurgent desire to understand the spiritual truths lying behind dogmas, doctrines and observances unreflectively adhered to by so many religious followers around the globe: spiritual truths that transcend intellectual assent & address the “heart of the matter.” This seminar will examine examples of “when religion gets sick” and ask how we can recover an authentic religious attitude that honors body, mind and soul. Jung’s letters will be explored for their insights into our religious nature, and the sharing of participants’ personal experiences will be welcomed as time allows.
Making Complexes Less Complex
Saturday, November 8, 2003
Many believe that Jung’s most far- reaching contribution to the field of psychology was his theory of complexes. Jung understood a complex to be an emotionally charged group of ideas or images. Today we have become quite adept at identifying mother complexes and father complexes, especially in other people. But Jung wanted to remind us that although “everyone knows nowadays that people have complexes, what is not so well known, though far more important theoretically, is that complexes can have us.” This seminar will offer its participants an opportunity to identify some of the most common, and troubling complexes that effect us. Time will then be spent discussing how to minimize their destructiveness, while at the same time harnessing their power to help further the development of one’s personality.
Expressing Soul Through Clay
Saturday, December 6, 2003
A blank page, an empty canvas, a ball of clay—each is waiting for soul to give it content, expression, form. Until the spark of creativity is given room to jump from its hidden recesses, these mediums remain only silent potentials. The same is true for us. Jung believed that we contain a treasure house full of wisdom, healing and creativity. But too often the door is locked with no way to access or reveal what lies inside. This seminar invites its participants to play with clay in order to give soul a chance to express itself.