Lecture: Changemakers: Sibling Postition, Family Atmosphere, and Questions about The Psychological Roots of Democracy and Dictatorship-Louis H. Stewart
It is technically very simple to note down the “other” voice in writing and to answer its statements from the standpoint of the ego. It is exactly as if a dialogue were taking place between two human beings with equal rights.
C.G. Jung
Jung’s statement conveys the essence of his method of active imagination, which is a re-activation in psychotherapy of the innate process of individuation. If we look to the socio-political world for the projection of this process, it would appear to be democracy. “A dialogue…between two human beings with equal rights” is the essence of democracy. It is also the essence of true friendship and of true marriage. We need only look to oursleves, to our frineds, our spouses, our family, to realize how imperfect is our commitment to “true” democracy. Nevertheless, the ideal exists, and we are often painfully aware when we fail its requirements.
This lecture will take up the influence of family and sibling position on the destiny of the individual and the future of society. Dr. Stewart will look at political leaders and discuss how an individual may be “seized by the spirit,” for good or for evil, democracy or dictatorship in the world. His study reveals a startling, new perspective on the family as it focuses on the largely unconscious factors that determine the use and abuse of power.
Workshop: The Moving Imagination-Joan Chodorow
‘I move,’ is the clear knowledge that I personally, am moving. The opposite of this is the sudden and astonishing moment when ‘I am moved.’ It is a moment when the ego gives up control, stops exerting demands, allowing the Self to take over moving the physical body as it will. It is a moment of unpremeditated surrender that cannot be explained, replicated exactly, sought for or tried out.
Mary Starks Whitehouse
This one day workshop will introduce an approach to movement that was originally developed by Mary Whitehouse. Sometimes called “authentic movement” or “movement in depth,” it involved a mover, a witness, and their relationship. We’ll take up the development of this work an its use as a form of active imagination. Morning and afternoon sessions will include lecture, movement experience and discussion. Participants are invited to bring journals and/or art materials. Enrollment will be limited.
Louis H. Stewart, Ph.D. is an analyst member and former president of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychology, San Francisco State University; and is on the Clinical Faculty of the University of California at San Francisco. He is the author of Changemakers: A Depth Psychological Study of Sibling Position and the Family Atmosphere (Routledge, September 1992)
Joan Chodorow, Ph.D. is an analyst member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, in private practice. Her early backgroud inlcudes dance studies and performing and teaching; dance therapy training was with Trudi Schoop and Mary Whitehouse; she is a registered member (ADTR) and former president of the American Dance Therapy Association. She is the author of Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology-The Moving Imagination (Routledge 1991)
Changemakers and the Moving Imagination