Between the concrete world of matter and the world of spirit resides the realm of imagination and the subtle bodies. Any life crisis, in which the ego learns it does not have the answers, can open us to this third realm where healing potential and a redirection of life energy reside. And beyond crisis, consciousness can also learn to court the subtle body as individuation unfolds. Many healing arts tap this realm of being where the body and psyche can rebalance and find healing.The entire cosmos and we humans participate in the subtle body mysteries. Dr. Marie Louise von Franz wrote before her death that growing the subtle body before one dies is of utmost value to the life of the soul. This lecture will explore what this means in the reality of our daily lives, and will explore images and experiences of the subtle body in alchemy, dream, myth, poetry and waking life. The aim of the presentation is to help us increasingly recognize and open to experience the dialectic with the subtle body realm present in all life. Attention will also be given to various psyche – body healing arts that tap this realm of being.

Related Workshop: Courting Experiences of the Subtle Body

Monika Wikman, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst and astrologer. Author of Pregnant Darkness: Alchemy and the Rebirth of Consciousness, she has also contributed chapters, articles and poems to various books and journals, and has co-authored an award winning screenplay Rites of Passage (Moondance film festival, 2010.) She enjoys guiding retreats locally and abroad and lectures on mythology, dreams, wellness, alchemy, and creativity. A graduate of the Jung-von Franz Center for Depth Psychology in Zurich, she is member of the Northern New Mexico Society of Jungian Analysts and the Inter-Regional Society. At shrinkrapradio.com and SpeakingofJung.com you can find seven depth psychology podcast interviews with Monika.