Jung says “…the psyche is a self-regulating system…” Does this mean that we can heal oursleves, or do we nevertheless need an analyst or therapist?
Season: Fall 1995
The Verdant Ones: Figures of Green Men and Green Women as They Appear in Folklore, Mythology, Fairytales, and Clinical Work
Human life processes are green, in the sense of developing their inherent potential in slow, difficult, and at first incomprehensible ways. Yet, it seems that these processes are guided by green or verdant figures who always appear at crucial points of a therapeutic process. What do these figures really represent? Are they symbols of transformation? Are they personifications of the individuation process? Or, given their green color, are they symbols for our “nature within,” of what helps us become what we are, of what was constellated in us from the beginning?
The lecture will include slides.
The Verdant Ones: Figures of Green Men and Green Women as They Appear in Folklore, Mythology, Fairytales, and Clinical Work
Human life processes are green, in the sense of developing their inherent potential in slow, difficult, and at first incomprehensible ways. Yet, it seems that these processes are guided by green or verdant figures who always appear at crucial points of a therapeutic process. What do these figures really represent? Are they symbols of transformation? Are they personifications of the individuation process? Or, given their green color, are they symbols for our “nature within,” of what helps us become what we are, of what was constellated in us from the beginning?
The workshop will incorporate more clinical material and discussion.
Drawings from the Unconscious
On Friday evening, Dr. Furth will explore slides from his vast collections of artwork done by clients. He will discuss the importance of art in the process of healing, as well as how to understand it from a Jungian theoretical perspective.
Drawings from the Unconscious
The workshop will provide an introduction to understanding the non-verbal language of impromptu drawings as a valid means of communication from the unconscious. The focus will be on complexes, and the negative aspects of complexes that have to die in order to remove the blocks to individuation. Please bring colored pencils and paper.
Gifts of the Night: Ways of Working with Dreams
The Psyche speaks through images and stories. The images are the “words” of the unconscious, and the stories-how the words are put together-are the “grammar”. Dreams, fairy tales, and visions represent different kinds of dramas, each rich with gifts from the deep waters of the unconscious.
Dreams emerge from the unconscious, carrying archetypal symbols and the wisdom of the deep self. We will emphasize the importance of experiencing dreams, rather than just interpreting them, because when dreams are experienced in a deep way, they can be transformative, catalyzing changes in real life. We will explore the use of active imagination, fairy tales and storytelling as ways of working with dreams. We will discuss three levels of Jungian dream symbolism-personal, archetypal, and community, and we will touch upon some overlooked archetypes. A dream “tool kit” will be presented. These tools include amplification of specific dream images, translating dreams into fairy tales, and sharing dreams with another person. Please bring pen and paper, and if you wish, a recent puzzling or meaningful dream to work with, perhaps to share with others.
Dramas from the Deep: Active Imagination and Fairy Tale Work – a Playshop for Adults
This workshop will focus on active imagination, storytelling and story writing. We will emphasize experiential work dealing with intra-personal, interpersonal and community issues. Through lecture, discussion, exercises, and story writing, we will seek to awaken a spirit of play in dealing with the unconscious, to discover our creative potentials for becoming whole, and to explore our individual places within larger communities. The exercises aim to identify obstacles to the flow of the unconscious, to help each of us decide when to push forward into the depths and when to turn back, and to discover and work with personal legends and myths that shape our lives. Please bring something to write with and some paper, as well as a “big” dream or image-one that is meaningful or puzzling. If you wish you may also bring something that can serve as a talisman of safety for your inner journeys-a special stone, an amulet, a picture or reminder of a loved one, even something soft and furry. Hopefully, you’ll take home some specific, playful tools for continuing inner work.
Creation’s Heartbeat: Following the Reindeer Spirit
In the Arctic, the “shamanic” peoples who live in accord with the rhythms of nature regard the reindeer as spiritual messengers. Traveling between heaven and earth, the reindeer transport the souls of the dead to rebirth in the spirit world and carry the shaman to the source of wisdom and healing for the community. The peoples of the North have a soul-relationship with the reindeer, live by its rhythms, and follow its annual migration to to give birth. At the same time, they depend on it for their livelihood and live in the paradox between soul and nature. “Reindeer Spirit” is a metaphor for an ancient feminine instinctual rhythm of soul that offers a path to the ecological and creative living needed by the modern world in its “Dark Night of the Soul.” This presentation will explore the challenges of reviving the Reindeer Spirit as a way to nourish the soul.
Creation’s Heartbeat: Following the Reindeer Spirit
In the Arctic, the “shamanic” peoples who live in accord with the rhythms of nature regard the reindeer as spiritual messengers. Traveling between heaven and earth, the reindeer transport the souls of the dead to rebirth in the spirit world and carry the shaman to the source of wisdom and healing for the community. The peoples of the North have a soul-relationship with the reindeer, live by its rhythms, and follow its annual migration to to give birth. At the same time, they depend on it for their livelihood and live in the paradox between soul and nature. “Reindeer Spirit” is a metaphor for an ancient feminine instinctual rhythm of soul that offers a path to the ecological and creative living needed by the modern world in its “Dark Night of the Soul.” This presentation will explore the challenges of reviving the Reindeer Spirit as a way to nourish the soul.
The Healing Power of Reindeer Woman
For the Shamanic people of the North, the reindeer is a messenger between heaven and earth, a mystical creature that transports into our lives healing and wisdom from the world beyond. Linda Leonard, who lived with nomadic peoples in the Siberian wilderness and in Lapland, came to understand that the reindeer as “spirit guide” is a metaphor for an instinctual, feminine way of being in the world that honors both human life and nature.
This workshop will focus on “Reindeer Woman” as an energy which is gentle and compassionate, strong and wild. Dr. Leonard will weave together fairy tales, legends and myths from the people of the North with dreams and experiences related to the reindeer (and deer) of contemperary men and women in our culture. The intent is to reawaken in each of us a spiritual awareness of animals as a source of divine inspiration and creativity.
Participants are invited to bring dreams and images of reindeer, deer, and other animals that they have experienced as healing bonds to nature.