Jung suggested that in the journey of individuation the ego needs to let go of control and defer to the Self, submitting to a principle greater than personal identity. Relinquishing old stories of a heroic ego is essential to the individuation process. Yet holding closely the values that bring us joy, strength and meaning are also essential as we enter new stages of life. This talk will explore the essential role that these deeply embedded tools play in individuation, from the viewpoint of human development, Jung’s own life, scientific research, and mythology and religion.
Season: Fall 2017
Fall 2017
Letting Go and Holding On: The Role of Story in Holding On and Letting Go in Individuation
We will explore the dynamics of Holding On and Letting Go as two aspects of a vital and ever-changing flow of beliefs that keeps life fulfilling. Using experiential techniques, writing, and small group sharing we will identify and explore the stories that we live by and how they affect our tendency to constrict or expand. Our process will encourage a bottom up process in which deeper aspects of the psyche can emerge and develop, rather than a top down process in which the ego controls and limits.
The Alchemical Hunt for the Green Lion
Following the tracks of this alchemical mystery of the Green Lion through myths, ancient texts, poetry, and dreams, we’ll seek that Presence in the psyche which leads into the growth of the subtle body heart. The alchemical Green Lion mysteries start in the “rag and bone shop of the heart” where our awareness grows of the subtle ways we learn to guard the heart and live out of unconscious values and archaic defenses against psyche and life. Our “hunt for the Green Lion” brings us into contact with this green vitalizing force where we may discover our capacity to see these shadow attitudes, and simultaneously open the heart. Here in the subtle hermetic light between the opposites, we may uncover a potential growing center between the conscious and the unconscious that helps light and guide our way in life.
The Alchemical Hunt for the Green Lion
We will review and discuss dreams and texts related to the Green Lion, and with active imagination and writing exercises, we will seek to co-create a subtle body field to support healing and discovery. Looking into life stories, dreams, film clips and related alchemical images, such as the Tibetan snow lion roaring over the heart to awaken each seeker individually, we may find our heart capacities grow.
Exploring Our Jungian Racial Shadow: Brightening the Light
The Eurocentric roots of Jungian Psychology have strengthened in American soil but have remained exclusive in areas of growth. The racialized language pertaining to people of color considered as “Other” has cast a Shadow that continues to affect how we live together psychologically while practicing a Psychology birthed and languaged in homogeneity. This lecture focuses on the historical development of Jungian Psychology and racial othering and supports us being in conversation about racial issues specific to Jungian Psychology while members of a heterogeneous Collective.
Dreaming in Black and White: Race and the Unconscious
It is through the unconscious that we are most likely to “see” into our personal Shadow. Our connection with others both known and unknown can appear in dream imagery to reveal a deeper understanding of what we truly believe in terms of Collective racial issues, personal encounters and our connection with Other. We will revisit our dreams through Active Imagination and spend time writing about our dreaming experiences. Please bring a personal journal.
Living in the Fire: The Wisdom of Uncertainty
What does it mean to be human in a chaotic world? How are we to cope? There are times, personally and collectively, in which we fall back into chaotic states: of anger, fear, confusion, ignorance, meaninglessness. In moments of chaotic breakdown familiar and cherished positions become unraveled. This lecture explores mythic and psychological patterns to help guide us through uncertain times.
Managing and Making Sense of Life-changing Illness, Accidents, and Tragedies
We all encounter hassles (the car breaks, the plumbing leaks, we catch a cold) on a regular basis and generally manage to cope; however, catastrophes are beyond our coping skills. Experiences we cannot readily fix or control challenge us in fundamental ways, indelibly changing our lives, disrupting identity, career, relationships, meaning, hope for the future, our highest god image, and our personal narratives. Using lecture, discussion, and exercises, we will explore experiences of tragic events (both personal and collective) and ways to provide self-care and assistance to others, how to be a help rather than a nuisance. This program will present a holistic model of care. Participants will learn supportive theory and research for this topic from related fields and traditions.