LECTURE
In almost every spiritual tradition there appear two aspects of the Divine: the immanent and the transcendent. Although some traditions favor one or the other of these faces of God, most try to find a means of uniting them. The immanent face of God looks to the world and seems involved in our daily lives, while the transcendent face looks away from the world and seems unconcerned with normal day to day life. Both aspects reflect truth about divine reality, but also about the needs of the human psyche. For the psyche to experience its own awakening and fulfillment, it needs to discover two forms of enlightenment: one that unites it with the immanent and one with the transcendent. Dr. Raff will address these two forms of enlightenment in this lecture from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
WORKSHOP — The Practice of Ally Work
One of C.G. Jung’s greatest contributions to contemporary spiritual practice was his reintroduction of active imagination, a method by which one can encounter the world of the unconscious normally accessible only in dreams. Building on Jung’s ideas, Dr. Raff has developed a series of exercises and practices by which one can not only encounter the inner world, but reach beyond the psyche to experience psychoidal entities – spiritual beings who have a life of their own and do not belong to the psyche. In particular, Dr. Raff has developed practices through which one can encounter and create a relationship with one’s ally. As the personal and unique expression of the divine, the ally is a combination of guide, divine lover, and psychopomp.
JEFFREY RAFF received his B.A. from Bates College, his M.A. in Psychology from the New School for Social Research, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the Union Graduate Institute. He attended the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich from 1972-1976, graduating as a diplomate Jungian Analyst. He has written articles on shamanism, the Kabbalah, and alchemy, as well as four books, Jung and the Alchemical Imagination, Healing the Wounded God, The Wedding of Sophia, and his latest book, The Practice of Ally Work. He is currently in recovery from Guillain-Barré Syndrome and attempting to comprehend the mysteries it brought into his life.