The Chicago Jung Institue is offering a program on December 7 that might be of interest to many since it deals with a very sensitive area in psychotherapy.  Here are the details:

THE LOVE CURE:
THERAPY AND THE EROTIC RELATIONSHIP with
John Ryan Haule, Ph.D.
Friday, December 7th, 2012 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
It has become "politically correct" to view every manifestation of erotic feelings in therapy as "forbidden" and "inappropriate." In my experience, whenever therapy "works" it has a powerful erotic component. Instead of running away from erotic feelings in therapy, we have to learn to understand them. In their oneness, therapist and patient become powerfully meaningful for one another. By means of their distance, the therapist is able to articulate and value the deep identity of the patient. It is this recognition and "mirroring" which affects the cure.

LOCATION
Loyola University Water Tower Campus Terry Student Center, 26 E. Pearson – Room 303/304

DISCUSSION FEE
$70 – 3 CE credits $35 for students
For all registrations visit www.jungchicago.org

Learning Objectives:

 To appreciate the problems and opportunities Eros brings to the therapeutic encounter.
 To appreciate the archetypal—and not merely personal—nature of this dynamic.
 To appreciate the transformation whereby anima and animus are converted from “mask” to “lens.”  To grasp the nature of differentiating our archetypal response to another.

Suggested Reading:
 J. R. Haule, The Love Cure  J. R. Haule, Divine Madness
John Ryan Haule has a Ph.D. in religious studies (Temple, 1973) and a diploma from the Jung Institute-Zurich (1980). He is the author of numerous articles and eight book, including Divine Madness (1990, on romantic love), The Love Cure (1996, on eros in therapy), and two volumes on Tantra (2012). For an extensive overview of his interests and writings, check out his website at www.jrhaule.net.

This course has been designed to provide continuing education credits at the intermediate level for psychologists and mental health professionals with graduate degrees.

The C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists and by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation to provide continuing education (CE) credit for social workers, professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. The Institute maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.

53 W. Jackson, Suite 438, Chicago, IL 60604 Ph: 312.701.0400 Fax: 312.701.0403 

Here is a short video of Boris Matthews, Ph.D., discussing this program:

JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

The C .G. Jung Society of St. Louis has quite a fine collection of audio and video recordings of its excellent programs.  For detailed information or to order, visit www.cgjungstl.org

The Society is also sponsoring a writing contest on the topic of "Healing through the Numinous."  For information or to enter, visit www.cgjungstl.org.  Winners of the 2010 contest have been published in a book that is available for sale on the website.

Healing through the Numinous is the theme for the third major Jung in the Heartland Conference to be held in September, 2013, in Belleville, IL, near St. Louis, MO.  Presenters at the conference will include Jean Shinoda Bolen, Laurence Hillman, and Monika Wikman.  Detailed information is available on the website.  The Society expects the conference to be sold out, so I urge those interested to make their reservations early.

THE INNER LIFE OF FAIRY TALES

On Friday, April 20, 2012, Jonathan Young presented a lecture, "The Inner Life of Fairy Tales," in St. Louis.  He mesmerized a large audience with his telling of "The Ugly Duckling," complete with archetypal amplifications, psychological explanations, and deep understanding of the eternal struggles of the individual--all from the point of view of the duckling.

Dr. Young long assisted Joseph Campbell and went on to set up the Campbell archives at Pacifica University, and chaired the Mythological Studies Department there.  I have seen many, many hours of Campbell presentations and interviews on video.  Dr. Young is a worthy student and in many ways has surpassed his master.  For more information, visit www.folkstory.com.

The C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis will soon have the video of Dr. Young's lecture available on DVD or streaming from the internet.  The lecture is extremely informative and entertaining.  Details available at www.cgjungstl.org  

WRITING CONTEST

The C. G. Jung Society of St. Louis is sponsoring its second writing contest.  The contest theme is "Healing through the Numinous." First prize is $1000; second prize $500; third prize $250.  Winners will be invited to read their entries at the 2013 Jung in the Heartland Conference which will build on the same theme.  For more information visit www.cgjungstl.org   Winning entries from the 2010 writing contest were published in a book which is available now from the Society and will be soon from amazon.com

ELIZABETH: LEARNING TO DRESS MYSELF FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Elizabeth:  Learning to Dress Myself from the Inside Out by Mary Elizabeth Moloney has just been published.  When my copy arrived from Amazon.com, I could not put it down.  The book is autobiographical, recounting the life of a woman who has struggled to deal with a powerful mother-complex.  Ms. Moloney wrote the book over the last ten years while deeply engaged in a long-term Jungian analysis (not with me).  It is one of the most honest and compelling stories I have ever read.  The author captures the inner struggle of someone caught in the terrible bind of needing her mother's love but never being able to attain it.  Her life became a recapitulation of that tragedy, a long series of seeking to please others while ignoring her own needs.

Ms. Moloney uses the metaphor of clothing as a structure in the narrative.  As a symbol for the persona, her adaptation to the outer world, the metaphor captures her journey from being dressed by mother, by requirements of the various private schools she attended, by the Catholic order of nuns she joined, by the requirements of a trousseau when she married, and eventually by the requirements of her own personhood.

There are many case histories in Jungian Psychology written by analysts.  I have long wanted to read one written by an analysand.  Elizabeth is, in addition to being autobiographical, a deeply moving account of the process of analysis.

JUNG ON SENSITIVITY

In his TWO ESSAYS ON ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Paragraph 85, Jung talks about
personality typology.  He makes an interesting claim:  "Sensitiveness
is a sure sign of the presence of inferiority."  He is not speaking
here of emotional sensitivity or sensitivity to oneself, which can be
helpful qualities.  I believe he means the kind of reactive
maladaptation we can exhibit when we meet something that requires a
response from our least developed function (e.g., for the intuitive,
sensation; for the thinker, feeling).

Clearly, the more our four functions of adaptation to the external
world (thinking, feeling, intuition, sensation) are developed, the
more able we are to cope without becoming unduly exercised.  It
follows, then, that in those situations where we find ourselves overly
sensitive or taken over by some unconscious force that "attacks, it
fascinates and so spins us about that we are no longer masters of
ourselves and can no longer rightly distinguish between ourselves and
others," in those situations, we have the most to learn about
ourselves.  In other words, negative, unpleasant experiences can
provide profound learning experiences for us.

Reminds me of the conversation between a master and disciple:

Disciple:  How do I become wise like you?
Master:  Exercise good judgement?
Disciple:  That is no help.  How do I develop good judgement?
Master:  Good experience.
Disciple:  That is no help.  How do I have good experience?
Master:  Bad judgement.

READING JUNG STUDY GROUP - ONLINE

In March, 2012, the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis will begin a six-week course, an online Jung Readings Study Group which I will host.  Participants will read and discuss Jung's Volume VII, Two Essays, in which he summaries well his approach to psychology and to psychotherapy.  Our study group will be in a seminar format with opportunity for discussion both in live online meetings and in an ongoing discussion group.  For additional information or to register, please visit the Society's website, www.cgjungstl.org or e-mail me, Rose F. Holt at roseholt@gmail.com.

NEWS FROM THE ST. LOUIS JUNG SOCIETY

For detailed information, please visit the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis website at www.cgjungstl.org

The St. Louis Jung Society is making available material from the November, 2011, JUNG IN THE HEARTLAND Conference.  Presentations by Laurence Hillman, Robert Bosnak, and Lionel Corbett will be available for DVD purchase or for streaming from the internet soon.

I attended all the conference presentations and have reviewed the soon-to-be-released videos.  I can tell you they are excellent.  They capture some of the latest and finest work of Jungian Analysts who are furthering the work of C.G Jung.  Of particular interest is Bosnak's approach to working with dreams to investigate ways psychic states affect physical states, with healing of the body as the goal of the work.  Bluff City Productions did a fine job in capturing and editing the presentation material so that viewing and reviewing the videos is deeply edifying.

The Society website also details the upcoming programs and study groups it is offering.  I will be teaching two "Jung Readings" Study Groups, one that will meet in my office and a second one online (requiring a computer, webcam, fast internet connection, and phoning in to a common number) for people who live some distance away or prefer to participate from their own homes.  Both groups will read and discuss Jung's work, TWO ESSAYS, Volume 7 of his COLLECTED WORKS.  The book is readily available in hardback or paperback from amazon.com.  These two study groups are designed for people who wish to study Jung's ideas and theories for their own personal growth as well as for clinicians who seek to incorporate Jung's ideas and theories into their practice of psychotherapy.  The study group format will be a seminar in which participants will engage in unpacking and discussing Jung's TWO ESSAYS.

Online learning can be daunting.  If you have an interest and would like to know more about either the study group or the technical aspects of attending online, please contact me by e-mail (roseholt@aol.com) or by phone (314 726-2032).  I have taught a number of classes online.  Participants find it a good alternative when physical presence in a class in difficult or impossible. 

JONATHAN YOUNG IN ST. LOUIS APRIL 20-21, 2012

Jonathan Young will present on APRIL 20-21, 2012, in St. Louis:


Lecture: The Inner Life of Fairy Tales - The Ugly Duckling
Friday, April 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (2 Continuing Education Units)

Location: First Congrational Church UCC, 6401 Wyden, Clayton Missouri 63105

Fee: Friends - $15; Others $20; Full-time Students - $10

Workshop Through the Dark Forest - to Find Strength in Stories
Saturday, April 21, 2012 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (5 Continuing Education Units)

Location: First Congrational Church UCC, 6401 Wyden, Clayton Missouri 63105

Fee: Friends - $15; Others $20; Full-time Students - $10

Website: C.G.Jung Society of St. Louis  [For additional information or to register]
Phone: (314) 533-6809 (voicemail; we will return your call as needed)
Email: cgjungstl @ sbcglobal.org


Jonathan Young, PhD is a psychologist who assisted mythologist Joseph Campbell for several years at seminars -- and was the Founding Curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives and Library. As a professor, Dr. Young created and chaired the Mythological Studies Department at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. His recent book is SAGA - Best New Writings on Mythology, volume 2.

DREAMS, DREAM INCUBATION, AND THE SANTA BARBARA HEALING SANCTUARY

Robert Bosnak, a renowned Jungian Analyst, presented at the Jung in the Heartland Conference during the second week of November, 2011.  Dr. Bosnak, a Zurich-trained analyst, has developed a unique way of working with dreams, a process partially based on ways the Greeks utilized dreams in their practice of medicine.  His techniques involve helping the patient make connection with the somatic impact of dream images and feelings, a connection he believes can have a profound healing effect both for psychic and bodily ailments.  Over the four days of the conference, Dr. Bosnak demonstrated his approach to dreams with different attendees.  One of the demonstrations was with a woman suffering from necrosis of her knee tissue.  In prior sessions long-distance over Skype, Dr. Bosnak had worked with the woman in a process of "dream incubation" which involved focussing on dreams possibly related to her health issue in an attempt to use her dreams as an approach to healing.

My one concern about the rather elaborate techniques Dr. Bosnak uses is that he must give the patient detailed, specific direction in the working of the dream.  There is a power differential already present in any analyst-patient relations, and Dr. Bosnak's approach seems to heighten that differential.  However, my concern did not seem shared by any of the individuals Dr. Bosnak worked with.

Dr. Bosnak's presentations will be available by streaming over the internet or on DVD's from the St. Louis Jung Society soon.  For more information, go to www.cgjungstl.org.

One of the more powerful and educational of his presentations involved a demonstration of "entrainment," the way analyst and patient can become aligned in a felt way in the shared energy field.  It is in this shared field that powerful transference and countertransference dynamics have a palpable presence.  It is out of this kind of "field effect" that healing of the psyche and of the body can occur.

Dr. Bosnak has recently joined the Santa Barbara Healing Sanctuary where his approach to dream incubation along with other alternative approaches to health and wellness are practiced.  For further information about the Sanctuary, go to:  http://www.sbhsanctuary.com/about.html

READINGS IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY

A friend of mine enrolled in a graduate program in psychology told me that the textbook for the personality theories class dedicated one page to Jungian Psychology.  Although probably the most comprehensive theorists in his field, Jung gets little attention in academic circles because he is not adequately "scientific."  Because my friend is primarily interested in Jung's theory and chose it as a topic for a major paper, she asked me for a list of resource material.  I am posting the bibliography here for those interested:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams, Michael Vannoy. The Mythological Unconscious, NY: 2001 

Bair, Deirdre. Jung: A Biography, Little, Brown, and Company, NY:

2003

deLazlo, Violet (Ed.). The Basic Writings of C.G. Jung, Bollingen, Princeton: 1990

Douglas, Claire. The Woman in the Mirror, NY: Sigo Press, 1990

Jung, C.G. Dreams, Princeton University Press, Princeton: 1974

Jung, C.G. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Vintage, NY: 1963

Miles, Jack. Christ, A Crisis in the Life of God, Knopf, NY: 2001

Miles, Jack. God: A Biography, Random House, NY: 1995

Singer, June. Boundaries of the Soul, Doubleday, Garden City, NY: 1972

Stein, Murray. Jung’s Map of the Soul, Open Court, Chicago: 1998

Stein, Murray. Jung's Treatment of Christianity, Chiron, Wilmette, IL: 1985

Whitmont, Edward C. The Symbolic Quest, Princeton University Press, Princeton: 1969 

"A DANGEROUS METHOD"

For an interesting interview with the director of "A Dangerous Method," the film about the controversial treatment of Sabina Spielrein by Jung and Freud, go to:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/11/dangerous-method-david-cronenberg-on-freud-jung-and-hysteria.html

Much has been written about the relationship among this trinity of the early psychoanalytic movement.  Sabina Spielrein was the first patient whom Jung treated with Freud's methods of psychoanalysis.  Hers is a compelling story--emerging from a serious mental illness to become a renowned and brilliant analyst herself.

The nature of the personal friendship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud has also received a great deal of attention over the last century.  Some say the abrupt end of the relationship and the unresolved transference-countertransference dynamics between the two men are still apparent in the gulf that separates Jung's Analytic Psychology and the (more or less) Freudian Psychoanalysis practiced today.

I am looking forward to seeing this film and will post some thoughts about it after I do.

CONFERENCE - JUNG IN THE HEARTLAND

The C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis held its second Jung in the Heartland Conference, November 9-13, 2011, at Toddhall in Columbia, IL.  Presenters included Laurence Hillman, Jenny Yates, Lionel Corbett, and Robert Bosnak.  The theme of this conference was Portals to the Sacred II.

Last year the Jung Society sponsored a writing contest.  Winning entries were published in a book, Portals to the Sacred from a Jungian Perspective, edited by Christy Beckman.  The book was available at the conference where winners of the top three essays read their entries at a "Authors' Reception."  The book is available for purchase at www.cgjungstl.org.

As in 2009, this major midwest conference was well attended.   Having all four presenters and several of the writing contestants present for all presentations, meals, and social events at the Toddhall Retreat Center made for a fine spirit.

Some eight hours of the conference presentations were videotaped and will be available on the Society's website (www.cgjungstl.org) in the near future.

PORTALS TO THE SACRED II

You are invited to: A Gala Evening at Toddhall! A Gala Evening at Toddhall Jung in the Heartland: Portals to the Sacred II Friday, November 11, 7-10 pm This promises to be a fun, full evening, and it's just a half hour drive from St. Louis!   Come for: - The release of the first C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis publication: Portals to the Sacred from a Jungian Perspective. - The Writing contest winners reading their works. - A world premiere performance of:  Gates In and Out: a Play of Transformation  Also: - Book signing. - Authors' wine and cheese reception. The cost is just $15 for Friends and $20 for others. Fulltime students are half price ($10). Register through PayPal or pay at the door.    Register Online!   NONMEMBERS    FRIENDS / MEMBERS    STUDENTS If you don't register online but plan on attending, let us know you're coming! Email cgjungstl@sbcglobal.net with a note stating you'll be attending. For a map to Toddhall as well as driving directions, please click here.  The C.G. Jung Society of Saint Louis Website: http://cgjungstl.org Email: cgjungstl@sbcglobal.net P.O. Box 11724 St. Louis, Missouri 63105 314-533-6809

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The question for this panel (of four St. Louis area Jungian Analysts) discussion, “What is rippling your waters?” is a good one for any of us to reflect on. It has surely provided a lot of reflection for me. The subject that has most gripped me in recent weeks has to do with states of consciousness. It is an extremely broad subject but one that lends itself to some brief discussion.

Of compelling interest to anyone is: what is the state of consciousness that I find myself in and why is it important to know that state? Examining one’s own consciousness is a questionable endeavor for we are apt to find what we want to find rather than what is more objectively true.

It seems to be the case that each of us has a conscience that is a state sometimes discernibly different from our usual mode of being within ourselves. Even the word ‘conscience’ in its derivation (con = with and scio = to know) implies a knowing with something other. The effect of conscience is that we feel a dissonance, often in the body, when our ego state or ego action strays too far from this implied other. This often vague dissonance can be a most helpful guide in any examination of consciousness

How does one examine one’s own consciousness, especially while necessarily and hopelessly stuck inside it? I think the answer to this question is one of the most important that Jungian Psychology attempts to provide. Jung thought that by taking a very long view, by studying what others in different epochs had to say about certain issues, one could develop an Archimedean point of view. By “Archimedean,” Jung meant in a psychological way what Archimedes expressed for physical reality: Give me a fulcrum sufficiently removed, and I can apply force that can move the earth.

When Jung studies and comments on works from Eastern philosophy, world mythologies, and from ancient alchemical texts, he is giving us an Archimedean point of view for modern consciousness. Even though modern individual experiences are short-lived and limited; images from the unconscious fleeting and illusory; and states of consciousness sporadic and discontinuous, Jung demonstrated that an aggregate view—gained from many texts from many eras—shows an unfolding process in which all humankind is involved.

This process is not random. It consists of regularly occurring images, motifs, and patterns that Jung called archetypal (from arche = ancient and typos = imprint). Our experiences of archetypes go primarily unnoticed even though archetypes are universal and everyday. In subtle but powerful ways they determine our patterns of behavior. For example, most of us have lived through one such pattern, having experienced the sadness, loss, and sterility of a Demeter state of consciousness when Persephone (that youthful, forward-looking younger daughter state) is snatched away.

Or consider the pattern of Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Aires. When Aphrodite and Aries have an illicit affair, Aphrodite’s husband Hephaestus makes a net and entraps them, exposing the affair. That ancient myth describes the universal pattern of a consciousness that unwittingly sets up a situation to make sure his/her questionable behavior is uncovered.

Our modern consciousness, unmoored from the underlying and continuous unconscious, can get stuck in one state or can transition unnoticed from state to state. Today we label someone bipolar when he/she swings from Demeter to Persephone states, often with dire consequences. Knowing the pattern we are living, that is to say making the pattern conscious, may lead us to make different choices. And bringing an underlying unconscious archetypal pattern into consciousness has a healing effect. It is as if we need story, especially our own story, to connect us with universal human experiences and emotions—this universal archetypal bedrock--and to end our modern states of alienation from ourselves and others.

Why this need, we can’t be certain, but we do know that without story an individual grows ill. Dreams, in some fashion, connect us with our ‘story.’ When not allowed to dream, an individual will become psychotic in a remarkably short time.

Dreams are a fine way for examining our conscious state. When we remember a dream, it is as if the Dream Giver (perhaps the Self in Jungian thought) has filmed a drama from a point of view removed, then says, “Here, take a look at yourself and your relationships with psychic figures and events from my perspective.” Any of you who have examined dreams no doubt have seen archetypal figures and motifs in them, perhaps Mother, Father, Home, the Journey, Conflict, the Child, the Automobile, Moon, Sun, Stars, Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Sacrifice, the Scapegoat, to name a few.

Why all this interest in states of consciousness? I think with some degree of self knowledge, one can learn to choose one’s state without identifying with it. When identified with a state, one is trapped, things are as they appear. As one ancient put it: We must “learn whence is sorrow and joy, and love and hate, and waking though one would not, and sleeping though one would not, and getting angry though one would not, and falling in love though one would not. And if thou shouldst closely investigate these things, thou wilt find God in thyself . . .” [Vol. 11, Para. 400]

Someone I know personally described disidentification this way: “When you look at your dreams, it’s amazing the information you get that’s different from your perception, information that gives you a different way of walking through life. You don’t have to go through it the same old way any more. I used to go strictly with my feelings that were raging around, would get stuck in them. Now I find that if I can go over them, process them, those feelings don’t hang around for days. I am unstuck then.”

Ultimately, there is a creative state of consciousness much to be desired. The best attempt I’ve seen to explain this creative state is from Toni Morrison:

“I’ve said I wrote The Bluest Eye after a period of depression, but the words ‘lonely, depressed, melancholy’ don’t really mean the obvious. They simply represent a different state. It’s an unbusy state, when I am more aware of myself than of others. The best words for making that state clear to other people are those words. It’s not necessarily an unhappy feeling; it’s just a different one. I think now I know better what that state is. Sometimes when I’m in mourning, for example, after my father died, there’s a period when I’m not fighting day-to-day battles . . . . When I’m in this state, I can hear things. . . . . It has happened other times . . . At that time I had to be put into it. Now I know how to bring it about without going through the actual event.” [Black Women Writers at Work, New York: Continuum, 1984, edited by Claudia Tate, p. 189-9]

You might ask a most practical and fundamental question: how do we self-examine, how do we discover precisely what our state of mind is? Here are some ways: (1) Paying attention to dreams and dream images, a topic I touched on earlier; (2) observing synchronicities that occur in our life; (3) watching for repeating patterns in our own behavior; (4) being mindful of the unintentional effects we have on others and on events; (5) mapping our own psyche for the complexes (which act like mine fields) that exist in our unconsciousness and that explode or erupt occasionally; (6) being more or less aware of the triggers that set off our complexes; (7) paying attention to our emotional state and its many variations and swings; (8) entertaining fantasies that can provide information to our ego state; (9) observing which characters we resonate with in literature and film; (10) noticing who gets under our skin and asking why; and (11) above all, having an awareness that ego consciousness is embedded in something larger than itself that exerts pressures, that influences attitudes and behaviors, and that has real affects.

In our shared interest in Jungian Psychology, we are making an additional effort. By relating to Jung’s ideas and the images he explores, by developing a relationship with them, we are in effect establishing a better relationship with the Unconscious. Or we are at least studying the map Jung provides for our own journey. The psyche, or the Unconscious, consists of images and patterns that picture vital activities which are full of meaning and purpose. When we do make the kinds of efforts I have described, it is as if a connection gets made from one’s small personal existence and experience to some underlying source of all existence and experience, and the individual has an ‘ah-ha’ realization that is satisfying and helpful. The ‘ah-ha’ is of the nature of the experience one gets when a mathematical proof “clicks”. There is a feeling of completeness and unshakeable certitude. It would seem to be case, the Unconscious also gets something of an ‘ah-ha’ when connections between consciousness and the Unconscious occur.

The word psyche is a Sanscrit word that also means “butterfly” so that in the word itself is an understanding of the experience of transformation or metamorphosis. If the ego is an epiphenomenonon of the psyche, that is to say, the ego is formed on the substratum of the archetypal bedrock and takes on its patterning, then the ego, too, will be subject to psychic transformations. However, without an awareness of the underlying nature of the psyche and its pattern of regular, somewhat predictable transformations, the ego will simply be dragged through the transformations and may experience primarily the suffering. Or the ego may simply try to numb itself to all experience, in which case the baby has definitely been thrown out with the bath water. With memory, knowledge, imagination, patience, and perseverance, an individual can better weather the suffering and storms that are part and parcel of transformation.

MAJOR JUNGIAN CONFERENCE

The C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis is holding its second major conference from November 10 - November 13, 2011.   For registration information, please visit www.cgjungstl.org     Information about this major conference includes:

Jung in the Heartland
2011 Conference: Portals to the Sacred II
November 10 - November 13, 2011  Program Descriptions - Workshops - Accommodations - Registration
Tentative Schedule of Events

We are pleased to convene our second Jung in the Heartland conference, again bringing together gifted faculty to explore
portals to the sacred through presentations, workshops, dialogue and ritual. We welcome individuals from all fields.

Program Descriptions

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP - LAURENCE HILLMAN, M.B.A., M.C.M.
Exploring Astrology and Your Dreams
7:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 9, through 3:00 p.m. Thursday, November 10

           You’re invited to join dreamers and stargazers to explore how your dreams can help unlock the mysteries contained in your natal chart. You will be introduced to the ten astrological archetypes and will receive your natal horoscope. To get a sense of how working with your inner archetypes strengthens your personal experience in the collective, Mr. Hillman will demonstrate how your birth chart and your dreams intertwine. He will also present a lecture during the main conference.

Laurence Hillman, M.B.A., M.C.M., born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, began to study astrology at the age of sixteen. He is a full-time professional astrologer and specializes in helping his clients understand their deeper purpose. A force in the ongoing movement to merge astrology with depth psychology, his approach is practical yet full of metaphor and Jungian insight. He is the author of Planets in Play – How to Reimagine Your Life Through the Language of Astrology and the co-author of Alignments – How to Live in Harmony with the Universe.

Robert Bosnak, NCPsyA
Clinical Dream Incubation and Body —Theory and Demonstration
          In the beginning of Western medicine, from 500 B.C.– 500 A.D., dream-based medicine was practiced everywhere. In the 21st century, studies on placebo have led to a revival of dream incubation, during which a particular issue is intentionally somatized so it can be felt acutely in the body. The material derived from the responding dreams, when worked in an embodied fashion, creates a powerful healing response. During the week prior to the conference, a volunteer will participate in an incubation experience, and the resulting dreams will be worked in front of the conference participants.

Robert Bosnak, NCPsyA, is a Dutch Jungian psychoanalyst and diplomate of the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich in Switzerland. He pioneered a radically new method of dreamwork, based loosely on the work of C.G. Jung, especially on Jung’s technique of active imagination and his studies of alchemy. Mr. Bosnak’s books include A Little Course in Dreams, which was translated into 12 languages, Christopher’s Dreams: Dreaming and Living with AIDS and Tracks in the Wilderness of Dreaming.

LIONEL CORBETT, M.D.
Jung in Dialogue with the Soul: Is Analytical Psychology a New Religion?
          The Red Book records dialogues between Jung and his soul that led Jung to write 12 years later, “We stand on the threshold of a new spiritual epoch; from the depths of man’s own psyche new spiritual forms will be born.” If Analytical Psychology is indeed an emerging form of spirituality, what does that look like in practice and how does it compare with traditional religious forms? We will consider that the practice of depth psychology serves as a contemporary form of spiritual direction. Because the Self acts as a blueprint for the individuation of the personality, there can be no firm distinction between our spirituality and our psychology or between spiritual and psychological problems.
Lionel Corbett, M.D., trained in medicine and psychiatry in England and as a Jungian analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. His primary interests are in the religious function of the psyche, especially the way in which personal religious experience is relevant to individual psychology. Dr. Corbett is a core faculty member of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California. His written work includes The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a Spiritual Practice, The Religious Function of the Psyche, and Psyche and the Sacred.

Jenny Yates, Ph.D.
The Mysteries of Eleusis
           The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated for 2,000 years in Greece, honoring a female trinity of Demeter, Persephone, and Hecate. We shall explore what can be known of these mysteries from the classical Hymn to Demeter by Homer, archeological excavations at Eleusis, and the art depicting the public part of the ceremonies. We shall also look at how the unconscious appropriates the unknown deepest part of the ritual, viewing it as a model for understanding the stages of man’s anima or soul development and as an archetypal model for the Female Self.

Jenny Yates, Ph.D., is currently a “Visiting Distinguished Scholar” at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, where she teaches Jungian psychology and religion. A diplomate of the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich in Switzerland, she practices as a Jungian analyst with alternative medicine practitioners. For twenty-seven years, she was a professor of Religion and Philosophy at Wells College where she chaired the Division of Humanities and the Religion major. Dr. Yates is the author of four books, most recently Jung on Death and Immortality.

2010 Writing Contest: Opening Portals through the Spoken Word
          Many portals to the sacred were explored in the entries submitted to the 2010 C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis Writing Contest. Conference participants have the unique chance to hear the authors of the winning entries read their works and to attend the premier performance of Gates In and Out: A Play of Transformation. Steve Gunn, Boulder, CO, will read “Over the Rainbow” (1st place); Deborah Fausch, Oak Park, IL, “Saffron Dreaming” (2nd place); and Ken Schmitz, Cottage Grove, MN, “Why the Portal to the Sacred is so Often Closed: A Grail Perspective” (3rd place). Also a contest entry, the short, often funny, play is written by Lola Wilcox, directed by Chuck Wilcox, both from Denver, CO, and produced by Wilcox Overland Stage Company, which hosts the Theatres of Myth and Imagination. In addition to the Colorado theater group, the performance features actors from St. Louis.

Saturday Afternoon Workshops: 
In addition to the presentations listed above you will have a choice of 2 out of 4 sessions.
Jenny Yates or Lawrence Hillman - 1:30-3:00
Robert Bosnak or Lionel Corbett - 3:30-5:00

Lawrence Hillman - The Breaking In Of The Untamable - An Astrological Explanation Of The Emerging Zeitgeist   
           Astrologers these days are getting inundated with questions that can be summed as, "What the heck is going on?!" This lecture/slideshow puts our times and the powerful manifestations we are witnessing into a comprehensive, meaningful and optimistic perspective. If you want to know what all these changes and collapses mean, what is emerging on an archetypal level, what is here to stay and what is disappearing, don't miss this lecture!
Jenny Yates - Details to come
Robert Bosnak - Details to come
Lionel Corbett - Details to come

Accommodations and Seminar Site

Toddhall Retreat and Conference Center
320 Todd Center Drive
Columbia, IL 62236 
            Toddhall Retreat and Conference Center is located on the bluffs overlooking Columbia, Illinois, conveniently close to metropolitan Saint Louis and only 45 minutes from the airport. Nestled in the woods, Toddhall offers beautiful scenic views in a relaxing and peaceful setting. This is truly a “get away” place — a haven for study, reflection, and renewal. Wild turkey, deer, and a wide variety of birds are only some of the natural elements you will find. Take time to meander along the meditative labyrinth, visit the butterfly garden and natural prairie-grass preserve or walk the wilderness trail.
            Spacious and simply furnished, each room has a private bath and individually controlled thermostat, although electronics are notably and purposefully absent, rooms have wireless internet access. All linens are provided. Hearty, home-cooked meals are served buffet style in the dining room. Vegetarians are easily accommodated. Rooms and buildings at the Conference Center are non-smoking.

Scenic images from Toddhall:
               

Accommodations and site facilites:
        

Alternate Lodging:Hampton Inn - St Louis Columbia
(1.6 miles from Toddhall)
165 Admiral Trost Road
Columbia, IL 62236 US
618-281-9020

Super 8 - Waterloo Il
(4.7 miles from Toddhall)
112 Warren Drive
Waterloo, IL 62298 US
618-939-2020

Registration

Conference Fees:
Conference registration includes all meals, beginning with supper on November 10

Early Bird Registration
Waives $50 Registration Fee
Must Be Received by August 15

Friends (member) registration:+	$459
Non-Member registration:	$499
Room double occupancy (per person):	$110
Room single occupancy:	$265

Regular Registration
After August 15
Includes $50 Registration Fee
Must Be Received by November 1

Friends (member) registration:+	$510
Non-Member registration:	$565
Room double occupancy (per person):	$110
Room single occupancy:	$265

Pre-Conference Event with Laurence Hillman, November 9-10,
Includes Wednesday dinner, Thursday breakfast and lunch

Friends (member) registration:+	$139
Non-Member registration:	$159
Room double occupancy (per person):	$37
Room single occupancy:	$89

+ Current Friends status validated prior to acceptance of registration to ensure correct registration fee.Friends Membership
Discounts valid to all events
September 2011–September 2012:

Individual:	$35
Couple:	$50

TWO BOOKS OF VALUE

Jack Miles has written two books that are extremely valuable for amplifying our understanding of God and god-image. The books are GOD: A BIOGRAPHY (Random House, 1995) and CHRIST, A CRISIS IN THE LIFE OF GOD (Knopf, 2001). In the two books Miles treats the God presented as a personality who is telling his story as a way of expressing who and what he is--just as any human does when he/she tells his/her story. It's a simple approach but one that yields up interesting insights into the nature and character of "God." I enjoy these two books because they have provided (and continue to provide) me a way of becoming familiar with biblical themes and stories that I find easier going that reading scripture.

The personality, nature, and character of the god and god-image that emerge from Miles' approach provide context and understanding that is helpful for the depth psychologist. The phenomenon of god that is revealed more nearly approximates the background tapestry of the unconscious of moderns than does the theology of the all-good, omniscient, and all-powerful god described in the belief system of the ordinary church-goer today. Modern people who turn to depth psychology for self-understanding will recognize in these two books the discontinuities between the god of their beliefs and the god who makes himself felt through experiences of the unconscious. The former is often an intellectual construct while the latter is a reality.

JUNG SOCIETY OF ST. LOUIS PROGRAM - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Here is a link to the St. Louisan website where there is a short video about sacrifice: http://stlouisan.com/2011/09/sacrifice-as-a-theme-in-psychotherapy/

There is information on the video about the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis program on Sunday, September 18, 3:00 to 5:00 pm, at the First Congregational Church UCC in Clayton, MO. There is more information and the opportunity to register for the event at www.cgjungstl.org The topic of sacrifice is much in the air these days as we revisit the events of September 11, 2001.

SACRIFICE AS A THEME IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

Workshop: Sacrifice as a Theme in Psychotherapy Presented by Cheryl Lawler, M.S.W., L.C.S.W and Rose Holt, M.A.

 Sunday, September 18th, 2011, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. (2 CEUs) First Congregational Church UCC 6501 Wydown, Clayton, MO 63105

 Fee: Friends - $30; Others $35; Full-time Students $17.50

 The Jung Society is offering a third presentation in which two psychoanalysts, one from the psychoanalytic community and one Jungian, will offer their perspectives on the theory and practice of psychotherapy. The subject of this program is the role of sacrifice in the therapeutic process. Cheryl Lawler and Rose Holt will each present their perspectives and thoughts about the human experience of sacrifice. What is sacrifice and what is sacrificed? Is sacrifice necessary? If so, why? How does sacrifice manifest in unconscious ways that affect conscious functioning in the individual? During this afternoon program, there will be ample time for questions and answers.

 Cheryl Lawler is past president, and currently training and supervising analyst as well as faculty member of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. She is practicum supervisor, Washington University School of Social Work, a private practitioner, and author of Intimacy Without Sacrifice: Toward a New Psychoanalytic Theory of Sexual Love.

 Rose Holt is a Jungian analyst in private practice in St. Louis. She serves as advisory analyst to the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis and is on the faculty of the Chicago Analyst Training Program. She has written many articles and taught numerous courses about Analytical Psychology.

 To register online, go to www.cgjungstl.org or click on the St. Louis Jung Society Website link on the left side of this page.

"SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER" ESSAY

The following is an essay to be published in the September-October issue of "The Pathfinder":


Shall We Gather at the River?

The C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis is preparing for its second Jung in the Heartland Conference, November 10-13, 2011. This year the theme is again “Portals to the Sacred.” [Visit www.cgjungstl.org for conference details.] In this essay, a precursor to the conference, I want to explore the idea of the sacred by relating it to the notion of the “source.” I will first consider the meaning of the term “source” scientifically and psychologically, then show that we eventually come to a limit of understanding that forces us either to shut down our thinking or to take into account the sacred and the numinous. [By “sacred” I mean anything that evokes veneration from us, and by “numinous,” something exhibiting the power of a divinity.]

To consider what the source refers to in a scientific way, let’s turn to the use of analogy. In the evolutionary development of sight, the eye has been conditioned by light and uses light in its functioning. Without light, there would be no sight, and without sight it is difficult even to imagine light, though it would still exist. Eye and sight have a mutually interdependent relationship. This is the more commonly held view of evolutionary theory. I imagine this view might even be acceptable to creationists who could argue that God works in mysterious and marvelous ways. With either explanation, we come to an unanswerable question: though light might be the source, whence the light? Though we cannot answer that question, we would never deny the existence of light. It is a fact.

Continuing our analogy, it is easy to imagine intelligence having a parallel line of development. Might there be something like universal mind that has developed human intelligence with the interplay of the two similar to light and the eye? Though we can accept the light and eye analogy, the leap to universal mind and human intelligence stretches us beyond intellect to imagine something larger than itself. It is at this juncture that some, unwilling to shut down their thinking, arrive at the shores of the sacred and the numinous. And that brings us to psychology.

In the Jungian view we entertain the hypothesis that there is something like “universal mind,” called the collective unconscious in Jungian psychological theory. An individual consciousness arises from the unconscious and owes its existence to it. Individual consciousness is an epiphenomenon of the unconscious; that is to say, it emerges from the substratum of the unconscious and takes on a structure similar to the unconscious.

Of course, in the development of ego consciousness, conditions of time, place, parenting, education, culture, etc., are also factors of influence over that development. These factors give rise to the personal unconscious, those elements of consciousness unique to the personal history of the individual. Even so, the universal characteristics of the collective unconscious play a huge role. Those characteristics consist of patterns of behavior, archetypes (arche = ancient and typos = imprint) common to everyone. Some of those archetypal patterns are mother, father, journey, birth, rebirth, etc. Every human being has a share in these patterns. Every human being is, more or less, shaped by these patterns.

What can happen (and when it does, it usually happens at midlife) is that the mismatch between the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious creates a felt dissonance in ego consciousness. When this dissonance reaches sufficient amplitude that archetypal elements from the collective unconscious break through and begin to impact ego consciousness, the disturbance in the individual’s life cannot be ignored. A more or less crisis situation develops. This condition creates certain symptoms—restlessness, dissatisfaction, perhaps physical ailments, and undifferentiated but very real suffering. Critical questions arise, the most common being, in the words of the Peggy Lee song, “Is this all there is?”

A psychology that denies the existence of the collective unconscious will treat the symptoms. In terms of my analogy it would be like going to an opthamologist who looks only at the condition of the eye even though the problem may be that the person is wearing blinders. A Jungian-oriented therapist, on the other hand, will focus on helping the individual explore his/her symptoms, strive to understand the dissonance by exploring elements of the personal unconscious that are at odds with the collective patterns of the deep unconscious, and work with the individual to build that critical bridge of understanding between ego consciousness and the collective unconscious. Presumably the therapist, having undergone a depth analysis him/herself, will approach this work with deep empathy and compassion and will know that the attention-getters in the process are those sacred and numinous elements that appear. He/she also knows that experiences of the numinosum change ego consciousness.

The techniques of this work vary. They include careful attention to and exploration of emotions and affects; the living conditions of the individual; his/her relationships; dream images, motifs, and patterns; and the life story. Influential elements from the personal unconscious are explored and understood more fully. The individual examines troublesome psychological defense mechanisms that no longer serve for adaptation so that they can be adjusted or jettisoned and replaced with more mature and appropriate mechanisms.

The therapist keeps in mind the notion of entelechy, the idea that each living organism has inbuilt a blueprint of development attended by life forces that are continually at work to further that development. In Jungian Psychology, we call this force “individuation,” the universal urge for a person to become a unique and undivided individual. However, there clearly are also at work in the unconscious antilibidinal forces that hinder development. It is sometimes the situation that only the therapist can be the tip-weight in the work toward individuation, in a win over antilibidinal forces.

With continuing depth work, archetypal patterns emerge, perhaps THE pattern that most fits the individual, one that affords an optimal line of development. At this level of the work, the client experiences a feeling of “coming home,” an understanding of “Who I am and why I am living this life.” Jung aptly called this experience “amor fati,” a love of one’s own fate.

Notice that this work in a depth analysis proceeds from an experiential basis with no reliance upon religion or dogma or belief. The client need not even entertain the hypotheses of the collective unconscious or individuation, though the therapist must. What is required is that the troubled individual must take him/herself seriously; resist discounting symptoms and seeking easy, quick fixes; and have the courage to see him/herself and his/her circumstances realistically. He/she must follow an inner labyrinthian path made up of elements both rational and irrational. The work is difficult and requires no end of patience from both client and therapist. There are, thankfully, sufficient rewards and consolations along the way to make the endeavor worthwhile. A secret, hidden happiness is often a byproduct of the work.

And that brings us back to the sacred and the numinous. The rewards and consolations often have what can only be called a sacred or numinous cast. This individuation journey, in many ways the real task of life, brings us up against what we cannot understand, cannot know, and cannot ignore. The psychologist and the theologian, the therapist and the client, perhaps on very different paths, arrive at the same place, bowing before something greater than themselves, acknowledging both the sacred and the numinous.

Rose F. Holt
August 4, 2011

[Rose F. Holt, M.A., is a Jungian Psychoanalyst in private practice in St. Louis. She serves as advisory analyst to the board of the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis and as a training analyst for the Jung Institute of Chicago. She has taught many courses on the topic of Jungian Psychology.]