JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY FOR EVERYDAY LIFE

FACULTY: Paul Watsky, PHD; Lauren Cunningham, MSW; Christopher Cunningham, PHD; QiRe Ching, LCSW; Elly Lin, PSYD; John Beebe, MD; Robin Eve Greenberg, MFT; Adam Frey

 

Tuition: $600 (There are no CEUs available for this course)

 

 

Jungian Psychology for Everyday Life is a year-long study of key concepts in analytical psychology as developed by C. G. Jung and expanded on by post-Jungians.

 

In this second year, we will extend our explorations of depth-oriented Jungian approaches to life striving for personal transformation, establishing a dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious, authentic expression, increasing self-knowledge, and deepening of meaning in the service of psychological growth.

 

This course is designed for members of the community interested in a study of Jungian thought and practice. Individuals on a personal soul-guided path towards individuation are encouraged to join. This is not a clinically oriented course although it may inform one’s personal analysis, depth-oriented psychotherapy, psycho-spiritual practice, or creative process.

 

Programs will be three hours in length and will be held, unless otherwise noted, in the afternoons on the first Sunday of the months of October 2022 through May 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2, 2022          The Role of Dreams: Part One

         Presenter: Paul Watsky

 

In this meeting we will take up the matter of how to invite, record, and interact with one’s dreams. We will look at the role of dreams in Jung’s model of the unconscious through review of some historical and theoretical background as we consider the interaction of the conscious and unconscious domains of our psychological lives.

 

Note: We will return to dreams on May 7, 2023.

 

 

November 6, 2022      The Enduring Gift of Fairy Tales

                                    Presenters: Lauren Cunningham and Christopher Cunningham

 

Fairy tales are distilled expressions of human nature. Eternal images live in fairy tales that shed light on our personal story. Tales can be mined for psychological and cultural associations that enrich and deepen our human understanding and compassion. Sometimes fairy tales offer surprising solutions to seemingly unresolvable problems. Fairy tales have instilled the value of hope and optimism in humanity in its struggle to survive. We will explore two classic fairy tales, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Six Swans by the Grimm Brothers.

 

Is there a fairy tale from childhood that you loved to read and that may still pop into your mind, or you enjoy reading to a child?

 

December 4, 2022      The Red Book and the Road Imagined

                                    Presenter: QiRe Ching

 

Jung’s active engagement with his inner figures in The Red Book, was a foundational element in the development of his conceptual framework. We will explore passages from this seminal work, in relation to our daily lives, and the ongoing process of individuation. We will also be looking at alchemical images to further amplify Jung’s meaning, and to activate our own imaginations. Jung found in alchemy an articulation of the very process in which he himself had been immersed for sixteen years, while working on The Red Book. 

 

 

January 8, 2023           A Look at Contemporary America

                                     Presenter: Elly Lin

 

 

 

February 5, 2023           Learning from the I Ching

                                      Presenter: John Beebe

 

Using the I Ching as a guide to acting with integrity in the face of difficulty. Finding the potential for transformation in a situation is something the Chinese classic teaches us to do. Jung studied this book in Richard Wilhelm’s inspired translation. We will consider how our individual egos can relate to archetypal situations, which often turn up in our lives as problems when greater consciousness is needed.

 

 

March 5, 2023            Active Imagination and the Transcendent Function

        Presenter: Robin Eve Greenberg

 

We will take up Jung’s discovery and development of active imagination and the transcendent function. We will explore how to engage with dreams, writing, art, and movement using Jung’s method of active imagination. We will be giving special attention to how the transcendent function might be operative in times of struggle - and the interplay between the personal, cultural, and collective shadow.

 

 

April 2, 2023                    Types of Consciousness

              Presenter: Adam Frey

 

Jung’s groundbreaking differentiation of types of consciousness grew out of his confrontation with stubborn differences among his colleagues in the psychoanalytic movement, his work with patients, and his imagined encounters with inner figures as recorded in the Red Book. The course will introduce the idea that the psyche is composed of archetypal complexes that themselves have a preferred type of consciousness. We will investigate the value of irrational and rational consciousness and how both are essential to our survival and observe the difference between extraverted and introverted consciousness and how we need both to adapt.

 

 

May 7, 2023                The Role of Dreams: Part Two

                                    Presenter: Paul Watsky

 

In this last session of the course, we return to where we began - to dreams. We will explore several of Jung’s dreams from Memories, Dreams, Reflections. We will concentrate on your encounters with unconscious phenomena, centering on engagement with dreams, what significant dreams came to you, how you have approached the dream material, and how you understand what has transpired.