Death and Rebirth - Trauma and Recovery

The myth of Isis and Osiris and travels in Egypt

A presentation by Rosemary Harper

Thursday 3 April 2008, 7:30 – 9:30 pm

St Mary’s Parish House, Cn Merviale and Peel Sts, South Brisbane

Members and concession $5; Non-members $10

In attempting to assimilate and heal a traumatic event in my life, I turned to myth. From here I began reading Jung and Jungian writers and oriental religious ideas. Strangely enough, because of impaired attention span, memory and concentration, these writings were all I could handle.

This presentation of the myth of Isis and Osiris tells a story of death and resurrection, of love and devotion, of sacrifice and rebirth. I see rebuilding the psyche after trauma in this light.

I recently travelled to Egypt with my family. There, the presence of the ancient gods is everywhere, in the land itself, in the River Nile, in the temples and tombs.

Jung talks of Gnosis, "knowing" in an experiential way. I aim to present the group with a "gnostic"
experience, by storytelling, showing pictures of the Egypt we found and relating this to Jung's writings.

Rosemary Harper has a BA, a Diploma of Social Work (Sydney) and a Master of Social Work (Qld). She has worked as a Social Worker since 1966 in both Australia and Canada, and completed her Masters Degree at the University of Queensland in 1991. Her last position was with the Veteran's Counselling Service in Lismore NSW, where she worked with traumatised Vietnam Veterans for 9 years.