The C.G. Jung Society of Queensland

Presidents Letter

Developments in our C.G. Jung Society and More about Maeves Dream

Dear Reader,

I want to reflect in this letter on developments in the C. G. Jung Society of Queensland over recent years. I want also to refer to new insights we have gained into my daughter Maeves last dream.

The Society. Up to about three years ago, the committee had primarily been inviting speakers from the local Brisbane area to talk to our society. We also offered one or two workshops per year. But around that time, as our finances improved, we began to formulate a vision as follows:

1.       Inviting more Jungian analysts and specialists to present talks to our society. This meant by and large inviting speakers from interstate. Our first event with this plan in mind was a talk and workshop in 2002 by author David Tacey, who teaches a Jungian course at Latrobe University in Melbourne. It was a great success and it gave us the confidence to continue. Through 2003 and now into 2004, we have had several prominent Jungians from Sydney present talks and workshops, all of which were well received by you the members.

2.       Additional workshops became a natural consequence of bringing presenters from interstate, since it did not make much sense to invite someone such a distance to give a Thursday-night talk only. Typically, the presenter gives a talk on Thursday and a workshop on the Saturday.

Happily, our vision has worked out well in practice. The costs of flying speakers to Brisbane have been met while still allowing us to keep a prudent reserve. I would like to thank our committee for the dedicated work they put in to make these events happen. This year, the composition of the committee remains largely as it was last year although Marie Sinclair, who for many years has played a mainstream role on the committee particularly as regards finance will henceforth concentrate on her role as Librarian. Janeil Smith has recently joined the committee to support Paul den Ronden in his role as Treasurer.

An unexpected outcome of our increased interaction with Jungians from Sydney was the dialogue that began to take place with Craig San Roque about the possibility of a Jungian training programme for Brisbane. Two of the initial four workshops have already taken place. The series is booked out. We increased the limit on numbers to allow three extra people, thus giving us a training group of 28 people. We had 50 enquiries in response to our first mail out aimed at measuring interest in a Jungian training. There is no doubt that there are many others in Brisbane with this degree of interest in Jungian training too.

C.G. Jung Society of Queensland, 74 Camp St., Toowong, Q 4066. Tel: 3371 1285

We will continue to explore the possibility of expanding this initial series into a more substantial training programme for professionals. We are not focusing solely on professionals in clinical roles such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, therapists etc. We mean to include those interested in Jungian practice in its widest meaning. This can include, for example people involved in any type of community enterprise, perhaps through community work, art, music or drama projects. Overall, we want to facilitate the bringing of Jungian practice more fully into professional and everyday life.

Maeves Dream. Since writing in the last issue about Maeves dream-journey home on a water train, other elements of the dream have revealed rich symbolism. Maeve had not gone entirely alone on the train. She told Robyn that her imaginary friends, Nut and Net, were going with her on that train. Nut and Net had been imaginary cat friends to Maeve during the two years prior to her death.

While on holidays in January, my partner Robyn came across a reference to Nut, the Egyptian mother goddess in Jungs Man and His Symbols. One of Nuts functions was to accompany the souls of the dead on their journey to the afterlife. She was often depicted on the upper inside of the coffin with her arms symbolically holding the body of the dead person (much in the same way as she is often depicted overarching the world as the sky goddess).

This information was stunning, exciting, comforting and mysterious all at once.

I then wondered where the energy of Net in Maeves dream might lead.

After a little research on the Internet, I discovered that Net is an ancient (even for Egypt!) Egyptian female goddess more commonly known as Neith. Among her other functions, such as war and wisdom, Net was the goddess of weaving. In this capacity and through the cloths that bound the corpse, she empowered the body and soul in their journey to the afterlife. So it seems that Maeve, in her journey, was accompanied, protected and empowered by two mother archetypes.

Anne Di Lauro became the agent of a synchronistic footnote to Maeves story. You will recall that Anne illustrated my previous letter with that picture of a cat walking along a beautiful, tree-lined avenue. The illustration comes from The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling and specifically from the story entitled The Cat who Walked by Himself. Anne did not know when she chose that picture that The Just So Stories was the one book Maeve had taken with her on her last trip. She read it at every opportunity, including during breakfast on the morning she died.

Best Wishes,

Frank Coughlan

President

Membership renewals

There is still time to renew your membership for 2004. You can do this at the next monthly presentation or you can mail in the form on the back page of this Newsletter.

Upcoming events at the Jung Society

April 2004

The Authority of the Therapist: The Jungian Sensibility

A presentation by Dr Paul Gibney

Thursday April 1, 2004 7:30-9:30 pm

 St Marys Community House,

 Merivale St, Cn of Peel St, South Brisbane

Members and concession: $5; non-members $10

In the therapeutic world, the issue of the therapists authority is a vexed one. The Jungian project offers therapists a wealth of theory and technique from which to gain authority. And yet, C.G. Jung himself said that therapists should know their theories, but should forget them as soon as the patient walks through the door. In the same vein, Jung remarked that he was glad he was not a Jungian.

In this presentation, the issue of therapeutic authority (including all manner of fantasies regarding mystical and institutional transmission) will be explored from Jungian, Lacanian and post-modern perspectives.

Dr. Paul Gibney, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist in private practice in Brisbane, a senior lecturer in social work practice at the University of Queensland, and the author of the recently published text The Pragmatics of Therapeutic Practice (Psychoz Publications, 2003).

May 2004

Imagery: Language of the Psyche

A presentation by Frank Coughlan

Thursday May 6, 2004 7:30-9:30 pm

St Marys Community House,

Merivale St, Cn of Peel St, South Brisbane

Members and concession: $5; non-members $10

That the inner world cannot be accessed by the intellect alone is a fundamental principle of Jungs work. The deep inner world of the psyche communicates through imagery, most obviously through dreams and through works of art. Jung himself developed the process of active imagination allowing the therapeutic relationship to be conducted through the language of imagery.

Frank has facilitated groups and individuals over the past thirteen years using imagery as the primary process in the therapeutic relationship. In his presentation to the Jung Society, he talks about therapeutic imagery, illustrating from the work of Jung, James Hillman, Thomas Moore and Peter OConnor.

The evening will include an opportunity, for those who wish, to work briefly with your own imagery in a way that is easily accessible to most people.

Frank Coughlan. A professional Social Worker in private practice in Brisbane, Frank is President of the CG Jung Society of Queensland. He trained in Deep Imagery, with US psychologist, Eligio Stephen Gallegos, in New Mexico. As well as working with the healing potential of spontaneous imagery, Frank uses the universal imagery of Astrology in therapeutic work. Frank worked for seven years in Irelands Statutory Child Protection Service and for six years as a Supervisor of Counsellors at Kids Help Line in Australia.

June
                                    2004

Women, Men, Love and Redemption

A presentation and Saturday workshop with Kris Hines

Thursday June 3, 2004, 7:30 9:30

St. Marys House, Cn Merivale and Peel Sts, South Brisbane

Cost: Members and concession: $5; non-members $10

Saturday June 5, 10 am 5:00 pm

Hillbrook Anglican School, 45 Hurdcotte St, Enoggera

Cost:  Members and concession - $60; non-members - $70

Please bring lunch to share and an Esky if you have one.

"Out of such abysses
 from such severe sicknesses
 one emerges newborn
 having shed one's skin
 more ticklish and malicious
 with a second dangerous innocence in joy."        Tagore

"Thus in the midst of ordinary outer life, one is suddenly caught up in an exciting inner adventure; and because it is unique for each individual, it cannot be copied or stolen."     Marie-Louise von Franz

Redemption means to buy back, to reclaim or restore to a former state. Is it not a mystery? That we are complete and whole as Self yet also fractured? That this process is utterly unique to each person and
governed entirely from within? That we are already redeemed and yet engaged also in buying back our lost selves and our connection with love and joy - and Self? It seems we do have all our chips, but when and how can we redeem them? And what is the place of forgiveness in this process?

Kris loves the engagement with the dance and paradox of this mortal coil, which is often most poignantly experienced through matters of the heart. Tonight we will explore and discuss these questions together to help
uncover what is asked of each of us in the journey toward redemption.

For those attending Saturday's workshop this evening is designed to focus inner attention and perhaps stir our unique responses as to our next necessary steps. Dreams and mythic input welcome.

Saturday Workshop

Women, Men, Love and Redemption: Attending to Matters of the Heart.

Today is about our relationship to love. It is designed to connect us with stories, issues and incompleteness in matters of the heart. Redemption means to buy back, to reclaim or restore to a former state. In this workshop we shift relationship issues into a spiritual context: we connect with the part of ourselves that exists beyond any 'damage' done and from there step into our own stories, exploring them as part of the human story wherein "the wound is the gift". Intentionally done, this IS the process of redemption. It is about love for self,  for Self and for close others and being true to the deepest parts of oneself ; about loving and being loved as that. This workshop is also about that mysterious and frustrating time when we know what we no longer want, but are not yet experiencing what we truly do want and feel we need in relationship.

This will be a day of active processing where participants will be invited to work only in a way that is respectful, comfortable and appropriate for them - introverts and extraverts catered for.

To reserve your place at Kriss workshop, please complete this form and send it, together with your cheque (payable to the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland) to:

 The C.G. Jung Society of Queensland,

 74 Camp St., Toowong, Q 4066.

For information, please phone Brigitta on 3878 3287

Coming up:

July 1 evening lecture and July 3 Saturday workshop

                        Jonathan Marshall, Sydney-based anthropologist,

on Alchemy and the Material Imagination in Transformation

September 4 and 5 weekend Journal workshop with Kate Scholl.

Membership Application / Renewal form: 2004