The C.G. Jung Society of Queensland
Newsletter July - Sept 2007, No 52
President’s Letter
Dear Readers,
My eye was arrested recently by a phrase in an extract
from Al Gore’s new book “The Assault on Reason” published in The
Australian (June 2-3, 2007, p. 27). Gore referred to “the alchemy of reading”. Decrying the systematic decay of the public forum and the hollowing out of democracy,
he gave as an example the way that TV political advertisements are used to manipulate voters. He referred to Marshall McLuhan’s
description of TV as a cool medium as opposed to the hot medium of print. Gore said “the source of the heat in his metaphor
is the mental work required in the alchemy of reading”. Associating alchemy and reading brings to mind Mercury, or Mercurius,
the guiding spirit of alchemy who, as the messenger of the gods, has an interest in communication.
Gore’s
startling phrase made me muse upon the heat that reading produces in my own life, the way that it keeps my mind bubbling and
simmering and fermenting, working through ideas, returning to the same books years later, and with new eyes finding something
new.
His
reference to how vital it is to maintain the public forum made me think about our role as a Jung Society. I would like to
think that we provide a forum that contributes to an alternative way of looking at the conundrums of the planet, and that
we, as individuals, might influence the thinking of those around us simply by the way that we relate to others at a personal
level, coming as we do from a Jungian perspective and working to be aware of our shadows and projections.
While
I agree that transformation of society starts with the individual, there are also Jungian thinkers, such as Andrew Samuels
(“Politics on the Couch”), James Hillman (“A Terrible Love of War”) and Robert Bosnak (“Facing
Apocalypse”) who contribute to the public discourse from a Jungian perspective. This year, “Spring: a Journal of Archetype and Culture” will devote two issues to the environment called “Psyche
and Nature”. See http://www.springjournalandbooks.com/cgi-bin/ecommerce/ac/agora.cgi
Speaking
of the alchemy of reading, our library of Jungian books is an important part of what we offer. Our high dream is to have our
own premises where the library would be a feature. Until then, to borrow books you can arrange an appointment with our librarian
Marie Sinclair (3371 1285). All new members receive a library book list. Books can be collected at a monthly meeting or at
Marie’s home.
Our events for the next quarter will explore ideas that are central to Jung’s
theories on the nature of the psyche – the unconscious, archetype, image, inner other and the relationship between psyche
and body.
My
lecture in July will take us into the realm of fairy tale and archetype; Sue Austin’s workshop later in July on eating
disorders will explore inner otherness; in her August presentation, artist Philippa Howells will show images from her dreaming
psyche; and Forrest James’ lecture in September will explore the relationship between body and soul and Jung’s
frequently acknowledged debt to C.G. Carus concerning the idea of the unconscious.
With
Sue Austin’s workshop in July we are continuing what has become a tradition – the joint hosting of a one-day workshop
with the Byron Jung Society at the Greenmount Beach Resort in Coolangatta. Past joint events - David Rosen’s workshop
on depression in 2005 and David Tacey’s workshop in 2006 - were very enjoyable and well attended. We believe that this year’s joint event will be just as successful.
Finally,
I recently attended an art exhibition put on by the graduating students in the pioneering Masters of Mental Health in Art
Therapy course offered through the University of Queensland’s
School of Medicine. It
was wonderfully rich with image and meaning. Congratulations in particular to the two graduating Jung Society members –
Gabrielle Gilmore and Janeil Smith.
Peace
and Joy to you all
Anne Di Lauro
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At his March lecture, Victor Marsh shared this poem and we have asked his permission to
print it. He has added an explanation of the incubation and
hatching of the poem.
Shell game
Inside an egg
a chicken grows and grows
so soon that shell has
lost its power to shelter
now a prison
tight become.
The growth of life itself
inside, puts pressure on that
shell; insists it
crack! split! wide
open
release the life within.
For little chick, perhaps
that birth's a death-
worlds collapsing
all hell
breaking loose!
But big mother hen
awaits; clucks comfort and
encouragement and
after weeks of warmth
invites
the chick into a
wider world-
knows where grubs are caught
water drunk
and grain to fill the gullet
A sun
to warm and stretch and
COCK-A-DOODLE in...
if he would just emerge.
This
is a poem for children, so I want to respect simplicity.
However,
there were two strands of thought that fed into the writing of this piece.
The
first came when I was preparing to present a eulogy at a friend’s funeral. I
had been wondering how I might have felt, as an infant in my mother’s womb, when my amniotic bliss was disturbed by
the urgent upheaval of birth: being forced down a narrow canal, my head pushed through an opening that was obviously too small;
my mother’s cries of pain; the noise of the birthing room; the rough textures of fabric all assaulting my senses. I bet I thought I was dying. But actually,
I was being born.
Similarly,
I presume, when the time comes for me to leave this body bag to which I have become accustomed, I might think I am dying,
when, rather, I am involved in another birth...
The
other element that feeds into the meaning of this simple poem comes from meetings with my guru. He has sometimes spoken of how spiritual growth can put pressure on the conceptual frameworks we have developed
as coping strategies. They work fine, until a new level of experience forces
them to give way and make way for a new understanding. Of course, if there is
no growth, there is no pressure; but ‘progress’ forces those concepts to ‘die’, to give way to new
ways of seeing and experiencing.
Somehow,
these ideas are all floating around in the field that birthed this poem.
Victor Marsh
Upcoming events at the Jung Society
July 2007
Archetypal Themes
in Carlo Collodi’s “The Adventures of Pinocchio”
An illustrated presentation by Anne Di Lauro
Thursday 5 July
2007, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
St Mary’s Parish House, Cn Merviale and Peel Sts,
South Brisbane
Members and concession $5; Non-members $10
Once upon a time there was …
“A king!” my little readers will say right away.
No children, you are wrong. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
o begins Carlo Collodi’s “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, which,
it has been suggested, ranks with Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Machiavelli’s “The Prince”
as being among the best known works of Italian literature outside of Italy. Collodi began his story as a serial in a children’s
magazine in order to make a little money. When he hanged his hero after 15 chapters, there was such an outcry that he was
obliged to revive him and continue the story. Why has it endured? What is it
about this 19th century story that has allowed it to live on and become part of the furniture of the Western psyche?
Anne
believes that Pinocchio lives on because, like fairy stories, it contains archetypal themes that find an echo in the psyche
of children and adults alike.
The
concept of Archetype is central to Jung’s theories on the nature of the psyche, which arose from his observation of
its manifestation in his patients’ dreams and fantasies and in literature, art, religion, myth, folklore, alchemy, science. He observed that the psyche, across cultures and history, produces independently “clusters”
of similar material and from this he deduced the existence of the collective unconscious containing the potential to produce
certain patterns or categories which become manifest when filled with material from the personal unconscious. Initially he
called these potential patterns “primordial images” and later adopted the term “archetype”. The major archetypal themes are linked to our life’s journey, for example, the child, the mother,
the father, the heroic journey, redemption, rebirth.
We
shall hear the story of Pinocchio, which is far more dark and complex than the story that Walt Disney’s film and other
adaptations have bequeathed to us, and we shall attempt together to uncover some of the archetypal themes that the plot and
characters reveal.
Anne Di Lauro has a life-long interest in children’s literature and in myths and
fairy tales. Her interest in Jungian psychology began when she read Marie-Louise von Franz’s books on archetypes in
fairy tales. Anne lived in Italy during her son’s early childhood. For her, the best part of parenthood was choosing good books and
reading them aloud to him. After reading to him “The Adventures of Pinocchio” she took him to visit the Pinocchio
theme park in the small Tuscan town of Collodi. Pinocchio has been lurking at the back of her mind ever since. Anne is a Brisbane-based Jungian-oriented
psychotherapist and currently president of the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland.
July 2007 Workshop
A joint event of the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland and the Byron C.G. Jung Society
Eating Disorders and other Somatised Distresses
a Post Jungian Approach
A one-day workshop with Dr. Sue Austin, Jungian Analyst
Saturday 21 July, 9:30 am – 4 pm (registration 9 am)
Tweed River Room, Greenmount Beach Resort,
3 Hill St, Coolangatta
Cost: $100 ($80 – Members and concession)
ung’s work can be characterised as a series of
projects which sought to explore inner and outer Otherness - inner Otherness includes the realisation that we are not ‘masters
in our own psychological houses’, while outer Otherness includes the recognition of just how irreducibly different to
us the Other may be, e.g., typologically.
In this
workshop Sue Austin will explore inner Otherness as a clinical tool. Her particular focus is on aggression as a form of inner
Otherness for women, and the importance of analytic engagement with these energies to bring out their creative and relational
potentials.
Paul Delvaux: Femme au Mirroir
The
workshop is structured as a series of linked explorations:
1) The
theme of Otherness in Jung's work, and how it is part of his philosophical and clinical heritage.
2) A
comment by Marie-Louise von Franz which makes the link between the idea of aggression as a form of inner Otherness for women,
and clinical praxis.
3) Developing
the morning’s themes further into clinical work with severely eating disordered patients. Of particular importance are
the hateful and explosive states which can accompany these illnesses, and the seeds of psychological growth which those states
can contain.
4) Reflecting
on the themes of the day through the group’s material.
Group
discussion follows each section’s presentation. While most of the vignettes used in the workshop are from the field
of eating disorders, the psychologically foundational nature of eating means that the dynamics discussed will be relevant
to many other forms of psychological stuckness and desperation.
Sue Austin, Ph.D., (Sydney) trained with the Australian
and New Zealand Society of Jungian Analysts. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney (Department of Studies in Religion)
for her work on gender, identity and analytical psychology. A book based on that work was published by Brunner-Routledge in
May 2005 entitled ‘Women’s Aggressive Fantasies: An Exploration of Self-Hatred, Love and Agency’. Sue has
a general analytic practice in Sydney, but specializes in working with adults who have eating disorders (especially those
who have been severely and chronically ill). Her website address is http://www.sueaustin.net.au.
For information please contact Anne on (07)
3511 0167 – dilauro@ozemail.com.au
Please use the inserted booking form to reserve your place
August
2007
The Art of Dreaming
A presentation by Philippa Howells
Thursday 2 August, 2007, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
St. Mary’s House, Cn Merivale and Peel
Sts, South Brisbane
Members and concession: $5; non-members $10
ung once said "Image is Psyche", but although
we mostly remember our dreams as series of visual images, dreams are usually recorded in the form of a verbal narrative.
The artist Jean Arp saw Art as a way of 'dreaming
with open eyes', both for the artist and the viewer.
As an artist, Philippa Howells began to use dreams as a source
of inspiration for her paintings when she was experiencing a 'crisis of subject matter' after moving to Melbourne to do post-graduate studies in Fine Art at the Victorian College of
the Arts in 1989. At the same time, she discovered the Melbourne Jung Society, having already read a number of books by Jung
after first being intrigued by the imagery in 'Man and his Symbols' in her late teens. This became a rich source of inspiration
for her development as an artist.
Her background in Art as well as her interest in Jung’s
ideas led to her taking the opportunity to enrol in the new Masters in Art Therapy course at the University of Western Sydney
in1993.
Although the course was Freudian in its theoretical
base, she was able to undertake her private training analysis with a Jungian psychotherapist. During this period, she began
to record dream imagery in the form of sketches in her dream diary, as well as verbal narrative.
Sometimes
she also developed the images from the diaries into major art works for exhibition.
Although most of the sketches in this presentation
were originally intended to be strictly private, this presentation will take you on a 'dream journey" with the artist and
will explore the actual process of 'manifestation' i.e. 'bringing to life' a dream image through art-making.
September 2007
The
Organ of the Soul
A presentation by Forrest James
Thursday 6 September, 2007 7:30 – 9:30 pm
St. Mary’s House, Cn Merivale and Peel
Sts, South Brisbane
Members and concession: $5; non-members $10
Man has no body distinct
from his soul
William Blake
The soul is the primary act of a physical
body capable of life
Aristotle
Just as alchemy, tapping its way in the dark, groped through the endless
mazes of its theoretical assumptions and practical experiments over the course of many centuries, so the psychology of the
unconscious that began with C. G. Carus took up the trail that had been lost by the alchemists … At the time Carus wrote,
he certainly could not have guessed that he was building the philosophical bridge to an empirical psychology of the future,
which would take quite literally the old alchemical dictum: in tercore
invenitur – ‘it is found in filth.’
(Jung CW 14 para. 791)
Matisse
he
concepts of ‘mind’ and ‘body’ (and the correspondents ‘spirit/matter’, ‘soul/flesh’,
‘psyche/soma’) remain central in the history of Western civilisations and continue to inform our religious, philosophical
and psychotherapeutic imagination. How the phenomenological paradox of both being
and having a body has been understood in Western cultures is inextricably linked
to the ‘mind-body question’. Whatever the specifics of the cultural complexes go with it, the facility to identify
with, partially identify with, and even dissociate from the fact of our embodiment is central in understanding the practice
of psychotherapy, and in broadening our understanding of conscious and unconscious life.
In
this presentation we draw on the tradition of Romantic psychology as an approach to the ‘mind-body question’.
In particular, we explore a thread that connects the body and psyche in the work of Carl Gustav Carus and Carl Gustav Jung.
Carus developed the Aristotelian notion of the body as the expression of the soul. Jung, influenced by Carus, developed his
ideas of the archetypal spectrum and the mediating notion of the psychoid. In exploring
the thought of Carus and Jung we will rediscover the importance of the connection of the primordial unconscious processes
of our bodies as aspects of renewal for our souls. These ideas will be discussed with reference to a most primitive aspect
of our nervous system.
Forrest James is a psychotherapist in private practice and a manager of clinical practice
and supervisor in the field of trauma therapy. His training background includes body psychotherapy, gestalt therapy and contemporary
psychodynamic approaches. He completed the Master of Analytical Psychology at UWS in 2003.
Bulletin Board
Feeling stressed?
Discover your Inner Space
Guided Relaxation and Imagery, Mindfulness, Embodied Imagination, Creative Expression
Ongoing weekly groups on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 pm at 78 Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill. $20
per session.
Enquiries: Margaret: 0417 614 985 Anne: 3511
0167
Creative Painting workshops with the Archetypes of Light
and Dark
For
6 weeks beginning on Monday 16 July,
2007 from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the Uniting Church
Hall,
Kadumba St, Yeronga (near Yeronga
station).
Jung wrote that the extreme open conflict between light and dark is the real world problem
… However the self is absolutely paradoxical and represents a synthesis. We explore the opposites in our lives by using
the radiant third way of Light and Shade and Colour.
Cost
$25 per session or early bird price for 6 sessions in advance - $110.
Ring
Pamela Bouma on 3392 7173
ANZSJA EVENT
THE USES OF SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE:
A Weekend of Conversations between Analysts and Academics Who Work
with Jung's Ideas
The C.G. Jung Institute of the
Australian and New Zealand Society of Jungian Analysts is hosting an interdisciplinary discussion between analysts and
academics who work with Jung's ideas in a range of contexts. The focus of the discussions will be the ways in which subjective
experience is used differently across the academic and analytic contexts represented in the region. The aim of the conference
is to extend our understanding of our own and each other's work through dialogue.
Contributors include: analysts - Margaret Caulfield, Giles Clark, Dale Dodd,
Andre de Koning, Leslie Devereaux, Peter Fullerton, Sally Kester, Anne Noonan, Leon Petchkovsky, Craig San Roque, and academics
- David Tacey (keynote speaker), Frances Gray, Jadran Mimica, David Russell, Brendon Stewart, and Terri Waddell.
Dates:
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October 2007
Times:
9am – 4.30pm
Location:
Vibe Hotel Carlton 441 Royal Parade Parkville
Melbourne
Cost (inc. light lunch):
$349 (GST inc) for both days
$299 (GST inc) for both days, if booked before 31th August
No refund for cancellation after 1st October 2007, and an administration fee of $50 will be charged on cancellations prior to
that date.
BOOKING: email: pdseminar@anzsja.org.au for forms.
Once completed post with payment or advise EFT payment details to: Lenore
Kulakauskas 4/21 Sir Thomas Mitchell Rd Bondi Beach NSW 2026 ph +61 2 9365 7750
About the C.G. Jung Society of Queensland
