Using examples from Zen Buddhism, Warren Sibilla discusses Jung’s idea that the subjective and objective have a complementary relationship, and that this relationship is necessary in clinical practice – objective knowledge alone is not enough.
Warren Sibilla, Jr, PhD is a Diplomate Jungian Psychoanalyst with a clinical practice in Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN. Dr. Sibilla served as the Director of the Jungian Psychotherapy/Studies Program (2010 – 2016) at the Institute and teaches in our Analyst Training Program. He is engaged in the study and practice of Zen Buddhism including authoring a book on the relationship between Zen Buddhism and Analytical Psychology as well as a paper formally exploring Jung’s 1958 dialogue with Japanese Zen Master and Philosopher Hisamatsu. Dr. Sibilla teaches in the Masters and Doctoral programs at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and The Institute for Clinical Social Work and facilitates silent contemplative retreats at GilChrist Retreat Center in Michigan. More information about Dr. Sibilla is available on his website, wsibilla.com.
PowerPoint: The slides for this talk are available HERE (right-click and click “Save Link As…” to download)
Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Earth with China Galland.
One of the most important features of a pilgrimage is its intimate association with nature through the kaleidoscope of changing weather and landscape that one experiences along the way. Fellow pilgrims, strangers at the start, may feel like old friends by the end of a long journey made sleeping under the stars, walking through rain and sun together. All difficulty and differences are endured in service of one uniting spiritual goal: reaching the shrine and receiving the blessings of the deity therein.
Many contemporary pilgrimages to the Black Madonnas in Europe and Latin America echo the earlier, pre-Christian veneration of the earth as the Great Mother. In India and Nepal, Nature herself is still worshipped. One of the greatest tasks before us today is to understand “what it means ‘earthwise’ to be human in the world today,” as Michael McElroy, atmospheric scientist, told the United Nations.
This presentation explores how the experience of pilgrimage and the growing awareness of the Dark Mother can help us to understand more deeply “what it means ‘earthwise’ to be human in the world today.”
China Galland is the award-winning author of Women in the Wilderness and Love Cemetery: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves, internationally recognized authority on the Black Madonna, leader of pilgrimages to sacred sites, wilderness guide, public speaker, and professor-in-residence at CARE/Graduate Theological Union. More information can be found at her website chinagalland.com.
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The views and opinions expressed in the podcasts and blog posts are those of the respected speakers or authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago.