“Dreaming Mount Everest: An Experience of the Creative Psyche” by Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts member Warren Sibilla has been published in Jung Journal: Culture &Psyche.
Abstract
Long-distance athletic endurance events provide a forum for experiencing the limits of the human condition and, thus, an invitation toward what otherwise appears unattainable; a forum for an emptying of oneself in physical and emotional exertion whereby a space is then opened for an experience of the luminous; and, finally, a space is created that reveals a meaning and purpose that otherwise was not apparent. This paper offers a first-hand, applied, and human example of the embodiment of the creative psyche by demonstrating the experience of Jung’s notions of archetype and symbol, the mythopoeic psyche, synchronicity, and the transcendent function. The paper does so by describing the training for and participation in Everesting-29029, a thirty-six-hour endurance event in which participants ascend a mountain enough times to equal 29,029 vertical feet—the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. Because of the size of the mountain, the length of the event, and the extreme weather conditions possible at that altitude, the event becomes one of tremendous proportion made even more so since a large share of the climbing is done absent the light of day, inviting a rich play of the imagination.
Dennis Merritt, member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts, is interviewed on the Image for Hire podcast. It was released on October 30, 2018. From the description:
The Skrauss discusses synchronicity and the I-Ching with Dennis A. Merrit. Listen up, Cavedweller. Take a plunge into the divinatory system that cracks into the Tao, the binary code of the Universe.
Names dropped and subjects mentioned: Synchronicity is a Dimension How Much Is the I-Ching (Unanswered) Compendium of Chinese Wisdom It Came From 1050 BCE Leibnitz How to Question the I-Ching Carol Anthony’s 3RD Edition Guide to the I-Ching Time is Not Just Quantity; It Is Quality Gausian Curve The Rainmaker Story “Black Elk Speaks” Wolfgang Pauli Hexagram 42 “Increase” The Confucian School Hexagram 23 “Splitting Apart” Hexagram 24 “The Turning Point” Yellow is the Color of the Medium Donald Trump is a Trickster Cover Story of the January 1976 edition of Scientific America
Dennis L. Merritt, PhD, is a Jungian psychoanalyst and ecopsychologist in private practice in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Merritt is a diplomate of the C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich and also holds the following degrees: M.A. Humanistic Psychology-Clinical, Sonoma State University, California, Ph.D. Insect Pathology, University of California-Berkeley, M.S. and B.S. Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over twenty-five years of participation in Lakota Sioux ceremonies have strongly influenced his worldview.
Patricia Martin is a cultural analyst, consultant, and the author of three books on cultural trends. As a consultant, Martin has worked on teams at Discovery Communications, Dannon, Microsoft, Ms. Foundation for Women, Oracle, Unisys, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York Philharmonic, to name a few. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, USA Today, and Advertising Age. A blogger since 2002, Martin was a regular contributor to Huffington Post during its start-up years. She earned a B.A. in English and sociology from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Irish literature and culture from the University College Dublin. Later, she built a foundation for her cultural analysis by studying Jungian theory and depth psychology at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago, where she is currently a Professional Affiliate and member of the program committee. In 2017, she harnessed artificial intelligence to uncover the effects of the internet on our sense of self. A book on her findings entitled Will the Future Like You? is due out later in 2021. Martin speaks worldwide about cultural changes that are shaping the future and the impact of the digital culture on the collective. A native of Detroit, Martin works in Chicago and lives in an ancient forest near the shores of Lake Michigan with her husband and countless deer.
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